A Preliminary Survey of Pali Palm Leaf Manuscripts in Leiden

by Bhikkhu Nyanatusita
Kandy, 2014. Unpublished.

The large collections of Pali manuscripts in the UK, France, Germany, and Denmark are well known among
Pali scholars, but it is little known that there are some Pali manuscripts in the Netherlands. Three libraries
in the Dutch university town of Leiden have Pali manuscripts in their collections: The Volkenkundig
Museum (Ethnological Museum) owns a fairly large collection of manuscripts in various scripts; the library
of the University of Leiden has several Burmese, Sinhalese and Thai manuscripts; and the library of the
Kern Instituut owns two Burmese script manuscripts. In June 2005 I visited these collections and in this
article will give a brief and provisional survey of the manuscripts. Not all the texts described are Buddhist
or Pali texts. Since some texts were unidentified or wrongly identified as Pali manuscripts in the existing
inventory lists, I have also listed some Sinhalese and South-East Asian non-Buddhist texts such as
translations of the Bible in Sinhala and Khmer.
Hopefully, this preliminary survey will eventually lead to a detailed survey of these precious
manuscripts.
I thank the curators of the collections who kindly helped giving me access to the manuscripts, and
also to Jacqueline Filliozat, Peter Skilling, William Pruitt, and Pat McCormick who kindly helped with
identifying some of the texts and Petra Kieffer-Pülz who made many valuable suggestions.

1. Pali Manuscripts in the Collection of the Volkenkundig Museum (Ethnological

Museum), Leiden
This collection contains the largest number of Pali manuscripts in Leiden. The manuscripts are
well preserved and some are still covered by their original covering cloths. Most of the Pali manuscripts in
this collection are in Khom script from Central Thailand. Some other manuscripts are in the Sinhala script
of Sri Lanka, the Mon script of eastern Myanmar and the Burmese script from central Myanmar. There are
also manuscripts in scripts from Northern Thailand, Laos and perhaps one from Yunnan in China. At least
two manuscripts are from Cambodia. There is no information about the exact provenance of the
manuscripts in this collection.
The palm leaf manuscripts, most of them contained within two wooden boards, often contain
more than one Pali text, i.e. they are collective manuscripts. Several of the Thai manuscripts are still
covered with their traditional covering cloths. These cloths are special by themselves and will be
described in the footnotes.
The Pali palm leaf collection can be divided into two parts: The older part consisting of Thai Khom
script manuscripts (MSS numbered 1070, 1344, 1375, 1419), which make up the bulk of the collection—
along with a few fragments of Cambodian and Laotian manuscripts (numbered 432, 754)—which all have
 2
labels made by the French scholar Cabaton, and the newer part consisting of Burmese, Sinhalese and other
manuscripts which have more recent labels.
Khom is the common name used for the script used for writing Pali texts in Thailand. It is very
similar to the Khmer script used in Cambodia. Another name for it is Mūl. The Khom script manuscripts
contain Pali texts popular in Thailand. They fit the classification of the Pali texts in Central Thailand
monastic libraries as made by Shimizu (2013: 35–36): (1) The seven books of Abhidhamma starting with the
Dhammasaṅgaṇi; (2) the Dhammapada, its commentary and related literature; (3) Pāli grammars related to
the Kaccāyana grammar; (4) the Vessantara Jātaka, the last, largest and most popular canonical Jātaka
story; (5) Vinaya texts on the discipline of Buddhist monks; and (6) extra-canonical and/or apocryphal
texts. The extra-canonical texts Shimizu classifies as follows: (1) Jātakas such as the 50 Paññāsa Jātaka
stories composed in Southeast Asia. (2) Texts entitled Guṇa such as the Mahābuddhaguṇa, the “Buddha’s
Great Virtuous Qualities”. (3) Texts entitled Ānisaṃsa meaning “rewards” or “benefits” of meritorious
deeds such as giving food to monks. (4) Other popular texts such as the Paṭhamasambodhi.
Shimizu does not mention the Milindapañha “The Questions of Milinda”, a popular semi-canonical
Pali text found twice in the museum's collection. Although Shimizu only mentions the canonical books of
the Abhidhamma, there are also a lot of non-canonical Abhidhamma texts in Central Thai libraries, which
are well represented in this Leiden collection by commentaries, summaries called Mātikā, the
Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha, etc. The Lanna script MS from Northern Thailand also contains popular extra-
canonical texts.
On the Thai manuscripts (and on a few Cambodian and Laotian fragments) there are faded labels
made of note book paper with notes written with a dip pen. Remarks on the labels are in French. Probably
they were made by Antoine Cabaton (1863–1942), a French orientalist connected to the EFEO who made a
catalogue of Pali and Sanskrit manuscripts in the National Library of France (1907–08). Cabaton had an
interest in the Dutch in Asia since he wrote a book about the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) as well as a
book about the Dutch in Laos and Cambodia in the 17th century; the latter book was published in Leiden in
1919.1 A note attached to the label on one of the Pali manuscripts (Or. 2338, see below) in the Library of the
University of Leiden states that the label was made by Cabaton, who therefore appears to have visited
Leiden.2 Perhaps the Thai manuscripts were acquired from Thailand with the help of Cabaton or donated
by him.
The mātikā, summaries or matrices, of the seven canonical Abhidhamma texts, with or without
commentaries, are much more commonly found in Thai collections than the complete texts (see
manuscript 11). The Abhidhammamātikā or Mātikā might one of the most common Khom script manuscripts
(see the catalogues of the Khom script manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the EFEO
prepared by Filliozat (1986-2003, undated). The Abhidhammamātikā are not chanted in Sri Lanka or Burma

