[1][2] After receiving the poem from theosophists, Mahatma Gandhi was awed and his subsequent introduction to Madame Blavatsky and her Key to Theosophy inspired him to study his own religion.

The 1892 publication begins with the following dedication: This Volume is Dutifully Inscribed to the Sovereign, Grand Master, and Companions of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India by the Author.

[4] In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi writes of when two theosophist brothers gave him a copy of The Light of Asia along with Arnold's version of the Bhagavad Gita, The Song Celestial, while he studied in London.

Former Indian minister Jairam Ramesh wrote The Light of Asia: The Poem that Defined the Buddha on The Light of Asia's phenomenal influence on how people see the Buddha and his teachings, calling the poem a "milestone in Buddhist historiography" that "impacted so many public personalities in different countries, inspired movements for social equality and incarnated itself in music, dance, drama, painting and film".

[6] A film adaptation of the poem directed by Franz Osten and Himansu Rai titled Prem Sanyas (The Light of Asia in English, Die Leuchte Asiens in German) was made in 1925[7] and restored for rerelease by Arte in 2001.

[8] The Indo-European co-production was filmed in Lahore with the cooperation of the reigning Maharajah of Jaipur, made by German technicians and featuring Indian actors.