On the Chronicles of Ceylon

II. Literary Position – 61
So far as this earlier form of the chronicle is concerned, its author
openly claims that his performance is capable of awakening
emotional interest, pleasing and delighting the [35] heart of the
reader, and what is more, the narrative of his epic is replete with
various forms and modes:
pīti-pāmojja-jananaṁ pasādeyyaṁ manoramaṁ
anekākārasampannaṁ………………………….
That there is lack of symmetry here and there is undeniable. The
events are not narrated in one and the same strain. The result
produced is, on the whole, a piece of mosaic. But therein exactly lies
its rugged beauty and grandeur. The repetitions complained of are
there, but that is more apparent than real. Let us take, for instance,
the account of the First Buddhist Council which occurs twice in the
Dīpavaṁsa, first in Chapter IV and, again, in Chapter V. On looking
more closely into the matter, however, we find that in the first
instance the author is to offer us a description of the council
concerned as an isolated incident, considered per se, and in the
second context it is presented as an integral part of the whole of the
historical narrative. The same as to the description of the Second
Buddhist Council. The so-called repetitions are not unjustified.
The narration of events from the reign of the immediate successor of
Devānaṁpiya Tissa to that of Mahāsena is dominated by purely
historical motive. The strain of continuous narration is nowhere
sought to be relieved. The thread of the narrative is loose and the
accounts in places are too concise to produce a lasting effect. It is not
unlikely that the four or five concluding chapters were later
additions.