The main 3 grammars of Pali

Advanced Pali Grammar

The main 3 grammars of Pali

Submit to Dr. Kim Seori

By

Ashin Visuddha

Second year, First Semester,

Academic Year 2010

International Bachelor of Arts Degree Programmed

MCU, Wangnoi, Ayutthaya

The Pali grammars are classified under three schools.

They are namely,

(1) Kaccayana-Vyakarana

(2) Moggallana-Vyakarana

(3) Saddaniti

According to Burmese tradition there are four schools by adding the Saddasangaha as the fourth one.

Kaccayana-Vyakarana

Kaccayana-Vyakarana belongs to the oldest school of Pali grammatical tradition. It is so called, because it owns its origin to the teacher Kaccayana or Mahakaccayana. It is called variously as: Kaccayana-Vyakarana, kaccayana-pakarana,Kaccayana-yoga, Kaccayana-gandha etc.

The author was Mahakaccayana , a disciple of Lord Buddha. He was born at Ujjeni in the family of the Chaplain of Kind Candappajota, and was called Kaccayana because of his golden complexion.

(1) Kaccayana-pakarana: The word Kaccayana is used here as a mark of honor its author. The word Pakarana means performance, undertaking, paragraph, occasion, exposition, arrangement, literally work, composition, book.

(2) Kaccayana-Vyakarana: The word vyakarana here means grammar. Therefore this title means: Kaccayana’s grammar or the grammar written by Kaccayana.

(3) Kaccayna-yoga: The yoga here means aphorism. Therefore this title means: Kaccayana’s aphorism or aphorism written by Kaccayana.

Moggallana-Vyakarana

Moggallana-vyakarana is also called Saddalakkhana. This grammatical text belongs to a news school of Pali grammar and is considered as the up-to-date treatise on Pali grammar. The author was Moggallana a disciple of Mahakassapa of Udumbaragiri, who lived in the Thuparama Vihara at Anuradhapura and wrote his book during the reign of Pakkamababu. The king had purged the Sangha of all heretical bhikkhus, the even which took place in 1165 A.D. Therefore it is most probable that he had completed his work at least a few years after 1165 A.D.

Saddalakkhana consists of six chapters, namely, (1) terminology and euphonic combination (2) declension and syntax (3) compound and feminine terminations (4) nominal derivatives (5) verbal derivatives (6) verb or conjunction. There are several points of difference between the Moggallana and Kaccayana; e.g Moggallana says that there are forty three sounds not forty-one as given in Kaccayana and ten vowels (adding short e and o) not eight as given in Kaccayana etc.

Saddaniti

The Burmese monk named Aggavamsa of pagan who was tutor to the king Narapatisithu (1167-1202 AD) composed this test. The date of its composition is still in controversy, because the author does not give the date of composition either at the beginning or in the colophon of his work. It is said that according to the Sasanavamsa, he wrote the work in 1670 BE. There is a variant reading Sattanavasadhike (97) and have quoted the Sasanalankara and Sasanabvamsappadipika as the sources. If that is so, the year of its composition would be 1677 BE. According to Pitakat-samuin, Aggavamsa composed his work during the reign of kind Kya-cva of Pagan dynasty. Saddaniti consists of 28 chapters. The first nineteen are called Mahasaddaniti and the last nine are called Cullasaddaniti. It has three main parts: the Padamala (the Chapters 1-14), the Dhatumala (the Chaptrs 15-19), and the Suttamala (the Chapters 20-28). There is commentary on it called the Saddanititika composed by Pannasami of Mandalay.