other Buddhist schools such as the Theravadins, Sarvastivadins and later Mahayanists. The Sarvastivadin Abhidharmikas also developed the novel idea of an intermediate state between death and the next rebirth. The Purvasaila, Sammitiya, Vatsiputriya, and later Mahisasaka schools accepted this view, while the Theravadins, Vibhajyavada, Mahasanghika, and the Sariputrabhidharmasastra of the Dharmaguptakas rejected it. Atomism Some Abhidharmikas such as the Sarvastivadins also defended an atomic theory. However unlike the Hindu Vaisheshika school, Abhidharmic atoms (paramannu) are not permanent, but momentary. The Vaibhasika held that an atom is the smallest analyzable unit of matter (rupa), hence it is a 'conceptual atom' (prajnapti-paramanu), though this also corresponds to a real existing thing. The Mahabhivasa states: "An atom (paramänu) is the smallest rüpa. It cannot be cut, broken, penetrated; it cannot be taken up, abandoned, ridden on, stepped on, struck or dragged. It is neither long nor short, square nor round, regular nor irregular, convex nor concave. It has no smaller parts; it cannot be decomposed, cannot be seen, heard, smelled, touched. It is thus that the paramänu is said to be the finest (sarva-süksma) of all rüpas." Theravāda Abhidhamma The Abhidhamma Piṭaka is the third pitaka, or basket, of the Tipitaka (Sanskrit: ), the canon of the Theravāda school. It consists of seven sections or books. There are also three Abhidhamma type texts which are found in the Khuddaka Nikāya (‘Minor Collection’): Paṭisambhidāmagga, Nettipakaraṇa and the Peṭakopadesa. The Abhidhamma Piṭaka, like the rest of the Theravāda Tipiṭaka, was orally transmitted until the 1st century BCE. Due to famines and constant wars, the monks responsible for recording the oral tradition felt that there was a risk of portions of the canon being lost so the Abhidhamma was written down for the first time along with the rest of the Pāli Canon in the first century BCE. The books of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka were translated into English in the 20th century and published by the Pāli Text Society. In addition to the canonical Abhidharma, Pali literature includes a variety of Abhidhamma commentaries and introductory manuals written after the compilation of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka. These post-canonical texts attempted to expand and further clarify the analysis presented in the Abhidhamma. The most influential of these commentaries are those of Buddhaghosa (c. 5th century) a South Indian exegete and philosopher who moved to Sri Lanka and wrote various commentaries and treatises in Pali. His Visuddhimagga ("Path of Purification")