Parallels information

There are various types of paralles as outlined here: https://suttacentral.net/zz4/zz/test

The raw data is here: https://github.com/suttacentral/sc-data/blob/master/relationship/parallels.json

Explanation on json notation

Because of the complexity of the possible relationships, some explanation of the code is needed.

Full parallels

Full parallels indicate different versions of the same text. For instance:

"parallels": ["dn1","da21","sht-sutta16","t21","up3.050"]

This means that all 5 items mentioned in the list are full parallels of each other and this is reversable. If A is a full parallel to B, this is also the other way around. In the list for DN1 you will then find:

dn1	⮀	da21
	⮀	sht-sutta16
	⮀	t21
	⮀	up3.050

And in the list for da21 you see exactly the same:

da211	⮀	dn1
	⮀	sht-sutta16
	⮀	t21
	⮀	up3.050

And the same is true for the other items in the list.

Resembling parallels

Resembling parallels are a bit more complicated. They indicate that texts are comparable texts (similar text but with different wording) or texts which are partially the same but not entirely. The relationship is not reversed. In most cases it can be implied that if A is a resembling parallels of B, B is also a resembling parallel of A, but not all. Therefore we have to have a different notation. So to add resembling parallels to our list we add a ~ in front.

"parallels": ["dn1","da21","sht-sutta16","t21","up3.050","~sf41","~sf48","~t1548.126","~mn36"]

This shows for each of the first 5 items in the list as:

dn1	⮀	da21
	⮀	sht-sutta16
	⮀	t21
	⮀	up3.050
	≈	mn36
	≈	sf41
	≈	sf48
	≈	t1548.126

This means that sf41 will show up in the lists of the first 5 items as a resembling parallel, but not in the lists of the other items indicated with a ~. Also, unless we specifically specify this, nothing will show up in the list for sf41 either. So therefore you add the following entry:

"parallels": ["~dn1","~da21","~sht-sutta16","~t21","~up3.050","sf41"]

And it will show up as this:

sf41	≈	da21
	≈	sht-sutta16
	≈	t21
	≈	up3.050
	≈	dn1

So tables are only generated for items that do not have a ~ in front of it. We do not infer that if A resembles B, it also applies the other way around, even though in a majority of cases it does.

Mentions

Mentions are structured slightly differently. These mean that one text is quoted or mentioned in another.

"mentions": ["dn1","sn41.3","pli-tv-kd21#26","vb17#21"]

In our json data the first item is the one that is being quoted while all following items are the ones that do the quoting. This shows up in the following tables:

For DN1:

dn1	⮀	da21
	⮀	sht-sutta16
	⮀	t21
	⮀	up3.050
	≈	mn36
	≈	sf41
	≈	sf48
	≈	t1548.126
	❞	pli-tv-kd21#26
	❞	sn41.3
	❞	vb17#21

For each of the subsequent items it only lists the text that is being quoted:

sn41.3

❞

dn1

Retellings

A retelling is a story or event is “backed up in cache” or “recycled” by being retold in another place. The format of these basically follows the same format as for mentions. So the first items is the sutta that is being retold, and all subsequent items the ones that are doing the retelling.

"retells": ["dn19","cp5"]

This shows in the tables as:

dn19

🔃

cp5

and

cp5

🔃

dn19

Note however if there are any full and/or resembling parallels and/or mentions found for the same text, these tables are all added together.

Partial texts

Notation in the json files is not just for entire suttas, but also for parts thereof. For instance, parallels for just one or several verses or paragraphs. These are noted as for instance:

"parallels": ["ja539#127","thag1.97","thag16.7#vns862"]

So the first item here means paragraph 127 in ja539 is parallel to the whole of sutta thag1.97 and to verse number 862 in thag16.7. Note that verse numbers are not defined in all texts. As paragraph numbers are given in the most parallel texts sometimes they are used for verses. These paragraph or verse numbers can be found in all types of suttas as mentioned above.