Pali Language

This article examines Susheel Kumar Sharma's poetry collection Unwinding Self: A Collection of Poems (2020) as a profound exploration of existential dilemma within the context of postcolonial identity fragmentation and ecological crisis. Sharma's work navigates the fractured self-arising from a hybrid cultural heritage-Indian spiritual roots intertwined with Western education-amidst the pressures of modernity and technology. Drawing parallels with modernist poets like T.S. Eliot and Nissim Ezekiel, the analysis highlights Sharma's "micro-concrete moments" expanding into "macro-cosmic experiences," critiquing anthropogenic environmental degradation and spiritual desiccation. While Sharma seeks solace in nature and tradition, he remains ambivalent, unable to fully embrace the salvific potential of myth or religion as Eliot might have, reflecting the post-human condition. His poetry emerges as a modernist intervention intersecting postcolonial and ecological thought, questioning the poet's role in a world of mechanical reproduction and searching for authentic selfhood amidst pervasive rootlessness.

This article presents the first critical edition and English
translation of a Pali narrative recounting the final days of Gavampati―
traditionally counted among the 80 Great Disciples of the Buddha―until
his final extinction (parinibbāna). Although Gavampati, popularly known
as the “Fat Monk”, occupies only a minor place in canonical literature,
later traditions in mainland Southeast Asia granted him a more prominent
role in literary, ritual, and devotional contexts. Based on manuscripts
preserved in Thai and French collections, this study reconstructs the text
and examines its relationship to vernacular versions, highlighting the
transmission and reinterpretation of Pali materials in regional Buddhist
hagiography.

The Dhammadāyādasuttavaṇṇanā is the classical commentary on the Dhammadāyāda Sutta (“Heirs to the Dhamma,” MN 3). It clarifies the sutta’s vocabulary, grammar, context, and implicit meanings, offering an analytical and explanatory guide for understanding the text within monastic training. 

The sutta itself draws a sharp contrast between two kinds of inheritance: āmisadāyāda (heirs to material gains) and dhammadāyāda (heirs to the Dhamma). The Buddha urges his disciples to take the Dhamma—not offerings, status, or requisites—as their true legacy, a living practice rather than a mere heirloom. This discourse, addressed to the ‘bhikkhus’, features Sāriputta as a prominent figure who amplifies the Buddha’s message. 

The commentary reveals deliberate coordination: the Buddha sets the principle; Sāriputta reinforces it so the teaching becomes “firm like a stone parasol”—enduring and weighty. The core message is not to inherit robes, alms, lodgings, or material support, but to train in virtue (sīla), concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (paññā) —the Noble Eightfold Path. As the commentary suggests, when Teacher and disciple share one intention (ekajjhāsaya), the teaching blazes “stronger than the midday sun,” illuminating the path for many—a model of delegation and harmony within the Saṅgha.

The Pāli Canon (Tipitaka) serves as the foundational core of Theravāda Buddhism. However, the subsequent expansion of Buddhist thought required a secondary layer of literature to unpack, contextualize, and defend these core teachings. This secondary layer is broadly conceptualized as Anu-Piṭaka (supplementary or commentarial literature). This paper explores the structural and epistemological role of Anu-Piṭaka texts, with a specific focus on non-canonical paracanonical texts like the Milinda Pañha. Furthermore, it examines the modern preservation and academic translation of these texts into the vernacular, highlighting the contributions of 20th-century Sri Lankan scholar-monks such as Venerable Hiripitiye Pañgnakiththi Thero.

This article discusses the need for a new and revised edition of the Rasavāhinī (Ras) composed by Vedeha Thera in Sri Lanka in the mid-thirteenth century. To this end, we discuss the current state of Ras research and key issues in the known editions, particularly the relationship with the Sinhala Saddharmālaṅkāraya (Sdhlk), written around the turn of the fourteenth to fifteenth century; and the Southeast Asian Ras manuscripts, which have not been sufficiently studied. Our study makes it clear that studying the Southeast Asian Ras manuscripts, in conjunction with Sdhlk, throw further light on the history of Ras transmission. We further propose new editorial principles that incorporate these materials, which we argue lead us closer to the text as intended by the original author. 1. For the completion of this article, we are incredibly grateful to the Foundation of His Holiness Somdet Phra Ñāṇasaṃvara Centennial Commemoration for funding, and Dr Aiko Umeda for

This paper is a concise translation of the following article written in Japanese: Michihiko Aono, “The Lifestyle of Buddhist Monks during a Dry Season: Inexplicable as Either Itinerant or Sedentary, with Reference to the Vinayapiṭaka and the Samantapāsādikā,” The Memoirs of the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, vol. 184 (2024), 32–72.

