A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s1.47

v2.c19.s1.47

First of all, the language of our Tipiṭaka can scarcely be the same as that of the Canon of the third century B. C. Buddha himself spoke the dialect of his native province Kosala (Oudh), and it was most likely in this same dialect that he first began to proclaim his doctrine. Later on, however, when he wandered and taught in Magadha (Bihar) he probably preached in the dialect of this province. We must, however, take into account the fact that, in the early days of Buddhism, little importance was attached to the linguistic form of texts. An utterance of Buddha has come down to us, in which he affirms that he cares not for mere wording, but only for the meaning itself.² When, in course of time, the doctrine spread over a large area, the monks of various districts preached each in his own dialect. It is probable that monks coming from Brahman circles also attempted to translate the speeches of Buddha into Sanskrit verses. In the Vinayapiṭaka, however, this procedure is expressly declared as a transgression against the monastic discipline, because it "contributes neither to the conversion of the unconverted nor to the augmentation of the converts," and it is declared to be right that each one should learn the doctrine in a version adapted to his own language.¹ The monks who compiled the Canon in Pāṭaliputra, most probably used an ancient Māgadhī dialect. *Pāli*,² however, the literary language of the Buddhists of Ceylon, Burma and Siam, though called "Māgadhī" by these people themselves, deviates essentially from the dialect, otherwise known to us through inscriptions, literary works and grammarians. On the other hand, it agrees just as little with any other dialect. The fact is that Pāli is a literary language, which was used exclusively as such only by the Buddhists, and like all literary languages, it developed more or less out of a mixture of dialects. Of course a literary language of this kind, even if it represents a kind of compromise between two different dialects, could at all events only have proceeded out of *one* certain dialect. This was very likely an old Māgadhī, so that the tradition which makes Pāli and Māgadhī the same, though it is not to be taken literally, has some historical background.