Dr. R.  Banerjee (Chinese and Central Asian Scholar) Dr. R.  Banerjee

 

KHUDDAKANIKAYA 

R. Banerjee

 

KHUDDAKANIKAYA (Pali) or 'the collection of short pieces' is the fifth nikaya or last divisionof the Suttapitaka of Theravada Tripitaka.

Though most of the texts of the Khuddakanikaya are small pieces, there are some which are quite extensive.

The contents and character of the texts included in this collection show a great divergence. Again, some of the 'suttas' are mixed compositions written in prose and verse. The verses seem to have been introduced at a later period as there are hints to this in certain suttas of the Suttapitaka. The Khuddakanikaya consists of following texts:

The Khuddakapatha (Minor sayings) is the first text of the Khuddakanikaya. It is a book of prayer in daily use for the novices and comprises nine 'suttas'. The second book of the Khuddakanikaya is the Dhammapada. It contains the sublime teachings of the Blessed One (Buddha). It is a collection of 423 verses divided into 26 vaggas or chapters and is the most popular Buddhist text; its popularity can be compared with that of the Bhagavadgita. It is an anthology of sayings and preaches the ethical doctrines of the Buddha. It is used by the novices in Sri Lanka for daily study before receiving 'Upasampada' (highest monastic order). Most of the verses of the Dhammapada have also been traced in several other texts of the Pali canon.

Next to the Dhammapada is the Udana which is a collection of the pithy sayings of the Buddha, mostly in metrical form with narratives. The whole work is divided into eight vaggas each of which contains ten suttas. These suttas are short narratives recounting some events of the time of Gautama Buddha and end with a pithy utterance.

The Itivuttaka meaning 'Thus has been said' is the fourth book of the Khuddakanikaya, closely resembling the Udana. It is a book of quotations of the Master's authoritative saying on morality. The entire work consists of 112 sections composed partly in prose and partly in verse and is divided into 'nipatas' and then to vaggas. Here in this book the same thoughts have been repeated first in prose and then in verse.

Next in order comes the Suttanipata (the section  of discourses) which contains many pieces of oldest Buddhist poetry. It comprises five sections namely Urgavagga, Chullavagga, Mahavagga, Attahakavagga and Parayanavagga. The first four vaggas contain 54 short poems while the last section (parayana) is long independent poem consisting of 16 shorter parts. There is an old commentary called Niddesa  on the Attakavagga and Parayanavagga. The Suttanipata is a highly informative text describing the socio-economic and religious conditions of India of the sixth century B.C. It is also a great aid to the understanding of Buddhism as an ethical religion.

Next to the Suttanipata are to be mentioned the Vimanavatthu and the Petavatthu. They seem to be very late compositions among the canonical texts. The first book (Vimanayatthu), in its 83 stories, provides a graphic description of celestial palaces enjoyed by the devas who, as human beings, had performed meritorious deeds in one of their past existences.

The second one i.e., the Petavatthu, describes, in 51 stories, the sufferings of the spirits and the restless souls (peta), which they have to undergo to obtain expiation from their sins committed during their last births.

Now we may mention two interesting lyrical compositions namely the Theragatha and the Therigatha. They are the poetic outbrusts of the feelings and sentiments of the monks and the nuns respectively and rank very high amongst the lyrical compositions of Indian literature. The former comprises 107 poems with 1.279 verses and the latter 73 poems with 522 verses. These poems are important for the understanding of the religious theories and practices which are prevalent in the Buddhist order. The language of these two books is not very simple and it needs the help of a commentary to understand it.

The tenth book of the Khuddakanikaya is called the Jataka which is supposed to contain, by definition, tales of the Buddha's previous births. The canonical Jataka book comprises 6653 verses, constituting 547 Jatakas. The Jatakas have been grouped under twenty-two nipatas, depending on the number of verses in each nipata. In majority of verses there is no story, neither in prose nor in verse. The shorter Jatakas are but teachings of moral or religious precepts, or even of some practical knowledge, but in some verses there are hints to background stories. The Vidhurajataka (no. 545) and the Vessantarajataka (no. 547) present complete outlines of the tales. The gathas of the Jataka book must have been associated with suitable stories in oral tradition, most probably in languages other than Pali. The Pali  gathas have only been preserved in the canon and later on the author of the Jatakatthakatha built the grand edifice of the Jataka stories on the foundation of these gathas with the help of the oral and written traditions prevalent in India and Sri Lanka.

The Niddesa, the eleventh book of the Khuddakanikaya, though now forms a part of the canon is virtually an old commentary ont he Atthakavagga and Parayanavagga of the Suttanipata. It consists of two parts the Mahaniddesa (Great explanation) and Chulla-niddesa (short explanation). The Maha-nidhasa is a commentary on the Atthakavagga and teh Chulla-niddesa  on the Khaggavisanasutta adn the Parayanavagga.

Next comes in order the Patisambhidamagga (The path to analysis). It consists of large sections dealing with some important Buddhist doctrines including the Four Noble Truths, the theory of 'Karma', the knowledge attained by meditation, etc

the last three books of the Khuddakanikaya are the Apadana, the Boddavamasa and the Chariyapitaka

The Apadana is a vast collection like the Jataka though of lesser literary value. An 'apadana' means heroic or glorious deeds of the saints done in their previous lives. The Apadana is written entirely in verse.

The Buddhavamsa, the fourteenth book of the Khuddakanikaya, also in metrical form, describes the stories of all the Buddhas - the former ones and Gautama Buddha. Gautama Buddha himself narrates the stories in the first person, telling who he himself was under the preceding Buddhas.

The Chariyapitaka is the last book of the Khuddakanikaya. It is a collection of 35 Jataka in metrical form in which the Buddha speaks of the ten 'paramitas' (virtues for perfection) which are a precondition of Buddhahood.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

B.C. Law, A History of Pali Literature, Vol.I (calcutta, 1933); 

M.L. Feer, A Study of the Jatakas: Analytical and Critical (Calcutta, 1963); 

Maurice Winternitz, A History of indian Literature, Vol.II, Reprinted (Delhi, 1977); 

Wilhelm Geiger, Pali Language and Literautre (third reprint, New Delhi, 1978).

 

 

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