Editor's Preface

Two versions of the text of Khuddakpàñhapàëi have been prepared here. The first (Pàëi 1) is substantially a transliteration of the Sinhala version of the text as printed in the Buddha Jayanti Tripitaka Series, Volume XXIV. In preparing this edition the corrigenda (÷uddhi patraya) as printed on page xxvi of that volume have been taken into account. Other corrections, made by the present editor while preparing this edition of the text, have been noted in the appropriate place. In the original edition there were many cases where BJT was inconsistent in its use of punctuation. Here an attempt has been made to present a more standardized version of the text in this regard, but as the matter is trivial on the one hand, and extremely numerous on the other, these sort of changes have not been noted.

The second version (Pàëi 2) is a text established by the present writer, through a comparison of the 4 main editions of the text. In that version there is an Introduction to the text (which should also be of interest to readers of Pàëi 1), and a description of the metres that are employed. In the text itself the metrical markings have been put in above the verses, and there is a short commentary on the metre. The metre and variations are normally noted alongside the verse.

There are three complete word indexes to the text, two to the BJT version (Pàëi 1), the first of which gives the page number, and the second the sutta number. The word index to Pàëi 2 gives only the sutta number. There are also two indexes to the first lines of the gàthàs, the first leads to Pàëi 1; the second to Pàëi 2. An index to the metres has also been compiled.

Also an English translation of the text (The Text of the Supplementary Readings) has been prepared which hopefully will help students in their study of the text. A different version of this material can also be found on this Website, which presents the same text but with the translation given line by line (see Khuddakapatha in the Text & Translation Series).

This work has been produced in order to assist in making known the teachings of the Buddha, please remember that many people have contributed their time and energy to this gift of the Dhamma. Anyone with similar aims who wishes to use the document or its database is welcome to do so, provided that no fees are charged for its distribution or use. If you use this document in any way please make an acknowledgement to the Sri Lanka Tipitaka Project.

ânandajoti Bhikkhu
June 2001