Book Title: Questions of King Milinda Part 01
Author(s): T W Rhys Davids
Publisher: Oxford

Previous | Next

Page 17
________________ xiv THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. but little doubt. For the great Indian writer, who long ago found in that beautiful and peaceful island the best scope for his industrious scholarship, is already known to have mentioned the book no less than four times in his commentaries; and that in such a manner that we may fairly hope to find other references to it when his writings shall have been more completely published. In his commentary on the Book of the Great Decease, VI, 3, Buddhaghosa refers to the quotation of that passage made in the conversation between Milinda and Nâgasena, translated below, at IV, 2, 11. And again, in his commentary on the Ambattha Sutta (D. III, 2, 12) he quotes the words of a conversation between Milinda and Nagasena on the subject he is there discussing. The actual words he uses (they will be found at pp. 275, 276 of the edition of the Sumangala Vilâsinî, edited for the Pâli Text Society by Professor Carpenter and myself) are not the same as those of our author at the corresponding passage of Mr. Trenckner's text (pp. 168, 169; IV, 3, 11), but they are the same in substance. The above two references in Buddhaghosa to our author were pointed out by myself. Dr. Morris has pointed out two others, and in each of those also Buddhaghosa is found to quote words differing from Mr. Trenckner's text. The former of these two was mentioned in a letter to the 'Academy' of the 12th November, 1881. In the Manoratha Paranî, his commentary on the Anguttara, on the passage marked in Dr. Morris's edition as I, 5, 8, Buddhaghosa says: "Imasmim pan' atthe Milinda-råga dhammakathika-Nagasenattheram pukkhi: “Bhante Någasena, ekasmim akk harakkhane pavattita-kittasamkhârâ sake rūpino assa kiva mahd-râsi bhavey yâti?" And he then gives the answer :- Váhasatânam kho mahâ-râga vihînam addha-kalañ ka våhå vîhi sattammanani dve ka tumba ekak kharakkhane 1 This was already pointed out in a note to my translation of the text commented on Buddhist Suttas,' vol. xi of the Sacred Books of the East, p. 112). Digitized by Diglized by Google

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 ... 2695