About the Book
This book represents the whole of what is the best
in Buddhism. The Sutta-Nipata is an anthology and
contains among others, a large number of verses from the different Nikayas. The verses their in are edifying and inspiring and are revelations of truth.
The study of the Sutta-Nipata is important from
several points of view. It gives an authentic knowledge of the philosophical
and ethical teachings of the Buddha and of the ideals of a Buddhist monk. It
affords us a glimpse into the state of the Indian society some 2500 years ago.
It tells us good deals of religious sects like the Samanas
or the Brahamanas, and 'sometimes, in passing we find
a reference to certain customs of the people. This is the first time that it is
printed in Devanagari script. The other chief feature of the edition consists
in this attempt to supply the parallel passages of the gathas.
The present edition contains many indices which includes
index of Gods, Persons, Sects and Peoples, Index of Places, Rivers, Countries,
Mountains, Index of Similes and Metaphor, Index of subjects and Important
words.
Preface
My experience, during the last six years of teaching
Pali in Fergusson College, Poona, has led me to
believe that foreign scripts like Sinhalese or Burmese, or even Roman,
presented a great difficulty to students
at the beginning of their Pali studies, and that the publication of Devanagari editions
of as many Pali books as possible a, would go a long
way to make the study of Pali popular, both among the
students of Universities, as well as the readers of the public in general. My
friend and colleague, the late Prof. C. V. Rajawade
of Baroda, whose life was prematurely cut short in the spring of 1920 had informed me that he had already made a beginning to prepare a Devanagari edition of the Sutt a-Nipata, and I was under the
impression, when I had to write an obituary nota on him, in the Annals of the
Bhandarkar. Inatitute, Poona., published in July 1920
(vol. II Part I, p.84.85), that he had prepared an almost complete manuscript
of a Devanagari edition of the Sutta Nipata: But, when I could actually see the manuscripts left
behind by him, I found that he had prepared a copy of 1-77, 766-861, 976-1149 satanzas only. I thought it to be my
sacred duty to complete the 'work which he
had begun, and I requested his in the Principal V. K. Rajawada,
to allow me to male use of his manuscripts and complete the work. I am glad to
say that he readily consented; and left the manuscripts of his son at my
disposal, for which act of kindness, I am highly obliged to him.
I approached the University of Bombay to give me
some help, to enable me to complete the work left behind by the great Pali scholar, and publish it. I have a great pleasure to say that the syndicate
readily responded
and laid me
under deep obligations by promising to give me partial help.
I am greatly indebted to Pandit
Vidhushekhara Bhattacarya,
Principal, Vishvabharati, Santiniketan
& Bolpur, for having consented to write a
foreword to this book, which originated with our common friend. I must express
my thanks to Prof. N. K. Bhagwat, M. A. of St. Xavier"s.
College, Bombay, who made me several useful suggestions, and who could make it
possible for me to attach to the work a photo of the late Prof. Rajawado, I cannot forget to express my thanks to Pali students of Fergusson College, Poona, and especially
to Mr. K. B. Sat he, B. A., for having helped me, to a great extent in preparing the copy for the press. And, last but not least, I have to tender
my thanks to the Manager, Aryabhushana Press, Poona,
for the great pains he took in keeping the printing of this book as faultless
as possible.
Foreword
The Dhammapada of the
Buddhists, which is well- known
even to an ordinary reader, is now rightly included in the world literature. There is one work more, viz. the Suita
Nipata, in Pali, It holds rather a better position, but.
unfortunately, it is not yet so much appreciated as it should have been Indeed,·this single small book can sufficiently represent the whole of what is
the hest b Buddhism. One of the special
features of it is that it can hardly be
regarded as sectarian, and as such can sefely be placed
in everyone's hand. Like the Dhammapada, the
Sutta Nipata is an anthology and contains,
am on gathers, a large number of verses from
the different Nikayas.
The versos
therein are edifying and inspiring
and are revelations of truth. The language of
the book shows unmistakably that some portions
of it are far older than the Dhammapada.
