Derivation of Pali

Summary

In this short note S. V. Viswanatha proposes a new derivation for the term “Pāli,” the language of the Theravāda Buddhist canon. Traditional explanations connect “Pāli” with the Sanskrit “pāli,” meaning “line” or “row,” or take it as an abbreviation of “Pāli-bhāsa,” the “language of the canon.” Macdonnell interpreted “pāli” as meaning “dyke.” The author turns to early Brāhmī inscriptions of South India and Ceylon, dated to the 3rd century BCE, where the word “pāḷi” occurs in the sense of “residence of monks” or “beds” for resting. These inscriptions are carved either on cave walls or near rock beds used by ascetics. The author suggests that “pāḷi” originally meant a cave or rock shelter containing stone beds and that this usage extended to the language associated with monks living in such caves. He argues that “Pāli,” spelled with a retroflex ṭ, is a variant of the South Indian forms “pāḷi” or “pājji.” The note concludes that the term “Pāli” may have been derived from a southern Prākrit referring to monastic dwellings rather than to “line” or “dyke.” This explanation also accounts for the association of Pāli with Sri Lanka and South India. The author hopes his note will lay to rest the confusion between “Pāli” meaning “line” and “Pāli” as a language name.