1
Les Hollandais au Cambodge et au Laos au XVIIe siècle, Leiden 1919. A biography and bibliography of Cabaton can be
viewed at the EFEO website at http://www.efeo.fr/biographies/notices/cabaton.htm (Retrieved: 19.3.2014).
2
The ornate handwriting on the labels appears to be identical to that on the postcards which Cabaton wrote in 1915
to the Prof. Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, a Dutch orientalist at Leiden; e.g. Or. 8952 A: 210 > 12 on the Digital Special
Collections website of the University of Leiden at https://socrates.leidenuniv.nl.
 3
but are always recited at funeral ceremonies in Thailand for the purpose of giving a good rebirth of those
who have passed away (see Lopez 1995: 336; McDaniel 2009: 91-105; Langer 2012: 31–33). The reason for the
popularity in Thailand is the attribution of meritorious as well as magical (mantric) protective qualities to
the hearing the sound of the syllables of the rather abstract and scholastic Abhidhamma texts. In the
popular sermon Abhidhamma Chet Khampi Ruam or “Summary of the Seven Books of the Abhidhamma”, a
text from Northern Thailand (Lānnā) in Pali and Tai Yuan, it is said “Whoever is born or dies on Sunday
and hears the Dhammasaṅgaṇī will be released from all demerit accrued through the eye. At death this
person will not be reborn in hell but will enter heaven. Whoever is born or dies on Monday and hears the
Dhammavibhaṅga …”; see Lopez 1995: 340 and McDaniel 2009: 95. Since the whole Abhidhamma texts are
quite large and would take days to chant, the mātikā summaries are taken as representing the whole texts
and are chanted instead in Thailand; see Langer 2012: 36. Extracts from the Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha (MS 3
and 7) are also chanted at funerals in Thailand; see McDaniel 2009: 100. In the official Royal Thai chanting
book translated as The Book of Chants, as used in the Dhammayuttika Order of Thailand, only three texts are
given in the mātikā section: the Dhammasaṅgaṇīmātikāpāṭhā, the Vipassanābhūmipāṭhā which consists of
extracts from the Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha and the Paṭṭhānamātikapāṭhā (Khantipālo et al 1975: 301–304).
The Dhammasaṅgaṇī and Paṭṭhāna are the first and last books of the Abhidhamma, and their chanting would
represent the recitation of the whole Abhidhamma; see Langer 2012: 32–33, 36. Although the mātikā of the
Dhammasaṅgaṇī and Paṭṭhāna are always chanted at funeral ceremonies, the Vipassanābhūmipāṭhā
apparently is a less common chant. Since funerals are a major ceremony for Theravada Buddhist monks to
go to, the mātikā texts were, and are, standardly learnt at Thai monastic colleges and, besides the chanting
of the mātikā at funerals, sermons about them were also given; see McDaniel 2009: 98–100.
The title Abhidhammamātikā does not appear on the Thai manuscripts themselves. The title folios of
the manuscripts have Dhammasaṅgaṇimātikā, Vibhaṅgapakaraṃamātikā, etc., but not always so consistently
even within in a manuscript; for example in BNF PALI 237 the first text is designated bra saṅgaṇī on the
title folio and in the manuscript conclusion (bra saṅgaṇī paripūṇṇā niṭṭhitā); the second text is designated
bra vibhaṅgapakaraṃamātikā in both places; the third bra dhātukathāpakaraṃamātikā and then bra
dhātukathā; the fourth bra puggallapañattipakaraṇa and then bra puggallapañattipakaraṇamātikā; the other
three texts in the manuscript are not designated mātikā. In BNF PALI 238 none of the mātikā texts are called
mātikā but are called bra abhidhammatthasaṅgiṇī, etc. Thus the best way the complete canonical texts can be
discerned easily is by the size of the manuscripts, since the mātikā manuscripts, even with commentary,
are much smaller.
I could not find any manuscripts called Abhidhammamātikā listed in catalogues of Burmese
collections; nor is the Abhidhammamātikā mentioned by Bode (1909) or by Shwe Hsan Aung (1910–12). In
the Wellcome Collection there only is an 18th century Mātikā nissaya or Pali to Burmese word-by-word
translation and commentary of the Dhammasaṅgaṇīmātikā by Dhammābhinanda and Varatejo; see Pruitt &
Bischoff 1998: 29-30. In German collections there is only one Burmese Dhammasaṅgaṇīmātikā manuscript
and of four Dhammābhinanda's Nissaya manuscripts; see Peters 2007, 2010. Therefore, it does not seem to
have been a text that was copied and studied in Burma. It is also not a text chanted or studied in Sri Lanka.
 4
In the large Nevill Collection of the British Library only two Sinhalese manuscripts (N 6600(130), Somadasa
1987: 208 and N 6601(75)ix, Somadasa 1987: 349) are designated as Abhidhammamātikā , but they contain
only the Tikamātikā of the Dhammasaṅgaṇī. Somadasa (1959: 6, 1964: 5) lists some Abhidhammamātikā
manuscripts but adds (1964: 5) that they are Dhammasaṅgaṇimātikā.
The Abhidhammamātikā texts in MS 6 & 16 in Leiden are accompanied by commentaries (lè
aṭṭhakathā), and so are many manuscripts in French collections catalogued by Filliozat; see BNF PALI 266–
282, EFEO PALI 5, 21. According to Filliozat these are abridgements of Buddhaghosa's commentaries on the
Abhidhamma texts.3 Indeed the introductory verses and the conclusion of the Dhammasaṅgaṇī Aṭṭhakathā
as quoted by Filliozat in the description of BNF Pali 266 are also found in the canonical Dhammasaṅgaṇī
Aṭṭhakathā, and so for the other mātikā and commentaries. In the Burmese Chaṭṭhasaṅgāyana (Sixth
Council) edition of the Tipiṭaka, a text called Abhidhammamātikā-pāḷi, with extensive versions of the mātikā,
precedes its commentary called the Mohavicchedanī or Abhidhammamātikatthavaṇṇanā, but these texts don't
appear to be related to the Thai Abhidhammamātikā and their commentaries. There are also various later
Pali commentaries on the mātikā composed in Thailand and Burma, such as the Mātikā-dīpanī; see
Nyanatusita 2011: 182.
Faded labels made of notebook paper with notes written with a dip pen are attached to the Thai
manuscripts as well as to a few Cambodian and Laotian fragments. Remarks on the labels are in French.
Probably they were made by Antoine Cabaton (1863–1942), a French orientalist connected to the EFEO who
made a catalogue of Pali and Sanskrit manuscripts in the National Library of France (1907–08). Cabaton
had an interest in the Dutch in Asia since he wrote a book about the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) as well
as a book about the Dutch in Laos and Cambodia in the 17th century; the latter book was published in
Leiden in 1919.4 A note attached to the label on one of the Pali manuscripts (Or. 2338, see below) in the
Library of the University of Leiden states that the label was made by Cabaton, who therefore appears to
have visited Leiden.5 Perhaps the Thai manuscripts were acquired from Thailand with the help of Cabaton
or donated by him.
Since I was not able to examine the manuscripts in detail, the titles of the Thai manuscripts are
mostly based on the old paper labels or tags attached to the manuscripts. These paper labels give the titles
contained in the manuscript, the amount of fascicles for each title, and sometimes the size of the
manuscripts. The Thai scribes who copied the texts put the titles of texts in Khom script on the cover
folios of the smaller bundles or fascicles (phūk) contained in the manuscript bundles. Cabaton's roman
script transcriptions of these titles are given in pencil below the Khom script titles. Cabaton also wrote
the collection number in black ink on the right side of the title folios. All the fascicles in several
manuscripts have the same collection number.

3
“BNF PALI 266 [Abhidhammaṭṭhakathā] abrégé 1. Dhammasaṅgaṇī-aṭṭhakathā — Atthasālinī CPD. 3.1,1 fragment.”
4
Les Hollandais au Cambodge et au Laos au XVIIe siècle, Leiden 1919. A biography and bibliography of Cabaton can be
viewed at the EFEO website at http://www.efeo.fr/biographies/notices/cabaton.htm (Retrieved: 19.3.2014).
5
The ornate handwriting on the labels appears to be identical to that on the postcards which Cabaton wrote in 1915
to the Prof. Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, a Dutch orientalist at Leiden; e.g. Or. 8952 A: 210 > 12 on the Digital Special
Collections website of the University of Leiden at https://socrates.leidenuniv.nl.
 5
A few texts in manuscript no. 1375 8–18, are not mentioned on Cabaton's label, therefore there
might be more texts in the bundles than are mentioned on the labels. Moreover, some of the texts were
not correctly identified by Cabaton; e.g. there is a Dhammapada-vivaraṇa in MS 1344–7 instead of the
Dhammapada given on the label. According to Dr. Jacqueline Filliozat (in a private correspondence), the
inventories made by Cabaton are not entirely reliable. This is not surprising since he had no access to the
editions of texts and detailed manuscript collection catalogues that are available nowadays.
Many of the manuscript bundles do not contain complete Pali texts, but rather chapters or
sections of texts such as the Kumārapabba section from the Vessantara-jātaka (which in turn is part of the
Jātaka collection, but often transmitted independently). Possibly the manuscripts which these chapters
and sections originally belonged to got split up; e.g. the fascicle titled Dasavara in MS 7 could belong to the
Vessantarajātaka manuscript in MS 13, where the Dasavara chapter is missing. However, popular sections
of large texts such as the sections or episodes of the Vessantara-jātaka were transmitted independently in
Thailand; see Lagirarde 1996: 93.
The Sinhalese manuscripts have been partly described by de Silva (1975). A few of the manuscripts
which he does not mention, such as the Hatthavanagalavihāravaṃsa, I identified.
In the following list of manuscripts, first a new list of the texts in a manuscript will be given
followed by the information as given on Cabaton's old labels accompanying the manuscript. Cabaton gives
the Thai titles as given on the title folios. The order of Thai titles is the sometimes the inverse of normal
Pali (e.g. Ṭīkā-vibhatti-kathā) or idiomatic. After the label, a description of uncommon or unusual texts will
be given, not of common canonical ones, followed by an external description of the manuscript.

