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H. C. Bhayani 1. INTERPRETATION OF SOME PASSAGES OF THE GAUDAVAHO* N.G. Suru has rendered a great service to the students of Prakrit literature by giving a careful English translation alongwith explanatory notes, of the highly important but equally difficult Mahākāvya, the Gaudavaho of Vākpatirāja, written about 730 A. C. Below I discuss interpretation of some of its verses and offer alternative renderings. (1) V. I. ER-HOT-foruyfe-UCT-TT fua i Suru's translation : "a white sacred thread) which was, as if, a fibre of lotus-stalk extracted while coming out through the belly of Vişnu." His notes : The white sacred thread is imagined by the poet as the lotus-fibre extracted and suspended over the body of Brahmā, as he came out of the belly of Visnu.' But that is rather the umbilical cord which is attached to the new-born child. (2) V. 7. t-the-f31-THSTI Suru's translation : " He had seized in his clutches a mass of clouds in His roaring fury." Rather it should be rendered as 'He had seized in his clutches a mass of clouds, being angry at their thunder.' The lion is conventionally described as roaring on hearing the thunder. (3) V.175. isfazi. The verse describes the condition of the snakes burning in the fire of Pralaya. islast in the expression isfa37-401-ESM-fufc37-4 4t is rendered by Suru with Sk. alustan, and translated as 'dancing'. But here islah is a variant spelling of 75fa3t, which is past passive participle of gq = Sk. 7 to spread' (PSM. s.v.; Prakrit Grammar, 8,4,137; DN. 5, 5). Fumes of smoke become pent up under the spread out hoods, not under dancing hoods. (4) V. 260. ZIRTE
मग्गेसु गुरु बला वेअ-गाढ-णिवडंत कोडि-टंकेहि ।
उच्चरिऊर्ण व लिहंति जे टआरे खुर-उडेहि ॥ The marching horses produce clapping sounds with their hooves, which also leave their imprints on the dusty road. This is described by means of an original Utpreksā. The horses as it were utter and write the letter ta with their hooves as they gallop along. The image is that of a learner of alphabets who writes a letter first pronouncing it loudly. In his Notes, Suru explains that the hooves left imprints' shaped like the Devanăgari . Gaudavaho, ed. N. G. Suru, Prakrit Text Series, no. 18. Ahmedabad 1975.
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letter 2. But strictly speaking it can be the shape of the letter ta that we find in the script of the first half of the eighth century. In the late Maitraka and post-Maitraka inscriptions we find the exactly horse-shoe like form of ta along with others slightly different, and this fairly matches with the shape of imprints left by the hooves of horses as described by Vākpatirāja. (5) V. 317, 479. uff/3.
जण-दिण्ण-केस कलणा-लोमस-कलुसेहि कंपमुप्पेसि ।
वेआलेहि व पडिअग्गिआइरा वाउ-दंडेहि ॥ The afsoft|3||$t is interpreted by Suru as 'keeping the courtyard awake during night'. But arscsts of sufin31st rather means 'the courtyard attended or frequented by gusts of stormy winds' vicifT34 = SG137 = Sk. u t , here meaning attended'. The verse means : The courtyard of 'the temple of Vindhyavāsinī when it was subject to gusts of wind that lifted mass of dust and loops of shaven hair, caused shivers, because of the apparitions, thus produced of vapourous, shadowy figures of goblins (wildly dangling their hair). In V. 479 also uis137 has the sense of attended by i. e. 'accompanied or marked by'. 3750T-fait-U17-T37UT-T37-4fe1131731 means 'marked by the red glow of jewels on their pink spread out hoods.' (6) V. 333 HUTCUT-FMEHR-a-furcaftrat 370g
तुह धारण-क्खमो कीरइ व्व पाणु वाहण-सवेण ॥ Suru has translated the verse as follows: "Your carrier corpse, indeed, makes itself (strong) and capable to bear you, its strength being brought about, even in its dead state, by its body which can easily breathe.' There is a patent absurdity here. How can a corpse be said to be capable of breathing easily, when it cannot breathe at all ? Suru himself has felt this when he observes that this is a fantastic idea (Notes on V. 333). I think 3HH is a corrupt reading for the original ऊसाय i.e. Sk. उच्छ्राय, उत्सेध 'swelling'. A corpse gets swiftly swollen (सुलहूसाय) and this condition of attainment of गौरव qualifies it as देवीवाहन. (7) V. 341. gang atitra-gasm-afago Tu-faafini
