Papers presented at the International Buddhist Conference, March ...

Role of Sanskrit in the Cultural interface between
Sri Lanka and India
Dr. Uma Shankaer Vyas
of Pali in Srilanka, contributed immensely for the revival of Pali
studies in Majjhima-desa or the Hindi-speaking heart-land of
modern India. Nava Nalanda Mahavihara the institution dedicated
for the revival of Pali studies was established in 1956 by the efforts
of Late. Ven. Bhikkhu J. Kashyap, whose main source of
inspiration was Srilanka. The publication of entire Pali Tipitaka in
42 vols. for the first time in an Indian alphabet is a natural outcome
of the age-long cultural interface between Jambu-dvipa and
Dhamma-dipa.
Dr. Uma Shankar Vyas
Dr. Uma Shankar Vyas is Editor of Pali-English Dictionary in
Nava Nalanda Mahavihara,Nalanda. He has worked as
Registrar and Director of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara,
Nalanda. He is M.A. in Sanskrit and also in Pali (Gold
Medalist) from Banaras Hindu University (India). He is Ph.D.
on the topic 'Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhism', Magadh
University, Bodhgaya. He has also worked as Lecturer of
Sanskrit and Pali in the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara for more
than 30 years. He has also taught Buddhist Sanskrit texts to
post-graduate students of Philosophy and scholars from
abroad for more than 35 years. Prof. Vyas also visited
Ryukoku University Kyoto, Japan, as Visiting Research
Fellow in 1977, sponsored by Japan Society for the
Promotion of Sciences (Ministry of Culture, Govt. of Japan).
Under his supervision/guidance, more than 15 Indian 8
foreign research scholars got their Ph.D. degree from
Magadh University in the Department of Pali, Sanskrit,
Philosophy, and Ancient Indian & Asian Studies. He also
researched on Central Asian Buddhist Manuscripts with
Porf. T. Inokuchi of Ryukoku University, Kyoto (Japan). He
has written three books on Buddhism and Pali language and
another three books are under preparation. His more than 30
research papers on different aspects of Buddhism were
published in different research journals of India.
First of all I, most humbly, would like to pay my respect and
sincerely express sense of gratitude to those Mahatheras of
Srilanka, who are mainly responsible for providing a solid ground
for the revival of the study of Pali language and literature as well as
Buddhist studies in modern India. For centuries we remained in
total darkness about our own most precious national treasure of the
Saddhamma and are highly indebted to the great Theriya-parapara
of Srilanka, not only for faithfully preserving the earliest authentic
version of the teachings of the Tathagata in the form of Pali
Tipitaka but also adding new dimensions to it by composing great
commentaries chronicles, compendiums, tikas, Anutikas and
above all books on secular subjects like grammar, prosody,
lexicon, poetics, medicine, poetry etc. and thereby enriching
India’s own national treasure in every respect.
Srilanka’s traditional centers of Pali-learning are also the main
sources even for modern-day Pali studies in India. Late Ven.
Mahapandit Rahula Sakrityayana, Late Ven. Ananda
Kausalyayana and Late Bhikkhu J. Kasyapa, are the three leading
personalities who, after being well-equipped with the knowledge
According to Oxford1 Dictionary interface means a point where
two things meat and inter-act. In other words, every process of
interface consists of reciprocal action or influence. Herein one acts
in such a way as to have an effect on another. Here, it is essential to
point out that the Sinhalese and Indians had close cultural ties even
prior to the great historical mission of elder Mahinda.
Linguistically Sinhali language was one of the member of indo-
Aryan family and ethnically Sinhelese were not different from the
people of Lata-desa or majjhima-desa. Therefore, according to
Prof. Malalsekera, they had no problem in receiving the Dhamma
of the Buddha from the mainland. “They had no difficulty in
assimilating the philosophical culture of a religion, which have
come into birth and attained to power in a country which they
themselves claim as the motherland, they were Orasa-jata
(blossom-born) children of India, their lives and minds nourished
2
on her age- long, yet living and growing tradition ”.
Elder Mahinda’s visit to Srilanka was the first Cultural interface
between India and Srilanka through Buddhism in which India
played positive role and it had strong effect on the socio-religious
culture of Srilanka. This process continued for centuries and by the
end of 4th century Sinhalese were ready to pay back the debt with
interest to mainland India. The compilation of Atthakathas in Pali
are the living examples of this second cultural inter-action in which
the Theravada tradition of Mahavihara played positive role.
It is essential to remember that when close cultural relations were
strengthened during the reign of emperor Asoka and the Theravada
parampara was firmly established in the land of Srilanka, after that
anything against this orthodox tradition was outrightly rejected.
On the other hand the traditional Theravada lost its ground in the
mainland and was replaced by other Buddhist sects such as the
Mahasanghikas, the Sammitiyas and the Sarvastivadins. Several
doctrinal changes emerged in the Abhidhamma of these Buddhist
sects. However, there are no evidences to prove any meaningful
interaction between orthodox Buddhist church of Mahavihara of
Srilanka and the new Buddhist schools developed in India. Xuan
3
Zang, the famous Chinese traveler has given many details of the
construction of Mahabodhi Sangharama at Bodhgaya by
Ceylonese king Meghavanna. These details are confirmed by a
copper plate inscription of the same king. From these details it is
inferred that Ceylon monks (Orthodox Thervadins) were not held
in high respect in India because their views were not accepted even
by the Indian Buddhist Monks belonging to different sects which
developed new AHIDHAMMA. The gap between Orthodox
Theravada tradition and the later Buddhsit sects had grown wider
and wider denying any possibility of any interaction between the
two. We can see clear traces of this attitude even in Srilanka’s
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