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| Sunday, 4 December 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
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How writing evolved in Sri Lanka Continuing our series on ancient literature of Sri Lanka, today we talk about how writing evolved over time.
We discussed how Pali texts were committed to the memory of Buddhist teachers who imparted this knowledge to their students. The lyrical and poetical portions of these scriptures may have encouraged early day scholars to write them down in the new language which was then taking shape. Many Sinhala poets of the day chose to write on Buddhist subjects. Some of these works were meant to be read at special occasions and so were written in a narrative style. Epics written in Sanskrit were also believed to have been known in the country. The first recorded translation of the Pali sutta texts goes back to King Buddhadasa's period (340-368AD). This paved the way for the important Sinhala texts known as Sutra-sanna; sutras which began early in Sinhala writing presented the material for both prose and later, verse writers. One of the most well-known prose works, Amavathura by Gurulugomi, is almost entirely dependent on sutra translations. Even poets like the 15th century Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera used the descriptive passages in the sutra commentaries. The Buddhist teachers who came from India had a range of stories which they recited to locals. These included jataka tales on the Bodhisatva's past lives, stories which explain the moral sayings in scripts like the Dhammapada and those on various Buddhist monks and nuns, gods and demons. Some of the stories even had local origins and were about a local monk, devotee, king or spiritual being. As literature developed, these stories came to be written down, either in Sinhala or in a form of Pali which evolved here. Two of the earliest collections of Buddhist stories known in the country, 'Book of Sinhalese Stories' and 'Book of Thousand Stories' were written in this form of Pali. They were translated into Sinhala and re-translated into literary Pali which had reached a stage of perfection by the fifth century, in the time of leading commentary writer Buddhaghosa. Books on monks' discipline were another feature of early writing. Mahinda Thera had shown King Devanampiyatissa of the importance of devotion to the study of Vinaya, the text dealing with the discipline of Buddhist monks. A member of the royal family, Prince Arittha entered the sasana and set up the first vinaya school in the country, and an interest took root to teach discipline to the monks. The Vinayapitaka evolved, of which parts were believed to have been compiled in Sri Lanka. Glossaries, translations and commentaries to these texts were made here, while shorter texts of the Vinaya were compiled in Pali verse so that younger monks can easily remember them. These texts and the Dipavansa are examples of early writings in Pali mixed with old Sinhala. Buddhaghosa came to the island in the period of King Mahanama (410-432AD) and began translating old Sinhala commentaries into Pali. During his time in Anuradhapura, he also compiled the Visudhimagga (the Path of Purity), a commentary on the teachings of the Tripitaka.
Many other commentary writers followed him. Their work in Pali, atthakatha, were translated into Sinhala with explanations, and re-translated into Pali under the title 'tika' (further commentary). One of the most prominent periods of tika writing was during Sariputta Maha Thera of Dimbulagala in the reign of King Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1153-1186AD). Sanskrit was studied in some schools of Buddhism such as the Abhayagiriya-vihara, and also for scientific and medicinal purposes with some of the relevant documents being written in the language. Sinhala writing had reached a peak by the 12th century, just as other engineering and artistic sectors were reaching their most glorious periods. Some of the best works of the period were produced by Vedeha Thera, Sariputta Maha Thera, Dhammakitthi Thera and Medhankara Maha Thera. The jataka stories provided rich fodder(material) for the early Sinhala poets. The earliest of these were in the blank verse style called gi or in rhythmic prose called vrttagandhi. The story was enhanced with descriptions of events, people etc. Sasadavata, based on the Sasa Jataka (which is about the Bodhisatva's past life as a hare) is the first gi poem. It was written during the reign of Queen Lilavati.Kavsilumina (crest gem of poetry), written by King Parakramabahu II of Dambadeniya (1236-1270), is a grand work which can rival any Sanskrit poem. It is based on the Kusa Jataka, about the Bodhisatva's past life as King Kusa. The Kusa Jataka was a popular subject for many Sinhala poets, with Alagiyavanna, an early 17th century poet, also using the story. His Kusa Jataka-Kavyaya, written in a mixture of ancient classical style and the popular style that was then developing, was more popular with the masses and was even used later in schools. It was even translated under the title 'An Eastern Love Story, Kusa Jatakaya, a Buddhist Legend' by Thomas Steele of the Ceylon Civil Service and published in 1871 by Trubner and Company of London. The Kavyasekharaya (the crown of poetry), written by Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera in 1449, is another noted work. The story was based on the little known Sattubhasta Jatakaya, which speaks about the Bodhisatva's wisdom even before attaining Buddhahood. It was written on the invitation of a princess in Kotte and so contains an eulogy (words of praise) of her and her father, King Parakramabahu VI (1412-1467), as was the custom of the day. The Guttilaya written in the 15th century, Asadisa-Jataka-Kavyaya by King Rajadhirajasinha of Kandy (1780-1798) and Sandakinduru Jatakaya were other notable poetic works of the country. The Vessantara Jatakaya was also popular among local poets. To be continued. Source: The Literature of Ceylon by C.E. Godakumbura |
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