Linear B preserves a productive morphological class comprising forms terminating in-NI-JO and-NI-JA, attested across personnel, occupational, territorial, and descriptor contexts at Knossos, Pylos, and Thebes. Several stems co-occur in both terminations. The forms correspond to the Sanskrit and Pāli gerundive suffixes-nīya and-ṇiya, which Martini (2025) documents across early Indian inscriptional corpora as technical administrative vocabulary dated ca. 2nd century BCE-3rd century CE. This note tables the class, correlates members to Arthaśāstra Book 2 superintendent positions where attested, and identifies six specific Linear B forms with correspondences to administrative forms in the early Indian epigraphic record.

In the Pāli Vinaya, the tenth rule of training entailing expiation (pācittiya) prohibits monks from digging the ground (paṭhavī) or causing others to do so. However, according to the Vinaya commentary Samantapāsādikā, monks may engage in or authorize such activities under certain conditions.

Narratives are a powerful tool that humans use to communicate, organize their thoughts, and make sense of their lives. For individuals with depression, creating and sharing personal narratives can aid in healing emotional pain and alleviating feelings of isolation. However, they often face challenges in articulating their experiences. This article explored how cultural structures could constrain the ways in which people with depression express their suffering. It also highlighted three common features found in their narratives: 1) Difficulty finding words to describe emotions, 2) confusing and fragmented narratives, and 3) silence or refusal to communicate. These narrative patterns reflected power relations between individuals and social structures, potentially reinforcing a sense of powerlessness among patients. Attentive listening and providing space for narrative expressions were important components of the healing process. They helped restore a sense of agency to patients as the narrators of their illness experiences, while also enabling listeners to better understand the complexity of those experiences.

There are thousands of variants in the Pāli canon. This paper is a continuation of Part I published in JOCBS November 2024 with additional examples from the Theragāthā. It examines the reasons and processes by which variants arise with many examples. The major factors involved are 1) the nature of the source transmission, i.e. the different dialects and/or koiné in which the Buddha taught that were prevalent in north India (§2.1). 2) Natural, diachronic language change over time which tended to simplify by, for example, voicing or eliminating unvoiced stops, replacing aspirated stops with aspirates only, etc. (§2.2). 3) Sanskritizations which acted to "restore" Pāli to its putative "original" OI form (§2.3). 4) Linguistic diffusion from neighbouring IA languages and dialects where one dialect might interact with and alter another (§2.4.1); linguistic diffusion from autochthonous languages (§2.4.2); linguistic diffusion due to bilingual speakers of Dravidian and Middle Indic (MI), whose native language was non Indo-Aryan (IA), and who had to adapt a foreign phonemic system into the MI transmission (§2.4.3); linguistic diffusion due to foreign word borrowing from non-IA languages into MI; confusion due to the transcription of these "foreign" words, and lack of knowledge of the Pāli language (§2.4.4). 5) Oral transmission ambiguity and errors due to memory, recitation and auditory issues (oral/aural); a potpourri category subsuming all seven of the above processes (§ §1-2.4.4) and additional variants which are purely sonic in nature (§2.5). 6) The introduction of explanatory

Decoding the Language of the Buddha:
Insights into Pāli, Māgadhiī, and the
Essence of Sakāya Niruttiya-

This paper investigates the linguistic landscape surrounding the Buddha’s teachings, focusing on Pāli and its relationship with Māgadhī and other contemporary dialects. It examines the historical context of Pāli’s emergence as the language of the Buddhavacana, exploring its
evolution from the vernacular dialects used by the Buddha to its eventual standardisation as the canonical language of the Theravāda Tipiṭakas. Through a critical analysis of textual evidence and linguistic theories, this study addresses the question of the Buddha’s spoken
language, considering arguments for Māgadhī and the interpretation of Sākāya Nirrittiyā . It delves into  the directive concerning
the use of local dialects for disseminating his teachings, highlighting the significance of accessibility and the rejection of a formalised, elite language like Vedic Sanskrit. Furthermore, the paper traces the geographical spread of Pāli, its adoption in Southeast Asia, and its
enduring role in Buddhist scholarship and practice. By analysing the linguistic characteristics and historical context, this research aims to clarify the complex relationship between Pāli, Māgadhi, and the Buddha’s original communicative approach, ultimately contributing to a deeper understanding of the linguistic foundations of Theravāda Buddhism.

