Pali literature explained

Pali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali (IAST: pāl̤i) is the traditional language. The earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the Pāli Canon, the authoritative scriptures of Theravada school.

Pali literature includes numerous genres, including Suttas (Buddhist discourses), Vinaya (monastic discipline), Abhidhamma (philosophy), poetry, history, philology, hagiography, scriptural exegesis, and meditation manuals.

History

The Pali language is a composite language which draws on various Middle Indo-Aryan languages.^[1]

Much of the extant Pali literature is from Sri Lanka, which became the headquarters of Theravada for centuries. Most extant Pali literature was written and composed there, though some was also produced in outposts in South India.^[2] Most of the oldest collection of Pali Literature, the Pali Canon, was committed to writing in Sri Lanka at about the first century BCE (though it contains material that is much older, possibly dating to the period of pre-sectarian Buddhism).^{[3] [4] [5]}

At around the start of the common era, some of the earliest Pali commentaries and exegetical manuals (which are now sometimes included within the Pali Canon itself) were written, mainly the Suttavibhanga, Niddesa, Nettipakarana and Petakopadesa.^[6] Other works like the Cariyapitaka, the Buddhavamsa and the Apadana may also belong to this post-Asokan period.^[7]

During the first millennium, Pali literature consisted of two major genres: histories (vamsa) and commentaries (atthakatha). The histories include the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa, which are verse chronicles of Buddhism in India and Sri Lanka.

The commentarial works include the writings of Buddhaghosa (4th or 5th century CE), who wrote the influential Visuddhimagga along with various commentaries on the Pali Canon. Several other commentators worked after Buddhaghosa, such as Buddhadatta (c. fifth century), Ananda (sixth century), Dhammapala (at some point before the 12th century) and other anonymous commentators which we do not know by name.

The reform period between the 10th to 13th centuries saw an explosion of new Pali literature.^[2] Part of the impulse behind these literary efforts was the fear that warfare on the island could lead to the decline of Buddhism.^[8] This literature includes the work of prominent scholars such as Anuruddha, Sumangala, Siddhattha, Sāriputta Thera, Mahākassapa of Dimbulagala and Moggallana Thera.^{[9] [10]}

They worked on compiling subcommentaries to the Tipitaka, grammars, summaries and textbooks on Abhidhamma and Vinaya such as the influential Abhidhammattha-sangaha of Anuruddha. They also wrote kavya style Pali poetry and philological works. Their work owed much to the influence of Sanskrit grammar and poetics, particularly as interpreted by the Sri Lankan scholar Ratnamati. During this period, these new Pali doctrinal works also show an increasing awareness of topics found in Sanskrit Buddhist Mahayana literature.^[11]

From the 15th century onwards, Pali literature has been dominated by Burma, though some has also been written in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, as well as Ceylon. This Burmese literature has in turn been dominated by writings directly or indirectly concerned with the Abhidhamma Pitaka, the part of the Canon variously described as philosophy, psychology, metaphysics etc.

Canonical and post-canonical Pali literature

Pali Tipitaka

See main article: Pali Canon. The earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the Pali Tipitaka, the main scripture collection of the Theravada school. These are of Indian origin, and were written down during the reign of Vattagamani Abhaya (29—17 B.C.) in Sri Lanka.^[12]

The Tipitaka ("Triple Basket"), also known as Pali Canon, is divided into three "baskets" (Pali: ):^[13]

1. Vinaya Piṭaka (Basket of the Monastic Discipline)
   1. Suttavibhaṅga

Pāṭimokkha (a list of rules for monastics) and commentary

1. 1. Khandhaka

22 chapters on various topics

1. 1. Parivāra

analyses of rules from various points of view

1. Sutta Piṭaka (Basket of Sayings/Discourses), mostly ascribed to the Buddha, but some to his disciples.
   1. Digha Nikāya, the "long" discourses.
   2. Majjhima Nikāya, the "middle-length" discourses.
   3. Saṁyutta Nikāya, the "connected" discourses.
   4. Anguttara Nikāya, the "numerical" discourses.
   5. Khuddaka Nikāya, the "minor collection".
2. Abhidhamma Piṭaka (Basket of Abhidhamma, i.e. Philosophical Psychology). According to K.R. Norman, "It is clear that the Abhidhamma is later than the rest of the canon."^[14]
   1. Dhammasaṅganī
   2. Vibhaṅga
   3. Dhātukathā
   4. Puggalapaññatti
   5. Kathāvatthu
   6. Yamaka
   7. Paṭṭhāna

Paracanonical texts

See main article: Paracanonical texts.

