Pali Canon Committed to Writing at Aluvihara, Sri Lanka
- Date
- c. 29 BCE
- Category
- Religion & ideology
- Region
- Sri Lanka
- Era
- Classical Antiquity
- Significance
During the reign of King Vattagamani Abhaya (Valagamba) of Anuradhapura, Buddhist monks of the Mahavihara tradition convened what Theravada tradition calls the Fourth Buddhist Council and, for the first time, committed the Pali Canon (Tipitaka) and its commentaries to writing.
The monks inscribed the texts onto ola (palm) leaves at the Aloka Lena cave, now the Aluvihara rock temple near Matale, around 29 BCE. The decision broke with centuries of purely oral transmission and was prompted by the disruption of monastic life through famine, Chola invasions, and the fear that reciters who had memorised portions of the canon might die before passing them on. Because Pali had no script of its own, the texts were recorded using Sinhala characters. This act of inscription preserved the earliest substantially complete Buddhist scriptural collection and established the textual foundation of Theravada Buddhism that endures across South and Southeast Asia.
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Empires active in c. 29 BCE
- Han Dynasty202 BCE – 220 CE
- Roman Republic509 BCE – 27 BCE
- Parthian Empire247 BCE – 224 CE
- Xiongnu Confederation209 BCE – 93 CE
- Kan Kingdom (El Mirador)300 BCE – 150 CE
- Indo-Greek Kingdom180 BCE – 10 CE
Related religion & ideology events
- Crucifixion of Jesus and the origins of Christianityc. 30 CE
- Roman destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem70 CE
- Codification of the Caste System in the Manusmriti (Laws of Manu)c. 100 CE
- Nagarjuna Founds the Madhyamaka School and Systematises Mahayana Philosophyc. 150 CE
- Council of Jerusalem opens Christianity to the Gentilesc. 49-50 CE
- Buddhism reaches China and the White Horse Temple is foundedc. 67-68 CE (traditional)
Further reading
The wider story
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