Sources for the Study of the Mangala and Mora-suttas - Mangala-sutta

Aug 27, 2026

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An academic study traces textual parallels for the Mangala-sutta across multiple Buddhist canons and translations. It examines two Tibetan versions and a Chinese witness that preserve the Mangala material in different forms, focusing on how prose nidana and verse order vary. The study compares selected verses with Pali counterparts, including their correspondence to other suttas, and evaluates quotations cited within Harivarman’s Satyasiddhi/Tattvasiddhi. Attention is given to the identification of “wheels” (cakka) and their matching wording across traditions, alongside notes on scholarly translations and dating.

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Sources for the Study of the Mangala and Mora-suttas

Mangala-sutta

Tibetan parallels and Chinese witness

Verse correspondences and cakka "wheels"

Pali text comparison

# Sources for the Study of theMangala and Mora-suttas ## 1)Mangala-sutta In an earlier article I noted the existence of two Tibetan versionsof the Mangala-sutta.The first,the bKra sis chen po'i mdo =Mahamangala-sutta,is a translation of a Theravadin version,included inthe set of“13 new translations”done by Pandita Anandaśri of Ceylonand Thar pa Lotsaba Ni ma rgyal mtshan dPal bzan po in about the firstdecade of the 14th century.The second is an anonymous translation of aversion of an unknown school,bearing the title Lhas zus pa'i bkra sis kyitshigs su bcad pa =Devapariprccha Mangalagātha.These twoversions have been translated side-by-side by Feer,who noted that“quoique [Devapariprccha Mangalagathā]renferme plus de stances quePautre,et que I'ordre des stances y soit interverti,la commune origine desdeux textes est facile à reconnaitre”.²In addition to the two Tibetanparallels,there is a third version,preserved in Chinese translation.It is Peter Skilling included in a recension of the Dhammapada,the Fa chü p'i yü ching,where it makes up the whole of Chapter 39(the last),entitledMahamangala.³The correspondence was noted by Beal over a centuryago.The prose nidana is entirely different from that of the Pali,⁴and theorder and contents of the verses also differ.In Beal's translation,I havefound only four verses that immediately bring to mind Pali counterparts,but many individual lines also correspond to the Pali.The Fa chü p'i yüching is an early witness,translated during the Westem Chin dynasty(CE 290-306),⁵and a new translation and comparative study of this shortbut important text is a desideratum. In the*Mangala-varga,Chapter 12 of his *Satyasiddhi(or*Tattvasiddhi)Sastra,Harivarman cites three verses from the*Mangala-gāthā:⁶ ³Taishō211,Vol.4;Lewis R.Lancaster with Sung-bae Park,The KoreanBuddhist Canon:A Descriptive Catalogue,Berkeley,1979(=KBC),1020;English translation in Samuel Beal,Texts from the Buddhist Canon,Commonlyknown as Dhammapada,with accompanying Narratives,[Boston,1878]SanFrancisco,1977,pp.174-76.For the Chinese Dharmapada literature seeSylvain Lévi,“L'Apramada-varga.Etude sur les recensions des Dharmapadas”,Journal asiatique,septembre-octobre 1912,pp.203-94;Charles Willemen,"ThePrefaces to the Chinese Dharmapadas,Fa-chü ching and Ch’u-yao ching”,T'oung Pao LIX(1973)203-19;Charles Willemen,Dharmapada:AConcordance to Udanavarga,Dharmapada,and the Chinese DharmapadaLiterature,Brussels,1974. ⁴Beal (op.cit.,p.23)noted that the nidanas assigned to the verses of the Fa chüp'iyü ching are entirely different from those of the Dhammapada-atthakatha.⁵Date from KBC 1020. N.Aiyaswami Sastri,Satyasiddhisastra of Harivarman,Vol.I,Baroda,1975(Gaekwad's Oriental Series,No.159),p.37(translation from Chinese intoSanskrit);Vol.II(Gaekwad's Oriental Series,No.165),Baroda,1978,pp.29-30(English translation).The text is the Ch’eng shih lun,translated byKumarajiva in 411-12:Taishō1646,KBC 966. So says the Mangala-gathā: The most auspicious is the Buddhawho is the highest teacher and the wisest leaderamongst men and gods.The most auspicious is the personwho has firm faith in the Buddhaand keeps pure conduct.The most auspicious is to serve the learned,not to approach the ignorantand [to]pay homage to the worthy of homage. Aiyaswami Sastri notes that "of these three verses only the third agreeswith the Mangala-sutta,verse 2”.The first two verses have nocounterpart in the Fa chü p'iyü ching. Verse 3 of the Pali Mangala-sutta has a parallel in prose andverse in the Cakka-sutta,the first sutta of the Cakka-vagga of theCatukka-nipata of the Anguttara-nikāya(AN II 32).The Pali Mangala-sutta reads as follows:8 patirupadesavāso ca pubbe ca katapunnatāattasammapanidhi ca etam mangalam uttamam. To live in a favourable place,to have accomplished merit in the past,to have a proper goal for oneself—this is the highest auspiciousness. The Tibetan Devapariprcchā-mangala-gatha reads:9 yul bzan gnas dan grogs mchog dan//snon ch

FAQs

Which versions of the Mangala-sutta are discussed for comparative study?

The study discusses two Tibetan versions and a third version preserved in a Chinese translation. It also situates these within related textual collections such as the Fa chü p'i yü ching recension and citations within Harivarman’s treatise.

How do the Tibetan and Chinese materials differ from the Pali Mangala-sutta?

The prose nidana is described as entirely different from the Pali, and both the order and contents of the verses vary. Despite this, some individual verses and lines show recognizable correspondence to Pali counterparts.

What does the text say about the “cakka” or “wheels” in the Cakka-sutta tradition?

The Cakka-sutta is said to list four “wheels” (blessings) and the study compares how those items correspond to verse 3 of the Pali Mangala-sutta. It also notes that the Tibetan Devapariprcchā-mangalagāthā gives counterparts of all four cakka in a specific order with a variant between corresponding terms.

Aug 27, 2026

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