Thai Khom script Pāli manuscripts

1. 1070–203 Unidentified (Nissaya on Sakkapabba chapter of the Vessantara-Jātaka)
An unidentified text in Khom script found in a fascicle without a roman script transcription of the title. It
is located together with MS 1375–32, and probably was put there after Cabaton labelled that manuscript
since he does not mention it. 6 The text is a kind of Thai nissaya, a phrase by phrase translation, of the
Sakkapabba chapter of the Vessantara Jātaka. The Pali is followed by a Thai gloss, also in Khom script. The
title folio has in Khom script: Nāmasabda sakkapabb phūk 9: “A nāmasabda (nāmasadda, “glossary”?) [on] the
Sakkapabba, 9 fascicles”. According to Skilling (2002: 269) a nāmaśabda is a Thai translation, however
Lagirarde (1996: 99) explains sabda as a word by word translation.
2. 1344–2 Paṭhama-sāratthadīpanī-ṭīkā.
Label: “1344/2. Pra pathama sāraṭṭha dīpanī ṭīkā pathama sāmanta. En 21 fascicules. 590 x 53 mm”.
This is the first part of the subcommentary on the Sāmantapāsādikā Vinaya commentary. MS 7 contains
two Sāratthadīpanī-ṭīkā fascicles, said to be number 2 and 3 by Cabaton, might be connected to this
manuscript.

6
The number on the first folio of this MS is 1070–203 and there is a small sticker with 18 written on it. On the paper
label this number is also mentioned in a different handwriting and ink colour than Cabaton's.
 6
This is a large manuscript with folios painted with gold and red on the edges, contained in thick, plain
wooden boards. The bundles are all of the same size and the edges are painted the same way.

3. 1344–7 (The fascicles do not have individual numbers.)7

Milindapañha (1 fasc.)
Mahājanakajātaka (1 fasc.)
Dhammapada-vivaraṇa (3 fascs.)
Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha (1 fasc.)
Fragment of an unidentified grammatical work and a Pali-Siamese vocabulary (1 fasc.)
Label: “1344 no. 7. Milindapañha 1 fasc., Mahājanakajātaka 1 —. Dhammapada 3 —. Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha 1 —.
Fragment de grammaire et de voc. pāli – siamois 1 —”.
According to Cab ton there is a Dhammapada text in this manuscript, but the titles on the fascicles
(phūk) in Khom script are: “bra mahajanakajātakaṃ dūka ba; vivara braḥ dhammapadakam cujjakparancāspa
dūka bā; vivara braḥ dhammapadakam cuncākpara dūka bu; vivaraṇa bra dhammapada dūka ta” indicating
that it is the Dhammapada-vivaraṇa, a commentary on the Dhammapada verses, explaining them briefly
in prose; see Skilling and Pakdeekham 2002 2.199/p. 157. The Mahājanaka-jātaka is a canonical Jātaka
story, Jātaka story no. 539, which is also transmitted as an independent text in Thailand; see Skilling
and Pakeekdham 2004, p. 291.

The manuscript is contained in plain wooden boards. The edges of the folios are not painted with gild and
look rough. The cover cloth is a colourful batik cloth with gods and other motifs. This type of cloth is
probably called Phai lai nok yang, which was imported into Thailand from British colonial India. Earlier,
more delicate batik cloths imported from India exclusively for the Thai court are called Phai lai yang.
The ivory tag (04–217) accompanying this MS has the inscription Lokasanthāna, but this text is not
found in this manuscript and therefore this tag must have been misplaced from another manuscript.

4. 1375-2a–e
1375-2a–e Dhammapada.
Label: “1375-2 c. 5 fasc. provenant d'exemplaires differents”. (“5 fascicles originating from different copies”.)
The manuscript has no cover and probably was originally included in the next manuscript; see fn. 8.

5. 1375–38 to 7
1375-3 Līnatthappakāsanā, Majjhimanikāya-uparipaṇṇāsa-ṭīkā (1 fasc.)
1375–4 Nandopanandanāgarāja, fasc. 7 (1 fasc.)
1375–5 Yamaka & aṭṭhakathā, fasc. 6 (1 fasc.)
1375–6 Mūlakaccāyana incomplete (1 fasc.)

7
All fascicles contained in the manuscript have this same collection number on the title folio.
8
On the inside of one of the two wooden covers is written: “1375–2 A-E. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 550 x 52.” Presumably the preceding
Dhammapada, which now has no wooden cover, was originally part of this manuscript bundle. I could not inspect
this MS in detail.
 7
1375–7 Abhidhammasaṅgaha-mūlaṭīkā (1 fasc.)
Label: “1375 nos 3 – 7. 3. Līnatthappakāsanāṭīkā majjhimanikāya uparipaṇṇāsa 1 fasc. 4. Nandopanandanāgarāja,
fasc. 7 1 —. 5. Yapattala aṭṭhakathā, fasc. 6, 1. —. 6. Mūlakaccāyana-uṇṇādi 1 —. 7. Mūlaṭīkā abhidhammasaṅgaha 1 —
. 550 x 52”.
The Līnatthappakāsanā or Līnatthappakāsinī or Majjhimanikāya-ṭīkā is the subcommentary on the
Papañcasūdanī or Majjhimanikāya-aṭṭhakathā. The Uparipaṇṇāsa is the third and last section of fifty
(paṇṇāsa) suttas of the Majjhimanikāya. The Nandopanandanāgarāja is a chapter of the Bāhuṃsa or Bāhuṃ-
ṭīkā, a commentary on the Buddhajayamaṅgalaṭṭhagāthā, and in this case the commentary on the 7th verse.
As to the Yamaka & aṭṭhakathā: The title on the cover folio is Brayapattaleatthakathā, of which le stands for
Thai lè: “and”. Bra yapatta le atthakathā means “Venerable Yapatta and Commentary.” As there is no Pali
text with the name Yapatta, it very likely is an idiosyncratic local spelling of Yamaka, one of the
Abhidhamma texts of which the mātikā and its commentary usually comes as the 6th fascicle of the
Abhidhammamātikā, e.g., as in MS 1375 43–55. The title Yappata is not necessarily a corruption. It is likely
that the Indochinese scribes sometimes wrote the title the way they pronounced it and as it was in
common use in the areas where they worked. In Sinhalese monastery library indices Sinhalised and
Sanskritised titles such as prātimokshaya instead of pātimokkha are used. The apparently “corrupt”
Indochinese spellings of a title could provide valuable information about the provenance of a manuscript
and its relation to other manuscripts with the same or similar “corruption”, e.g., the reading maddhi-
instead of maddī is also found in MS BNF 203 and dānna- instead of dāna- in BNF 204 of the collection of the
Bibliothèque nationale de France; see Filliozat (undated EFEO Data).
The title of the 6th text is Mūlakaccāyana-uṇṇādi, of uṇṇādi probably means uṇādi which means “lacking
(uṇa) the beginning”, that is the Mūlakaccāyana text is lacking its beginning.
This manuscript is contained in thick wooden boards, painted with red and gold on the edges, and is
covered with a plain blue covering cloth. The folios are painted gold at the edges. There are five bundles of
varying sizes separated by differently coloured strings.

6. 1375(-8a) to 18
1375(–8a) Kathāvatthu & aṭṭhakathā (1 fasc.)
1375–8(b) Dhātukathā & aṭṭhakathā (1 fasc.)
1375–9 Kesaṭṭha (1 fasc.)
1375–10 Mahā-buddhaguṇā (1 fasc.)
1375–11 Mahā-buddhaguṇā (1 fasc.)
1375–12 Mahā-buddhaguṇā9 (1 fasc.)
1375–13 Kumārapabba (1 fasc. )
1375–14 Fragments (1 fasc.)
1375(–14b) Vibhaṅga & aṭṭhakathā (1 fasc.)
1375–15 Unidentified fragments (1 fasc.)

