Chronology of the Commentary Colophons

Exploring the Dhamma, as understood from the perspective of the ancient Pali commentaries.
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Eko Care
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Chronology of the Commentary Colophons

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Chronology of the Commentary Colophons

King Parakramabahu II of Kingdom of Dambadeniya had written a Sinhala glossary (Sannaya) to Visuddhimagga within 1234 to 1269CE .
It is called Visuddhimárga-mahásannaya or Parákramabáhu-sannaya.
Ven. Nanamoli's Visuddhimagga Bibliography:
Sinhala: Visuddhimárga-mahásanne, ed. Ratanapala Medhankara et al, 2 vols., Kalutara, 1949. (Also called Parákramabáhu-sannaya. A Pali-Sinhala
paraphrase composed by King Pandita Parákramabáhu II in the 13th cent. CE.)
In this glossary the king had mentioned "the epilogue/colophon is written by a monk called Buddhamitta who was a student of Acariya Buddhagosa".
  • The king had mentioned the epilogue starting from "Vipula visuddha buddhina ..." an onwards as the addition of venerable Buddhamitta.
  • Furthermore the king had stated why the name of Acariya Buddhagosa is mentioned as "Buddhaghosoti garuhi gahita nama dheyyena" in this epilogue. The king had said this is because the student-monk can't mention the teacher-monk's name directly. (A convention practiced by Venerable Ananda towards his teacher Venerable Mahakassapa and said to be practiced by Sri Lankan forest monks even in the present day).
If there are any Sri Lankans here, they can help translating and posting this last pages of the book.
The Kingdom of Dambadeniya was a medieval kingdom in what is present day Sri Lanka. The kingdom's rulers reigned from 1220–1345.

King Parakramabahu II was the king who inherited the throne after King Vijayabahu. He was considered a genius, who was a great poet and a prolific writer. Among the books he wrote are Kausilumina, which is considered a great piece of literature. Unifying the three kingdoms that existed within Sri Lanka at that point of time is regarded as greatest achievement.

The Dambadeniya period is considered as the golden era of Sinhala literature.
Parakramabahu II wrote two books namely Visuddi Marga Sannasa and Kavisilumina.
Kingdom_of_Dambadeniya
Parakkamabahu II was King of Dambadeniya in the 13th century, who ruled from 1234 to 1269.
Parakramabahu_II_of_Dambadeniya
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