The aim of this article is to do a comparative study of the structure and contents of the three versions of the Chinese translation of Vibhāṣā-Śāstra (Po-sha-lun). This article also aims to investigate the purpose of the Vaibhāsikas of the Sarvāstivādin School in compiling the Vibhā?ā-?āstra (Po-sha-lun).By analysing the contents of the translated texts, we can confirm that the main content of the current Fourteen-Scrolls-Vibhāṣā-Śāstra (Pi-po-sha-lun) (T.28, No. 1547) is the 'Forty-two Topics'. These forty-two topics are explained by the teaching of 'Ten Gates', and this is found in the Chapter "Forty-two Topics and Ten Gates" of the Vibhāṣā-Śāstra (Po-sha-lun). On the other hand, the existing Sixty-Scrolls-Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣā-Śāstra (Pi-tan-po-sha-lun) (T.28, No. 1546) was the first sixty scrolls of the Hundred-Scrolls-Vibhāṣā-Śāstra that have already been translated. These sixty scrolls were copied and presented to the royal court of Liu Song in the Southern Dynasty.It is worth noting that the Sixty-Scrolls-Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣā-Śāstra (Pi-tan-po-sha-lun) and the Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣā-Śāstra(Da-pi-po-sha-lun) (T27, No. 1545) are not different versions of translations of the same Sanskrit text. Strictly speaking, they have their own origins and textual sources. Throughout the course of time, the Vibhā?ā-?āstra has been edited and added upon by commentaries of the Vaibhāsikas. While the original Sanskrit Sixty-Scrolls-Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣā-Śāstra (Pi-tan-po-sha-lun) can be regarded as an early version of the Vibhāṣā-Śāstra, the Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣā-Śāstra (Da-pi-po-sha-lun) can be seen as a product of the amended and expanded edition of the Vibhāṣā-Śāstra. As for the Fourteen-Scrolls-Vibhāṣā-Śāstra (pi-po-sha-lun), it can be seen as a widely circulated version of the “Forty-two Topics and Ten Gates”.With regards to the Vaibhāsikas’ aim in composing the Vibhāṣā-Śāstra, besides the practical goal of explaining and interpreting the Sūtra and Vinaya so that there was no uncertainty in the texts, there was a more important hidden aim. That aim was to ensure Vaibhāsikas’ political status as the doctrinal authority at Ka?mīra, the center of the Sarvāstivādin School, and to suppress the voices of rivals within the school.
