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पाली Pali

Also known as: Pāli, Pāḷi

Pali is the canonical language of Theravāda Buddhism, preserving a vast corpus of early Buddhist texts (the Tipiṭaka) along with centuries of commentarial literature. Learning it is a direct route into primary sources used across South and Southeast Asia and in modern Buddhist studies worldwide.

Scope note

This page is for Pali as a classical/canonical literary language (Tipiṭaka + commentaries and related literature), as used in Theravāda traditions and modern scholarship. Many resources you’ll see are tied to specific editions or transmission lines; prefer well-maintained institutional editions and reference works when possible.

Dictionaries

• Digital Pāḷi Dictionary (DPD) — web app

  • Notes: Modern, feature-rich Pali–English dictionary with fast lookup and tooling aimed at reading real texts.
  • Format: Web

• Digital Pāḷi Dictionary (DPD) — documentation + installers

  • Notes: Install DPD into apps like GoldenDict/MDict/DictTango/Kindle; includes setup guides and release downloads.
  • Format: Web

• Pali Text Society Pali–English Dictionary (PED) (Rhys Davids & Stede) — DSAL

  • Notes: A standard reference dictionary. DSAL provides a searchable interface plus linked front matter (useful for abbreviations).
  • Format: Web

• A Critical Pāli Dictionary (PTS) — fascicles

  • Notes: A major scholarly dictionary project (unfinished). Useful as a reference when you need depth beyond a single dictionary.
  • Format: Print

Grammars & Readers

• A Practical Guide to Pāḷi Grammar — Ancient Buddhist Texts

  • Notes: Free, practical reference-style grammar guide (web + PDF) aimed at reading real Pali sentences.
  • Format: Web / PDF

• Syntax of the Cases in the Pali Nikāyas (Wijesekera, 1936/1993) — Ancient Buddhist Texts

  • Notes: In-depth study of nominal case usage in the Nikāyas; the site notes it’s reproduced digitally with permission from the University of Kelaniya publisher.
  • Format: Web / PDF

• Navapadamañjarī (Pāḷi case endings, with translation + notes) — Ancient Buddhist Texts

  • Notes: Sentence collections illustrating case endings with commentary; great for drilling declensions in context.
  • Format: Web / PDF

• Geiger’s Pāli Grammar (PTS)

  • Notes: Widely used reference grammar in English (revised edition by K. R. Norman).
  • Format: Print

• Perniola’s Pāli Grammar (PTS)

  • Notes: Reference grammar published by the Pali Text Society.
  • Format: Print

Texts & Corpora

• Suttapiṭaka navigation — SuttaCentral

  • Notes: A major, actively maintained platform for reading early Buddhist texts, including Pali originals and aligned translations.
  • Format: Web

• SuttaCentral Editions

  • Notes: Downloadable book-format editions (PDF/EPUB/print) selected from SuttaCentral translations.
  • Format: Web (PDF/EPUB/Print)

• Tipitaka.org XML files (public) — VipassanaTech/tipitaka-xml

  • Notes: Public XML corpus used by Tipitaka.org/Vipassana Research Institute projects; includes multiple scripts and conversion tooling.
  • Format: Git repository (data)

Study guides

• A Reader’s Guide to the Pali Suttas — SuttaCentral
  • Notes: A curated guide for approaching the Pali suttas, with recommended reading paths and context.
  • Format: Web

Other resources

• The Pali language and literature — Pali Text Society
  • Notes: Clear overview of what “Pali” refers to historically, plus background on transmission and canon structure.
  • Format: Web

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