The Description of Hells in the "Mahāvastu" I 9–16
The Description of Hells in the "Mahāvastu" I 9–16

Revisited

Author(s): Katarzyna Marciniak
Subject(s): Theology and Religion
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Mahāvastu; Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit; Buddhist hells; Lokapaññatti
Summary/Abstract: The article presents a new edition and translation of a metrical description of Buddhist hells which occurs in the "Mahāvastu" I. 9–16, on the basis of the oldest preserved manuscript of the text, the manuscript Sa from Nepal, dated to ca. 12–13th century. Some of the stanzas have been preserved in Sanskrit fragments, edited by Prof. Kazunobu Matsuda as “Bonbun danpen Loka-prajñāpti ni tsuite” (梵文断片 Loka-prajñāpti について; Sanskrit Fragments of the Loka-prajñāpti). Through comparison of the verses preserved in the "Mahāvastu" with their parallels in the "Pāli Lokapaññatti" and the Chinese translation in Taishō no. 1644, it became possible to point out mistakes in Senart’s editio princeps of the text and propose demonstrably better readings.

• Details
• Contents