Sv-p.t I 1 (ta.m)

Dear members,

I have a question regarding the following passage at the beginning of
Dhammapāla's ṭīkā on the Sumaṅgalavilāsinī:

Saṃvaṇṇanārambhe ratanattayavandanā saṃvaṇṇetabbassa dhammassa
pabhavanissayavisuddhipaṭivedanatthaṃ, taṃ pana dhammasaṃvaṇṇanāsu viññūnaṃ
bahumānuppādanatthaṃ, . . . (Sv-pṭ I 1)

which I roughly translate as:

The veneration of the jewel-triad at the commencement of the commentary is
for the sake of making known the source, basis, and purity of the Dhamma to
be commented upon; furthermore, it (taṃ) is for the sake of generating the
respect of wise ones for commentaries on the Dhamma, . . .

Can anyone explain why the neuter pronoun 'taṃ' is used here ? I take it
that the referent of 'taṃ' is 'ratanattayavandanā' which is in the feminine
and so I would expect a feminine pronoun instead of a neuter one.

Best wishes,
Jim