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ON RESTORING CORRUPT PRAKRIT VERSES
V. M. KULKARNI*
It was a very hard, difficult and strenuous task to restore Corrupt Prakrit Verses in Sanskrit works on poetics. I was, however, lucky in that I could consult eminent scholars of Sanskrit and Prakrit like Dr. A. M. Ghatge, the late professor M. V. Patwardhan and the late Dr. H. C. Bhayani. Whenever I faced very difficult and insurmountable corrupt readings I used to write to any one of them. They used to kindly send their valuable suggestions. In this article I confine myself to half a dozen of Prakrit verses which were restored partially or fully with Dr. Bhayani's help : (i) चुम्बिज्जइ असहुत्तं अवरुन्धिज्जइ सहस्सहुत्तम्मि। विरमिअ पुणो रमिज्जइ पिओ जणो पत्थि पुनरुत्तम् ।।
-Dhvanyā loka I.p.143 It may be restored as follows:
चुम्बिज्जइ सअहुत्तं अवरुंडिज्जइ सहस्सहुत्तं पि। रमिअ पुणो वि रमिज्जइ पिए जणे णत्थि पुणरुत्तं ॥ [चुम्ब्यते शतकृत्वः, आलिङ्गयते सहस्रकृत्व: अपि ।
रन्त्वा पुनरपि रम्यते, प्रिये जने नास्ति पुनरुक्तम् ॥] -इति च्छाया ।। Note: Hemacandra in his Desisabdasamgraha records:
'अंकिय-अवरुंडिया परिरंभे' - I.11 And observes:
....अयं च यद्यपि क्रियाशब्द: - 'अवरुंडई' 'अवरुंडिज्जई' 'अवरुंडिग' इत्यादिप्रयोगयोग्यश्च तथाऽपि पूर्वाचार्यैर्धात्वादेशेषु न पठितः इत्यस्माभिरपि तदनुरोधात् तत्राऽपठित्वेह निबद्धः ।
The third quarter रमिअ पुणो वि रमिज्जइ I owe to Bhayani's suggestion.
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32
सो जयइ कूडवरडो सिद्धनरिंदो धराइ सयलाइ। छित्तूण रायवंसे एकच्छत्तं कयं जेण ।। [स जयति कूट-वरट: सिद्धनरेन्द्रः धरायां सकलायाम् । छित्त्वा राजवंशान् एकच्छत्रं कृतं येन ।।]
__-Vagbhara, Kavyanusasana,
v. no. 4, (p.21) Note 1: सिद्धनरेन्द्र is the famous Siddharaja Jayasimha of Gujarat (V.S. 1150 - V.S. 1199). 'कूडवरड' is obviously a biruda/viruda (title). Note 2 : Regarding this verse Bhayani wrote to me to say : “The citation in Vagbhata II (सो जयइ etc.) occurs in its correct form at प्रबन्धचिन्तामणि(SJS No.I, 1933)p.75(v.no.171). It is as follows:
सो जयउ कूडवरडो तिहुयणमज्झम्मि जेसलनरिंदो। छित्तूण रायवंसे इक्कं छत्तं कयं जेण ।। [स जयति कूट-वरट: त्रिभुवनमध्ये जयसिंह-नरेन्द्रः ।
छित्त्वा राजवंशान् एकं छत्रं कृतं येन ॥] वरट in the chāyā is just a stop-gap back-formation. जेसल is a shortened term of endearment for जयसिंह. वंश and छत्र are श्लिष्ट." (iii) [तेषु विरहिणामसाधारणधर्म: वियुक्तस्वरूपम्।....पात्रे....शान्तास्थम्.... शान्तायामनुमीयमानं यथा-]
ओहिचदेण उ विहुरा पुंणमहुआ पओसि अंपथं । ठिअवहिअंपि गहवइ आसाणडि या पुलोएइ ।।
- Srngāraprakāśa Vol IV p.1074 I found this verse rather 'corrupt and obscure' (Prakrit Verses...Vol.II, p.124). Bhayani reconstructed this gāthā as follows:
ओहिए दिणे उ विहुरा विवण्ण-मुहआ पओसि पंथं । ठिअ(?थक्क)-पहिअंगअवइ आसा-णडिया पुलोएइ !।
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33
[अवधेर्दिने तु विधुरा विवर्णमुखा प्रादोषिकं पन्थानम् ।
स्थित(विरत)-पथिकं प्रोषित-पतिका आशा-व्याकुला प्रलोकयति ।।] [The earlier part of the second half is metrically defective. If we read ठिअ-पहिअंगअवइआ आसा-णडिया पुलोएइ,the metre would not be violated.-VMK] Translation: On the day she had expected her husband to retum home, the young woman full of distress, pale in complexion, saw in the dusk of the evening, someone halt on the road outside and felt the torments of hope. [अवधेर्दिने means 'on the stipulated day of return from journey abroad'.}
-Prakrit Verses....Vol. II, S.No.1319,p.495 (iv)[वियोगवेदनाशान्तये सखीजनादिवाक्यं सहायाश्वासनम् । तत् आपातारम्भप्रवृत्तप्रक्रमोद्दीपनाभिनिवेशकालेषु उपपघ(?द्योते।] अभिनिवेशो यथा
पत्तिअमेहचंदं सहि सूरदीव असिहाए। कज्जलपडणिणहनुपरम्मिदिअसेहि संगलअं॥
- -शृङ्गारप्रकाश Vol. IV, p.1091-92 Prof. M.V.Patwardhan as well as Dr. H.C.Bhayani gave their own valuable suggestions. Based on these suggestions, the text may be reconstructed as follows:
पत्तिअ ण मेहवंदं, सहि सूरदीवसिहाएँ उ कज्जलं । [सइर-/सअअ-]पडणेण णहखप्परम्मि दिअसेहि संगलिअं॥ (प्रतीहि न मेघवृन्दं सखि सूर्यदीपशिखायास्तु कज्जलम् ।
[स्वैर-/सतत-]पतनेन नभ:कपरे दिवसैः संघटितम् ॥) -इति च्छाया। Translation: Believe, my friend, this is not a multitude of (dark)clouds but the soot of the flame of the lamp of the sun (of the sun-lamp) which freely or continuously falls in the piece of a broken jar(karpara) of the sky and turned into a mass over days.
