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Grammatical Analysis
Itivuttaka: [nt.] The “Thus it was said” discourses. Formed by iti (thus) + vutta (said, spoken) + ka (suffix).
Orthodox Definition
The Itivuttaka is the fourth book of the Khuddaka Nikāya, consisting of 112 short discourses composed in a mix of prose and verse.
Every single discourse in this collection begins with the exact same formula: “Vuttaṃ hetaṃ bhagavatā…” (“This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard”).
Orthodox tradition attributes the preservation of this entire book to a single laywoman named Khujjuttarā. She was a hunchbacked servant to Queen Sāmāvatī of Kosambī. Unable to leave the palace, the Queen sent Khujjuttarā to listen to the Buddha’s sermons. Possessing immense intelligence and the attainment of Stream-entry, Khujjuttarā perfectly memorized the Buddha’s teachings and repeated them verbatim to the 500 women in the palace, beginning each repetition with “Thus it was said by the Blessed One.” Her collection was later incorporated into the Canon at the First Council.
Quote
Iti me sutamiccevaṃ, vadaṃ gotamasāvako’’ti.
Saying ‘Thus have I heard,’ this disciple of Gotama.”Etthāha – ‘‘kasmā panettha yathā aññesu suttesu ‘evaṃ me sutaṃ, ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā’tiādinā kāladese apadisitvāva nidānaṃ bhāsitaṃ, evaṃ na bhāsita’’nti?
Here it is asked: “Why, in this case, was the introduction not spoken by referring to the time and place, as it is in other suttas, with phrases such as ‘Thus have I heard, at one time the Blessed One,’ etc.?”Apare tāva āhu – na pana therena bhāsitattā.
Some indeed say: “Because it was not spoken by the Elder.”Idañhi nidānaṃ na āyasmatā ānandena paṭhamaṃ bhāsitaṃ khujjuttarāya pana bhagavatā upāsikāsu bahussutabhāvena etadagge ṭhapitāya sekkhappaṭisambhidāppattāya ariyasāvikāya sāmāvatippamukhānaṃ pañcannaṃ itthisatānaṃ paṭhamaṃ bhāsitaṃ.
This introduction was not spoken first by Venerable Ānanda, but by Khujjuttarā, a noble female disciple who had attained the sekkhapaṭisambhidā, placed by the Blessed One as foremost among female lay disciples for her great learning, who spoke it first to five hundred women led by Sāmāvatī.— Paramatthadīpanī (Itivuttaka-aṭṭhakathā)
Textual References
- Canonical: Iti 44 – The definitive text separating the two elements of Nibbāna (with residue and without residue).
- Canonical: Iti 106 – The Buddha declaring that those who support monastics with material gifts and monastics who support the laity with Dhamma both arrive at the deathless together.
- Commentary: Paramatthadīpanī – Dhammapāla’s commentary confirming Khujjuttarā’s role in its compilation.