Written on 23 April 2012.

Ancient India and The East

A collection of articles:
Note - these are not just lists of 'famous vegetarians' - they are people with a view on the subject, and the articles explain whether they put those veiws into practice.

Zoroaster / Zarathustra (628?-551?)
- Español - Zoroastro
Mahavira (599-527 BC)
Buddha (?563-483 BC)
- Italiano Budda (?563-483 a.C.) - vegetariano?
- Español - Buda
- Magyar - Buddha (?563-483 BC) - vegetarianus?
Cyrus the Great (c.520BC)
King Asoka of India (273?-232 BC)

See also the early sections of:

Vegetarianism and Vegetarians in Japan
- Español - El Vegetarianismo y los Vegetarianos en Japón
- Français - Végétarisme et Végétariens au Japon
- Indonesia - Vegetarianisme dan Vegetarian di Jepang
- Magyar - Vegetarianizmus es a vegetarianusok Japanban
The Vegetarian Movement in Sri Lanka
China & Vegetarianism
Religion & Vegetarianism

Complete Old Books:

Outlines of Jainism (link to archive.org) by Jagmanderlal Jaini M.A., Indore. Pub. Cambridge, 1916. Founded by Mahavira, 599 BC - avoids all harm to animal life.
The Kalpa sutra, and Nava tatva: two works illustrative of the Jain religion and philosophy (link to archive.org) trans. & appendix by J. Stevenson, Bombay. Pub. London, 1818
Jaina Sutras Part I & II (link to Google books) trans. Hermann Jacobi, Oxford 1884
Texts from the Buddhist canon, commonly known as Dhammapada, with accompanying narratives (link to archive.org) trans. Samuel Beal, Prof. of Chinese, London, 1878. Buddha (?563-483 BC)
The Lankavatara Sutra; a Mahayana text (link to archive.org) trans. Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, London, 1932
Asoka, the Buddhist emperor of India (link to archive.org) by Vincent A. Smith M.R.A.S., Oxford, 1901. Asoka (273?-232 BC) banned all animal slaughter in India.
The Laws of Manu (link to Google books) trans. George Bühler, Oxford, 1886. Somewhat disputed Hindu texts... does not prohibit meat eating but: p.99, Law 48: "Meat can never be obtained without injury to living creatures, and injury to sentient beings is detrimental to (the attainment of) heavenly bliss ; let him therefore shun (the use of) meat."