[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Buddhist Sanskrit literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit) › [Āgama sūtras of the mainstream schools](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama) › [Other mainstream sūtras](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other) › [Ekagāthā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha) › [ཚིགས་སུ་བཅད་པ་གཅིག་པ](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo) › [The Single Stanza](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo~en-84000) › intro # ཚགས་ས་བཅད་པ་གཅག་པ intro: 84000's introduction The Single Stanza intro - **Language:** English ### 84000's introduction ### [intro.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo~en-84000.intro.1) The Single Stanza is a praise to the Buddha in one verse. It states that there is no ascetic equal to the Buddha, neither among the gods nor in the ordinary world. ### [intro.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo~en-84000.intro.2) The Single Stanza is a praise to the Buddha in one verse. It states that there is no ascetic equal to the Buddha, neither among the gods nor in the ordinary world. ### [intro.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo~en-84000.intro.3) The Single Stanza is quoted in the Mahā­vibhāṣā, so it must have been composed by the third century.¹ It is cited in Vasubandhu’s Gāthāsaṃ­graha­śāstra (Toh 4102), the Abhi­dharmakośa­bhāṣya (Toh 4090), and several other Abhidharma works,² and it also appears in the Avadānaśataka (Toh 343). Moreover, there are two Indian commentaries on The Single Stanza in the Tengyur, one attributed to Vasubandhu³ and the other to Dignāga,⁴ which further attests to its importance. ### [intro.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo~en-84000.intro.4) Kano concludes that The Single Stanza was part of a set of five texts used for recitation in India.⁵ Others in the set were The Dhāraṇī of the Six Gates (Toh 141, 526, 916),⁶ The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī (Toh 143, 611, 918),⁷ The Four Stanzas (Toh 324),⁸ and The Prayer of Good Conduct (Toh 1095, 4377).⁹ Initially, these five texts circulated individually. However, they had become popular in India as a set by the time of Advayavajra or Ratnākaraśānti (eleventh century) and were later incorporated into the dhāraṇī collections of Nepal. ### [intro.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo~en-84000.intro.5) The Sanskrit text of The Single Stanza is extant in several manuscripts from Nepal. Gergely Hidas edited one of these manuscripts as part of his edition of two dhāraṇī collections.¹⁰ Kazuo Kano has also published a critical edition of the Sanskrit text of The Single Stanza,¹¹ together with a Japanese translation. The Sanskrit text aligns closely with the Tibetan translation of The Single Stanza. ### [intro.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo~en-84000.intro.6) The canonical version of The Single Stanza closely matches the version found in the Tibetan translation of Vasubandhu’s commentary, which is listed in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma catalogs.¹² Therefore, it is likely that the Tibetan translation of The Single Stanza was also completed by the early ninth century. The Single Stanza is found in the Sūtra section of the Kangyurs of the Tshalpa, Thempangma, and mixed lines, and in that of the Phukdrak Kangyur. Some Western Tibetan collections also include The Single Stanza.¹³ It is not known who translated The Single Stanza into Tibetan, for neither the colophons nor Tibetan historical works mention the translators.¹⁴ ### [intro.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo~en-84000.intro.7) The Tibetan scholar Tāranātha (1575–1634) composed a commentary on The Single Stanza as well as sequential commentaries on three of the other five texts in the above-mentioned set,¹⁵ corroborating Kano’s view that these texts were seen as related.¹⁶ The importance of The Single Stanza and the other texts in the set for recitation is evident. In Tibet, they are included in extracts from sūtra and tantra (gces btus), collected liturgical texts (chos spyod), collections of mantras and dhāraṇīs for recitation, and collections of sādhanas. They are also sometimes mentioned as texts for recitation in preliminary practices. ### [intro.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo~en-84000.intro.8) This English translation is based on the Degé print and Kano’s Sanskrit edition, in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), the Phukdrak and the Stok Palace manuscripts, as well as Vasubandhu’s commentary on The Single Stanza. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo~en-84000.intro](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.other.ekagatha*bo~en-84000.intro) · Pramāṇa