Most scholars point to three textual traditions as the “gold standard” for the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra:

1. Dharmakshema’s Chinese Translation (Taishō 374)
   • Rolled out in the early 6th century, this 37-scroll version weaves in towering passages on Buddha-nature and the Tathāgatagarbha. Universities from Tokyo to Harvard increasingly lean on it as the fullest surviving witness.
   • The BDK (Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai) English Tripiṭaka series offers a top-notch rendition of this text, complete with meticulous footnotes and philological cross-references.

2. Dharmarakṣa’s Earlier Chinese Translation (Taishō 373)
   • Dating back to the late 3rd century, its 16 scrolls form a brisker, leaner cousin. More compact but still vital for spotting doctrinal expansions in Dharmakshema’s later redaction.
   • Samuel Beal’s 1883 translation, often reprinted by Buddhist Texts Society, remains a classic—quirks and Victorian turns of phrase included—yet still invaluable for historical comparison.

3. Sanskrit Fragments and Critical Editions
   • No complete Sanskrit manuscript has survived, but publishers at the Vaidyabhāṇḍāgār Oriental Research Institute stitched together dozens of leaf fragments in the 1960s.
   • A more recent critical Sanskrit reconstruction by Lin Jianjun (Beijing University) refines that work, giving Western philologists fresh ammunition.

Secondary sources worth flagging:
• Tibetan Kanjur editions preserve bits and pieces—handy for niche studies in Dharamsala and Kathmandu.
• Partial English translations by Robert E. Buswell Jr. and John J. Donohue (in various academic journals) zoom in on key doctrinal pivots.

Thanks to accelerating digitization projects—many libraries now host high-resolution scans of the Chinese Tripiṭaka—entering this field has never been more accessible. Grabbing both the BDK English text (for breadth) and Vaidya’s Sanskrit fragments (for depth) usually makes for the sharpest, most balanced approach.