The well known Ratanasutta is found in two places in the Pàëi canon, in Khuddakapàñha; and in Suttanipàta (vs 222 - 238), both of which collections appear in the Khuddakanikàya of the Suttapiñaka. It also appears in the medieval collection of paritta chants the Catubhàõavàrapàëi, and is recognized as the Mahàparitta par excellence. A Sanskrit version of the same text is found in the Mahàvastu (the Great Story), a large collection of material of the Lokottaravàdin Mahàsàïghika sect.

In the Sanskrit version the sutta is embedded in the narrative which gives the background to how the verses came to be recited. In the Pàëi texts the narrative (nidàna) is given in the commentary to Khuddakapàñha, Paramathajotikà (Pt 1). The stories in both versions agree in outline, but differ somewhat in the details.

At one time, while the Buddha was staying at Ràjagha (Ràjagaha), a demonic plague broke out in Vai÷àlã (Vesàli), the capital city of the neighbouring Licchavi confederation. In order to deal with the problem the authorities first called in the Six Famous Teachers to see if they could help, but they were found to be of no avail (note that in the Pàëi it is only suggested that they call in the Six Teachers, but when others prefer calling in the Buddha, he is approached without further delay).

They therefore sent an envoy to request the Buddha to come to the city to alleviate the situation. In the Sanskrit version of the story, the envoy goes straight to Veõuvana (Veëuvana) where the Buddha is preaching the Dharma, and makes his request. The Buddha replies that as he is staying at Ràjagha at the invitation of the King, the envoy must first get his permission, and then if he agrees, he will go. In the Pàëi version, however, the envoy goes straight to the King, explains the problem, and the King asks the Buddha to make the trip.

In both versions the trip from Ràjagha to Vai÷àli is described in quite some detail, as a magnificent procession, in which the King first prepares the way, and then accompanies the Buddha and his retinue of monks to the Ganges, which forms the border of the two countries. The Licchavis on their part have also come down to the river, and there is a similar procession from the river up to the city of Vai÷àli.

In the Sanskrit as soon as the Buddha arrives at the city the demons flee and the plague is assuaged. The narrative continues with the Buddha relating several Jàtakas in which similar plagues of former days have also been assuaged by his presence. The Buddha then enters the city and recites the sutta.

The multitude, with the Buddha at its head, proceed to the Assembly Hall (Santhàgàra). When the procession with Ven. ânanda at its head returns, the Buddha himself, sitting in the Assembly, surrounded by gods and men, recites the sutta, bringing many beings to a comprehension of the Dhamma while doing so. According to the commentary he also preached the same sutta on the following 6 days, with the same happy result.

This last part of the story is significant, because in the Mahàvaüsa it is recorded that in the time of the Sinhalese King Upatissa II, a great famine and plague assailed the Island. Chapter 37 vss. 189 - 198 tell the story (translation from Wilhelm Geiger's Cålavaüsa):

In what follows the Ratanasutta is presented first in the Pàëi with the Sanskrit parallels, and then in the Sanskrit with the Pàëi parallels. In this way it is possible to see not only what is parallel in the two editions of the text, but also, and equally important, what doesn't find a parallel.

The text of Ratanasutta as presented here is as established by the present writer in the New Edition of Khuddakapàñha, which can be found elsewhere on this web site. The text of the Sanskrit version is transliterated from the 1^st volume of E. Senart's standard edition (Paris, 1882. Pgs 290-5).

In the Pàëi the text has 17 verses, while in the Sanskrit there are 19 verses in all. The order of the verses varies in the different editions, and it may be useful to give an overview of the structure of the 2 versions here. The tables below show the correspondence between the 2 versions:

As can be seen from these tables the body of the text is substantially the same, even though some of the verses are in a different order, the only major difference being that verse 13 in the Pàëi finds no equivalent in the Sanskrit version; and the Sanskrit verse 13 has none in the Pàëi.

However the introductions and conclusions of the 2 versions differ substantially, with the Sanskrit version having extra verses not found in the Pàëi. Much of the extra material however, can be found in parallels or partial parallels among other paritta material found in the Catubhàõavàrapàëi mentioned earlier.

The introduction to the Sanskrit version has a partial parallel in Jàtaka 159, the verses of which form the Moraparitta, one of the pieces in the 1st bhàõavàra (see the text for the lines concerned).

The sentiment expressed in the lines:

found in Sanskrit verses 16 & 17, may be compared with the following line found in the Karaõãyamettasutta, which is also chanted as a protection verse:

Sanskrit verse 17 is also partially echoed by some verses found in âñànàñiyasutta, which is the culminating sutta found in the Pàëi collection of paritta chants; as will be seen they also bear a verbal similarity to the opening verse of the Sanskrit version: