Medieval works, and verse texts especially, are much more difficult to understand and follow than are the Canonical texts, owing to the often very involved sentence structure, long compounds, and difficult similies that are used. Therefore in this text and translation of Jinacaritaṁ I have also given an analysis of the verse before the translation is given, so as to break up the compounds into their components, and re-organise the sentence as it would be if written with the same words in prose.The idea for this came from the Sinhala Vyākhās I consulted, but my analysis often differs from the ones given there.

Many adjectives and adjectival phrases are employed in the descriptions, which add greatly to the beauty of the poem, see, for instance, the description of the Himālaya which runs for 10 verses vv. 22-31; or Kāludāyī’s description of Kapilavatthu: vv. 347-352. But the piling up of adjectives and adjectival phrases which normally occur in Indian languages before the object they describe, presents some difficulties for someone translating into English. The problem is not always solved satisfactorily, and I have occasionally had to bring words forward from quite remote verses in order to make the sense clear.

Similarly, as word order is different in English than in Pāḷi, and as the syntax of Medieval composition, unlike the Canonical practice, allows for sentences to run over many verses, it has sometimes been necessary to take two or more verses at a time in the translation. There is a simplified version of the translation in the Texts in English Only section.