Asoka in his Bhabra Edict says that whatever was said by the Buddha was
well-said; yet, he wants to" adduce those words of the Buddha, which
according to him, might be for the long endurance of the Good Law. He then
refers there to seven passages. expressing his desire
that the monks and nuns as well as the laity, male and female, should listen to them and understand them. One of these
seven passages is the Munigatha,'
the song of the
hermit.' This Munigatha is identical with the Munisutta, which the readers will find
in the following pages of our Sutta-nipata ( 1. 12, vv. 207-221). It can
thus rightly boast of containing at least one of the seven favourite passages
of Asoka. It may also be added here, as Fausboll observes, that the Sutta nipata
is "an important contribution to the right understanding of primitive
Buddhism, for we see here a picture
not of life in monasteries, hut of life of the hermits in its first stage. We have
before us not
the systematizing of thee later Buddhist-church, but the first germs of a system, the
fundamental ideas of which come out with sufficient clearness
.
The chief speciality of the present edition, by
Prof. Bapat, is that it is printed for the first time
in Devanagari characters. Pali works in Devanagari are badly wanted for Indian students, to whom
even the Roman characters are not suitable, as our own experience shows. I
discussed the matter, among others, with the late Prof. C. V. Rajwade, whose premature death has removed from us a real
worker in the field of Pali literature, and the
result was that he brought out a Devanagari edition of the first fifty Suttas (Mulapannasa) of the Majjhimanikaya with his friends. The
present editor, Prof. Bapat. It is unfortunate that he
could not survive to see the present edition of the Sutta-Nipata,
which he do much desired and attempted to prepare.
Introduction
What the Vedas are to
the Hindus, the Koran to the Mohomadens and the Bible
to the Christians, the Tipitaka (Sans. Tripitaka) is to the Buddhist. The Tipitaka
consist of the three Pitakas of baskets, which form
the Sacred Canon of the Buddhists. The three Pitakas
are the Sutta Pitaka, the Vinaya Pitaka and the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Sutta Pitaka purports to give, in
a popular and interesting form, the general discussions or discourses of the
Buddha or his disciples, on certain religious of philosophical tenets, or
ethical on certain religious or philosophical tenets, or ethical principles of
Buddhism. The Vinaya Pitaka
gives the rules and regulations for illustrate the occasions, when the buddha was forced to lay them down, or was driven, by force
of experience, to make certain modifications in not enticing or interesting to
those who are not initiated into the orthodox ways of its expression. The
inordinate love of an Indian mind for classifications, subdivisions and
enumerations is abundantly clear in the books of the Abhidhamma
Pitaka. The Study of these books involves a high
training of istellect and sharping
of memory.
All the books of the Tipitaka have not been composed at one and the same time.
They represent the literary activitities among the
Buddhist community, for about there centuries since Gotama Budda was accepted and recognised
as the leader of a new school of religious reform; that is to
say, since the foundation of his religious order -the Samgha.
A major part of the Samyutta and Anguttara
Nikavas is later than the Digha
and Majjhima. Nikayas. In the Anguttara, there is a sutta based upon the death of the wife of Munda, a king of Magadha, who began to rule some fort 7 years
after the Buddha's death. Some books of the Khuddska Nikaya
also clearly reveal traces of later origin Books like the Peta-Vatthu
and Vimana-Vatthu strike clearly distinct note. In the Peta-Vatthu (IV. 3.1.), the is a reference to a king Pingalaka,
who is said to have reigned at Surat, soma 200 years
after the Buddha. There is another reference (V. 2. ),
in the same, to an event !fifty-six: years after the Buddha's death.
Similar lines of growth are
discernible in the Vinave, .and Abhidhamma Pitakas also. One can
very easily see ,that the Parivara, the
fifth book of the Vinaya, is much
later -than the other four books of the same, and that the Katha-
Vatthu, also, is much later than the Dhamma-Sangani.
