GUIDE TO TIPITAKA

Milindapañha Pæ¹i is the last of the books which constitute Khuddaka Nikæya. It records the questions asked by King Milinda and the answers given by the Venerable Nægasena some five hundred years after the Parinibbæna of the Buddha. King Milinda was Yonaka (Graeco-Bactrian) ruler of Sægala. He was very learned and highly skilled in the art of debating. The Venerable Nægasena, a fully accomplished Arahat, was on a visit to Sægala at the request of the Saµgha.

King Milinda, who wanted to have some points on the Dhamma clarified, asked the Venerable Nægasena abstruse questions concerning the nature of man, his survival after death, and other doctrinal aspects of the Dhamma. The Venerable Nægasena gave him satisfactory replies on each question asked. These erudite questions and answers on the Teaching of the Buddha are compiled into the book known as the Milindapañha Pæ¹i.