Mahavamsa, Mahāvaṃśa, Mahāvaṃsa, Mahavamsha, Mahāvamsa, Maha-vamsha: 7 definitions
Introduction:
Mahavamsa means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India. 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.
The Sanskrit term Mahāvaṃśa can be transliterated into English as Mahavamsa or Mahavamsha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
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In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
Mahavamsa Mahavamsa
The great Chronicle of Ceylon. The first part of the work - i.e., to the time of King Mahasena - is attributed to Mahanama Thera (MT.687). The continuation of the Chronicle is called the Culavamsa. The first portion of the Culavamsa - i.e., from Mahasena to the reign of Parakkamabahu II. - is traditionally ascribed to a thera named Dhammarakkhita (Cv. Trs.ii.155, n.3). The next section - i.e., to the time of Kittisiri Rajasiha - was written by Tibbatuvave Thera, Mahanayaka of Puppharama, at the invitation of the king, who obtained for him copies of the Chronicle from Siam (Cv.xcix.78f; Cv.Trs.ii.263, n.1). From there it was continued till the time of the British occupation (1815 A.C.) by Hikkaduve Sumangala Thera (P.L.C.310).
There is a Commentary on the Mahavamsa called the Vamsatthappakasini (q.v.).
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).
General definition (in Buddhism)
The Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the Kings of Sri Lanka. The first version of it covered the period from the coming of King Vijaya of the Rarh region of ancient Bengal in 543 BCE to the reign of King Mahasena (334–361).
etymology: Mahavamsa (Sinhala: මහාවංසය [ˈmahavaŋʃəyə]; Pali: Mahāvaṃsa, trans. "Great Chronicle"; abbrev. Mhv. or Mhvs.)
India history and geography
Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa relate the chronological history of Sri Lanka from the epoch of Theravada Buddhism (1765 BCE) or Buddha nirvana to King Mahasena (948-921 BCE). Seemingly, Mahanama wrote Mahavamsa in the first half of the 1 st century BCE.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Mahāvaṃśa (महावंश).—Name of a wellknown work in Pali (of the 5th century).
Derivable forms: mahāvaṃśaḥ (महावंशः).
Mahāvaṃśa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms mahā and vaṃśa (वंश).
1) Mahāvaṃśa (महावंश):—[=mahā-vaṃśa] [from mahā > mah] m. ‘gr° lineage or race’, Name of a well-known [work] written in Pāli by a monk named Mahānāma in the 5th century, [Monier-Williams’ Buddhism 65 etc.]
2) [v.s. ...] mfn. sprung from a gr° race or family, [Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary]
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Pali-English dictionary
mahāvaṃsa (မဟာဝံသ) [(pu) (ပု)]—
[mahanta+vaṃsa]
[မဟန္တ+ဝံသ]
[Pali to Burmese]
mahāvaṃsa—
(Burmese text): (၁) မြတ်သောသူတို့၏အနွယ်။ (၂) မဟာဝံသကျမ်း၊ မဟာဝင်ကျမ်း။
(Auto-Translation): (1) Lineage of the noble ones. (2) Mahavastu, Mahayana.
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Vamsha, The, The, Maha, Mahanta, Te, Mahavamsa.
Starts with: Mahavamsaka Tissa, Mahavamshasamudbhava, Mahavamshavali.
Full-text (+214): Mahavamshasamudbhava, Padyapadoruvamsa, Uttara Vihara, Kacchapagiri, Dipavamsa, Akasacetiya, Kulumbari Kannika, Cetiyavamsatthakatha, Vamatthappakasini, Dighasandana, Dakkhinamula, Kandara Vihara, Vanguttara, Meghalata, Romamukkharattha, Accutagami, Kannavadhamana, Pabbatarama, Piyangalla, Sanghapala.
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Search found 80 books and stories containing Mahavamsa, Mahāvaṃśa, Mahāvaṃsa, Mahavamsha, Mahāvamsa, Maha-vamsha, Mahā-vaṃśa, Maha-vamsa, Mahavamshas, Mahanta-vamsa, Mahanta-vaṃsa, The mahavamsa; (plurals include: Mahavamsas, Mahāvaṃśas, Mahāvaṃsas, Mahavamshas, Mahāvamsas, vamshas, vaṃśas, vamsas, Mahavamshases, vaṃsas, The mahavamsas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Mahavamsa (by Wilhelm Geiger)
Dipavamsa (study) (by Sibani Barman)
Chapter 3 - Contribution of Mahinda & Saṅghamittā
Chapter 1b - Social Conditions (before the arrival of Buddhism)
Stupas in Orissa (Study) (by Meenakshi Chauley)
Karandavyuha Sutra (by Mithun Howladar)
Part 17 - Boddhisattva Ideal in Pāli Canon < [Appendix 2 - Buddhist Philosophy]
A Short history of Lanka (by Humphry William Codrington)
Chapter I - The Beginnings and the conversion to Buddhism (543 BC—161 BC)
Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad (by Prasanna Kumar Acharya)
Hindu Architecture in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) < [Chapter 8 - Hindu Architecture m Border Lands]