Paracanonical texts are works written after the closure of the canon. One of the collections of paracanonical books is the quasi-canonical texts.

Quasi-canonical texts

"Quasi-canonical texts" is used by Western scholars to refer to various texts on the fringes of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism, usually to refer to the following texts sometimes regarded as included in the Pali Canon's Khuddaka Nikaya The first two of these texts are present in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Burmese and Sri Lankan Tipitaka but not in the Thai edition. The third text is included only in the Burmese edition. The fourth text is included only in the Sinhalese edition. They are also not mentioned by Buddhaghosa as being part of the canon.^[15]

1. Nettipakarana - "The Book of Guidance", a work on exegesis and hermeneutics
2. Petakopadesa - "Instruction on the Pitaka", another text on exegesis and hermeneutics
3. Milindapañha - The Questions of King Milinda. A dialogue between a monk and an Indo-Greek king.
4. Suttasaṃgaha - A collection of important suttas from the Tipitaka

In the common editions known to the modern Buddhist world, the Nettipakaraṇa, Peṭakopadesa, and Milindapañha are generally considered to be part of the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Sutta Piṭaka.

Other paracanonical texts

Other paracanonical works include the commentaries (aṭṭhakathā), the Visuddhimagga, and the historical works..^{[16] [17]} There are also apocryphal suttas like:

1. Mahādibbamanta
2. Unhisavijayasutta
3. Ākāravattārasutta
4. Mahameghasutta

Commentaries

See main article: Atthakatha. A collection of Pali Commentaries (Atthakatha) were written in Sri Lanka by various (some anonymous) authors, such as Buddhagosa, Dhammapala, Mahanama, Upasena, and Buddhadatta. Buddhagosa writes that he based his commentaries on older works which were brought to Sri Lanka when Buddhism first arrived there, and were translated into Sinhalese. K.R. Norman has written that there is evidence that some parts of the commentaries are very old.^[18]

Sub-commentaries

See main article: Sub-commentaries (Theravāda). Sub-commentarial works called Tikas are secondary commentaries, that is to say, commentaries on the Atthakathas. Dhammapala is one early author of tikas. He is particularly known for his Paramatthamañjusa, a sub-commentary on the Visuddhimagga.^[19]

Classical commentarial and doctrinal works (5th century)

Buddhaghosa

• Visuddhimagga – A comprehensive and influential manual of Theravāda doctrine and meditation practice. Considered Buddhaghosa’s magnum opus.

Buddhadatta

• Vinayavinicchaya – A verse summary of the first four books of the Vinaya.
• Uttaravinicchaya – A verse summary of the Parivāra, the final book of the Vinaya.
• Abhidhammavatara – An early effort at summarizing the doctrines in the Abhidhamma.
• Ruparupa-vibhaga – A short manual on Abhidhamma.

Summaries and manuals on monastic discipline

• Khuddasikkha and Mulasikkha – Brief verse summaries on monastic discipline, used for basic training.
• Simalankara – A treatise dealing with monastic boundaries (sima).

Acariya Anuruddha

• Abhidhammattha-sangaha – A concise and popular summary of the Abhidhamma, widely used as an introductory text (11th–12th century).
• Namarupa-pariccheda – A verse introduction to the Abhidhamma.
• Paramattha-vinicchaya – Attributed to Acariya Anuruddha; K.R. Norman suggests it may be the work of a different Anuruddha.^[20]

Other authors

• Saccasankhepa – By Culla-Dhammapala, a short treatise on Abhidhamma ("Elements of Truth") (7th century).
• Khemappakarana – By the nun Khema, a brief manual on the Abhidhamma.
• Mohavicchedani – By Mahakassapa of the Chola dynasty, a guide to the matikas (topics) of the seven books of the Abhidhamma (12th century).
• Nāmacāradīpikā – By Chappata (15th century).

Lay instruction and applied teachings

• Upasaka-janalankara – By Sihala Acariya Ananda Mahathera, a manual on the Buddha's teachings for lay disciples (Upāsakas) (13th century).
• Bhesajjamanjusa – A medical treatise from Sri Lanka integrating Buddhist knowledge (13th century).