Keywords: Pāli; Māgadhi; Sakāya Niruttiyā; Buddhavacana; Language of the Buddha; Theravāda Buddhism; Middle Indo-Aryan; Linguistic History; Oral Tradition; Tipitaka;
Language Policy; Dialects; Vedic Sanskrit; Language Evolution; Buddhist Teachings

Un breve articolo attraverso il quale si spera di poter contribuire a dirimere una questione che spesso emerge: se non c'è un "sé", chi o cosa rinasce? Si tratta di un'obiezione che viene avanzata frequentemente, ma la tradizione pāli vi ha fornito una risposta tecnica che, tuttavia, è poco conosciuta. Proprio per questo, si crede di dover escludere o il non-sé o la rinascita, senza sapere che possono coesistere, grazie alla sottile intelligenza di quelli che Edward Conze chiamava "monaci-filosofi".

This book is one of the most significant outcomes of related research funded by the JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant Number JP21K00058), titled “The Construction of a Fundamental Text for the Clarification of the Problems of the Saddharmapundarika: Towards the Revision of the Kern-Nanjio Edition” (URL: https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-21K00058/). This work completes the footnotes for Chapter 24, avalokiteśvaravikurvaṇanirdeśaḥ, provides a lexical index for Chapter 24 of Saddharmapuṇḍarīka manuscripts used in this edition, and clearly presents the results of the metrical analysis of the gatha of Chapter 24 in the Kern-Nanjio Edition.

This note documents Sanskrit correspondences for Linear B formations bearing the prefix o-pi. O-pi is one of several prefixes sharing medial P attested in the Linear B corpus (here termed the xPx permutations, where x represents the varying initial vowel). This study treats o-pi exclusively. Ventris and Chadwick (1973) interpreted o-pi as Greek epi/opi ('on, upon, in charge of'). The present study observes that o-pi also corresponds to Sanskrit upa-('under, subordinate, deputy'), a bound prefix marking subordination across administrative domains in the Arthashastra of Kautilya. Table 1 presents attested o-pi formations with conventional glosses, Sanskrit readings, and Arthashastra superintendent correspondences where identifiable. The Greek readings by Ventris and Chadwick are historically valid. The present study documents an additional layer of correspondence, visible through Sanskrit, that may complement the existing scholarship.

Kinnauri verb stems are classified into four types: 1. vowel stem 2. consonant stem 3. D-stem 2 Takahasi (2012) shows the finite form of a verb as follows: (n1) (neg.)Vstem (.o).tns.s(.qm) 3 The suffix -s is suffixed to a (pseudo-)middle stem of a verb, which is not reduplicated. 4 The author has referred to the extended infinitive here as the derived infinitive in previous work. As this former term does not seem appropriate, the author uses the term 'extended infinitive' in this paper.

The Pāli expression khaggavisāṇakappo may either mean ‘like the rhinoceros’ or ‘like the horn of the rhinoceros’. It occurs in the refrain eko care khaggavisāṇakappo at the end of each stanza of the Khaggavisāṇa-sutta and its parallels, and the refrain has been translated by some as ‘one should wander alone like the rhinoceros’ but by some, including K. R. Norman, as ‘one should wander alone like the horn of the rhinoceros’. K. R. Norman has however set out his reasons for regarding ‘like the rhinoceros horn’ as the correct translation, and ‘like the rhinoceros’ as wrong. The present article critically discusses Norman’s reasons, concluding that the expression khaggavisāṇa may be regarded as a deliberately ambiguous compound meaning both the rhinoceros and its horn, or perhaps as a single expression meaning ‘rhinoceros’. The zoological facts are considered, as well as the difficult etymology of khaggavisāṇa, its contextual meaning, its meaning in Jain parallels, and its discussion i...

