The Epic of the Buddha: His Life and Teachings. By Chittadhar Hṛdaya. Translated by Todd T. Lewis and Subarna Man Tuladhar. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2019. 448 pages. $24.95 (paperback), ISBN 9781611806199.
The Epic of the Buddha: His Life and Teachings is the third (and final) incarnation of Todd T. Lewis and Subarna Man Tuladhar’s translation of Chittadhar Hṛdaya’s epic Newar poem, Sugata Saurabha. The Shambhala print, produced only in paperback, makes the Nepalese Buddhist masterpiece available to the widest possible audience. The translators make clear that this was the wish of the late poet, who authored the poem from prison while the religion expressed in the work and printing in the language in which he authored it were both outlawed.