On the Chronicles of Ceylon

The book is organized into three main chapters. Chapter I, “Chronological Position,” examines the relative dating and historical sequencing of the major Ceylonese chronicles, especially the relationship between the Dīpavaṃsa, Mahāvaṃsa, Mahāvaṃsa-ṭīkā, Cūḷavaṃsa, and later Sinhala and Pāli works. It discusses the formation of chronicle traditions, possible earlier sources, and the question of how older materials were incorporated into later compositions. Chapter II, “Literary Position,” studies the chronicles as literary works, comparing their style, structure, verse form, narrative technique, and relationship to broader Indian vaṃsa literature. It pays particular attention to the literary character of the Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa, including their use of earlier traditions, repetitions, poetic ambition, and narrative design. Chapter III, “Historical Position,” evaluates the chronicles as sources for reconstructing Sri Lankan Buddhist and political history, weighing their evidentiary value against problems of religious purpose, legend, chronology, interpolation, and monastic transmission. Overall, the work presents the chronicles of Ceylon as indispensable but methodologically complex sources that require philological care, historical comparison, and critical interpretation.