BS: "Mendicants, these two extremes should not be cultivated by one who has gone forth. What two? BB: "Bhikkhus, these two extremes should not be followed by one who has gone forth into homelessness. What two? PME KEY: "There are these two extremes, O monks, that a monk (lit. one who has gone forth to homeless life) should not follow (lit. not to be followed by a monk). What are the two?  Sevitabba: ptp of sevati [√sev (serve, associate) + itabba (kicca)] Antonym: asevitabba, parivajjetabba = should be associated with; should be affiliated with; should be partaken of; lit. to be associated Dveme, bhikkhave, antā pabbajitena na sevitabbā.-(passive sentence) Passive gerundive expressing moral obligation Pabbajitena = is an agent declined in instrumental 4. Yo cāyaṃ kāmesu kāmasukhallikānuyogo hīno gammo pothujjaniko anariyo anatthasaṁhito, 4. Yo cāyaṃ ca + ayaṃ (sandhi) Kāmesu Kāmasukhallikānuyogo Kāma (sense pleasure) + sukhallika (sensual happiness/ sensual enjoyment) + anuyogo (pursuit of) Relative pronoun, Conj/ind + demo pro Locative Adhikaraṇa-kāraka Comp, chaṭṭhī tappurisa (kāmasukhallikāya + anuyoga). Sukhallika: [√sukh (please, be comfortable) + a + lla > sukhalla + ikā (taddhita suffix)] -# CD: pg106 -an adjectival suffix indicating indulgence or fondness. Anuyogo: prefix: anu (after, along) + yoga (yoking, joining, application) # CD: pg 84 = pursuit of M,nom,sg Conj/ind + demo pro,

for their expertise, support, and willingness to advise me in my research process. Their suggestions have been very helpful to my dissertation. I would also like to thank Dr. Nuananong Bunjaroonsilp, Dr. Panwadee Putawatana, Dr. Umaporn Bonnyasopun, Dr. Umaporn Suthutvoravut, and Dr. Sakda Pruenglampoo for their comments and recommendations on the content validity of all questionnaires used in this study. I have a special thank you to Dr. Stein for being my kind and patient mentor as well as providing me with experience in her research team during my study time at University of Michigan School of Nursing. Thank you to the professors and secretaries at the University of Michigan School of Nursing and also at Faculty of Nursing, Mahidol University for their support and cooperation. I wish to acknowledge my classmates at Mahidol University and also my friends at University of Michigan for their support, sharing, and friendship. They all gave me a wonderful time during my educational period. I wish to thank all the school directors and teachers of the targeted secondary schools for their generous support and facilitation during the data collection period. Their assistance will be remembered. The ultimate thank is offered to all students who were willing to participate in this study as well as their parents who approved their participation. This study would have been unfeasible without them. I would like to thank the Thai Government for its financial support of my study. Thank you to the Thai Health Promotion Foundation for supporting research funding for my study. My deep gratitude goes to all members in Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Mahidol University, for giving me a study leave and sharing my workload for a long time. Lastly and most importantly, I wish to thank my parents, my sister and my in-laws for their generous support and understanding. I also would like to acknowledge my husband for his understanding, encouragement, and sharing my hard time throughout this long process. Thank you Gun, my beloved son, for your tolerance and resilience during my absence in Michigan.

Ven. Mahendra (Pāli: Mahinda; c. 285 BC – 205 BC), the son of
Emperor Aśoka and a revered Buddhist monk, played a pivotal role
in propagating Buddhism beyond the Indian borders. His mission
took him to Siṁhala (present day Sri Lanka), where he is believed
to have introduced Buddhism to the island nation. However, the
exact location of his hermitage in Patna had remained a mystery for
centuries.
This discovery occurred during personal exploration as a part
of a project funded by the Chinese Social Science Fund, People’s
Republic of China, between 2018 to 2023 in Patna. This paper will
be a humble attempt to unearth the remains of a Buddhist hermitage
that is believed to be associated with Ven. Mahendra, which is based
on Ven. Faxian (法顯; 337 CE – 422 CE), Xuanzang (玄奘; 602
CE – 664 CE), Colonial records, and local legends. These findings
include a small ancient shrine, a local legend that date back to the
Aśokan era. The site provides valuable historical insights into the
life and legends of Ven. Mahendra in Pāṭaliputra before heading to
Sri Lanka.
The recent discovery of the lost hermitage place of Ven.