Poems of Early Buddhist Nuns

K.R. Norman's more modern translation, Elders' Verses II, first published in 1971, follows the longer work of Mrs. Rhys Davids. Norman's translation was based on an original Pali edition that was more accurately transcribed. His purpose was to produce a literal prose translation that could be read alongside the Pali text.

Together the two versions, published here under one cover, give a very thorough and balanced perspective on this oldest extant report of women's experience of the Path of Dhamma.

These poems of exquisite beauty are the utterances of enlightened nuns embodying their varied experiences. Literary critics rank them among the best lyrics in Indian literature. They remain unrivalled in the literary history of the world as creative writing issuing forth from the undefiled ....