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A Study of the Metre of Pàràyanavagga

Introduction to the Text

The elaborate composition now known to us as Pàràyanavagga is found in two places in the Khuddakanikàya of the Suttapiñaka. It forms the 5th and final section of Suttanipàta; and it is found again together with its ancient commentary in the Cullaniddesa. The text is essentially the same in both places, except in regard to some small, but nevertheless important, readings. ⁰¹

The text of Pàràyanavagga falls into three clearly discernible sections. The first 56 verses form the Vatthugàthà, the Introductory Verses, which provide a commentarial-style basis to the sections that follow; this is followed by 91 verses that make up the Pucchà, or Questions, in which are recorded, mainly in verse, 16 dialogues between the Buddha and a group of brahmaõa meditation masters; and thirdly, there is a fitting epilogue to the story, which begins with a short prose section, before a further 25 verses with which the Pàràyanavagga concludes.

It has been noted before that the Vatthugàthà are much later in composition than the Pucchà, this can be shown to be the case on linguistic and doctrinal grounds. On the other hand the Pucchà are regarded by scholars as containing some of the earliest recorded sayings of the Buddha ⁰²

In this paper I intend to examine the metre of Pàràyanavagga in some detail. The first section concerns certain matters that have to be noticed in regard to the scansion of the text. In this section I also demonstrate that there is an hitherto unrecognized rule that was used in Pàëi metrical composition, which I call the rule of resolution. The second section examines the lines written in the Siloka metre as they appear in the Pucchà and in the Vatthugàthà with the results from that it has been possible to throw light on the date of the epilogue. The third section studies the Tuññhubha lines, and shows that the parametres of the early Tuññhubha are wider than has been previously supposed, and that we must accept that there are one or two secondary openings, and an unusual variation in the break ⁰³ .

When these matters have been carefully considered I present a new edition of Pàràyanavagga, complete with its metrical markings, which hopefully can then be used as a study piece by those interested in early Pàëi metrical composition on the one hand; and by those who are concerned with textual study on the other.

The text that follows has been established through a comparison of the following sources, which are listed here along with the abbreviations used in the variant readings:

In BJT & ChS the text is first stated in full at the beginning of the books. Then the Pucchà and epilogue are repeated together with Niddesa's commentary ⁰⁴ . The comparison has normally been made with the first statement of the text in these cases. Euro & Thai have the text from the Pucchà onwards only as it stands embedded in the commentary, the textual comparison therefore has been made with the verses as they are recorded there.

I have also included a comparison of the readings found in the European edition of Suttanipàta, but it should be understood that this has not been used to establish the text:

Two other books have played an important part in the establishment of the text as it is presented here, they are:

Pàëi metrical composition, of course, did not arise in a vacuum, but as part of a continuum with its cultural environment, and initially takes over and continues the metres that were current in the Buddha's day ⁰⁵ . It is essential therefore, if we wish to understand Pàëi prosody that we have some idea of what these metres looked like in the Vedas, and how that relates to the Pàëi period. My prime reference for information on the Vedic metres has been: