Born in a Brahman family, Asvaghosa was a noted poet and is considered to be instrumental in the spread of Buddhism. He was born in Central India and was a noted philosopher and poet. He was considered as great as Kalidasa. Though a written biography of Asvaghosa does not exist, legends say that he was a strict opponent of Buddhism. Then one day he lost a heated debate to the noted Buddhist scholar. It is said that this incident triggered him to accept Buddhism and he became one of the most noted disciples of Buddhism.