Madhuratthavilasini

Madhuratthavilasini (Pali: มธุรัตถวิลาสินี) is a Pali commentary on the Buddhavamsa of the Khuddaka Nikaya. It was composed by Buddhadatta Thera, a post-Buddhaghosa commentator. The text elaborates upon the Buddhavamsa, providing detailed explanations of the lives, conduct, and characteristics of various Buddhas.

Title

The title Madhuratthavilasini can be divided into three words: "Madhura" meaning "sweet" or "pleasant," "attha" meaning "meaning" or "content," and "vilasini" meaning "beautiful" or "graceful." Hence, Madhuratthavilasini translates to "The Commentary Beautiful in Sweet Meaning." It is also known as Madhuratthappakasini, meaning "The Expositor of Sweet Meaning."[1]

Author

According to the postscript (Nikamannagatha) of the commentary, the author was Buddhadatta Thera, as stated: “The venerable elder, known by the name given by his teachers, Buddhadatta, composed the commentary titled Madhuratthavilasini.”[2]

Buddhadatta wrote the work while residing at a monastery near the confluence of the Kaveri River in Chola, South India, describing his location as a serene and delightful monastery built by a devotee named Kannhadāsa.[3]

Tradition identifies Buddhadatta as a South Indian elder of the Chola dynasty era, contemporary with Buddhaghosa. He traveled to Sri Lanka to study the Dhamma. Most sources agree that Buddhadatta was indeed the author of Madhuratthavilasini.[4] He composed the text at the request of a monk named Buddhasiha to strengthen the Buddhist religion, promote merit, and inspire faith in the Buddha and his teachings.[5]

Some scholars, however, suggest that Madhuratthavilasini may predate Buddhaghosa's journey to Sri Lanka.[6] Others argue Buddhadatta was older or contemporary with Buddhaghosa, though this claim is debated.[7] The Buddhaghosa Upatti records that Buddhadatta traveled to Lanka before Buddhaghosa to compose the Chinālankāra and Dantadhātu Bodhivamsa, but not any commentaries, and later invited Buddhaghosa to write them.[8] This suggests that Madhuratthavilasini was likely composed after Buddhaghosa's era.

A later Burmese chronicle, the Cullaganthavamsa (18th century CE), attributes Madhuratthavilasini to a monk named Kassapa, though this is generally regarded as a different work.[9]

Content

In the Nikamannagatha, Buddhadatta states that he based his composition on earlier commentaries, omitting redundant material and refining the language for elegance and clarity: "I followed the path of the old commentaries, declaring the meaning of the Pali text, omitting prolixity, and expressing only what is pleasing — thus the work is called Madhuratthavilasini."[10]

At the end, the text records that Madhuratthavilasini consists of 26 sections (bhanavaras), 6,500 verses (khandhas), and 23,000 syllables.[11]

The commentary covers the Buddhavamsa from beginning to end, employing both prose and verse. It recounts stories, provides summaries, and explains each verse (nikheppabhaṭa) in detail, clarifying meaning (attha), expression (byañjana), and grammar.[12]

It elaborates on the biographies of the Buddhas — past, present, and future — including the 25 past Buddhas and the prophecy of the future Buddha, Metteyya. It also includes doctrinal explanations in a question-and-answer format, such as the meaning of “Tathāgata”,[13] and “Satthā” (“Teacher”), explaining that the Buddha teaches beings according to their capacities for their present and future welfare.[14]

It discusses the Buddha's ten powers (Dasabalañāṇa),[15] and classifies the three kinds of perfections (Pāramī): giving of external possessions (pāramī), giving of bodily parts (upapāramī), and giving of life (paramatthapāramī).[16]

The work also identifies key figures from the Buddha's biography, such as the Brahmā who invited the Buddha to teach after Enlightenment, who was formerly the elder Sahaka under the Buddha Kassapa and was reborn as Mahābrahmā Sahampati after attaining the first jhāna.[17]

References

  1. ^ Phumipholo Bhikkhu Foundation. (1986). Madhuratthavilasini, p. 26.
  2. ^ Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya Edition of the Pali Canon. Madhuratthavilasini Atthakatha Buddhavamsa, Khuddaka Nikaya, Suttanta Pitaka, Vol. 9, Pt. 2, p. 752.
  3. ^ Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya Edition of the Pali Canon. Madhuratthavilasini Atthakatha Buddhavamsa, Vol. 9, Pt. 2, p. 751.
  4. ^ Law, Bimala Charan. (1923). The Life and Work of Buddhaghosa, p. 96.
  5. ^ Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya Edition of the Pali Canon. Madhuratthavilasini Atthakatha Buddhavamsa, Vol. 9, Pt. 2, p. 16.
  6. ^ Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University. (2007). Pali Literature, p. 129.
  7. ^ Law, Bimala Charan. (1923). p. 100.
  8. ^ Law, Bimala Charan. (1923). p. 97.
  9. ^ Malalasekera, G.P. (2007). Dictionary of Pali Proper Names: N–H, p. 310.
  10. ^ Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya Edition of the Pali Canon. Madhuratthavilasini Atthakatha Buddhavamsa, Vol. 9, Pt. 2, p. 751.
  11. ^ Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya Edition of the Pali Canon. Madhuratthavilasini Atthakatha Buddhavamsa, Vol. 9, Pt. 2, p. 753.
  12. ^ Phumipholo Bhikkhu Foundation. (1986). Madhuratthavilasini, p. 30.
  13. ^ Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya Edition. Madhuratthavilasini, Vol. 9, Pt. 2, p. 44.
  14. ^ Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya Edition. Madhuratthavilasini, Vol. 9, Pt. 2, p. 103.
  15. ^ Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya Edition. Madhuratthavilasini, Vol. 9, Pt. 2, p. 14.
  16. ^ Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya Edition. Madhuratthavilasini, Vol. 9, Pt. 2, p. 153.
  17. ^ Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya Edition. Madhuratthavilasini, Vol. 9, Pt. 2, p. 37.

Bibliography

  • Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University. (2007). Pali Literature. Bangkok: Academic Division, MCU.
  • Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya. Madhuratthavilasini Atthakatha Buddhavamsa, Khuddaka Nikaya, Suttanta Pitaka, Vol. 9, Pt. 2.
  • Phumipholo Bhikkhu Foundation. (1986). Madhuratthavilasini. Bangkok: Phumipholo Foundation Press.
  • Malalasekera, G.P. (2007). Dictionary of Pali Proper Names: N–H. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
  • Law, Bimala Charan. (1923). The Life and Work of Buddhaghosa. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co.
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