Re: attribution of the ADP .Tiikaa

Dear Jim and Eisel,

Just a quick thought on this issue: The attribution of the commentary to
Catura'ngabala according to later Burmese tradition draws on the account in
the gamdhava.msa/pi.takat' samuin'3 group of texts. In case you don't have
it on hand:

Abhidhaanappadiipikaaya .tiikaa da.n.diipakara.nassa magadhabhuutaa .tika
caa¹ti duvidhaa .tiikaayo attano matiyaa siihasuuranaamara~n~no ekena
amaccena kataa (Gandhava.msa, Minayeff ed., JPTS 1886, p. 71).

The epigraphy appears to confirm that there were 3 kings with this title
ruling in Pa'nya in the early/mid 14th century (and one at Ava in the early
15th). If we read the gandhava.msa alongside Burmese saasanava.msa accounts,
eg the vernacular Saasanaala'nkaara caa tam'3, which mentions the .tiikaa as
evidence for the title, we're probably dealing here with Siihasuura II, r.
1344-50 (though keep in mind these va.msas are also late).

In the colophon to the .tiikaa, Siihasuura is mentioned in a string of
epithets as also "Catusetibhinda" (catu-seta-ibha-inda -- although I think
this particular Siihasuura II may have been the lord of five, not four,
white elephants, but that is another matter). I would suggest that perhaps
this is the source of the confusion involving "Catura'ngabala" with this
text. But who knows; we will have to turn to other ms evidence to
investigate this further.

In any case, "Catura'ngabala" is not mentioned in the commentary itself as
far as I am aware, and the attribution can be dated to no earlier than the
late 17th century bibliographic treatises. Interestingly the .tiikaa is also
absent from the detailed 15th century book list epigraph edited by Pe Maung
Tin and Luce, although there we find an "abhidhan nissaya". Popular
tradition also claims that Catura'ngabala compiled the Lokaniiti, but there
is no strong evidence for this.

Christian



--
Dietrich Christian Lammerts
Doctoral Student, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University
Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia
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