Milindapanha

The Milindapanha is a Buddhist book which purports to be a dialogue between the Indian monk Nagasena and the Indo-Greek king Milinda. Although such a dialogue between the two men may well have actually taken place, the Milindapanha is a literary work.

It was probably originally composed for the use of new converts to explain apparent contradictions in Buddhist doctrine and clarify obscure points. In the Milindapanha the king asks a series of difficult questions to which Nàgasena replies with lively and often ingenious answers. The earliest part of the Milindapanha was written in about the 1st century BCE, perhaps in northern Pakistan

It was later translated into Pali and finally taken to Sri Lanka where parts were subsequently added. Buddhists consider the Milindapanha to be an authoritative work, although it is not part of the Tipitaka, except in the Burmese edition of the Tipitaka, where it is included as scripture.

References

The Questions of King Milinda. Pali Text Society.