Pāli version of Jālīkaṇhā-abhisekakaṇḍa kept in Wat Bowonniwet Vihara: a study of a manuscript, transliteration and translation

Abstract

This article aims to study the manuscript of Jālīkaṇhā-abhisekakaṇḍa inscribed on palm leaves and kept in Wat Bowonniwet Vihara. The Khom script was transliterated into Thai script, and the Pāli language was translated into Thai. The study finds that this piece of literature was composed in Thailand; the author’s name and the composition date were not specified. In the story, the people of Devalaṅkā invited Jālī and Kaṇhājinā to marry and reign over them. This is an additional part to the thirteenth chapter of Vessantara Jātaka; its content is permeated with the benefits of listening to all thirteen chapters of the Mahājāti preaching. The Pāli language in this manuscript is flawed due to the incorrect and incomplete copying. However, its content is considered highly valuable as it is an important piece of evidence of the local people’s wisdom and faith in Buddhism in the past in relation to the tradition of listening to the Mahājāti preaching that led them to compose a piece of literature in the Pāli language whose content is a continuation from the Tipiṭaka and Aṭṭhakathā in their own locality.