The first book, in the accepted order of precedence, of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka. It deals with more or less the same topics as the Nikāyas, differing only in methods of treatment; the chief subject is that of ethics, the enquiry thereinto being conducted from a psychological standpoint. The book enumerates and defines a number of categories of terms occurring in the Nikāyas.

There is in existence a commentary on the book, written by Buddhaghosa and called the Aṭṭhasālinī. King Vijayabāhu I, of Sri Lanka translated the Dhammasaṅgaṇi into Sinhalese (Cv.lx.17), but this translation is now lost. The work has been translated into English. The text is published by the P.T.S. (1885), and the translation (by Mrs. Rhys Davids) is published by the R.A.S., under the title of A Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics.

The Dhammasaṅgaṇi also appears to have been called Dhammasaṅgaha (DA.i.17).