Burmese:-Chunhasangayana edition, 1957.
Sinhalese:-Simon Heva Vitarane Bequest Series, 1926 edited by Rev. Webode Sangharatana Thera of Bodhiraja Pirivena, Bellanuila, Ceylon.
3, Siamese:-Mahamakuta Raja Vidyalaya Series, 1925.
4. Roman :-(a) Dhatukatha-Atthakatha, edited by Edmund Row Land Gooneratana, 1892 and
(b) Puggala-Pannatti-Atthakatha, edited by Dr. Georg Lands berg and Mrs. Rhys Davids.
The manuscript Was first prepared on the basis of the Roman edition and later on re-arranged mostly on the pattern of Chatthasanga edition, being the up-to-date edition of the text prepared by profound and devout Buddhist scholars in Burma. It was further compared with the other texts and the different readings have been recorded in the foot notes. It does not mean the selection of one and the rejection of others, but collaboration of all possible ones to suit the choice of the readers. In order to make the text more intelligible and self contained, new arrangement of paragraphs has been made which is a little departure from the arrangement of the Chatthasangayana texts. New headings and sub-headings have also been provided for the same purpose.
The Paragraph Nose in the commentary corresponds to the texts Dhatukatha and Puggala-Pannatti of the Nalanda Devunagari Pali edition. All the words of original texts commented upon by the author have been given in black type. The quotations from the texts have been placed within double inverted commas with the page reference of the texts of the Nalanda Devanagari Pali edition. The punctuation and other details of editing are in conformity with those of the above mentioned series. The page reference Nos. of Roman and Cbutthasangayana texts have been given in the margin.
Most of the Abhidhammic texts are highly technical, and they bristle with difficulties and niceties of terminology. The tradition of Buddhist studies in India has also been interrupted for centuries together. And, therefore, it is the logical necessity to provide elaborate treatment to these texts. With this view. an introduction has been given in the beginning of the text to highlight some of salient features of the subject matter. It has also been concluded with the inclusion of Mala-Tika, an exhaustive work on the text by Ananda Thera.
I had to work for the preparation of the critical edition of this text, during the spare hours, in the midst of my other duties, as teacher and research guide, so it took about two years to complete it. Some misprints escaped the notice here and there. They are included in the errata given at the end of the book.
On this occasion, I feel it my pious duty to express the deepest sense of gratitude to my Alma mater, the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara and the Reverend teacher Bhikshu J. Kashyap, the Director of the Institute and the General Editor of this series, at whose instance the work was taken for publication. I also owe the debt of gratitude to U Jagrabhivamsa, an erudite Pandita of Burma, for his ungrudging help and kind suggestions in handling the manuscripts. My sincerest thanks are due to my colleagues and friends Dr. G. C. Choudhary, Dr. U. Dhammaratana, Prof. Angraj Choudhary, Sri Birbal Sharma, Sri H. N. Prasad, Registrar of the Institute, and Dr. N. H. Samtani (B.H. U.), for their valuable suggestions and guidance in the completion of the project. Rev. P. L. Likhitanonta, M. A., Sri P. N. Sinha M.A., Sri Mahavir Sharma, M. A. have helped me much in comparing the manuscripts and for this I offer my heartiest thanks to them. I cannot forget the services of Sri Mithilesh Prasad, M. A., Librarian, Sri N. K. Upadhyaya M.A., and Asstt. Librarian, Sri Chotan Prasad, B. A., Asstt. Librarian, who supplied me with all the necessary books. They all deserve my thanks. I also offer my thanks to other members of the Institute who helped me in so many ways in finalizing the Work.
The Paflcappakara1Ja·AHhakatha is the commentary on the five books of the Abhidhamma-Pitika. It has been probably written by Acarya Buddhaghosa' who is said to have flourished in the first half of the 5th century A. D.~ The first two books-the Dhammasangani and Vibhanga have also been commented upon by the same author ill the A~~ha8iilint and Sammohavinodant respectively. The remaining five books-the Dhatukatha, Puggala·Pannatti, Kathavatthu, Yamaka and Patthana, generally known as Pancappakarana have one and the same commentary, bearing its name after them as Pancappakarana Atthakatha. It is also called Dhatukatha-Atthakatha, Puggala-Pannatti·Atthakatlla, etc. with reference to individual text. The Abhidhamma, being the repository of the scholastic teachings of the Buddha, has been commented upon and explained by a bost of scholars in different books. As a result of it, a number of sub-commentaries and independent works' have sprung up in the un- broken succession of the scholiasts through ages. This has helped foster growth of a vast A bhidhammic Literature, acquainting us with the profound doctrines of the great Savant and peerless compassionate being on the earth, the Buddha. It is said that prior to Buddhaghosa, there existed three commentaries in Ceylon, written in Sinhalese language,' According to the tradition, they were based on the commentaries recited in the three Buddhist councils and taken to Ceylon by Mahinda during the reign of Asoka," In this way they may be ascribed to the Buddha. Buddhaghosa wrote commentary on the AbM.dhamma·Pi~a1ca on the basis of Mahap2ccart-AHlza1cathii. This is, however, a sort of great misfortune in the field of Buddhist scholarship that none of them is so far available to us. The earliest commentaries that are surviving to-day, can be dated back only up to Buddha Datta, a senior contemporary of Buddhaghosa. The present text is generally ascribed to Buddhaghosa and forms a part of the Pancappakarana-Atthakatha i.e. the commentary on the Dhatu1catlzii and Puggala-Pannatti only.
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