Chanwit Tudkeao
Chulalongkorn University
Ratanasutta, a Pali text well-recognized in Theravāda-Buddhist countries, is considered a sutra constituting a group of texts called Parittas, which will be chanted by Buddhists in some particular ceremonies or even in their daily life for the purpose of yielding protection. In Pali tradition, Ratanasutta is preserved in Khuddakanikāya as a separate text composed of 17 verses without any frame story. The story explaining the origin of the sutra is narrated in the commentary. Ratnasūtra exists, however, in Sanskrit as well, of which Tibetan and Chinese translations are also available. In a different manner from the Pali version, the Sanskrit text is merely a part of Mahāsāhasrapramardanī; a Rakṣā-text in Pañcarakṣā. In this paper, two versions of Ratnasūtra are discussed comparatively with references to its translations and related documents.
(Presented in the 2012 Chulalongkorn-EFEO International Conference on Buddhist Studies : Imagination, Narrative, and Localization, 6-7 January 2012, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, organized by Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University In conjunction with The Buddhist Studies Group, EFEO)