Page 81 - RASAS 2025

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10 Ruhuna Arts Student’s Annual Sessions (RASAS) -2025

An Analysis of the Influence of the Tipiṭaka as a Foundational Source in the
Development of Saṃdeśa Poetry

Ven. Polonnaruwe Kashyapa
Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka.
bs597@busl.ac.lk

ABSTRACT

Sanskrit has influenced Pāli and Sinhala Saṃdeśa literature; however, the poetic features of Saṃdeśa appear
earlier in the Tipiṭaka. Canonical texts provide detailed insights into the Saṃdeśa process, and the Kaludāyi

Thera Gāthā can be regarded as a seminal source of Saṃdeśa poetry, presenting elements such as descriptions
of destinations, routes, landscapes, cities, as well as portrayals of individuals and narratives. Previous studies
have explored the development of Saṃdeśa literature, yet the specific role of the Tipiṭaka as a foundational

influence remains underexplored. The research problem is to investigate whether the Tipiṭaka literature has
served as a primary source for Saṃdeśa and to examine the characteristics of Saṃdeśa poetry as reflected in

the Canonical texts. This study adopted the qualitative research methodology ad systematically analysed
selected discourses from the Tipiṭaka to identify literary features, communicative structures, and
characteristics of Saṃdeśa poetry. The Saṃdeśa process during the Buddha’s time was not solely verbal. The

Dūteyya Sutta refers to the document as pahīna, providing evidence of written Saṃdeśa communication in that
period. In the Mahā Taṇhāsaṅkhaya Sutta, the Buddha sends a message summoning the monk Sāti to appear

before Him. In this instance, the sender is the Buddha, the conveyer is another monk, and the receiver is the
monk Sāti. Similarly, the Suppavāsā Sutta mentions that Koliya Dhītā, who was in labour pains, used her
husband as a messenger to send a message to the Buddha expressing her veneration and explaining the
condition of beings in pain. The woman Koli Dhītā is the sender, her husband the conveyer, and the Buddha

the receiver. This further illustrates the characteristics of the Saṃdeśaka. The Dūtena Upasampadā, approved
by the Buddha, is also a unique instance that reflects the characteristics of Saṃdeśa. Although the Tipiṭaka

was composed primarily as a religious text, it preserves literary and communicative features that later
developed into distinct Saṃdeśa poetry in Pāli and Sinhala literature. Considering these examples, authentic
evidence suggests that the Tipiṭaka provided the earliest seeds of the Saṃdeśa literary element, demonstrating

its foundational role in shaping subsequent literary traditions.

Keywords: conveyer, message, saṃdeśa poetry, sender, Tipiṭaka

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