Khuddakanikaya, Khuddaka-nikaya, Khuddakanikāya: 3 definitions

Introduction:

Khuddakanikaya means something in Buddhism, Pali. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

In Buddhism

Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)

[«previous next»] — Khuddakanikaya in Theravada glossary
Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper Names

Sometimes called Khuddaka Gantha. The fifth and last division of the Sutta Pitaka. It consists of fifteen independent treatises, some belonging to the earlier period, while others may be ascribed to the later stratum of the Pali Canon. This Nikaya is composed for the most part in verse, and contains all the most important collections of Pali poetry.

The fifteen books are:

  1. Khuddaka Patha
  2. Dhammapada
  3. Udana
  4. Itivuttaka
  5. Sutta Nipata
  6. Vimana Vatthu
  7. Peta Vatthu
  8. Theragatha
  9. Therigatha
  10. Jataka
  11. Niddesas (Maha- and Culla-)
  12. Patisambhida Magga
  13. Apadana
  14. Buddhavamsa
  15. Cariyapitaka (Sp.i.18; DA.i.17).

According to another classification the whole of the Vinaya Pitaka and the Abhidhamma Pitaka and all the teachings of the Buddha, not included in the remaining four Nikayas, are regarded as forming the Khuddaka Nikaya (DA.i.23; Sp.i.27). The Dighabhanakas refused to accept the authenticity of the Khuddaka Patha, Cariyapitaka, and the Apadana, and included the other books as part of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Majjhimabhanakas did not accept the Khuddaka Patha but acknowledged the rest, and included them in the Sutta Pitaka (DA.i.15). According to Burmese tradition four other later books are added to this list: Milindapanha, Suttasangaha, Petakopadesa, and Nettippakarana. Bode, op. cit., 4.

context information

Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).

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Languages of India and abroad

Pali-English dictionary

[«previous next»] — Khuddakanikaya in Pali glossary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary

khuddakanikāya : (m.) name of a collection of canonical books.

Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary

Khuddakanikāya refers to: name of a collection of canonical books, mostly short (the fifth of the five Nikāyas) comprising the foll. 15 books: Khuddaka-Pāṭha, Dhammapada, Udāna, Itivuttaka, Sutta-Nipāta, Vimāna-Vatthu, Peta-Vatthu, Thera and Therī Gāthā, Jātaka (verses only), Niddesa, Paṭisambhidāmagga, Apadāna, Buddha-Vaṃsa, CariyāPiṭaka. The name Kh-N. is taken from the fact that it is a collection of short books-short, that is, as compared with the Four Nikāyas. Anvs (J. P. T. S. 1886) p. 35; Gvns (J. P. T. S. 1886) p. 57; PvA. 2, etc.

Note: khuddakanikāya is a Pali compound consisting of the words khuddaka and nikāya.

Pali book cover
context information

Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.

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