Dipavamsa

The Dipavamsa is an early Pali chronicle of Sri Lanka, probably composed by Buddhist monks in the fourth century CE. It recounts the island’s Buddhist history and lineage of rulers.

Pali: A Middle Indo-Aryan language preserved chiefly in the Theravada Buddhist canon and commentaries. The chronicle’s language connects it to Sri Lanka’s Theravada textual tradition.
Anuradhapura period: The long era in Sri Lankan history when Anuradhapura was the island’s principal political center. The chronicle emerged from and narrates the history of this political setting.
Devanampiya Tissa: A king of Anuradhapura traditionally associated with the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. His reign frames the chronicle’s story of the island’s conversion and royal patronage.
Mahavamsa: A Pali chronicle of Sri Lanka, composed centuries after the Dipavamsa and covering much of the same history. Its fuller narrative often reshapes episodes preserved in the earlier chronicle.
Theravada: A Buddhist tradition whose surviving canonical scriptures are preserved in Pali. The Dipavamsa presents Sri Lanka as a central setting for this Buddhist tradition.
Sri Lankan Buddhism: The forms of Buddhist practice and institutions that developed in Sri Lanka. Monastic communities within this tradition shaped the chronicle’s account and transmission.
Ashoka: A Mauryan emperor whose support for Buddhism is recorded in Indian and Buddhist sources. The chronicle links Sri Lanka’s Buddhist beginnings to Ashoka’s missions and imperial network.
Culavamsa: A continuation of Sri Lankan Pali chronicle tradition, narrating events from later periods. It extends the island’s chronicle tradition beyond the early history emphasized here.
Buddhist chronicle: A historical narrative that relates political events to Buddhist teaching, institutions, or sacred history. This genre explains the chronicle’s blend of dynastic and religious narratives.
Oral tradition: The transmission of narratives and knowledge through spoken performance across generations. Earlier historical and religious traditions may underlie the chronicle’s written narratives.

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