9
On the last folio: Buddhaguṇā kai Saggalokya.
 8
1375–16 Buddhaguṇā10 (1 fasc.)
1375–17 Desanātāvati-parivutto (1 fasc.)
1375–18 Dhātukathā & aṭṭhakathā11 (1 fasc. )
Label: “1375–8–18. Vibhaṅga aṭṭhakathā 1 fascicule. Dhātukathā 2 —. Buddhaguṇa 3 —. Desapātāvati parivutto
niṭṭhito paccheda 1 —. Fragments sans suite en Pāli et en Siamois (ouvrages religieux.) 2 —. Kumārapabba 1 —”.
A closer examination of the manuscript revealed that there are more fascicles. The title folio of the first
fascicle has in Khom script: Kathāvatthu lè aṭṭhakathā: “Kathāvatthu and commentary”, etc. Because the
small sizes of the fascicles containing the Abhidhamma texts in this manuscript (about 15–20 folios each)
are not large enough for complete Abhidhamma texts, they are probably the mātikā, summaries, of the
Abhidhamma texts (see MS 15 below) and their commentaries (see MS 16).
The text called Kesaṭṭha could be the Aṭṭha-kesa-dhātu-nidāna; see Skilling & Pakdeekham 2002: 41/§ 2.11. In
Thailand the parts of Pali text titles are often put in a different order than in standard Pali. The
Mahābuddhaguṇa is a text on the qualities of the Buddha; see Skilling and Pakdeekham 2002: 137/§ 2.163.
The Kumārapabba is the eight chapter of the Vessantara-jātaka, It relates the giving away of Vessantara's
children (kumāra) to the Brahmin Jūjaka; see Lagirarde 1996: 94.
On the title folio of 1375-15 Cabaton attached a label with: “Fragments d’ouvrages religieux en Siamois et en Pāli
charactères Mūl (rond) et Chrieng (cursif.)” : “Fragments of religious texts in Thai and in the Pali characters
Mūl (round) et Chrieng (cursive.)”. These are probably fragments of Nissaya or word by word translations.
The Desanātāvati-parivutto is probably a misreading or idiosyncratic spelling of Desanā-parivatto, which is
the 13th chapter of the Paṭhamasambodhi, a biography of the Buddha which is popular in Thailand.
The manuscript is contained in wooden boards painted black with abstract gild motifs and covered with a
beautiful Northern Thai style hand woven cloth. Most bundles are gilded on the outside; a few not. The
fascicles are of different sizes which suggests that they were independent or parts of other manuscripts at
first. This is also indicated by the texts contained in the fascicles: four are Abhidhamma texts, and the rest
are popular Jātaka and devotional texts. These texts would normally be in a separate manuscript bundles.

7. 1375–19 to 31
1375–1912 Sāratthadīpaṇi-ṭīkā, fascicle no. 3 ( 1 fasc.)
1375–20 Mahāvagga (1 fasc.)
1375–21 Dasavara (1 fasc.)
1375–22 Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha (1 fasc.)
1375–23 Parivāra, fascicle no. 9 (1 fasc.)
1375–24 Nissaggī (= Nissaggiya Pācittiya), fascicle no. 2 (1 fasc.)

10
In pencil on the cover folio: Buddhaguṇa arahaṃ. Homage in Khom script on cover folio: Tilokapakkhaṃ
tibhavekanāyakaṃ vināyakaṃ ... namāmi viraṃ arahattamuttamanti.
11
It is possible that this bundle belonging together with 8b. This should be checked by comparing the handwriting
and the size of the folios.
12
The information is from the label. I was not able to compare the titles on the label with the titles in Khom script on
the bundles.
 9
1375–25 Samantapāsādikā13-catuttha-pālavatta-aṭṭhakathā, fascicle no. 2 (1 fasc.)
1375–26 Pācittiya, fascicle no. 13. (1 fasc.)
1375–27 Samantapasādikā-catuttha-cullavagga-aṭṭhakathā-, fascicle no. 5 (1 fasc.)
1375–28 Saṅgiṇī-aṭṭhakathā (= Dhammasaṅgaṇī Aṭṭhakathā) (1 fasc.)
1375–29 Sāratthadīpaṇi-ṭīkā, fascicle no. 2. (1 fasc.)
1375–30–31 Catuttha-samantapāsādikā-aṭṭhakathā-cullavagga, fascicle nos. 2 and 3, (2 fascs.)
Label: “1375 N: 19–31. 19. Sārattha-dīpaṇi-ṭīkā, fasc. 3, 1 fasc. 20. Mahāvagga 1 —. 21. Dasavara 1 —. 22.
Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha 1 —. 23. Parivāra, fasc. 9, 1 —. 24. Nissaggī, fasc. 2, 1 fasc. 25. Catuttha-sāmanta-pālādikā-
aṭṭhakathā-pālavatta, fasc. 2, 1 —. 26. Pācittiya, fasc. 13. 1 —. 27. Catuttha-sāmanta-palādikā-aṭṭhakathā-cūlavagga.
fasc. 5, 1 —. 28. Saṅgiṇī-aṭṭhakathā 1 —. 29. Méme ouvr. qu' au no. 19, fasc. 2, 1 —. 30–31. Méme ouvrages qu' au no 27,
fasc. 2 et 3, 2 —”.
This manuscript mostly contains parts of miscellaneous texts related to monastic discipline or Vinaya,
however there are also a few other texts—part of a Jātaka and two Abhidhamma texts.
The two Sāratthadīpaṇi-ṭīkā fascicles might be connected to the Sāratthadīpanī-ṭīkā manuscript, MS 2. The
Mahāvagga probably is the Mahāvagga of the Vinaya-piṭaka. The Dasavara is the first chapter of the
Vessantara-jātaka, Jātaka story 547, and probably belongs to the Vessantara Jātaka manuscript (MS 13) where
this section is missing. Nissaggī is probably the Nissaggiya-pācittiya section of the Suttavibhaṅga, and Pācittiya
the Pācittiya section. Saṅgiṇī-aṭṭhakathā is the Dhammasaṅgaṇī-aṭṭhakathā, also called Atthasālinī. As it is only
one fascicle, this cannot be the complete Atthasālinī commentary on the Atthasālinī and might be a part of it
or, more likely, might be a commentary on the Dhammasaṅgaṇī-mātikā; see MS 6 and 16.
It is unclear what the Pālavatta aṭṭhakathā part of the Samantapāsādikā refers to since pālavatta “guardian
duty” is not a part of the Vinaya-piṭaka. It might be corruption or synonym of the name of one of the
sections of the Cullavagga dealing with the duties, vatta, or, more likely, a corruption of Parivāra since the
fascicle 1375–25 is the commentary on the Cullavagga. Catuttha means that it is the fourth part of the
Samantapāsādikā.
The manuscript is contained in thick plain wooden covers. There are different bundles of which the edges
are painted gold and red in different ways indicating that the manuscript contains text originally from
other manuscripts. This difference is also indicated by the incomplete texts (i.e. only certain fascicles are
included) and the different types of texts contained in the manuscript, mainly Vinaya texts but also the
Dasavara and Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha.

8. 1375–3214 (The fascicles have no individual numbers.)

