An Introduction to Kachchàyana's Grammar of the Pàli Language (D'Alwis, 1863)

Source

James D’Alwis, An Introduction to Kachchāyana’s Grammar of the Pāli Language; with an Introduction, Appendix, Notes, &c., Colombo: Williams and Norgate, 1863. Public domain by age. Reproduced from a scan of the University of California copy, available here as a PDF (15 MB), as a reading edition: the text was recognised from the page images and then proofread against them page by page. The print’s spelling and its accents are kept as printed (long vowels carry a grave accent, Pàli, Kachchàyana, and in places a circumflex; the niggahīta is written n), and so are the author’s capitals and small capitals; quotation marks are normalised to straight quotes, and the italics of Pāli words in the print are not reproduced, except in the Corrections, where an italic letter marks a lingual or a long vowel and is kept. Footnotes are numbered through the book; the print’s symbols (* † ‡ § ‖ ¶) are replaced by these numbers. Sinhalese characters are shown as [Sinhalese]. The printed page numbers are kept as hidden comments of the form <!-- p. xvii (PDF p. 21) -->. A word that could not be read is followed by [?].

The book is the earliest translation of any part of Kaccāyana into English. Its “Lib. VI.—On Verbs” (printed pp. 1–52) translates the whole Ākhyātakappa, §406–§523 of this site, rule by rule, each rule with the vutti (a.), examples (Ex.), the counter-example questions (Q.) and the author’s notes; D’Alwis numbers the rules afresh in each of his four chapters, which are Kaccāyana’s four sections: Cap. I rules 1–26 are §406–§431, Cap. II 1–26 are §432–§457, Cap. III 1–24 are §458–§481 and Cap. IV 1–42 are §482–§523. The Ākhyātakappa of this site has been collated with his translation sutta by sutta; its footnotes cite him, and its introductory note explains his tense names, his numbering of the persons and the Sinhalese text he translated, which is the one Senart printed in 1871. The Introduction (pp. i–cxxxvi) is a study of the Pāli language, its name and history, and the Pāli grammars; the Appendix (pp. 53–113) gives the notes and Pāli extracts referred to in it. Not reproduced are the Pāli text of the Ākhyātakappa printed in Sinhalese characters at the end of the book (PDF pp. 273–287) and the plate-like typography of the tables, which are set here as Markdown tables.

Title page

AN
INTRODUCTION
TO
KACHCHÀYANA’S GRAMMAR
OF THE
PÀLI LANGUAGE;
WITH
AN INTRODUCTION, APPENDIX, NOTES, &c.

BY
JAMES D’ALWIS,
MEMBER OF THE CEYLON BRANCH OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY; THE AUTHOR OF AN INTRODUCTION TO SINHALESE GRAMMAR, THE SIDATSANGARA, CONTRIBUTIONS TO ORIENTAL LITERATURE, THE ATTANAGALUVANSA, ETC., ETC.

COLOMBO.
1863.

WILLIAMS AND NORGATE, 14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON; AND 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH.

Dedication

TO SIR CHARLES JUSTIN MACCARTHY, KT.
Governor and Commander-in-Chief,
&c., &c., &c.,

SIR,

THE practice of inscribing a literary work to the Ruler of the land is very ancient, and very general. In the East it has been almost universal; and in Ceylon, while the Poets and Historians of old sought the patronage of the King, the translators and compilers of recent times have dedicated the result of their labours to the British Governor.

In inscribing, however, the present work to you, I do not merely follow a time-honored rule, nor seek to do homage to a Power which stands in no need of any evidence of our loyalty and attachment. But, remembering that it was your kind patronage which chiefly enabled me to publish a previous work; and knowing that to you, who are familiar with many of the questions discussed in the following pages, they will possess an interest which they do not possess to the general reader; I take the liberty of dedicating this work, as a token not only of my gratitude, but also of the high esteem which, in common with my countrymen, I entertain for your abilities as a Governor, and your attainments as a Scholar.

I have the honor to be,
SIR,
Your Excellency’s
Most obedient and humble Servant,
JAMES ALWIS.

Hendala, 28th August, 1862.

THE INTRODUCTION.

Chapters

• Introduction
• Kachchāyana’s Grammar: Lib. VI, On Verbs
• Appendix
• Corrections and Index