Page #1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ A Critical Review of the Old Arya Metre Restored in the Text of Itthiparinna re-edited by Dr. L. Alsdorf Dr. K. R. Chandra Prof. L. Alsdorf an eminent scholar of MIA and worthy pupil of Dr. Schubring has done great service to Jaina studies by re-editing the text of Itthiparinna, the fourth chapter of Sutrakrtanga. He has tried to set right the metre of the text. In his opinion the metre of this text is old Arya which is as rare as it is important for the history of Indian prosody, viz., the older form of the Arya. Later Arya or common Arya is characteristic of the latest stratum of the Jaina canon but completely absent from (the genuine parts of the older layers. In his opinion the metre in the texts available is spoiled and sometimes it is unrecognisable. There are various corruptions and omissions also. He remarks that no critical text was prepared and his aim is to supply a better text. For this purpose he made use of the material accessible to him at that time. No manuscript was directly consulted by him. He took help of the following editions : T: Pu Candrasagara with Silanka Tika. Sa: First edition of Sagaranandasuri. ^ } varient readings given in the edition - T. IS C: Curni, Ratlam, 1950. V:P. L. Vaidya's edition. H: Hyderabad edition. The aim of this study is to examine the readings offered by Dr. Alsdorf and to find out how far the metre has been restored. I have been so far able to examine the first section only. I consulted his text from Kleine Schriften, Wiesbaden, 1974, Glasenap Stiftung, Band-10, pp. 193-214. Along with the text there are variant readings, translation and critical notes in it. In the introduction he admits that the manuscript A and I as well as Curni offer better readings partly confirming to his emendations.
Page #2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ Dr. K. R. Chandra He defines the old Arya metre as follows: It has two padas, every pada ( feet) has 30 matras like later giti but the yati caesura does not fall on the 12th matra or on the final matra of the third gana but it falls on the syllable next to it which may be small or long and this syllable is independent and here the first half of the pada closes. This independent syllable constitutes fourth gana with the initial word or words of the second half of every pada. He further remarks that there are regularly 30 matras in each pada, but sometimes this last syllable of the first half pada is found to be an additional syllable. The second gana of odd pada and the sixth gana of even pada is generally TUT jagana, sometimes having four VVUU short matras. He has also given the numerical strength of first to third and fifth to seventh ganas with the matric scheme that is available in them. He has also given the total number of corrupt and deficient padas with the variant schemes available in them. Now my purpose is to examine these corrupt and deficient padas as well as other verses also of the first section only to see how far they are metrically perfect. When I examine them from this angle I find that certain corrupt and deficient padas and ganas can be emended to confirm with the scheme of the old Arya and again I find that there are several other cases where the metre is not regular and many of them can also be regularised, though Dr. Alsdorf is silent about them. According to Alsdorf there are 9 cases from the first section which are deficient and corrupt. When I examined them I could find that 6 of them could be. corrected on the lines of the method adopted by) Alsdorf himself. Now let us have some idea of the method employed by him. He has made here and there the following types of alterations at a number of places He has : 1. lengthened short vowel i ri. 2. shortened long vowel a = a,i =i. 3. changed the vowel with anusvara into a vowel with anunasika, e.g. an ) = an (3), im = in, him = hin, e = en, o = on. 4. dropped anusvara. 5. dropped one or two syllables. 6. added one or two syllables. 7. replaced a word by another word.
Page #3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ A Critical Review of the Old Arya Metre 8. changed grammatical forms, viz., plural into singular, instrumental into locative and so on. 9. done sandhi of an anusvara with the vowel immediately following it. The above types of emendations are made not always on the basis of the readings available in the editions referred to by him. He has applied his own imagination on several occasions. I. Out of the nine padas which are corrupt and deficient according to Alsodorf, 6 of them can be emended. II. Over and above that remain still several padas in the first section which are defective but are not pointed out or discussed by Alsdorf in the introduction or notes given by him. Most of them can be corrected on his own lines of emendation. I have, while suggesting emendations, arranged them in two categories and again under different heads pointing out the type of deficiency observed in them. Group 1 This category is of the following nine verses : (A) 20 : 1st gana has 3 matras only. 3b : 5th gana has 5 matras. 3d : is corrupt after 5th gana. 4d : 5th gana is deficient. It has 3 matras only. 6d : 5th gana is deficient. It has 3 matras only. 7d: is corrupt after 5th gana. 13b : initial moras of even pada are wanting. 260 : has 5 matras in the 2nd gana and an extra syllable in first half. 31C - 2nd gana has 3 matras only. Group 2 (B) Over and above that deficiencies remain in other stanzas too, but not pointed out by Dr. Alsdorf. 1. (a) lengthening of a vowel is required in 17a, 17c & 22d. (b) shortening of a vowel is required in 5c-d, 250 & 26c-d. (C) change in the order of words is required in 16c without disturbing the original meaning.