Saddavācaka-pakaraṇa (2 fascs.)
Vibhattikathā-ṭīkā (1 fasc.)
13
Instead of pāsādikā the label reads palādikā here and in MS 1375–27, which is a corruption or a local spelling.
14
The information is from the Cabaton's label. I could not compare the titles on this label with the titles on the title
folios of the bundles. Another label has a note in pencil writing in Dutch: “Al de HS. zijn gedeelten van een
commentaar op een geschrift van wijsgeerigen inhoud; de geschreven titel is Anuṭīkā-saṅgaha.‡” (“All the MSS are
part of a commentary on a text of philosophical content; the written title is Anuṭīkā-saṅgaha.‡”). Then follows in
another handwriting: “‡ 1375/32. Pas trouve ce titre general” (“‡ 1375/32. Did not find this general title.”) The Anuṭīkā-
saṅgaha is MS 1375–33, see the next manuscript, and this label is obviously accompanying the wrong MS.
 10
Gandhābharaṇa-ṭīkā (1 fasc.)
Cūḷasaddanīti (3 fascs.)
Label: “1375 – 32. Pra Saddavācaka-pakaraṇa 2 fasc., Ṭīkā-vibhatti-kathā 1 —, Gandhābharaṇa-ṭīkā 1 —.
Cuḷasaddanīti 3 —.”
This manuscript contains Pali grammatical texts transmitted in Southeast Asia. The Saddavācaka-pakaraṇa
might be the text called Saddavācakalakkhaṇa listed in Skilling and Pakdeekham 2002 § 4.120. The
Vibhattikathā-ṭīkā is listed in ditto § 4.50. The Gandhābharaṇa-ṭīkā was composed in Northern Thailand or
Laos by Suvaṇṇaraṃsi Saṅgharāja in the late sixteenth century; see ditto § 4.43. The Cūḷasaddanīti is the
second part of the Saddanīti when it is divided into two parts, see ditto § 4.34, & § 4.92.
The manuscript is contained in plain wooden covers and covered with a plain blue cloth. The edges of the
seven bundles are painted red and gold in the same pattern, indicating that it is a single origin manuscript.
This manuscript also contains a Siamese cursive script text with the code 1070–203, which is described
above as manuscript no. 1.

9. 1375–33
No label. Note on wooden cover board (in pencil): “Anuṭīkā-saṅgaha,15 5 fascicules”.
The manuscript, containing a compilation or collection (saṅgaha) of sub-sub-commentaries (anuṭīkā), is
contained in red wooden boards and covered with a red yellow striped covering cloth. The cloth
apparently is a type of Persian cloth that was exclusively imported for the Thai court, indicating that this
manuscript was probably donated by someone connected to the court. The folios are painted gold and red
on the edges. The five fascicles are separated by strings, have title folios with the titles (“anuṭīkā saṅgaha
phūk 1”, etc.) and all are painted the same way, indicating a single origin manuscript.
The ivory title tag attached to the string on the cloth covering MS has “Braḥ vīsatinipāta 17” which means
“Venerable Section Twenty, [Fascicle] 17”. The vīsatinipāta is a section of the Jātaka; therefore this ivory
tag originally did not belong to this MS, as is the case with the ivory tag accompanying MS 1419–14.

10. 1375-34 to 42
1375–34Accharamālinī-dhammikapaṇḍita (1 fasc.)
1375–35 Tulakkapaṇḍita-jātaka (1 fasc.)
1375–36 Nibbāna-sūtra (1 fasc.)
1375–37 Mātasutta (1 fasc.)
1375–38 Tatiya-saṅgīta-vaṇṇanā-samakhu (1 fasc.)
1375–39 Puññatara-nidāna (1 fasc.)
1375–40 Dārikanāgisutta, Mātuguṇa-sutta, Setavatthu-vandanā catudanā-jātakaṃ (1 fasc.)
1375–41 Senaka-jātaka-paṭhamaṃ (1 fasc.)
1375–42 Sīha-sūtra-kappa-aṭṭhakathā (1 fasc.)

15
See the note on MS 1375–32.
 11
Label: “1375 34 – 42. + 1 los blad. 16 34. Accharamālinī dhammikapaṇḍita 1 fasc. 35. Tulakkapaṇḍita jātakam 1 –.
36. Nibbāna-sūtra 1 –. 37. Mātasuttaṃ 1 –. 38. Tatiya-saṅgīta-vaṇṇanā-samakhu 1 –. 39. Puññatara-nidāna 1 –. 40.
Dārikanāgisutta mātuguṇa-sutta setavatthu-vandanā catudanā jātakaṃ 1 –. 41. Senaka-jātaka-paṭhamaṃ 1 –. 42.
Sīha-sūtra-kappa aṭṭhakathā 1 –.”.
The manuscript contains a collection of apocryphal jātakas and other popular stories.
The Accharamālinī-dhammikapaṇḍita and Tulakkapaṇḍita-jātaka—normally called Tulaka-paṇḍita-jātaka or
Dulaka-paṇḍita-jātaka—are Jātaka stories from the apocryphal Paṇṇāsajātaka collection. The Nibbāna-sūtra =
Nibbānasutta, is a popular Southeast Asian apocryphal text on the City of Nibbāna, see Hallisey 1995.
According to Lagirarde (1996: 95) it is the most popular religious text in Northern Thailand. Māta-sutta
probably is a misspelling of Mata-sūtra “Sutta on the Deceased”, mentioned in Skilling and Pakdeekham
2002:95/§ 2.96.4. Cf. the Mata-sutta at Vat Po, MS 4/152(3), described in Filliozat 2002–2003.
The Tatiya-saṅgīta-vaṇṇanā-samakhu or is probably a commentarial text on the third Buddhist council or
Tatiya-saṅgīti held under the patronage King Asoka. Skilling and Pakdeekham (2004: 128, see also p. 250) list
a Thai text called Tatiya-saṅgīti-kathā.
The text called Puññatara-nidāna is probably the Puññavatāra-nidāna; which is also found in the
Suttajātakanidānānisaṃsa manuscript (EFEO PALI 35) described in Filliozat 1986–2003. A Mātuguṇa-vaṇṇanā,
Mata-sutta, Nibbāna-sūtra are also found in this same EFEO manuscript. Setavatthu-vandanā catudanā-jātakaṃ:
Setavatthu-vandanā means “worship of the white cloth”. Catudanā probably is a corruption or idiomatic
spelling. There exists a Catudvāra-jātaka, J 439. There are no canonical suttas called Mātuguṇa-sutta
(“Qualities of a/the Mother Sutta”), Mātu-sutta, or Dārikanāgi-sutta (“Girl-Nāga Sutta”) so they could be
apocryphal Southeast Asian suttas. A Mātuguṇa-vaṇṇanā is found in the Suttajātakanidānānisaṃsa
manuscript (EFEO PALI 35) at the EFEO in Paris, as described in Filliozat 1986–2003. A Mātuguṇa-sutta-
vaṇṇanā (BNF PALI 561) is at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and described by Filliozat, Liyanaratne,
and Pruitt (undated).
A Senaka Jātaka is found in the Samohanidāna manuscript in Vat Phra Jetuphon, Bangkok, 4/125; see
Filliozat 2002–2003, PDF 3: “Vat Po Notices” p. 7. A Pali text called Buddhasenaka is contained in the Lanna
manuscript in this collection; see 1.2 below and the description of the texts contained in it. As to the Sīha-
sūtra-kappa-aṭṭhakathā: the canonical Sīha Sutta is found at A IV 179ff. & Vin I 233ff., but this is some kind of
commentary (aṭṭhakathā) on it. Senaka Jātaka: The name Senaka is used for several different persons and
animals in Jātaka stories, two of which are the Bodhisatta (in J 401 & 402); see Malalasekera 1960 s.v.
“Senaka”.
The manuscript is contained in red wooden covers and covered with a plain cream coloured cloth. The
edges of the folios are painted gold and red and the bundles align with each other, indicating that it is a
single origin manuscript.

