Sanghabhuti, an Indian Buddhist monk, who travelled to China at the end of the fourth century AD, was the author of a commentary on :

(a) Prajnaparamita Sutra
(b) Visuddhimagga
(c) Sarvastivada Vinaya ✓ UPSC's answer
(d) Lalitavistara

Why the answer is (c)

• Sanghabhuti (Sanghabhadra) was a Kashmiri Buddhist monk who reached China around 381 CE and worked at Chang'an translating texts of the Sarvastivada school.

• His known work is a commentary on the Sarvastivada Vinaya — the monastic code of that school — which he translated and expounded in Chinese — option (c).

• The Prajnaparamita Sutras were translated by Kumarajiva and others; the Visuddhimagga is Buddhaghosa's Theravada compendium written in Sri Lanka; the Lalitavistara is a Mahayana life of the Buddha.

• Such monks were part of the transmission of Buddhism along the Silk Road from Kashmir and Gandhara to China.

• Hence option (c).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Prajnaparamita Sutra: The Prajnaparamita literature is associated with Kumarajiva and Mahayana translators.
(b) Visuddhimagga: The Visuddhimagga is Buddhaghosa's Theravada work, not Sanghabhuti's.
(d) Lalitavistara: The Lalitavistara is a Mahayana biography, not Sanghabhuti's commentary.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2024, held on 16 June 2024. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.