Buddhist scholarly work that provides an introduction to the seven Abhidharma treatises in the Sarvastivada canon and a digest of their contents.
It was composed by the Buddhist monk Vasubandhu (fl. 4th or 5th century), who lived in northwestern India. It systematizes Sarvastivada doctrine and shows the influence of Mahayana , to which Vasubandhu later converted. It provides much information on doctrinal differences among the ancient Buddhist schools.