16
This means “and a loose folio”. This is written with a ball point pen I did not compare the titles on Cabaton's label
with the titles in Khom script on the bundles.
 12
11. 1375–43 to 5517
1375-43 Dhammasaṅgaṇi (1 fasc.)
1375-44 Vibhaṅga (3 fascs.)
1375-47 Kathāvatthu (3 fascs.)
1375-50 Puggalapaññatti (1 fasc.)
1375-51 Dhātukathā (1 fasc.)
1375-52 Yamaka (2 fascs.)
1375-54 Mahāpaṭṭhāna (2 fascs.)
Label: “1375–52. Abhidhammapiṭaka 1 fascicule. Dhammasaṅgaṇi 3 —, Vibhaṅga 3 fasc. Kathāvatthu 1 —.
Puggalapaññatti 1 —. Dhātukathā 2 —. Yamaka 2 —. Mahāpaṭṭhāna 2 —. 14 fascicules. 535 x 50”.
Although Cabaton's label states that there are 14 fascicles, the texts listed add up to 13 fascicles.
A collection of canonical Abhidhamma texts. Given the large size of the manuscript and the amount of
fascicles, these are probably the complete canonical texts or large parts of them, not the mātikā summaries
(see MS 6, 15 & 16). The manuscript—with thick, plain wooden covers—is very large and consists of
bundles of different sizes of which the edges are in different patterns with gold and red paint, indicating
that they were originally separate or contained in different manuscripts.
12. 1375–56 to 5818
Kaṅkhāvitaraṇī-ṭīkā.
Label: “1375 56 57 58. Ṭīkā pra kaṅkhāvitaraṇī En 16 fasc. 553 X 49 mm”.
There are two ṭīkās, subcommentaries, on the Kaṅkhāvitaraṇī: The more common one is called Vinayattha-
mañjusā or Līnattha-ppakāsanī and was written by Buddhanāga in the 12th century. The other, older and
rarer ṭīkā is the Kaṅkhāvitaraṇī-purāna-ṭīkā or Līnapada-vikāsaka written by an unknown author.
This is a large manuscript which is covered with a hempen cloth.
13. 1375–59 to 65
Vessantara-jātaka. (12 fascs.)
Label: “1375 no. 59 A– F; – 65. Mahāvessantara-jātaka. 59 A. himavaṇṇa.—B. dānnaka.—C. vanapavesa. -D.
cūtaka, 65—E. mahāpalla, fasc. 7.—F. chakhattiyī. fasc. 12.—60. Mahāvessantarajātaka: kumārapabba.—61.
maddhipabbaṃ.—62. cullavaṇā. f. 6.—63. anāgatekale.—64. sakkapabba.—65. natakaṇḍa”.
A Vessantara Jātaka (Jātaka story 547) manuscript. I did not compare the titles on Cabaton's label with the
titles in Khom script on the first folios of the bundles. The titles given on this label are mostly misspellings
or scribal idiosyncrasies: himavaṇṇa should be himavanta; dānnaka = dānakaṇḍa; vanapavesa = vanapavesana;
cūtaka = jūjaka; mahāpalla = mahārāja or mahāvana-vaṇṇanā; chakhattiyī = chakkhattiya; maddhi- = maddī;
cullavaṇā = cullavanavaṇṇanā and natakaṇḍa =nagarakaṇḍa. Anāgatekale should be anāgatakāle, but it is not
known as a section title of the Vessantarajātaka. The first chapter, the Dasavara, is missing; possibly this
missing part is the Dasavara fascicle contained in MS 7 (1375–21). One other chapter is missing: the
Mahārāja also called Mahāvana-vaṇṇanā. This could be the chapter called Anāgatakāle. The sections are not
17
Cabaton gave the number 1375–52 but a pencil note below this adds “en 43–55.” The modern bar-code tag has 1375–
44.
18
On the old label is written in pencil “1375 56 57 58” (i.e. 1375–56–8) and the new label “1375–57”.
 13
in the right order in the manuscript. They should be in the following order: 1. Dasavara, 2. Himavanta, 3.
Dānakaṇḍa, 4. Vanapavesana 5. Jūjaka, 6. Cullavanavaṇṇanā, 7. Mahāvanavaṇṇanā, 8. Maddī, 9. Kumāra, 10.
Mahārāja, 11. Sakkapabba, 12. Chakkhattiya, 13. Nagarakaṇḍa; see Lagirarde 1996: 93–94.
The manuscript is contained in thick, plain wooden covers. The edges of the folios are painted gold and
red. The bundles are all of the same size and the edges of the folios are painted in the same manner,
indicating a single origin manuscript. The manuscript is contained in a faded and damaged batik cloth
with flower motifs on a white background.
14. 1375–66a-h
Label: “1375 no. 66a-h Dhammapada-aṭṭhakathā. Fasc. 3, 5, 7, 9, 14, 17, 19, 20. = 8 fasc. 570 x 50 mm”.
The manuscript is covered with a coarse red cotton or hemp cloth, which I did not open.

15. 1375–67a or 67a/b 68–7219

Dhammasaṅgaṇi (1 fasc.)
Vibhaṅga (1 fasc.)
Kathāvatthu (1 fasc.)
Puggalapaññatti (1 fasc.)
Dhātukathā (1 fasc.)
Yamaka (1 fasc.)
Paṭṭhāna (1 fasc.)
Label: “1375–67A. Abhidhamma Piṭaka. Dhammasaṅgaṇi 1 fasc. Vibhaṅga 1 —. Kathāvatthu 1 —. Puggalapaññatti 1
—. Dhātukathā 1 —. Yamaka 1 —. Paṭṭhāna 1 —. En 7 fascicules. 554 x 49 mm.”
A collection of canonical Abhidhamma texts. Given the amount of fascicles this could rather be the
Abhidhammamātikā or Abhidhamma summaries, see introduction and MS 6, 11 and 16 in this collection.
The manuscript is covered with a green coarse cotton batik cloth with a singular black flower pattern.

16. 1419–14
Dhammasaṅgaṇi & Atthasālinī, Vibhaṅga & Aṭṭhakathā, Dhātukathā & Aṭṭhakathā, Kathāvatthu & Aṭṭhakathā,
Puggalapaññatti & Aṭṭhakathā, Yamaka & Aṭṭhakathā, Paṭṭhāna & Aṭṭhakathā.
Label:20 “1419 no. 14. Abhidhammapiṭaka. Dhammasaṅgaṇi, Vibhaṅga, Kathāvatthu, Puggalapaññatti, Dhātukathā,
Yamaka, Mahāpaṭṭhāna. En 7 fascicules”.
A collection of canonical Abhidhamma texts. Label: “Abhidhammapiṭaka. Dhammasaṅgaṇi, Vibhaṅga,
Kathāvatthu, Puggalapaññatti, Dhātukathā, Yamaka, Mahāpaṭṭhāna. En 7 fascicules”. This MS cannot contain the
Abhidhammapiṭaka. On the cover folios of the individual fascicles the names of the texts are followed by

19
Cabaton's label has “1375–67a”, a later pencil note below this reference adds “68–72.” The modern, bar-code tag has
“1375–67a/b 68–72.”
20
The wooden tag with the MS with Mullakaccāyana-paripūṇṇa originally did not belong to this MS. According to
Cabaton it might have belonged to MS 1344–6, which is missing from the modern index. Cabaton: “La ficelle quie lie en
fascicules et la fiche de bois portant les mots suivants: Mūllakaccāyana paripuṇṇaḥ. 13 phūk (= 13 fascicules). Proviennent d'un
exemplaire de la Grammaire de Kaccāyana, peut-être celui qui est catalogu sous le no 1344–6.” MS 1375–6 is a Mūlakaccāyana
MS. I did not see a MS 1344–6 and it is not mentioned on the list of MSS in the museum which I got from the curator.
 14
“and commentary” (lè aṭṭhakathā). Because the size of the fascicles (about 15–20 folios each) are not large
enough for Abhidhamma texts and their commentaries, they are probably the mātikā, “summaries”, of the
Abhidhamma and extracts from commentaries dealing with these mātikā; see the introduction and the
note on MS 15 above.
The manuscript is contained in a blue-green back cloth cover with a simple, abstract batik design of small
black stars or flowers with a purple and white heart.21
17. 5779–1
5779–1 Milindapañha & aṭṭhakathā.
An incomplete MS with only a modern bar code label which does not identify the text. This manuscript
probably came into the collection recently. The manuscript has no cover.

18. 6188-2
A short or incomplete Thai Khom script palm leaf manuscript which came into the collection recently
(after 2005) together with MS 6188-3 (a printed Thai palm leaf manuscript), and 6188-4 a short or
incomplete Khmer/Cambodian palm leaf manuscript). On the margin of the title page there is a note:
“Bangkok, Wat Chang”, which would be where the manuscript was acquired. All three manuscripts are
without wooden covers and are contained in a blue embroidered covering cloth.

19. 6188-3
A printed Thai palm leaf manuscript kept together with MS 6188-2. Printed palm leaf manuscripts are
available in Buddhist monastic paraphernalia shops in Thailand. They are printed by Luk So.
Thammaphakdi, who started with printing Buddhist texts on palm leaves in the late 1950s; see Hacker
2009: 74–75, 87.

2. Lanna script manuscript

1. 432–9
Label: “Buddhasenaka mi 7 phuk ānisaṃ sāṅ dhamma uṇhassa vijai pārami sib phuk lè ru”. : “The Buddhasenaka
has seven fascicles and [there is] a fascicle on the benefits (ānisaṃsa) of making (sāṅ, writing, sponsoring)
the Dhamma of Uṇhassavijaya and the ten pāramis”.
A Lanna script MS from Northern Thailand. The brown paper label is fairly recent and was not
made by Cabaton.

21
The wooden tag with the MS with Mullakaccāyana-paripūṇṇa originally did not belong to this MS. According to
Cabaton it might have belonged to MS 1344–6, which is missing from the modern index. Cabaton: “La ficelle quie lie
en fascicules et la fiche de bois portant les mots suivants: Mūllakaccāyana paripuṇṇaḥ. 13 phūk (= 13 fascicules). Proviennent
d'un exemplaire de la Grammaire de Kaccāyana, peut-être celui qui est catalogu‚ sous le no 1344–6.” MS 1375–6 is a
Mūlakaccāyana manuscript. I did not see MS 1344–6 and it is not mentioned on the list of MSS in the museum
which I got from the curator.
 15
Chalāk on the label refers to the gilded wooden title tag; it is not part of the title. The Buddhasenaka
might be the Buddhasenaka or Buddhasenaka Jātaka found in lists of manuscripts from Northern Thailand.
Buddhasenaka is mentioned in Lagirarde 1996: 96 as a narrative text (“un texte narratif, Buddhasenaka”);
see also Lagirarde 1996:104. A Buddhasena Jātaka from Northern Thailand is mentioned in Skilling &
Pakdeekham 2004: 352, § 19.51. It is not found in the canonical Pali Jātaka collection and could be a local,
apocryphal Jātaka story. An unidentified Pali jātaka story called Senaka-jātaka is is found in Khom script MS
1375–41; see MS 10, section 1.2 above.
The Uṇhassavijaya is a popular protective verse mantra; see Skilling & Pakdeekham 2002: 50. The ten
pārami are the ten supreme qualities which a bodhisattva develops to become a Buddha. Ānisaṃsa or
“Benefit” texts are a popular genre of texts in Thailand describing the benefits or rewards of doing
meritorious acts; see Lagirarde 1996: 95–96.
The manuscript is contained in red painted wooden covers and has a large gilded wooden title tag.

3. Sinhalese script manuscripts

1. 1576–3 Magical verses in Sinhalese; see de Silva p. 411. Not a Buddhist text.
2. 1789–1 Sīhalovādasutta-sannaya. 38 folios.
Sinhalese word for word translation or sannaya22 of the Sīhalovāda-sutta of the Dīgha Nikāya. This
manuscript originally comes from the collection of the Hanguranketa Rajamahāvihāra in the province of
Kandy; see de Silva p. 411. A sannaya or sannē is a word for word translation of a text, giving the Pali words
and phrases followed by a Sinhala translation. It is Sinhalese equivalent of the Southeast Asian nissaya.
3. 1895–45 Dhammacakkappavattanasutta-sannaya, 32 folios.
4. 1905–226 Dhammacakkappavattanasutta-sannaya, Pāli-Sinhalese. One folio. Perhaps this rolled up folio
belongs to MS 1895–45?
5. 2090–223 Satipaṭṭhāna-sannaya, Pāli-Sinhalese.
6. 2090–3 Hatthavanagallavihāravaṃsa,24 Pāli. A Pāli text on the history of the Hatthavanagala temple, now
called Attanagala, east of Colombo.
6. 3686–5 Sinhalese script. Fragment of a Buddhist text? Five folios. See de Silva 1975: 413.
7. 4207–1 Matevuvisinliyanalada maṅgalavattāntaya Paricchedaya. 130 folios. Sinhalese translation of the
Gospel of Matthew of the New Testament of the Bible. According to de Silva (1975: 413) this manuscript
also contains the Gospels of Luke and John. The manuscript is written in a small but very neat and
beautiful script by Don Solomon Alexander of Weligama. It is contained in plain hard wood boards.

22
A sannaya or sannē is a word for word translation of a text, giving the Pali words and phrases followed by a Sinhala
translation. It is Sinhalese equivalent of the Southeast Asian nissaya.
23
Both 2090–2 and 2090–3 are protected by the traditional Sinhalese wooden covers. The covers are unpainted, but
large Chinese characters have been written on them with black ink or paint. Since these MSS are not mentioned by
de Silva in his 1975 catalogue of Sinhalese manuscripts in the Netherlands, presumably they came into the museum
collection more recently, perhaps by way of Taiwan or China.
24
A text on the history of the Hatthavanagala temple, now called Attanagala, east of Colombo.
 16
4. Burmese script manuscripts

1. 1360–1 Kammavācā. Gilded ivory folios.

2. 1367–1 A: Bhikkhunī-pātimokkha-nissaya; B: Puggalapaññatti-nissaya; C. Nissaya (unidentified.); D: ? α, β, γ, δ,
ε, ζ: Loose folios. A nissaya is a word for word translation of a text, giving the Pali words and phrases
followed by a Burmese translation. It is Burmese equivalent of the Sinhalese sannaya.
3. 3401–10 & 11 Burmese horoscopes in the Burmese language.

5. Cambodian script manuscripts

1. 754–27 Unidentified
Fragment of a unidentified Pali text with a translation explaining it in Khmer/Cambodian.
Label: “Fragment de texte Pāli expliqué en Khmèr (Cambodgien)”.

2. 6188-4 Unidentified
A short or incomplete Khmer/Cambodian palm leaf manuscript which came into the collection recently
(after 2005) together with MS 6188-2 (a Thai Khom script written on palm leaf), and 6188-3 (a printed Thai
palm leaf manuscript). The manuscript has the note “Angkor Wat, Cambodja” written on the right margin
of the title page and it is likely that the manuscript was acquired at an antiques shop there. All three
manuscripts are without covers and are contained in a blue embroidered covering cloth.

6. Laotian Manuscripts
1. 432–7, 34, 37, 38 Unidentified
Fragments of Pali texts in a Laotian script, labelled “Fragments en Pāli, écriture laotienne”. There are several
related scripts in use in Laos and North-east Thailand and it is uncertain which script exactly this is. The
manuscripts have no cover. The label appears to be fairly recent judging from the handwriting and
appearance of the paper. The manuscript has a plain wooden cover and is covered with a Indian batik
cloth with flower motifs which is called Phai lai nok yang in Thailand. The bundles in the MS are of different
sizes.

