Re: kaccaayanappakara.na

--- In palistudy@yahoogroups.com, "Jim Anderson" <jimanderson_on@...>
wrote:
> Dear Group,
>
> For the past few days I've been doing some background research on the
> traditional Pali grammars. I have been particularly interested in the
> problem of who was the Kaccayana that wrote the famous grammar. I
> think most, if not all, of the modern scholars trained in Western
> methodologies consider this grammar to have come into existence
> sometime after Buddhaghosa, perhaps around the 7th-8th cent. CE. If
> one accepts this, then one would have to rule out Mahaakaccaayana, the
> Buddha's great disciple, as its author -- leaving one to think that
> this must be the work of a later Kaccayana. However, I have done some
> investigation and found that, according to the Theravada tradition,
> the author of the grammar is indeed the great Kaccayana who lived at
> the time of the Buddha. According to Buddhaghosa's commentary on the
> Apadana, Mahaakaccaana (another spelling) expounded the
> Kaccaayanappakara.na, Mahaaniruttippakara.na, and the Nettippakara.na
> in the midst of the assembly and this led the Buddha to declare him
> foremost in analyzing in detail what is spoken in brief (see the quote
> below). In the Cullaganthava.msa (small book history), a late text
> written in Burma by Nandapa~n~na, six books are ascribed to
> Mahaakaccaayana which include the same above three plus the following
> three additional books: cullaniruttigantha, pe.takopadesagantha, and
> va.n.naniitigantha. According to this history, all the arahants who
> were at the rehearsals of the three famous councils are given the
> designation of poraa.nas as well as a.t.thakathaacariyas, except
> Mahaakaccaayana, who is unique in being designated a one of a kind
> tividhanaamakaacariya. The aacariyas (such as Buddhaghosa) who follow
> and wrote important works are designated ganthakaarakaacariyas. Their
> names (but many are anonymous) and their works are listed in this very
> interesting little history. I did a rough count and came up with 116
> authors. Also the Saddaniiti very frequently mentions and quotes from
> a work called the Niruttipi.taka (which may be the same as the
> Mahaanirutti) and ascribes the Mahaakaccaayana as its author.
>
> Here's the Apadaana commentary quote:
>
> Attano pubbapatthanaavasena kaccaayanappakara.na.m
> mahaaniruttippakara.na.m nettippakara.nanti pakara.nattaya.m
> sa"nghamajjhe byaakaasi. Atha santu.t.thena bhagavataa ?etadagga.m,
> bhikkhave, mama saavakaana.m sa"nkhittena bhaasitassa vitthaarena
> attha.m vibhajantaana.m yadida.m mahaakaccaano?ti (a. ni. 1.188, 197)
> etadagga-.t.thaane .thapito aggaphalasukhena vihaasiiti. Ap-a 491
>
> In our study of grammatical suttas, I have chosen the first one from
> Kaccayana's grammar for which I will be providing further material
> later on. Here's the sutta:
>
> 1. attho akkharasa~n~naato. (ie. the meaning is correctly understood
> through the letters)
>
> Best wishes,
> Jim


Dear Jim,

Thank you very much for this, I find it very interesting that the
great Bhikkhu who was etadagga in expounding in detail the dhamma
manifested in brief was also the one who recorded the linguistic rules
pertaining to the language used.  Could you perhaps tell us a little
more about Mahaakaccaayana; for example in the Dictionary of Pali
Proper Names, was he etadagga in other fields?  I seem to remember
that some great disciples were foremost in more than one area of
excellence.  Did it happen to mention when his parinibbana was, and at
what age?

Thank you very much in advance,

Amara