The sub-commentaries (

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

: ''ṭīkā'') are primarily commentaries on the commentaries (Pali: ''aṭṭhakathā'') on the

Pali Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

Buddhism, written in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. This literature continues the commentaries' development of the traditional interpretation of the scriptures. (Note that some commentaries are apparently also named with the term ''ṭīkā''.) These sub-commentaries were begun during the reign of Parākramabāhu I (1123–1186) under prominent Sri Lankan scholars such as Sāriputta Thera, Mahākassapa Thera of Dimbulagala Vihāra and Moggallāna Thera.

Burmese collection

The official Burmese collected edition contains the following texts: * '' Paramatthamañjusā'', ṭīkā by

Dhammapāla Dhammapāla was the name of two or more great Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist commentators. The earlier, born in Kanchipuram, is known to us from both the ''Gandhavamsa'' and to have lived at Badara Tittha Vihara south of modern Chennai, and to ...

Buddhaghosa Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Sinhalese Theravādin Buddhist commentator, translator, and philosopher. He worked in the great monastery (''mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajyavāda schoo ...

's ''

Visuddhimagga The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''; ), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhism, Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condens ...

''; scholars have not yet settled which Dhammapāla this is * Three ṭīkāyo on the ''Samantapāsādikā'', commentary on the ''

Vinaya Piṭaka The ''Vinaya Piṭaka'' (English: ''Basket of Discipline'') is the first of the three divisions of the Pali Tripitaka, the Pali Canon, definitive canonical collection of Buddhist texts, scripture of Theravada Buddhism. The other two parts of ...

'': ** Ṭīkā by Vajirabuddhi ** '' Sāratthadīpanī'' by Sāriputta Thera (12th century) ** '' Vimativinodanī'' by Mahākassapa Thera (13th century) * Two ṭīkāyo on the '' Kankhavitarani'', commentary on the ''

Pāṭimokkha In Theravada Buddhism, the Pāṭimokkha is the basic code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks (bhikkhus) and 311 for nuns (bhikkhuni, bhikkhuṇīs). It is contained in the Suttavibhanga, Suttavibhaṅga, a ...

'' * Ṭīkāyo by

's '' Sumangalavilasinī'', '' Papancasudanī'' and '' Saratthapakasini'', commentaries on the Dīgha, Majjhima and Saṃyutta Nikāya; it is generally considered by scholars that this is a different Dhammapāla from the one who wrote commentaries. * '' Visuddha(jana)vilasini'' by Nanabhivamsa, head of the Burmese sangha, about 1800; a new partial tika on the '' Sumangalavilasini'', covering only the first volume of the '' Digha Nikāya'' * '' Saratthamanjusa'' by Sāriputta Thera on

's '' Manorathapurani'' on the ''

Aṅguttara Nikāya The ''Aṅguttara Nikāya'' ('; , also translated "Gradual Collection" or "Numerical Discourses") is a Buddhist scriptures collection, the fourth of the five Nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" t ...

'' * '' Nettitīkā'' on

's commentary on the '' Nettipakaraṇa'' * '' Nettivibhavini'' by a 16th-century Burmese author whose name is given in different manuscripts as Saddhamma-, Samanta- or Sambandha-pala; this is not a new tika on the '' Netti'' commentary, but a new commentary on the ''Netti'' itself * '' Mūlatīkā'' by Ānanda on the commentaries on the '' Abhidhamma Piṭaka'' * '' Anutīkā'' on the '' Mūlatīkā'' There are other tikas without this official recognition, some printed, some surviving in manuscript, some apparently lost. The name tika is also applied to commentaries on all non-canonical works, such as the '' Mahāvaṃsa''. There are also some sub-commentaries in vernacular languages. Extracts from some of these works have been translated, usually along with translations of commentaries.

References

{{Religious books Pali Buddhist texts Theravada literature Buddhist commentaries