7. Other scripts
1. 432–10 & 483–207 Kammavācā
According to the paper note on the manuscript these are Kammavācā; nothing more is mentioned. The
note is fairly recent, not one made by Cabaton. The script is one related to the Mon script such as Lanna (of
Chiang Mai district, Thailand) or Chiang Tung. The manuscript has wooden covers painted red with gold
flowers on the outside and gold on the inside and is covered with a plain red cloth.
2. 4665–1 A Thai/Mon folding paper (parabaik) MS in Mon script and language. It was probably made by
ethnic Mon people in Thailand. The first part of the MS contains paintings. The green figure holding a
bow is Rāma and the book could be the Rāmāyana, a popular story in Thailand. According to Pat
 17
McCormick, who helped with identifying this manuscript, it might be unique since no other Thai Mon
manuscripts of this kind are known.

2. Manuscripts in the Oosterse Handschriften Collectie van de Universiteits

Bibliotheek, Leiden (Asian Manuscript Collection of the Library of the University of
Leiden)

The main Pali manuscripts in this collection are the ones labelled Or. 6271–6273.25 They are three
manuscripts from the estate of Colonel J.F. Breyer who had participated as a captain of the Dutch East-
Indian army and in that function was detached to the staff of General Lockhart during the British
annexation of Upper Burma in 1886–87. The manuscripts were given to the library in 1928 by the Colonel’s
widow. Some correspondence about this gift is kept together with manuscript Or. 6271. I had no time to
personally inspect four of the manuscripts in the collection (Or. 2056, 2221, 3193, 6271). The information
about these manuscripts is from an unfinished index of the oriental manuscripts at the library.
1. Or. 2056 (in Skr. 54) A Pali grammar (?). Sinhalese script. 4 folios.
2. Or. 2221 (in Skr. 54) Fragment of a Pali grammar (?) in Sinhalese script. 1 folio.
3. Or. 2338. A translation of the Gospel of Mark into Khmer (Cambodian) in cursive Khom script (called
Crien). Cabaton's label: “Manuscrit khmèr en charactères cursif dit crieṅ (tjrieng). Evangile de St. Marc. (?)
Le nom de Jésus est écrit. Mededeling van de heer A. Cabaton”. Another, older looking label in Dutch has:
“Sinhalese manuscript, translation of the Gospel of Mark in Siamese characters written on palm leaf. Purchased for
Warner by mediation of Mr. J.C.C. den Beer Poortugael, General, Minister of War, 28 March 1883”.26 On the
back of the title palm leaf there is another note in Dutch: “Gospel of Mark, translated into Sinhalese in Ceylon on
palm leaf”.27 However, the manuscript is not of Sinhalese origins but is a cursive Khom script manuscript in Khmer
language. A palm leaf manuscript (Or 4207–1) with a Sinhalese translation of the Gospel of Matthew is found in the
collection of the Volkenkundig Museum<cross reference>. A Siamese translation of the Gospel of Luke was made
by a French Bishop in the 17th century, but I could not find any mention of a Cambodian translation of
(part of) the Bible before the modern one, completed in 1954.
4. Or. 3194. A letter from the chiefs of the palace in Kandy to the Dutch governor of Ceylon, dated 1724. It is
described in detail by de Silva (1975: 396–7).
5. Or. 3193 (Skr. 55). Mūlakaccāyana. A Pali grammar, in Siamese Khom script with an interlinear Siamese
translation in the cursive Khom Crien script. 27 folios. The characterization in the index as a Sinhalese MS
is wrong.

25
This information is a translation from an unfinished index of the oriental manuscripts at the library.
26
“Singaleschen handschrift, vertaling van het evangelie v. Markus met Siameschen letters geschreven op palmblad.
aangekocht voor Warner (?) door bemiddeling van de heer J.C.C. den Beer Poortugael Generaal, and minister van
oorlog. 28 Maart '83.” Den Beer Poortugael (1832–1913) was a general in the Dutch army and also a defense minister.
27
“Evangelie door Markus in het Singhaleesch vertaald op Ceylon op palmblad.”
 18
6. Or. 6271 (Skr. 70). Kammavācā (?). 16 copper plates, both sides gold and red lacquer. Burmese script.
Ornamented wooden boards. Kammavācā ,“formula”; these texts contain the official wording of legal acts of the
Buddhist community such as ordination. They are common in Burma since they were given at ordination ceremonies;
see Singer 1991.
7. Or. 6272 (Skr. 71). An unidentified Nissaya, i.e., a Burmese word by word translation of a Pali text. About
350–400 folios. Burmese script. The folio edges are painted red and gold.
8. Or. 6273 (Skr. 72). A Burmese kammavācā collection, consisting of 239 folios. According to a note
accompanying the manuscript, the MS consists of five different parts which are all in Burmese script. Four
parts are in the Burmese language and one part is in Pali mixed with Burmese. The kammavācās called
kaṭhina-dussa-kammavācā, samodha-parivāsa, suddhanta-parivāsa, chārattaṃ mānattaṃ, abbhāna-kammavācā,
and upasampadā-kammavācā are included. Its Burmese parts might be a translation and/or commentary on
the kammavācā and the part which is mixed with Pali might be a nissaya, a Burmese word by word
translation, of the kammavācā.
9. Or. 12.621 (Skr. 69). This is not a Sinhalese script manuscript as museum’s index indicates. It could be a
text in Tamil script. Judging from the appearance and small size it is probably a secular work on medicine,
astrology or the like.
10. Or. 25.472 (Lont. 1944). Kammavācā. A Pali Lanna manuscript in a Northern Thai script called Yuon in
Thailand and Tham in Laos. According to Jacqueline Filliozat of the EFEO the red and gilded cover suggests
that it is possibly from the Vientiane area in Laos. Size: 6 x 60 cm.
Or. 25.473 (Skr. 191). A Burmese text in Burmese script; not a Pali text. It is a parabaik, i.e., a paper
manuscript that folds out. Black paper; 21 folios.

3. Pali Manuscripts in the collection of the Kern Institute, Leiden University

No catalogue numbers were given to the manuscripts, so I provide tentative numbers for
convenience. The Burmese manuscript was mistakenly described as a Sinhalese one on the label.
The manuscript is contained in thick wooden boards which are painted gold and red on the edges.
The leaves are also painted gold and red. The folios are painted in two patterns on the edges.
There are at least two Burmese script texts in this bundle: the Kaccāyana-pakaraṇa-nissaya, i.e., a
Burmese word by word commentary on a Pali grammatical treatise called Kaccāyana, and the Yamaka, a Pali
Abhidhamma text. The chapters Sandhi-nissaya and Nāma-nissaya of the Kaccāyana-nissaya are mentioned on
the pages I examined. The MS contains 296 folios,28 which are 49 cm long. There are three bundles in the
manuscript, separated by bundles of blank folios bound by two faded red cloth ribbons. One folio of the
Kaccāyana-nissaya gives the year of copying of this text: Sakkarāj 1211 = A.D. 1849 (the last two numbers are
a little smudged, so it may also be 1210 or A. D. 1848). The order of folios is mixed up.
Some folios in the manuscript are slightly smaller and are painted with a different pattern on the
edges. These 48 folios contain (part of?) the Abhidhamma text called Yamaka in Pali. The folios look older
than the other folios in the MS and some are damaged by bookworms. I placed them in the back of the MS.
28
I counted the pages only once, so this might not be the exact number.
 19
The paint pattern on edges of the folios of the Kaccāyana-pakaraṇa-nissaya matches the one on the
edges of the wooden boards indicating that this text was originally contained in the boards and that the
other text, the Yamaka, was added later on.
MS 2: A Siamese paper MS with an unidentified text in modern Thai script written with yellowish
Gamboge ink on black paper.

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