Jinamahanidana

Chin Maha Nitana (The Great Chronicle of the Victorious One) is a Buddhist canonical text in the genre of legends or biographies. It recounts the life of the Buddha, beginning from his past existences as a Bodhisatta up to his passing into Parinirvana and the subsequent distribution of his relics.

The term Chin Maha Nitana can be divided into three parts: Chin (Pali: Jina), meaning “the Victorious One” (a title of the Buddha); Maha, meaning “great” or “extensive”; and Nitana, meaning “story” or “history.” Thus, Chin Maha Nitana means “The Great Story of the Victorious One” — essentially, a Buddhist biography.^[1]

The text was originally written in Khmer script and the Pali language, in both prose and verse, though mainly in prose. It was inscribed on palm leaves during the reigns of Kings Rama I–III and is currently preserved in nine manuscripts at the National Library of Thailand. All existing versions contain the same content. The author is unknown, but scholars believe it was composed by a learned scholar during the Ayutthaya period.^[2]

It was likely composed between the late 20th and early 21st Buddhist centuries (approximately the 15th–16th centuries CE), and scholars suggest it predates the Chronicle of Chiang Saen (Tamnan Mueang Chiang Saen). This is inferred because the description in Chin Maha Nitana of the Bodhisatta’s birth — comparing him to a man descending a staircase and appearing as though sixteen years old — also appears in the later Chronicle of Chiang Saen.

The Fine Arts Department later published the text in Thai script, with an initial transliteration into Pali by Mr. Wirat Unnathorwarangkul, who then had seven ancient-language scholars translate it into Thai. The edition was verified and supplemented by Mr. Suwat Koponrat, who also cross-referenced the Pali (Magadhan) sections published alongside.^[2]

Chin Maha Nitana contains 85 sections, each relatively short, arranged chronologically from the Buddha’s birth to his parinirvana. It is believed that the author compared multiple Buddhist biographies found in the Tipitaka, omitting certain legendary accounts such as those in the Sambharavibhaṅga, and focusing instead on the histories of the 28 Buddhas mentioned in the Tipitaka. The work also elaborates on the teachings and moral lessons contained within.^[3]