मअणाहि मलय-विच्छित्ति-विब्भमं संपइ रएण ॥ Suru's translation : "The dust on the round face, turned in curling knots in the absence of any ointment (olimbhā), wears an appearance of thickly besmeared sandal paste (to alleviate) love's pangs." In his Notes : The absence of oily ointment (iftur912).....pangs of love torment (HISTUTISE)
The verse is quite misunderstood, because of the failure to grasp the meanings of the words ओलिभाभाव and मअणाहि. The latter derives from Sk. मृगनाभि 'musk'. मयणाहि-मलय-विच्छित्ति means the decorative designs (विच्छित्ति) drawn by means of musk
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and sandle-paste. The idea is that the curvilinear configurations produced by the white ants in the dust deposited on the face of the corpse gives the illusion of decorative designs drawn with musk and sandal-paste. The commentator rightly renders 311191 with उपदेहिका (white ant). मदनाधि is a wrong rendering of मयणाहि. It should be, as said above, मृगनाभि. DN. 1,153 gives ओलिभा in the sense of Pk. उद्देही, Sk उपदेहिका. DN. 1, 56 has given set as a variant of gaden i.e. 3uclear. Both words mean 'white ant. See PSM, DSS, and SDP pp. 64,767 (where Ramanujasvamin's misinterpretation is corrected). For cognates, NIA derivatives see CDIAL 2178. (8) V. 495. - T-fafoto/34-FACE-5107-STAT-alesi
जाअं णीसामण्णं परिहा-वलयं णहं चेअ ॥ The sense of the verse is not correctly grasped by Suru. = my means 'the citygate', not 'balcony'. UTHIHUUT means 'unique', not 'generality. ure=yfreat means 'moat (around the city), not 'rampart'. The idea of the verse is that when the city was lifted high in the sky, the citizens curious to know what was happening went apprehensively as far as the city-gate. They saw a yawning gap beyond. Thus instead of the usual ditch surrounding the city, they now saw a unique ditch in the form of the sky itself. U E4UUT is frequently used in Apabhramśa in the sense of Sk. 31 'unique', 'extraordinary'. See for example Paümacariya of Svayambhū (Part 1, Glossary). 2. ON THE APPELATIONS MADANAMAÑJUKA AND HEPPHAGA IN SOME BRHATKATHA VERSIONS In the various Sanskrit versions (recasts, adaptations etc.) of Guņādhya's Vaddakahā (Brhatkathā), the name of Naravāhanadatta's queen and the heroine is found with formal variation: Madanamañjukā, (Brhatkathāślokasaṁgraha), Madanamañcukā (Kathasaritsagara', Brhatkathāmañjari), Madanamañjūsā (Karakandacariu). The Natakalakşanaratnakośa refers to a drama (now lost), the title of which occurs as *Madanamañjükā' at one place (p. 134) and as 'Madanamañjūlā' at another (p.274). From the citations it is clear that its plot is based on the episode of Naravāhanadatta living with Madanamañcukā disguised as Prabhāvati through the latter's magic powers ('Kathasaritsagara', 106.; Tawney-Penzers' Translation, vol. 8, p.37; elsewhere also, Jain, The Vasudevahindi, p. 517, infra.) Among these variants Madanamañjuk, is the basic form. Sk. -;- would change to fin Paiśāci. Hence Madanamañcukā was its form in the Vaddakahā'. Madanamañjūsä and Madanamañjulā (if it is not a scribal mistake) are later variations. Etymologically madanamañjukā can be interpreted as 'as beautiful or sweet as the God of Love. If madanamañcukā was the original form, it can mean the couch or throne of the God of Love. Both are appropriate as the name of the extraordinarily beautiful daughter of a courtesan. But mañcukä as a derivative from manca with the diminutive-endearing suffix -uka- is otherwise unattested. Hence it is suggested that madanamañcuka is secondary
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A parallel, but rather complex, case is that of the name of the Vidyādharas that were hostile to the hero, Naravāhanadatta / Vasudeva, regarding which various Vaddakahā versions show confusion. It is found as Hepphaa/Hephaa/Hephaga in the Vasudevahindi, as Ipphaka in the Brhatkathāślokasangraha and as Ityaka in the Kathāsaritsāgara (Jain, op. cit., p. 34). It is quite difficult to decide which was the original form and what is its etymological meaning. Possibly ipphaka was the original form: ityaka is a corruption. In Prakrit we have several cases of -h- being added to the initial vowel of a word. (For the prothesis of h in Prakrit see Pischel § 338) Accordingly ipphaka > hipphaka >> hepphaka (oga) (-i- changed -e- before a cluster : Pischel § 119) can be suggested as the likely development. hepha(g)a is an orthographic variation. Even if this surmise is considered plausible, ipphaka as a form remains impenetrable. It is doubtful to suggest Sk. işmaka as the source word. Compare isma 'name of Kāma', ismin 'impetuous' (MW.). For the development -$m- > -pph- this would presuppose : see Pischel, § 422. 