delivered all of his sermons in Magadhi Prakrit. This language was related to other Prakrits like Pali, though its exact nature is not fully known. The sutras were transmitted orally until eventually being written down in the first century BCE. Even within the Sutra Pitaka it is possible to detect older and later texts.

The Vinaya Pitaka appears to have grown gradually as a commentary and justification of the monastic code (Pratimoksa), which presupposes a transition