Re: Pali composition

Dear Eisel,

The last kings of Kandy also had panegyric poems, called a.s.takas, read
out at the court. The poems were composed in Sanskritized Pali by monks
such as Saranankara Sangharaja. Judging from the accounts given in The
Pali Literature of Ceylon and The Pali Literature of Burma, it seems
that the ups and downs of Pali literature are closely linked to the ups
and downs of royalty. This might be the reason why so little Pali
writing has taken place in Sri Lanka since the British took over.
That letter which Dr. Filliozat analyzed is probably the one written in
1756 CE. I think that it is the one kept in the Ridi Vihara in
Puppharama/Malwatta. It is a roll, kept in a large silver cylinder.
I was using ''dead language'' in a loose sense. When there still is
literary activity going on in a language, then it is still alive in a
sense. I have never been able to confirm it, but I was once told that
the language of communication at the Mahavihara was Pali. There are
still a few monks in Sri Lanka who can speak in Pali. I am not sure how
fluent though. In our archives there are a few letters in Pali composed
by Mahasi Sayadaw to Nyanaponika Thera in the 1950s.
Thanks for the info on the book of fables. I will try to find out more
about it. Talking about fables: there is an  English translation of the
Kacchapa Jataka (The Turtle Birth Story, Jataka story No. 273) now, done
by anonymous translators. Cowell only translated it into Latin because
of its explicit content. It is quite funny.

Regards,
                Bhikkhu Nyanatusita

Eisel Mazard wrote:
>
> This is a good question, and others should contribute, however:
>
> It is alleged and presumed [passive voice] that there are new
> masterpieces of Pali composition produced in Thailand for every
> funeral in the Royal family, and on numerous other official occasions.
>
> These are read aloud to what are alleged and presumed to be
> appreciative audiences.
>
> There is also a largely unexamined literature of official
> correspondence in Pali.
>
> I believe I sent to this list some mention of the evidence I happened
> upon in relation to the revival of Pali as such a medium in "Ariya"
> glyphs, as patronized by Thailand's Rama IV.
>
> The Ariya writing system is certainly quite quick for pen-and-quill
> hand-writing, in contrast to classical scripts.
>
> I have never read any scholarly analysis or appraisal of the quality
> or content of any of these sources: neither the funeral dirges nor the
> official letters.
>
> Filliozat wrote an analysis and transcription of one royal letter from
> Thailand to Sri Lanka; you may wish to forward your question to her,
> along with this reply of mine?
>
> There are actually two "new" compositions of the 1930s, including the
> one you mention, in the article I already "compressed" and quoted to
> the list:
> [Quote:]
> The Rev. Widurapola Piyatissa wrote Mahakassapahcarita (1934) and
> Mahanekkhamma Campu (1935),
> [End quote.]
>
> I will also note that I receall one very non-scholarly work of
> original Pali metrical/poetic composition, basically gathering
> together anecdotes from fables on the life of the Buddha, of quite
> recent composition in Sri Lanka; I forget the name, but I think this
> is rarely mentioned as it is not taken seriously. It is almost purely
> about the Buddha's childhood antics and fabled death, with little of
> substance in-between (*SIGH*) --as with the focus of many of the
> folk-biographies and dramas, dependent upon the Sanskrit tradition,
> ultimately.
>
> As I mentioned years ago (to this list): my criterion for a living
> language is that husbands and wives still use it as a medium for
> disputes and arguments. Thus, Hebrew is a living language while Pali
> is not; Aramaic is a living language, but Latin is not (though they
> now have a Latin radio news-service, a Wikipedia, etc.).
>
> E.M.
>
>