1. We learn from the Cūla-vaṃsa that a monk named Jotipāla played an important role in the Buddhi... more 1. We learn from the Cūla-vaṃsa that a monk named Jotipāla played an important role in the Buddhism of the island of Ceylon at the end of the sixth century and during the early decades of the seventh century. In a previous article (AS I) I have discussed his important role in the development of the Pali ṭīkā literature. In the first section of this article I briefly review the evidence we have for his work in Sanskrit.
2. Vism-sn cites passages from a work called the Ārya-satyâvatāra (ĀS) and from another which is named either Jñeya-sampatti-ṭīkā or Jñeya-saptati-ṭīkā (JS-ṭ). Given the manner in which they are cited, it seems likely that this refers to a single work and its commentary — the Ārya-satyâvatāra would be the name of a work in kārikās, which would have an accompanying commentary, both being associated with the name of Jotipāla. The Jñeya-saptati-ṭīkā would be the name of this commentary.
3. One of the views given in the JS-ṭ passages in Vism-sn is attributed in Sumaṅgala’s twelfth/thirteenth century commentary on the Abhidhammâvatāra (Abhidh av ṭ) to Jotipāla. A passage in Abhidh-av-ṭ which gives a saying of Jotipāla is described in the thirteenth century ṭīkā to the Sacca-saṅkhepa as from the Aññeyya-sattati-ṭīkā.
4. Vism-sn contains around sixty six Sanskrit citations. A few of these are from general Indian sources, from the grammatical literature or from the literature of non-Theravādin forms of Buddhism. The great majority are specific to the Theriya abhidha(r)mma tradition.
5. Conclusion:
Jotipāla emerges as a major figure who defended the position of the Mahāvihāravāsins in Sanskrit, very much the literary language of the day. It seems likely that the Sanskrit language played a greater role in the history of the Theriya school of Southern India and Ceylon than has been hitherto realized. This no doubt accounts for some of the increasing North Indian awareness of Theravāda during this period.
The earliest list of Buddhist schools, extant in versions of the treatise attributed to *Vasumitr... more The earliest list of Buddhist schools, extant in versions of the treatise attributed to *Vasumitra, in Pali and in several other related forms, does not distinguish groups among the different Theriya/Sthavir(iy)a fraternities. It is therefore only in the lists preserved in the *Tarka-jvālā attributed to *Bhavya that we first find a group of schools explicitly designated as Vibhajyavādin.1 Among them is a school whose name is restored (from Tibetan) as Tāmraśāṭiya. Scholars have differed as to whether this name refers to one or more of the schools of ancient Sinhalese Buddhism or to a (perhaps related) fraternity of mainland origin. In this article I examine the Greek, Pali and Sanskrit evidence for the usage and meaning of Tambapaṇṇi and related words. I then turn to epigraphic sources which confirm that the ‘Tambapaṇṇakas’ were part of the Theriya tradition and probably linked to the Vibhajjavādins. In the final part of this article I conclude that a variant form of the name Tambapaṇṇi which would be Sanskritized as *Tāmravarnya or similar has given rise to explanations of the meaning as ‘red-coloured’ or ‘copper-coloured’. This in turn has led either to a new Sanskrit form Tāmraśāṭiya or to a Tibetan rendering which later produced a back- formation to Tāmraśāṭiya in the Mahāvyutpatti.
After some preliminary considerations concerning orality and writing in India and the date of the... more After some preliminary considerations concerning orality and writing in India and the date of the Buddha, this article re-examines the questions of where and when a version of the Pali Canon was first set to writing and what were the contents of that collection. It then goes on to examine the origin and evolution of the Māgadha language we now call Pali, seeing it as derived from a written language which was in wide use over the major part of India during the last centuries B.C. rather than directly from spoken dialects.
John Powers and Charles S. Prebish (eds.), Destroying Māra forever: Buddhist ethics essays in honor of Damien Keown (Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion Publications), 2009
1. We learn from the Cūla-vaṃsa that a monk named Jotipāla played an important role in the Buddhi... more 1. We learn from the Cūla-vaṃsa that a monk named Jotipāla played an important role in the Buddhism of the island of Ceylon at the end of the sixth century and during the early decades of the seventh century. In a previous article (AS I) I have discussed his important role in the development of the Pali ṭīkā literature. In the first section of this article I briefly review the evidence we have for his work in Sanskrit.
2. Vism-sn cites passages from a work called the Ārya-satyâvatāra (ĀS) and from another which is named either Jñeya-sampatti-ṭīkā or Jñeya-saptati-ṭīkā (JS-ṭ). Given the manner in which they are cited, it seems likely that this refers to a single work and its commentary — the Ārya-satyâvatāra would be the name of a work in kārikās, which would have an accompanying commentary, both being associated with the name of Jotipāla. The Jñeya-saptati-ṭīkā would be the name of this commentary.
3. One of the views given in the JS-ṭ passages in Vism-sn is attributed in Sumaṅgala’s twelfth/thirteenth century commentary on the Abhidhammâvatāra (Abhidh av ṭ) to Jotipāla. A passage in Abhidh-av-ṭ which gives a saying of Jotipāla is described in the thirteenth century ṭīkā to the Sacca-saṅkhepa as from the Aññeyya-sattati-ṭīkā.
4. Vism-sn contains around sixty six Sanskrit citations. A few of these are from general Indian sources, from the grammatical literature or from the literature of non-Theravādin forms of Buddhism. The great majority are specific to the Theriya abhidha(r)mma tradition.