Esoteric and meditation manuals

• Yogāvacara's manual – A Sri Lankan meditation manual (c. 16th–17th century) associated with Esoteric Theravāda (Borān-kammaṭṭhāna).
• Amatākaravaṇṇanā – An extensive esoteric meditation manual compiled by Kandyan Sinhalese students of Thai esoteric masters (c. 18th century).^[21]

Historical chronicles

See main article: Vamsa.

The following include various Buddhist historical chronicles (vamsa), organized by theme and time period:^[22]

Classical Sri Lankan chronicles

• Dipavamsa – "The Island Chronicle", the earliest extant Sri Lankan chronicle (4th century).
• Mahavamsa – "The Great Chronicle", composed by the monk Mahanama (6th century).
• Culavamsa – "The Lesser Chronicle", a continuation of the Mahavamsa.
• Vamsatthappakasini – A 6th-century commentary on the Mahavamsa.

Regional variants

• Cambodian Mahavamsa – A local expansion of the Mahavamsa, nearly double in length and including additional narratives.^[23]

Monument and relic chronicles

• Thupavamsa – By Vacissara (12th century), a chronicle of the Great Stupa in Anuradhapura.
• Dathavamsa – By Dhammakitti, focuses on relics such as the tooth relic.
• Chakesadhatuvamsa – A 14th-century history of the six stupas enshrining the Buddha’s hair relics.
• Hatthavanagallavihāravaṃsa - Chronicle text dealing with the history of the temple at Attanagalla, Sri Lanka. (13th century C.E.)
• Sihinganidāna - Chronicle of the Phra Buddha Sihing image of Lanna by the elder Mahathera Bodhiramsi in the 15th century.
• Ratanabimbavaṃsa - 15th century chronicle of the Emerald Buddha image of Lanna.

Biographical and poetic chronicles

• Samantakutavannana – By Vedehathera, a poem in 796 stanzas on the Buddha’s life and visits to Sri Lanka.
• Hatthavanagalla-viharavamsa – A 13th-century biography of King Sirisanghabodhi (r. 247–249 CE).
• Braḥ Māleyyadevattheravatthuṃ - A narrative of the travels of the monk Māleyyadeva
• Buddhaghosuppatti - Mahāmaṅgala, Story of Buddhagosa (Burma, 15th century)

Cosmological texts

• Candasuriyagati-dīpani – A Buddhist cosmological treatise.
• Loka-dīpanī – Another text on Buddhist cosmology.
• Lokapaññatti – A work on Theravāda cosmology, largely derived from the Sanskrit Lokaprajñapti.^[24]

Literary and ecclesiastical histories

• Saddhamma-sangaha – By Dhammakitti Mahasami (14th century), a literary and ecclesiastical history of Buddhism.
• Saddhammasangaha – A separate work providing historical and bibliographical information on Buddhist texts and authors.^[25]

Later period texts

• Sandesakatha - Late historical text dealing in part with the relationship between Sri Lanka and Burma in medieval times. (19th century C.E.)

Poetry (mostly hagiographical)

Most Sinhalese Pali poetry is in kavya style, heavily influenced by Sanskrit literary conventions.^[26]

Early and classical poetry

• Mahabodhivamsa – By Upatissa (10th century), a historical poem focused on the Bodhi Tree and its veneration.
• Telakaṭāhagāthā – "The Oil-Cauldron Verses", a collection of Sri Lankan poems centered on a monk thrown into boiling oil for his convictions.
• Jinalankara – By Buddharakkhita (12th century), a 278-verse poem on the life of the Buddha.
• Anagatavamsa – By Mahākassapa of the Cola region (12th century), a narrative on the coming Buddha, Maitreya.^[27]
• Dasabodhisattuppattikatha – "Birth Stories of the Ten Bodhisattas".
• Dasabodhisattuddesa – Another collection of verses detailing the births of the Ten Bodhisattas.

Medieval to early modern period

• Jinacarita – By Medhankara (13th century), a 472-verse poetic biography of the Buddha.
• Pajjamadhu – By Buddhapiya Dipankara (13th century), a poem on the beauty and virtues of the Buddha.
• Samantakutavannana – By Vedeha (13th century), a poetic life story of the Bodhisatta Siddhattha and his visits to Sri Lanka.
• Pañcagatidīpanī – A didactic poem describing the five types of rebirth in Buddhist cosmology.
• Saddhammopāyana – A devotional work comprising 629 verses in praise of the Dhamma.

