Jinavaṃsadīpanī

This is a modern book — and much the largest in the Sinhalese group, at nearly eight thousand paragraphs.

Medhānanda Thera published it at Colombo in 1917 CE. Malalasekera describes its making: with the Sāsanavaṃsadīpa and the Nikāyasaṅgraha as his basis, Medhānanda wrote a historical introduction to his Pali poem the Jinavaṃsadīpanī, “giving an account of the Buddhist Saṅgha in Ceylon and of the works of Buddhist monks”.

How much it was used can be measured. Malalasekera cites it again in his own chapters, for the date of a work and for the Jinacarita — a fair index of how far it served as the reference book on the subject until his own survey replaced it. The volume printed here divides its material by the classical scheme of the Buddha's biography, and this part closes Sātireko santikenidānabhāgo tatiyo, the third and last of the nidāna sections.