Reciter of the Dharma

The title of [Chapter 10] in Sanskrit is dharmabhāṇaka, literally “reciter of the dharma” or “proclaimer of the dharma.” In early Buddhism, the discourses of the Buddha were not committed to writing. Instead, they were memorized by monks who specialized in particular sections of the canon; these monks were called “reciters of the dharma,” as well as “keepers of the dharma” (dharmadhara) and “narrators of the dharma” (dharmakathika). With the rise of the Mahāyāna, the term dharmabhāṇaka seems to refer to those who preached the Mahāyāna sūtras.

Two Buddhas, p127