5. Conclusion:
Jotipāla emerges as a major figure who defended the position of the Mahāvihāravāsins in Sanskrit, very much the literary language of the day. It seems likely that the Sanskrit language played a greater role in the history of the Theriya school of Southern India and Ceylon than has been hitherto realized. This no doubt accounts for some of the increasing North Indian awareness of Theravāda during this period.
The earliest list of Buddhist schools, extant in versions of the treatise attributed to *Vasumitr... more The earliest list of Buddhist schools, extant in versions of the treatise attributed to *Vasumitra, in Pali and in several other related forms, does not distinguish groups among the different Theriya/Sthavir(iy)a fraternities. It is therefore only in the lists preserved in the *Tarka-jvālā attributed to *Bhavya that we first find a group of schools explicitly designated as Vibhajyavādin.1 Among them is a school whose name is restored (from Tibetan) as Tāmraśāṭiya. Scholars have differed as to whether this name refers to one or more of the schools of ancient Sinhalese Buddhism or to a (perhaps related) fraternity of mainland origin. In this article I examine the Greek, Pali and Sanskrit evidence for the usage and meaning of Tambapaṇṇi and related words. I then turn to epigraphic sources which confirm that the ‘Tambapaṇṇakas’ were part of the Theriya tradition and probably linked to the Vibhajjavādins. In the final part of this article I conclude that a variant form of the name Tambapaṇṇi which would be Sanskritized as *Tāmravarnya or similar has given rise to explanations of the meaning as ‘red-coloured’ or ‘copper-coloured’. This in turn has led either to a new Sanskrit form Tāmraśāṭiya or to a Tibetan rendering which later produced a back- formation to Tāmraśāṭiya in the Mahāvyutpatti.
After some preliminary considerations concerning orality and writing in India and the date of the... more After some preliminary considerations concerning orality and writing in India and the date of the Buddha, this article re-examines the questions of where and when a version of the Pali Canon was first set to writing and what were the contents of that collection. It then goes on to examine the origin and evolution of the Māgadha language we now call Pali, seeing it as derived from a written language which was in wide use over the major part of India during the last centuries B.C. rather than directly from spoken dialects.
John Powers and Charles S. Prebish (eds.), Destroying Māra forever: Buddhist ethics essays in honor of Damien Keown (Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion Publications), 2009
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2. Vism-sn cites passages from a work called the Ārya-satyâvatāra (ĀS) and from another which is named either Jñeya-sampatti-ṭīkā or Jñeya-saptati-ṭīkā (JS-ṭ). Given the manner in which they are cited, it seems likely that this refers to a single work and its commentary — the Ārya-satyâvatāra would be the name of a work in kārikās, which would have an accompanying commentary, both being associated with the name of Jotipāla. The Jñeya-saptati-ṭīkā would be the name of this commentary.
3. One of the views given in the JS-ṭ passages in Vism-sn is attributed in Sumaṅgala’s twelfth/thirteenth century commentary on the Abhidhammâvatāra (Abhidh av ṭ) to Jotipāla. A passage in Abhidh-av-ṭ which gives a saying of Jotipāla is described in the thirteenth century ṭīkā to the Sacca-saṅkhepa as from the Aññeyya-sattati-ṭīkā.
4. Vism-sn contains around sixty six Sanskrit citations. A few of these are from general Indian sources, from the grammatical literature or from the literature of non-Theravādin forms of Buddhism. The great majority are specific to the Theriya abhidha(r)mma tradition.
5. Conclusion:
Jotipāla emerges as a major figure who defended the position of the Mahāvihāravāsins in Sanskrit, very much the literary language of the day. It seems likely that the Sanskrit language played a greater role in the history of the Theriya school of Southern India and Ceylon than has been hitherto realized. This no doubt accounts for some of the increasing North Indian awareness of Theravāda during this period.
2. Vism-sn cites passages from a work called the Ārya-satyâvatāra (ĀS) and from another which is named either Jñeya-sampatti-ṭīkā or Jñeya-saptati-ṭīkā (JS-ṭ). Given the manner in which they are cited, it seems likely that this refers to a single work and its commentary — the Ārya-satyâvatāra would be the name of a work in kārikās, which would have an accompanying commentary, both being associated with the name of Jotipāla. The Jñeya-saptati-ṭīkā would be the name of this commentary.
3. One of the views given in the JS-ṭ passages in Vism-sn is attributed in Sumaṅgala’s twelfth/thirteenth century commentary on the Abhidhammâvatāra (Abhidh av ṭ) to Jotipāla. A passage in Abhidh-av-ṭ which gives a saying of Jotipāla is described in the thirteenth century ṭīkā to the Sacca-saṅkhepa as from the Aññeyya-sattati-ṭīkā.
4. Vism-sn contains around sixty six Sanskrit citations. A few of these are from general Indian sources, from the grammatical literature or from the literature of non-Theravādin forms of Buddhism. The great majority are specific to the Theriya abhidha(r)mma tradition.
5. Conclusion:
Jotipāla emerges as a major figure who defended the position of the Mahāvihāravāsins in Sanskrit, very much the literary language of the day. It seems likely that the Sanskrit language played a greater role in the history of the Theriya school of Southern India and Ceylon than has been hitherto realized. This no doubt accounts for some of the increasing North Indian awareness of Theravāda during this period.