Which was the last Buddhist text produced in India?

    Buddhism-Jainism-Question 6

Daily Online General Knowledge Quiz:Previous year paper gk questions with answers and explanation in English on Buddhism and Jainism.

❓6. Which one of the following was the last Buddhist text produced in India
A. Divya Vandana
B. Dohakosa
C. Vajrachedika
D. Vamsatthappakasini

Vamsatthappakasini(or Mahavamsa-Tika )

Note: Vamsatthappakasini text gives us information about the origin of the Mauryas. It is among the last Buddhist text written in India.

🔑Key Points

• Mahavamsa, Dipavamsa, Kulavamsaand, Vamsatthappakasini are Buddhist Chronicles of Ceylon which are written in Pali.
• Mahavamsa mentions that Ashoka’schildren Mahendra and Sanghamitra introduced and propagated Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
• The earliest Buddhist source to mention The Chandragupta Maurya-Chanakya legend is Mahavamsa, which is generally dated between 5th and 6th centuries CE.
• Vamsatthappakasini (also known as Mahvamsa Tika), a commentary on Mahavamsa, provides some more details about the legend. Its author is unknown, and it is dated variously from 6th century CE to 13th century CE.
• Vamsatthappakasini is written in Pali language.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON MAHAVAMSA

.The Mahavamsa ("Great Chronicle”) (5th century CE) is the very carefully kept historical chronicle of Sri Lanka written in the style of an epic poem written in the Pali language.

.Mahavamsa relates the history of Sri Lanka from its legendary beginnings up to the reign of Mahasena of Anuradhapura (A.D. 302) covering the period between the arrival of Prince Vijaya from India in 543 BCE to his reign (277–304 CE).

.It was composed by an unknown Buddhist monk at the Mahavihara temple in Anuradhapura about the fifth century A.D.

• Authorship of the Mahavamsa is attributed to an otherwise unknown monk called Mahanama by the Mahavamsa-tika. Mahanama is described as residing in a monastery belonging to general Dighasanda and affiliated with the Mahavihara.

• As a result of the Mahavamsa, comparatively more is known about the history of the island of Ceylon and neighboring regions than that of most of the subcontinent.

• Its contents have supported in the identification and conformation of archaeological sites and inscriptions associated with early Buddhism, the empire of Ashoka, and even the Tamil kingdoms of southern India.

• The Mahamvasa includes the early history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, beginning with the time of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism.

• It also briefly describes the history of Buddhism in India, from the date of the Buddha's death to the 3rd Buddhist council where the Dharma was reviewed.

• Every chapter of the Mahavamsa ends by stating that it is written for the "serene joy of the pious".

The contents of the Mahavamsa can be divided into four categories:

1.The Buddha's Visits to Sri Lanka

This category describes three historical visits by the Buddha to the island of Sri Lanka.

These stories describe the Buddha conquering or driving away the Yakkhas (Yakshas) and Nagas that were living in the island. These visits are not mentioned in the Pali Canon or other early sources.

2.Chronicles of Kings of Sri Lanka

This section consists of ancestry and lineages of kings of Sri Lanka, sometimes with stories about their succession or remarkable incidents in their reigns.

3.History of the Buddhist Sangha

This section of the Mahavamsa deals with the mission sent by Emperor Ashoka to Sri Lanka, the transplantation of the bodhi tree, and the founding of the Mahavihara.

 It includes the names of important monks and nuns in the early Sri Lankan sangha.

It also includes accounts of the early Buddhist councils and the first recording of the Pali canon in writing.

4.Chronicles of Sri Lanka

 This section begins with the immigration of Prince Vijaya from India with his followers and continues until the reign of King Mahasena, describing wars, succession disputes, building of stupas and sanctums, and other notable incidents.

An extensive chronicle of the war between the Sinhala King Dutthagamani and Tamil invader, and later king, Elara (861 verses in the Mahavamsa compared with 13 verses in the Dipavamsa) may represent the incorporation of a popular epic from the vernacular tradition.

 Buddhist monks of the Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya maintained chronicles of the island's history starting from the third century BCE.

 These annals were then combined and compiled into a single document in the 5th Century while King Dhatusena was ruling the Anuradhapura Kingdom. It was written based on prior ancient compilations known as the Atthakatha (sometimes Sinhalaatthakatha), which were commentaries written in Sinhala.

Information on Dipavamsa

 An earlier document known as the Dipavamsa (4th century CE) "Island Chronicles" is much simpler and contains less information than the Mahavamsa and was probably compiled using the Atthakatha on the Mahavamsa as well.

 The Dipavamsa is believed to have been the first Pali text composed entirely in Ceylon. The Mahavamsa is believed to have originated from an earlier chronicle ,Dipavamsa .

                                                                                                                    

*This Question is a part of previous year paper gk questions on Buddhism-Jainism.

References

1.Mahavamsa-wikipedia
2.Mahavamsa Chapters-lakdiva.org
3.Mahavamsa : the great chronicle of Ceylon-ia800300.us.archive.org
4.mahavamsa-mahavamsa.org
5.Mahavamsa-Tika-Vamsatthappakasini-2-Volume-Set-G.P-abebooks.com
6.Chanakya-wikipedia