3. ON THE PRAKRIT METRE NIJJHÄIYÄ (Nirdhyāyikā / Nidhyāyika) (1) Regarding the designation and the structure of the Prakrit metre Nijjhāiyā, there are some differences among the classical manuals of metres, namely the Jānāšrayi of Janāśraya (end of the six century A. C.), the Svayambhūcchandas of Svayambhū (ninth century A. C.) and the Chandonuśāsana of Hemacandra (c. mid 12th century A.C.). In the Jānāšrayı, which has treated some popular Mātrā-metres (really Prakrit metres) as Sanskrit metre, the metre named Nirdhyāyikā (5.46) has 17 Mātras per line, divided as 4+4+ u-u+ uuu- (or -u-). In the Vrttajātisamuccaya, the metre is called either Niddhāiä (1.4, 4.16, 4.33) or Nivvāiä (1. 26, 1. 30). The commentator calls it Nirvāpitä at all those places. Its structure is the same as given in the Jānāśrayi. In the Svayambhūcchandas, the folios of the Manuscript which probably contained treatment of this metre are missing. In the Chandonusasana, this metre is called Nirdhyāyikå (Pk. Nijjhāiā) (4.76). It is of three types according to the number of Mātrās per line : 17 (4+4+3+3+3), 14 (5+3+3+3) or 19 (5+5+3+3+3). Of these, the first type is similar to that defined in the Jānāśrayi and the Vrttajātisamuccaya. Velankar, possibly following the commentator of the Vrttajātisamuccaya, who has rendered Pk. tikalaya as Sk. trikalaka, thinks (Chandonusāsana, Introduction p. X) that the designation occurring as Trikalaya shows the influence of the Prakrit term, tikalaa. But trikalaya can be well taken as trikalaya 'that whose cadence depends on a triad.' It is synonym with Tribhangi (Chandonuśāsana.)
Besides occurring individually, Nirdhyāyikā occurred also as the middle constituent of
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a three-unit complex metre. In the Jānāśrayī it is called Trikalaya (5.59) which is made up of Adhikāksarā + Nirdhyāyikā + Gitikā. The Vrttajātisamuccaya has described Tikalaya similarly (4.43,44). In fact, Trikalaya (c. 2nd to 4th cent. A. C.) or Tribhangi were a type of songs whose text had three constituents in different metres functioning as a unit. Velankar calls such metres 'Strophic metres' on the analogy of the triadic structure of the Greek chorus. (2) In several later texts of the Jaina Ardhamāgadhi canon, we come across a traditional list of 72 arts (bavattari kalão) (with a few later additions), in the Jnātādharmakathā, Rajapraśniya, Aupapătika, and Samavāya. A comparative table has been given in the Thānamgasuttaṁ and Samavayamgasuttam.' (pp. 758-761). Among these occur the names of ajja, paheliyä, māgahiyā, gāhā, giyā and siloya (i.e. Āryä, Prahelikā, Māgadhikā, Gäthä, Gītikā and śloka). These are wellknown Prakrit metres (the last one of course is Sanskrit). Evidently, this means the art of composing and singing songs whose text was in the afore-mentioned metres. Now, in the Rajapraśniya list there is one more names, namely niddaiya. This is nothing but a corrupt form of nijjhāiya described here in the first section. The correct form is nijjhaiya (Sk. nirdhyāyikā / nidhyāyikā. -ddha- (in the Vrttajatisamuccaya) or -dda. (in the Rajapraśniya) is a scribal error. The Sanskrit rendering nirvāpitā by the commentator of the Vrttajātisamuccaya is also, I think, based on niddhaia (< nirdhyāyikā, read or copied as niyvaia, which was then understood as Sk. nirvāpitā). As the Nijjhāiä lyrics were already known to the Jānāśrayi at the end of the sixth century in the South, they can be taken as being in vogue and popular, along with the songs in metres like Āryā, Māgadhikā, Gītikā, in the vicinity of that century. The Rājapraśniya alone has got that name. It would be, therefore, reasonable to date its list of the arts in that century. (4) ON THE LANGUAGE OF THE SONG-TEXT OF THE LĀSYANGA SAINDHAVA In his systematic treatment of the Lāsyāngas, based on various dramaturgical sources, Raghavan has pointed out that, according to the Abhinavabhārati, in the case of the Lāsyanga called Saindhava, the song text should be in Prakrit. According to the Natakalaksaņaratna-kosa, which, following the 'Dasarūpaka' and others, consider the Lāsyāngas as specially connected with Bhãņa, defines Saindhava as
