Pali
Topic: Buddhism, Jainism and Heterodox Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Kings, Farmers and Towns"; Class 12, Ch 3 "Kinship, Caste and Class - Early Societies"; Class 12, Ch 4 "Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings"
Meaning
Pali is an old Indian language closely related to the Prakrits, the everyday languages people spoke in early India. The oldest Buddhist texts are in Pali, including the Tipitaka ("three baskets") and the Jataka stories. Later Buddhist works were written in Sanskrit. Sanskrit was the language of Brahmanical learning. Pali, Prakrit and Tamil texts let historians see society through the eyes of people beyond the priestly elite.
Example
The Theravada tradition of Sri Lanka keeps the Tipitaka in Pali. The island's chronicles, the Dīpavaṁsa and Mahāvaṁsa, also belong to this tradition. Even the name of the Buddhist council city has a Pali form: Vesāli, which is Vaiśhālī in Sanskrit, in present-day Bihar.
Don't confuse with
- Sanskrit: Sanskrit was the language of the Vedas and Brahmanical texts. Buddhists began using it only for later works, such as many Mahayana texts.
Related concepts
- Tipitaka
- Vinaya Pitaka
- Sutta Pitaka
- Abhidhamma Pitaka
- Abhidhamma Divas
- Pali classical language
- Buddhist councils
- First Buddhist council
- Second Buddhist council
- Sthaviravada and Mahasanghika