The traditional view of the
Buddhists is that, immediately after the death of the Buddha his disciples,
under the leader- ship of Maha-Kassapa, assembled at Rajagaha, and held a council of 500 -wise
men. They decided to bring together all the teachings of the
Buddha, and incorporat them
into some fixed literary form, in order to prevent, as far as
possible the cropping up of a serious difference of opinion, as to' whether any
particular thing was sanctioned, or not, by the
Buddha. King Ajatasattu helped these monks, and tradition
says that the Dhamma (which is interpreted by a
later commentator as including both the Sutta and Abhidhamma Pitakas ) was recited
by Ananda, who was that chosen by the Buddha to be his personal attendant,
and that the Vinaya was recited by Upali. A hundred years after this,
another Council of 700 wise ms n 'was held at Vasali, to
decide certain legal points which created a schism in the Buddhist Samgha, This time also the Tipitaka
was recited and the teachings of the Buddha were red acted. One hundred' and
thirty six years after this, i. e. two hundred and thirty-six year after
the death of the Buddha, in the reign of the great Emperor Asoka, a third
Council was had at Pataliputta, (modern Patana,) and, once more, there was a redaction
of all the literary·material that was available till
then. A special mention has been made of the Katha- Vatthu,
the last book of the Abhidaamma-Pitaka,
being recited by Moggali- putta
Tissa There, who presided over the deliberat ions of that Council.
These are the only three
Councils, which are recognised by the adherents of the The
rawada school ( who were
later on called as Hinayantsts ), to whom the Pali literature properly belongs.
Though western scholars, like Oldenberg and Karn; doubt the
traditional historicity of the First Council, I believe, we can
not deny the fact of such a Council itself. There is nothing unnatural
in that the followers of & founder of a religion should
assemble immediately after the death of their Master, to give a fixed literary
form to his teachings. On the contrary, it appears improbable that they should
at all have been indifferent to allow the teachings of their Master to perish,
through lack of 'zeal on their part. I, however, do not think it probable that
they could have recited all the existing books of the Tipitake,
either in the First, or Second Council, for the simple reason that the Canon,
as we have seen above, could not, then, have boon complete.
About the Book
This book represents the whole of what is the best
in Buddhism. The Sutta-Nipata is an anthology and
contains among others, a large number of verses from the different Nikayas. The verses their in are edifying and inspiring and are revelations of truth.
The study of the Sutta-Nipata is important from
several points of view. It gives an authentic knowledge of the philosophical
and ethical teachings of the Buddha and of the ideals of a Buddhist monk. It
affords us a glimpse into the state of the Indian society some 2500 years ago.
It tells us good deals of religious sects like the Samanas
or the Brahamanas, and 'sometimes, in passing we find
a reference to certain customs of the people. This is the first time that it is
printed in Devanagari script. The other chief feature of the edition consists
in this attempt to supply the parallel passages of the gathas.
The present edition contains many indices which includes
index of Gods, Persons, Sects and Peoples, Index of Places, Rivers, Countries,
Mountains, Index of Similes and Metaphor, Index of subjects and Important
words.
Preface
My experience, during the last six years of teaching
Pali in Fergusson College, Poona, has led me to
believe that foreign scripts like Sinhalese or Burmese, or even Roman,
presented a great difficulty to students
at the beginning of their Pali studies, and that the publication of Devanagari editions
of as many Pali books as possible a, would go a long
way to make the study of Pali popular, both among the
students of Universities, as well as the readers of the public in general. My
friend and colleague, the late Prof. C. V. Rajawade
of Baroda, whose life was prematurely cut short in the spring of 1920 had informed me that he had already made a beginning to prepare a Devanagari edition of the Sutt a-Nipata, and I was under the
impression, when I had to write an obituary nota on him, in the Annals of the
Bhandarkar. Inatitute, Poona., published in July 1920
(vol. II Part I, p.84.85), that he had prepared an almost complete manuscript
of a Devanagari edition of the Sutta Nipata: But, when I could actually see the manuscripts left
behind by him, I found that he had prepared a copy of 1-77, 766-861, 976-1149 satanzas only. I thought it to be my
sacred duty to complete the 'work which he
had begun, and I requested his in the Principal V. K. Rajawada,
to allow me to male use of his manuscripts and complete the work. I am glad to
say that he readily consented; and left the manuscripts of his son at my
disposal, for which act of kindness, I am highly obliged to him.