Page #4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ Dr. K. R. Chandra 2. Emendations by Alsdorf have disturbed the metre. (a) One matra has been reduced in 7a, 8a, 130, 16a & 21a. (b) One matra has been increased and unnecessary postulation of one extra syllable, short or long, is made in 19a-b & 19c-d. 3. Superfluous changes have been made by Alsdorf. (a) changing of an anusvara ( - ) into an anunasika ():(i) 2a nan for na (ii) 4a & 15c him for hi. (b) Why at the end of a pada having originally a vowel with an anusvara has been replaced by a vowel with an anunasika, i. e., a long vowel changed into a short vowel when again it is to be counted as a long matra. (c) Change of form was unnecessary in 20a : posehim into posesu. It reduces one matra. Why it should not be replaced by posesun if locative plural is to be preferred. (d) Emendations are required further in 6a amantiya-ussaviyam into amantiyas osaviyar va. To set right the 2nd gana which is defective UU- in Alsdorf's text. 4. Postulation of an extra syllable in the first half of a pada is unwarranted. 24 a-b has 31 matras and therefore the postulation of one additonal syllable - Why not cintenti be made cintenti and vaya annam ca to vayae ca. 5. One word is occuring twice by oversight in 20a change vasam vasam to single vasam. 6. Deficiency not pointed out ( 4th gana ) 28C-d (The fourth gana has three matras U-only). I shall not like to discuss all the cases suggesting my emendations but two or three typical cases will serve the purpose. Category 1, verse no. 136, 26c-d. Category 2, verse no. 19 a/b, 19c/d, 16 a/b and 10 c/d. Category No. 1 (1) 13 a-b. Alsdorf's text : Avi dhuyarahi sunhahim......dhaihim aduva dasihim. According to Alsdorf the initial moras of the even pada are wanting. In this pada there are 27 matras only. In the Curni, Agamodaya, Vaidya and Hyderabad editions sunhahis and thaihis readings are available but Alsdorf has nasalised him in place of his. Had Aduva been changed to Aduva to restore the missing
Page #5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ A Critical Review of the Old Arya Metre matras of the fourth gana there would not have been deficiency. The Aduva reading is now supported by the Kh-1 manuscript of the Jambu edition though not accepted by him. In the text of Alsdorf Aduva is available at 1. 21 and 23. 1. 26 C-d Alsdorf's text : 2. Jau-kumbhe jaha uvajjoi/ samvase vidu vi siejja. It has 32 matras in all and Alsdorf has accepted 'i' of 'uvajjoi' as an extra long syllable of the first half of the second pada but the whole pada is faulty and the second gana has then five matras. If we shorten the 'e' of 'kumbhe' into 'enkumbne and 'jaham into 'jaha' then the second gana is of four short matras as available in other verses also and the total matras come to 30. In verse no. 27a the text is "jaukumbhen, the 'bhen' having short 'en' and in the verse no. 2d there is 'jah' for 'jaha' which is obtained in the Agamodaya, Vaidya and Hyderabad editions as well as in A and I manuscripts referred to by Alsdorf. Group 2 (1) 19 a-b and c-d Sayan dukkagam ca no vayai / aittho vippakattha bale Veyanuviyi ma kasi / coijjanto gilai se bhujjo. The first pada has 31 matras because the fourth gana has five matras and therefore postulation of one additional syllable 'i' of 'vayai'. Here 'vayai' could be changed to 'vayai' and 'vippakatthai' should be 'pakatthai' only. 'Pakatthai' reading is given by all the editions consulted by Dr. Alsdorf. The first pada will read as follows: Sayas dukkadan ca no vayai / aittho pakatthai bale. 4 5 6 (2) In the second pada 19c/d there are 32 matras and therefore one additional syllable is postulated in it. Here 'si' of 'kasi' should have been shortened to 'si', i. e., 'kasi' which is available in the Curni & Kh-1 manuscript of Jambu and Punya editions. There is "manusso'si" at I. lu. and not 'si' in his edition too. The 'to' of 'coijjanto' should have been shortened to 'to' and then no necessity of an extra syllable or two extra matras either in 'co' or 'to' of 'coijjanto'. (3) 16 a/b Alsdorf gives the following readings : Kuvvanti santhavam tanin/pabbhattha samahi jogehin. The ending syllable of a pada always is to be counted as long then where lies the necessity of nasalising it when 'him' is available ( with an anusvara ) in all the editions uniformly.
Page #6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ Dr. K. R. Chandra (4) 10 c/d Alsdorf offers the following readings : Evas vivegamadaya / samvaso na kappaye daviye. This pada has 29 matras only. If 'adaya' is changed to 'adaye' then the fourth gana has four matra instead of three and the 30th matras is restored. 'Adaye' the absolutive form is more popular in Ardhamagadhi. This critical analysis reveals that still the text needs revision and the claim of Dr. Alsdorf that he is offering revised text removing the deficiencies and corruptions as regards the metrical regularity can not be admitted wholly. With regards for and respect to the late Professor, I have to say that how could not all these discrepancies and deficiencies attract his attention. *Ex. Head, Department of Prakrit Gujarat University, Ahmedabad.