Sub-commentaries (Theravāda)

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The sub-commentaries (Pali: ṭīkā) are primarily commentaries on the commentaries (Pali: aṭṭhakathā) on the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism, written in Sri Lanka.^[1] This literature continues the commentaries' development of the traditional interpretation of the scriptures. (Note that some commentaries are apparently also named with the term ṭīkā.^{[citation needed]}) These sub-commentaries were begun during the reign of Parākramabāhu I (1123–1186) under prominent Sri Lankan scholars such as Sāriputta Thera, Mahākassapa Thera of Dimbulagala Vihāra and Moggallāna Thera.^[2]

The official Burmese collected edition contains the following texts:^[3]

• Paramatthamañjusā – A ṭīkā by Dhammapāla on Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga; the identity of this Dhammapāla is debated.

• Three ṭīkās on the Samantapāsādikā (commentary on the Vinaya Piṭaka):
  • Ṭīkā by Vajirabuddhi
  • Sāratthadīpanī by Sāriputta Thera (12th century)
  • Vimativinodanī by Mahākassapa Thera (13th century)
• Two ṭīkās on the Kankhavitarani (commentary on the Pāṭimokkha)

• Ṭīkās by Dhammapāla on:
  • Sumangalavilasinī (on the Dīgha Nikāya)
  • Papancasudanī (on the Majjhima Nikāya)
  • Saratthapakasini (on the Saṃyutta Nikāya)

- These are generally considered to be by a different Dhammapāla than the author of earlier commentaries.

• Visuddhajanavilāsini – By Nanabhivamsa, head of the Burmese sangha (~1800), a new partial ṭīkā on the Sumangalavilasinī covering only the first volume of the Dīgha Nikāya.

• Saratthamanjusa – By Sāriputta Thera, a ṭīkā on Buddhaghosa’s Manorathapurani (commentary on the Aṅguttara Nikāya).

• Nettitīkā – ṭīkā on Dhammapāla’s commentary on the Nettipakaraṇa.
• Nettivibhavini – By a 16th-century Burmese author (name varies: Saddhamma-, Samanta-, or Sambandha-pāla). Not a ṭīkā on the existing commentary, but a new commentary on the Netti itself.

• Mūlatīkā – By Ānanda, on the commentaries of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka.
• Anutīkā – A sub-commentary on the Mūlatīkā.

There are other ṭīkās without official recognition—some printed, some preserved in manuscript, and others apparently lost. The term ṭīkā is also applied to commentaries on **non-canonical works**, such as the Mahāvaṃsa. Additionally, there exist various sub-commentaries in **vernacular Burmese and other local languages**.

Extracts from some of these works have been translated, usually alongside translations of the original commentaries.