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| Author | Paññāsāmi |
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| Original title | သာသနာဝင် Thathanawin |
| Language | Burmese |
| Series | Burmese chronicles |
| Genre | Chronicle,Buddhist literature |
| Publisher | KingMindon |
Publication date | 1861 |
| Publication place | Kingdom of Burma |
TheSāsanavaṃsa orThathanawin (Burmese:သာသနာဝင်,pronounced[θàðənàwɪ̀ɰ̃]) is a history of theBuddhist order in Burma, composed by the Burmese monk Paññāsāmi in 1861.[1][2] It is written inPali prose, and based on earlier documents in Pali andBurmese, still extant, but which had not been edited at the end of the nineteenth century.[3]
The earlier part of the work deals with the history of Buddhism outside of Burma. This is based on theMahavamsa, and other well-knownSri Lankan works, and has no independent value. The latter part of the work, about three-fifths of the whole, deals with Buddhism in Burma, and contains information not obtainable elsewhere. Up to the 11th century theSasana Vamsa is mythical or legendary. After that date it is sober, intelligible and in all probability accurate. This portion occupies about one hundred pages (eight volumes) in the excellent edition of the text prepared by thePali Text Society in 1897 by Dr.Mabel Bode. It shows a continuous literary effort through the eight and a half centuries, and constantly renewed ecclesiastical controversy. The latter is concerned for the most part with minor questions relating to rules of the order, there being a tendency, as relaxations of the rules crept in with the lapse of time, to hark back to the original simplicity. Of differences in matters of doctrine there is no mention in this manual. Dr Bode has prefixed to her edition a detailed summary of the contents of the book.[3]
TheDhammikarama Temple inPenang, Malaysia contains aSasana VamsaSima Shrine Hall in honour of Bode's work.
N. R. Ray used Bode's edited Pali text as the main source for his 1946Introduction to the Study of Theravāda Buddhism in Burma. B. C. Law in 1952 produced for the Pali Text Society an English translation of theSāsanavaṃsa.[4]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Davids, Thomas William Rhys (1911). "Sāsana Vaṃsa". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 225.