I approached the University of Bombay to give me
some help, to enable me to complete the work left behind by the great Pali scholar, and publish it. I have a great pleasure to say that the syndicate
readily responded
and laid me
under deep obligations by promising to give me partial help.
I am greatly indebted to Pandit
Vidhushekhara Bhattacarya,
Principal, Vishvabharati, Santiniketan
& Bolpur, for having consented to write a
foreword to this book, which originated with our common friend. I must express
my thanks to Prof. N. K. Bhagwat, M. A. of St. Xavier"s.
College, Bombay, who made me several useful suggestions, and who could make it
possible for me to attach to the work a photo of the late Prof. Rajawado, I cannot forget to express my thanks to Pali students of Fergusson College, Poona, and especially
to Mr. K. B. Sat he, B. A., for having helped me, to a great extent in preparing the copy for the press. And, last but not least, I have to tender
my thanks to the Manager, Aryabhushana Press, Poona,
for the great pains he took in keeping the printing of this book as faultless
as possible.
Foreword
The Dhammapada of the
Buddhists, which is well- known
even to an ordinary reader, is now rightly included in the world literature. There is one work more, viz. the Suita
Nipata, in Pali, It holds rather a better position, but.
unfortunately, it is not yet so much appreciated as it should have been Indeed,·this single small book can sufficiently represent the whole of what is
the hest b Buddhism. One of the special
features of it is that it can hardly be
regarded as sectarian, and as such can sefely be placed
in everyone's hand. Like the Dhammapada, the
Sutta Nipata is an anthology and contains,
am on gathers, a large number of verses from
the different Nikayas.
The versos
therein are edifying and inspiring
and are revelations of truth. The language of
the book shows unmistakably that some portions
of it are far older than the Dhammapada.
Asoka in his Bhabra Edict says that whatever was said by the Buddha was
well-said; yet, he wants to" adduce those words of the Buddha, which
according to him, might be for the long endurance of the Good Law. He then
refers there to seven passages. expressing his desire
that the monks and nuns as well as the laity, male and female, should listen to them and understand them. One of these
seven passages is the Munigatha,'
the song of the
hermit.' This Munigatha is identical with the Munisutta, which the readers will find
in the following pages of our Sutta-nipata ( 1. 12, vv. 207-221). It can
thus rightly boast of containing at least one of the seven favourite passages
of Asoka. It may also be added here, as Fausboll observes, that the Sutta nipata
is "an important contribution to the right understanding of primitive
Buddhism, for we see here a picture
not of life in monasteries, hut of life of the hermits in its first stage. We have
before us not
the systematizing of thee later Buddhist-church, but the first germs of a system, the
fundamental ideas of which come out with sufficient clearness
.
The chief speciality of the present edition, by
Prof. Bapat, is that it is printed for the first time
in Devanagari characters. Pali works in Devanagari are badly wanted for Indian students, to whom
even the Roman characters are not suitable, as our own experience shows. I
discussed the matter, among others, with the late Prof. C. V. Rajwade, whose premature death has removed from us a real
worker in the field of Pali literature, and the
result was that he brought out a Devanagari edition of the first fifty Suttas (Mulapannasa) of the Majjhimanikaya with his friends. The
present editor, Prof. Bapat. It is unfortunate that he
could not survive to see the present edition of the Sutta-Nipata,
which he do much desired and attempted to prepare.
Introduction
What the Vedas are to
the Hindus, the Koran to the Mohomadens and the Bible
to the Christians, the Tipitaka (Sans. Tripitaka) is to the Buddhist. The Tipitaka
consist of the three Pitakas of baskets, which form
the Sacred Canon of the Buddhists. The three Pitakas
are the Sutta Pitaka, the Vinaya Pitaka and the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Sutta Pitaka purports to give, in
a popular and interesting form, the general discussions or discourses of the
Buddha or his disciples, on certain religious of philosophical tenets, or
ethical on certain religious or philosophical tenets, or ethical principles of
Buddhism. The Vinaya Pitaka
gives the rules and regulations for illustrate the occasions, when the buddha was forced to lay them down, or was driven, by force
of experience, to make certain modifications in not enticing or interesting to
those who are not initiated into the orthodox ways of its expression. The
inordinate love of an Indian mind for classifications, subdivisions and
enumerations is abundantly clear in the books of the Abhidhamma
Pitaka. The Study of these books involves a high
training of istellect and sharping
of memory.
All the books of the Tipitaka have not been composed at one and the same time.
They represent the literary activitities among the
Buddhist community, for about there centuries since Gotama Budda was accepted and recognised
as the leader of a new school of religious reform; that is to
say, since the foundation of his religious order -the Samgha.
A major part of the Samyutta and Anguttara
Nikavas is later than the Digha
and Majjhima. Nikayas. In the Anguttara, there is a sutta based upon the death of the wife of Munda, a king of Magadha, who began to rule some fort 7 years
after the Buddha's death. Some books of the Khuddska Nikaya
also clearly reveal traces of later origin Books like the Peta-Vatthu
and Vimana-Vatthu strike clearly distinct note. In the Peta-Vatthu (IV. 3.1.), the is a reference to a king Pingalaka,
who is said to have reigned at Surat, soma 200 years
after the Buddha. There is another reference (V. 2. ),
in the same, to an event !fifty-six: years after the Buddha's death.
Similar lines of growth are
discernible in the Vinave, .and Abhidhamma Pitakas also. One can
very easily see ,that the Parivara, the
fifth book of the Vinaya, is much
later -than the other four books of the same, and that the Katha-
Vatthu, also, is much later than the Dhamma-Sangani.
The traditional view of the
Buddhists is that, immediately after the death of the Buddha his disciples,
under the leader- ship of Maha-Kassapa, assembled at Rajagaha, and held a council of 500 -wise
men. They decided to bring together all the teachings of the
Buddha, and incorporat them
into some fixed literary form, in order to prevent, as far as
possible the cropping up of a serious difference of opinion, as to' whether any
particular thing was sanctioned, or not, by the
Buddha. King Ajatasattu helped these monks, and tradition
says that the Dhamma (which is interpreted by a
later commentator as including both the Sutta and Abhidhamma Pitakas ) was recited
by Ananda, who was that chosen by the Buddha to be his personal attendant,
and that the Vinaya was recited by Upali. A hundred years after this,
another Council of 700 wise ms n 'was held at Vasali, to
decide certain legal points which created a schism in the Buddhist Samgha, This time also the Tipitaka
was recited and the teachings of the Buddha were red acted. One hundred' and
thirty six years after this, i. e. two hundred and thirty-six year after
the death of the Buddha, in the reign of the great Emperor Asoka, a third
Council was had at Pataliputta, (modern Patana,) and, once more, there was a redaction
of all the literary·material that was available till
then. A special mention has been made of the Katha- Vatthu,
the last book of the Abhidaamma-Pitaka,
being recited by Moggali- putta
Tissa There, who presided over the deliberat ions of that Council.
These are the only three
Councils, which are recognised by the adherents of the The
rawada school ( who were
later on called as Hinayantsts ), to whom the Pali literature properly belongs.
Though western scholars, like Oldenberg and Karn; doubt the
traditional historicity of the First Council, I believe, we can
not deny the fact of such a Council itself. There is nothing unnatural
in that the followers of & founder of a religion should
assemble immediately after the death of their Master, to give a fixed literary
form to his teachings. On the contrary, it appears improbable that they should
at all have been indifferent to allow the teachings of their Master to perish,
through lack of 'zeal on their part. I, however, do not think it probable that
they could have recited all the existing books of the Tipitake,
either in the First, or Second Council, for the simple reason that the Canon,
as we have seen above, could not, then, have boon complete.