Modern period

• Jinavamsadipani – By Moratuve Medhananda Thera (1917), an epic 2000-verse poem narrating the Buddha’s life and teachings.
• Mahākassapacarita – By Widurapola Piyatissa (1934), a 1500-verse poem on the life of Mahākāśyapa, one of the Buddha’s chief disciples.

Edifying tales

A genre which consists of stories in mixed prose and verse, often focusing on the advantages of giving (dana).^[28]

• Dasavatthuppakarana
• Sihalavatthuppakarana
• Sahassavatthuppakarana
• Rasavahini

Linguistic works

Works on Pali language, mostly grammar.^[29]

• Abhidhānappadīpikā, Pali dictionary composed in the 12th century by the Sinhalese bhikkhu Moggallāna Thera.
• Kaccāyana-vyākarana, Date is unknown but after Buddhaghosa. It's the earliest and most influential grammar of Pali.
• Nyasa, or Mukhamattadipani by Vimalabuddhi (11th century), a commentary on Kaccayana's Grammar.
• Suttaniddesa or Nyasapradipa by Chapata or Saddhammajoti-pala
• Kaccayana-sara, ab abridgement of Kaccayana's Grammar written by Dhammananda
• Rupasiddhi, a re-arrangement of Kaccāyana-vyākarana
• Balavatara, a re-arrangement of Kaccāyana-vyākarana
• Moggallayana-vyakarana a.k.a. Saddalakkhana, and the auto-commentary Moggallayanapañcika is a new Pali grammar by Moggallana who created a new school of grammar c. 12th century.
• Saddanīti, by Aggavaṃsa of Arimaddana, an influential Pali grammar; Burma (c. 1154 CE). K.R. Norman calls it "the greatest of extant Pali grammars." It draws on Kaccayana and Panini.^[30]

Poetics and prosody

Works on poetics and prosody.^[31]

• Subodhalankara of Sangharakkhita (12th century), a work on poetics
• Vuttodaya, a work on Pali meter by Sangharakkhita
• Sambandhacinta by Sangharakkhita, a work on verbs and syntax

Non-canonical Jataka collections

These are jataka collections that are outside of the Pali Canon:^[32]

• Paññāsa Jātaka^[33]
• Sudhanukumara jataka
• Kosala-bimba-vannana, a story told in Jataka style about Buddha statues

Gāthās and devotional material

• Jinapanjara Gatha
• Narasīha Gāthā
• Dhammakāyānussati Gāthā
• Sabbapattidāna Gāthā
• Devatādipattidāna Gāthā
• Uddissanādhiṭṭhāna Gāthā
• Dhammagārav’ādi Gāthā
• Jalanandana Paritta
• Anavum Paritta
• Aṭṭhavīsati Paritta

Anthologies

Anthologies of various texts on different topics:^{[34] [35]}

• Mahaparitta - A small collection of texts taken from the Suttapitaka
• Suttasamgaha - A selection of texts from the Tripitaka
• Sarasangaha^[35] - Siddhattha, A "manual of Dhamma" in prose and verse (13th century)
• Upasakajanalankara^[35]

Burmese Pali literature

• Dhammasattha - A Southeast Asian genre of Buddhist law
• Dhammaniti, Lokaniti, Maharahaniti, and Rajaniti, collections of aphorisms of worldly wisdom (niti).^[36]
• Gandhavamsa - Catalog of ancient Buddhist commentators (19th century).^[37]
• Sāsanavaṃsa, written in 1861 by Paññasami, a history of Buddhism, including Burmese Buddhism.^[38]
• Sima-vivada-vinichaya-katha (19th century)
• Visuddhiñana-katha (The Progress of Insight) by Mahasi Sayadaw, originally in Burmese, translated to Pali (1950).

Thai Pali literature

• Cāmadevivaṃsa
• Cakkavaladipani, a work on cosmology, c. 1520.^[36]
• Jinakalamali - A Thai Buddhist Chronicle, by a Thai elder named Ratapañña (16th century)
• Sangitivamsa - A Thai Chronicle, focusing on the various Buddhist councils (sangiti) from the 18th century
• Dhammavibhāga, by Vajirañāṇavarorasa (19th century)

See also

• Early Buddhist Texts
• Pāli Canon
• Sutta Piṭaka
• Vinaya Piṭaka
• Abhidhamma Piṭaka
• Anupitaka
• Pali Text Society
• Palm-leaf manuscript
• List of Pali Canon anthologies
• List of suttas