Sankha-valaya-dharanādi-sindhudeśabhasa-visesa-gita-vädya-visayam (p. 274). This means that, in the Saindhava Lāsyānga, the song-text should be in the Saindhava dialect. The Bhāvaprakāśana also gives this definition briefly, perhaps wrongly reading śrrikhala for Sankha (p. 246, b: 5-6). Abhinavagupta, while discussing this Lāsyānga, quotes from (1) Rānaka's 'Cudamani' Dombikā, from (2) Bhejjala's Rādhāvipralambha Rāsakārka, and from (3) Bhatta Tauta's work. Now, the few quotations that are available from the 'Cūdāmaņi' and the "Rādhavipralambha' indicate that the former had some passages in Apabhramśa language and the latter, some passages in Prakrit. In this
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connection, it is to be noted that Anandavardhana, while pointing out how there are endless literary modes of expressing a theme (ukti-vaicitrya), mentions one that is based on a particular language or dialect and illustrates this with the following verse composed by himself :
महु महु इत्ति भणंतहो, वच्चेइ कालु जणस्सु ।
तो-वि ण देउप्पणद्दणउ, गोअरिहोइ मणस्सु ॥ Now, the language of the verse is standard Apabhramsa, but in Abhinavagupta's ‘Locana', the language is designated as Saindhavabhäşa, 'the dialect of Sindhudeśa'. If we put these points together, it seems probable that, in the performance of some dramatic works, when the Saindhava Lāsyāngya was employed, the language of the song text was, sometimes at least, Apabhramśa. 5. THE ILLUSTRATION OF UTTHAKKA CITED IN THE SVAYAMBHŪCCHANDAS The eighth chapter (but really the 14th if we include the Pūrvabhāga portion) of the Svayambhucchandas, called 'Utthakādayah (i.e. Treatment of Utthakka and other metres) opens with the definition as illustration of the metre Utthakka. It is defined as follows:
जइ तिणि होति पादावसाण, जमआ-वि होति पादावसाण ।
उत्थक्क होई तउ तुहुँ-विजाण, पाआण ताण xx तहुं विजाण ॥ (The last line is defective) 'If each line has three pa-ganas and ends with a da-gana, and if the yamaka occurs, you know it to be the metre Utthakka— x!' This is illustrated there with the following verse :
धअटु-णरिंदूसासणेण, विसमेण सुटू दूसासणेण ।
जई मई ण भग्गु दूसासणेण, तो पहेण जामि दूसासणेण ॥ (मह in the printed text is corrected as मई) 'If I, Duhśāsana, who is a life-breath of the emperor Dhrtarastra, who is difficult to deal with and is highly uncontrollable, does not force (the opponent) to flee, I may pass away by the path ruled by evil.' Now, this citation, given anonymously by Svayambhū, can be identified from his epic poem Ritthanemicariya (or Harivarsapurana) as 5.,5,4 / 5-6 : In the MSS. the lines 2 and 3 are exchanged. These words are spoken by Duhśāśana who takes up the challenge to confront and defeat Abhimanyu. The latter has broken through and entered the Cakravyuha and he is inflicting defeat after defeat on all the top seasoned Kuru warriors.
This identification has several important implications: (1) This confirms that the Svayambhücchandas was written after the Ritthanemicariya : (2) The anonymous
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Nirgrantha citations given in the Svayambhūcchandas are from Svayambhu's own poems : (3) The whole of the fourth Kadavaka of the 55th Sandhi of the Riţthanemicariya is composed in the Utthakka metre. It must have been one of the favourite metres with the Apabhramśa poets, as both Svayambhu and Hemacandra have treated it, but so far we have no knowledge about its occurrence in any other Apabhramsa poem. It is in the tradition of the Apabhramśa metres like Adilla and Madilla and the Prakrit metres of the Galitaka class which characteristically employed the Yamaka.
REFERENCES :
Chandonusasana of Hemacandra, Ed. H. D. Velankar, Bombay 1961.
Jānäsrayi (Prakrit section) = Appendix to Chandonuśāsana (ed. Velankar, pp. 240.2-240.16). (The Janaśrayi is an old work on Sanskrit metres composed by some Pandit at the Court of King Janaśraya, who is generally identified with Madhavavarman I of the Vişnukundin dynasty who ruled over the district of Krishna and Godavari towards the end of the sixth century A. D. - Velankar). Thânăngasuttam and Samavāyamgasuttam, Ed. Muni Jambuvijaya, Bombay 1985. Svayambhücchandas of Svayambhu : Ed. H. D. Velankar, Jodhpur 1962. The Vasudevahindi, L. D. Series 59, Jagadishcandra Jain, Ahmedabad 1977, Vrttajātisamuccaya of Virahāňka : Ed. H. D. Velankar, Jodhpur 1962. DN. Dešinamamālā of Hemacandra. DSS. Deśīšabda Kośa.