Thūpavaṃsa

Contents

The Thupavamsa follows the structure of the Mahavamsa and other Pali chronicles- it begins with the story of past Buddhas, describes the life of Buddha Shakyamuni, Ashoka's missions, and the arrival of various Buddha relics and a sapling of the Bodhi tree in Sri Lanka.[3] It was composed in Sanskritized Pali typical of the era in Sri Lanka.[3]

The second half of the book is devoted to describing the reign of King Dutugamunu, focusing on his construction of the Mahathupa ('Great Stupa') at Anuradhapura.[3] The relics enshrined in the stupa are traced back to the division of relics recorded in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta.[1]

The Thupavamsa overlaps significantly with the Mahabodhivamsa, and portions of it are included in the extended (or Kambodian) Mahavamsa.[2] Material for the Thupavamsa seems to have been borrowed from the Mahavamsa, Jataka-Nidana-katha, Samanta-pasadika, and the Mahavamsa commentary.[3]

The colophon of the Pali version identifies its author, Vācissara, listing several Sinhala compositions attributed to him and describing him as a relative or dependent of King Parakrama.[2] Vācissara seems to be the same individual who was a senior Sangha leader under Vijaya-Bahu III, and whose name is included in a listing of learned monks and laymen in the Raja-ratnakara.[3] Vācissara identifies two works that he relied on in composing the Thupavamsa, an unknown Sinhala chronicle and an older Pali text identified with the lost Cetiya-vamsattha-kathathat by scholars.[3]

Two versions of the Thupavamsa are preserved, one in Pali and one in Sinhala.[2] The Sinhala version seems to be an expansion of the Pali chronicle, but the situation is complicated by the fact that both existent versions seem to have relied on earlier, Sinhala language sources in addition to the Mahavamsa and its commentary.[2] Some 19th Century scholars suggested that the Sinhala Thupavamsa was actually the earlier work and the Sinhala source of the Pali version, but this possibility is now discounted by scholars.[3] The Sinhala version identifies its author as Parakrama Pandita, whose name appears in a list of 'learned laymen' composed in the 13th Century.[3]

Translation and publication History
  • The Chronicle of the Thupa and the Thupavamsa, Being a Translation and Edition of Vacissaratthera's Thupavamsa. N.A. Jayawickrama, London 1971.
gollark: > I wonder if it would be possible to engineer a contagious bacteria with rapid reproductive rates to produce a fast acting psychoactive compound when undergoing cellular division, similar to how cholera produces cholera toxin. It would be an interesting non lethal bio weapon that could incapacitate enemy forces in a few hoursIt seems like it's getting cheaper and easier for people to genetically engineer bacteria and stuff, so I worry that within a few decades it will be easy enough that people will just do this sort of thing for funlolz.
gollark: I think I remember this being discussed before? Spirit complained about it.
gollark: Talking about where to get them might be, or at least might cause them to complain.
gollark: Based on advanced "ctrl+F" technology, there's nothing specifically about drugs or whatever (would be weird if there was) but just "no doing illegal things". *Talking* about drugs is not illegal.
gollark: There's a specific no-explosives rule, there isn't a specific no-talking-about-drugs one (though I Imagine Discord TOS would forbid some related stuff).

References
  1. Von Hinüber, Oskar (1997). A Handbook of Pali Literature (1st Indian ed.). New Delhi: Munishiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 94. ISBN 81-215-0778-2.
  2. Geiger, Wilhelm (1908). The Dipavamsa & Mahavamsa & their Historical Development in Ceylon. Translated by Ethel M. Coomaraswamy. Colombo: H. C. Cottle. pp. 82–87.
  3. Malalasekera, G.P. (1928). The Pali Literature of Ceylon (1998 ed.). Colombo: Buddhist Publication Society of Sri Lanka. pp. 216–18. ISBN 9552401887.


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