Further reading

• Bode, Mabel Haynes The Pali Literature of Burma, Royal Asiatic Society, London, 1909.
• Collins, Steven Nirvana and other Buddhist Felicities: Utopias of the Pali imaginaire, Cambridge University Press, 1998 (paperback edition 2006).
• Norman, K.R. Pali Literature, Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1983
• Hinüber, Oscar v. Handbook of Pali Literature, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 1996
• Warren (ed & tr), Buddhism in Translations, Harvard University Press, 1896
• Malalasekera, G.P. The Pali Literature of Ceylon, Colombo 1928; Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, 1994 (see http://www.bps.lk)
• Book: Webb. Russell. An Analysis of the Pali Canon. Buddhist Publication Society. Kandy, Sri Lanka. 9552400481. 2015-02-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20150212004026/http://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh217-p.html. 2015-02-12. dead.
• Wallis, Glenn, Buddhavacana: A Pali Reader(Onalaska, Wash: Pariyatti Press, 2011)
• Hammalawa Saddhatissa, Pali literature of South-East Asia, Colombo, Buddhist Cultural Centre, Dehiwala, 2004(see https://www.buddhistcc.com/)

External links

• Bhikkhu Nyanatusita Comprehensive Reference Table of Pali Literature
• Large collection of Pali literature in the original
• huge collection of canonical and post-canonical pali literature, some of the texts absent at tipitaka.org
• John Bullitt (2002)"Beyond the Tipitaka: A Field Guide to Post-canonical Pali Literature,"
• List of texts in Pāli by the Pali Text Society.

Notes and References

1. Norman, Kenneth Roy (1983). Pali Literature. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 2–3. .
2. Gornall, Alastair (2020). Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 3-4. UCL Press.
3. Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 1990, p. 3.
4. Tse-Fu Kuan. Mindfulness in similes in Early Buddhist literature in Edo Shonin, William Van Gordon, Nirbhay N. Singh. Buddhist Foundations of Mindfulness, page 267.
5. Gornall, Alastair (2020). Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, p. 38. UCL Press.
6. Gornall, Alastair (2020). Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 38-39. UCL Press.
7. Gornall, Alastair (2020). Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 39-41. UCL Press.
8. Gornall, Alastair (2020). Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 5-6. UCL Press.
9. Perera, HR; Buddhism in Sri Lanka A Short History, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, page
10. Gornall, Alastair (2020). Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 14-16. UCL Press.
11. Gornall, Alastair (2020). Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 29-30, 37. UCL Press.
12. Norman (1983), p. 10.
13. Norman (1983), pp. 18, 30, 96.
14. Norman (1983), p. 96.
15. Norman (1983), pp. 31, 108-113.
16. Web site: The Paracanonical Pali Texts. Access to Insight. 2025-10-25.
17. Web site: Beyond the Tipitaka: A Field Guide to Post-canonical Pali Literature. Access to Insight. 2025-10-25.
18. Norman (1983), p. 119.
19. Norman (1983), p. 148.
20. Norman (1983), p. 152
21. Crosby, Kate (2020). Esoteric Theravada: The Story of the Forgotten Meditation Tradition of Southeast Asia, Chapter 2. Shambhala Publications.
22. Norman (1983), pp. 137–145
23. Norman (1983), p. 140.
24. Norman (1983), p. 174.
25. Norman (1983), p. 179.
26. Norman (1983), pp. 156–
27. Book: Law, Bimala Churn . The Anāgatavaṃsa . 1935 . The Maha Bodhi Book Agency . Calcutta . 499383581.
28. Norman (1983), pp. 153-156
29. Norman (1983), pp. 163 -167.
30. Norman (1983), p. 164
31. Norman (1983), pp. 167-168.
32. Norman (1983), pp. 177-180
33. Book: Jaini, S. Padmanabh . Paññāsa Jātaka . 1981 . Pali Text Society . en.
34. Norman (1983), pp. 172-174
35. Young . Jonathan . August 2020 . Practical Canons from Buddhist Pasts: What Pāli Anthologies Can Tell Us about Buddhist History . Copp . Paul . Wedemeyer . Christian K. . Christian K. Wedemeyer . . . 60 . 1 . 37–64 . 10.1086/709167 . 0018-2710 . 00182710 . 224808404 . 64001081 . 299661763.
36. Norman (1983), p. 175
37. Norman (1983), p. 180
38. Norman (1983), pp. 181-182.