Listening to the Theragatha
Interplay of Rhythmic Uniformity and Change in Pali Verses
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.20059Keywords:
Theragāthā, pali, metre, literary analysis, Buddhist versesAbstract
In the study of Pali metres, abundant research has been conducted on the establishment of rules and taxonomy, and scanning of unscanned verses. In comparison, the stylistic aspects of metres have been somewhat neglected. When the audiences listen to verses with their ears only set for metrical rules but not also the interplay of various rhythmic patterns, they fail to fully capture the aesthetic beauty and the very philosophical messages embedded in them. Taking the verses in the Dasanipata of the Theragatha as examples, this article focuses on the stylistic interplay of rhythmic uniformity and change in the expression of core messages in a Pali poem. It aims to unveil the poets’ strategies in the use of various types of metres and prosodic elements (opening, trimetre break, caesura and cadence) to create the narrative style of each poem and draw the audiences’ attention to the Buddha’s key teachings in the verses.
References
Primary Sources
The references to the Pali texts are to the Pali Text Society (PTS) editions unless otherwise specified. The following references to Pali and Sanskrit texts are also consulted:
Anandajoti, Bhikkhu, trans. 2016. Vuttodaya – The Composition of Metre by Ven. Sangharakkhita. www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Textual-Studies/Vuttodaya/index.htm. (accessed on 3rdMay 2021).
Belvalkar, Shripad Krishna, trans. 1924. Kavyadarsa of Dandin - Sanskrit Text and English Translation. Poona: The Oriental Book Supplying Agency.
(Phra) Dhammamoli, 2003. Subodhalankaramañajri – Principles of Decorations in Sound and Meanings: Nakhom Pathom: Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University.
Fryer, George Edward, ed. 1875. “Pali Studies, No. 1: Analysis and Pali Text of the Subodhâlañkára, or Easy Rhetoric, by Sangharakkhita Thera.” Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 44(2):91–125.
Jaini, Padmanabh S., ed. 2000. Subodhalankara Porana-Tika (Mahasami-Tika) by Sangharakkhita Mahasami and Abhinava-Tika (nissaya) (anonymous). Oxford: The Pali Text Society.
Norman, Kenneth Roy, and Alsdorf, Ludwig, ed. 1966. The Thera- and Theri-gatha (Stanzas Ascribed to Elders of the Buddhist Order of Recluses). London: Pali Text Society.
Sastrulu, Vavilla Ramaswarmy, trans. 2008. Kavyadarsah of Dandin. Text with the Commentary Jibanand Vidyasagar. Delhi: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan.
Smith, Helmer, ed. 2001. Saddaniti. Oxford: Pali Text Society.
Secondary literature
Allon, Mark. 1997. Style and Function: A Study of the Dominant Stylistic Features of the Prose Portions of Pali Canonical Sutta Texts and their Mnemonic Function. Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies.
Alsdorf, Ludwig. 1967. Die Arya-Strophen des Pali-Kanons. Wiesbaden: Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaftern und der Literatur in Mainz in Kommission bei Franz Steiner Verlag GMBH.
———. 1974. Kleine Schriften. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GMBH.
———. 2006. Jaina Studies: Their Present State and Future Tasks. Translated from the French original (1965) by Bal Patil. Mumbai: Hindi Granth Karyalay.
Arnold, Edward Vernor. 1905. Vedic Metre in its Historical Development. Cambridge: University Press.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu. 2000. The Connected Discourses of the Buddha. A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya Volume I. Boston: Wisdom Publications.
Dimitrov, Dragomir. 2016. The Legacy of the Jewel Mind on the Sanskrit, Pali and Sinhalese Works by Ratnamati: a Philological Chronicle (Phullalocanavamsa). Napoli: Università degli Studi di Napoli ‘L’Orientale’.
Edgerton, Franklin. 1935. “The Metre of the Saddharmapundarika.” Mahamahopadhyaya Kuppuswami Sastri Commemoration Volume.
———. 1946. “Metre, Phonology, and Orthography in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 66(3) (Jul.–Sept. 1946): 197–206. https://doi.org/10.2307/595566
———. 1953. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers.
Gamage, Aruna. 2019. “The Kaludayi-Theragatha in the Pali Commentaries.” Bulletin of the School Of Oriental and African Studies 82(1): 55–83. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X18001490
Gornall, Alastair. 2020. Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka 1157–1270. London: UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787355156
von Hinüber, Oskar. 1996. A Handbook of Pali Literature. Berlin: de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110814989
Jacobi, Hermann. 1970. Kleine Schriften Teil 1. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GMBH.
Lienhard, Siegfried. 1975. “Sur la structure poétique des Theratherigatha.” Journal Asiatique, 263: 375–396. Paris: Société Asiatique de Paris.
———. 1984. A History of Classical Poetry Sanskrit - Pali – Prakrit. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
Nakamura, Hajime. 1987. Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Norman, Kenneth Roy. 1983. Pali Literature: Including the Canonical Literature in Prakrit and Sanskrit of All the Hinayana Schools of Buddhism. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
———. 1990–2001. Collected Papers. Volumes I – VII. Oxford: Pali Text Society.
———., trans. 2015 (1st ed. 1969, repr. 2007 2nd ed.). The Elders’ Verses I: Theragatha. London: Pali Text Society.
Rossella, Daniela. 2009. “Nature and Inner Peace in the Theragathas.” Pandanus ‘09 3(2) Special Issue. Charles University in Prague.
———. 2011. “On the Origins of Kavya: A Never-Ending Story?” Pandanus ’11 5(2). Charles University in Prague.
Smith, Helmer. 1950. “Le Deux Prosodies du Vers Bouddhique.” Bulletin de la Société Royale des Lettres de Lund 1949–1950, I.
Warder, Anthony Kennedy. 1967. Pali Metre – A Contribution to the History of Indian Literature. London: Pali Text Society.
———. 1990. Indian Kavya Literature, Volume Two, The Origins and Formation of Classical Kavya. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.