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34 (v) Sanketa-tātparyanı yathā -
अससिऊससंतेहिं उब्बु०डइ तह णिउ०डमाणंमि । संकेअकुडुंगेअड अणाए हिअअ०मि लि०ख०तं ।।
-शृङ्गारप्रकाश Vol. IV, p.899 Dr. Bhayani restores this gāthā as follows: “आसास-ऊससंतेहि उब्बुड्डुइ तह णिबुड्डमाणम्मि । संकेअकुडुंगे अडअणाएँ हिअअंपि णिब्बुढें ।। [आश्वास-उच्छ्वसद्भिः उन्मज्जति तथा निमज्जति। सङ्केत-निकुञ्ज असत्याः हृदयमपि निमग्नम् ।।]" इति च्छाया।
Bhoja cites this gāthā as an example of sanketa-tātparya. We may translate it thus : Her heart swells as with the inspiration of breath when she, the wanton woman sees her secret meeting place (love-tryst) (out of the flood of the river) and sinks low as with expiration when the place goes under the water.
(vi) Kuntaka cites in his Vakroktijīvita a Prakrit passage as an example of suggested Utpreksä. The text of this passage is highly corrupt and it is given as running prose.
पवाण चल विज्जु च दुलिअंराइआसु खनअन्तिमे अआसो उवाण उरुलिस दयमि हिकिआसुक जिल्लइ विरहए। (?)॥१६८।।
p.213 Dr. Bhayani, in his paper "Restoration of the text of some corrupt citations" (JASB, Volumes 52-52, 1981, p.53) reconstructs it thus :
पवणेण चलं विज्जु-चडुलिअं राइआस पुलअंति मेह। सोऊण अ ओरल्लि सद्दअं
महिलिआसु कलिज्जइ विरहओ। The Sanskrit chāyā :
पवनेन चलं विद्युत्-प्रज्वलित-पूलकं रात्रिषु पश्यन्ति मेघम् । श्रुत्वा च दीर्घगम्भीर-गर्जित-शब्दं महिलासु कल्यते विरहः ॥
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35 Kalpalatāviveka (p.75), however, seems to have preserved the original text intact :
घेत्तुआण चलविज्जुचडुलियं राइआसु पुलयंति मेहया। सोउआण ओरल्लिसद्दयं महिलियाण का जीयइ विरहए ।।
गृहीत्वा चलविद्युत्-प्रदीपं रात्रिषु प्रलोकयन्ति मेघाः। श्रुत्वा दीर्घमधुरध्वनि (? दीर्घ-गम्भीरमेघध्वनि) स्त्रीणां का जीवति विरहे ?]]
- इति च्छाया ।। Note 1: It is creditable to Dr. Bhayani that his reconstruction hits upon quite a few words in the original. Note 2: Hemacandra in his DesiSabda-samgraha records:
'दीहरमहुरझुणीए ओरल्लि' [I.154, p.60]
We may translate the verse as follows: With the help of the lamp of tremulous lightning the clouds see during the nights if any of the ladies separated from their beloveds still continue to live even after hearing the loud thundering noise.
Incidentally, we may note that Hemcandra's explanation of Oralli as 'dirgha-madhura-dhvani' does not, at least in the present illustration apply.
Finally I may refer to a similar experience of my own. (vii) In Srngāraprakāśa (Vol. III, p.800) Bhoja cites a Prakrit Gātha as an example gitanimittaḥ (naimiltikānurāgaḥ.) Its text is somewhat corrupt :
केणाचि अज्ज गोसे, कप्पिवणे वळ्ळहं म्हरंतेण। अंहमअणसराहअहिअअवणप्फोडणं गीअं ।। केनाऽपि अद्य प्रभाते ...वने वल्लभां स्मरता! ...मदनशराहतहृदयव्रणस्फोटनं गीतम् ।।
- Syngāraprakāśa Vol. III, p.800 I reconstructed the text as follows: केणावि अज्ज गोसे कप्पिवणे(अंबवणे?) वल्लहं भरतेण। दूसह-मअण-सराहअ-हिअअ-वण-फोडणं गीअं!।
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________________ 36 केनापि अद्य प्रभाते आम्रवने वल्लभं स्मरता। दुःसह-मदन-शराहत-हृदय-व्रण-स्फोटनं गीतम् / / ] After the text was printed I realized that the second half of the gatha is metrically defective. I should have read either 'हिअअ-व्वणं' or 'वण-प्फोडणं'. But my two emendations of कप्पिवणे to अंबवणे and अंह to दूसह were quite arbitrary. But when the translation was being printed, by a happy chance I came across the original gatha ; अज्ज सहि केण गोसे कं पि मणे वल्लहं भरंतेण (पा.भे. म्हरंतेण)। अम्हं मअणसराहअ-हिअअ-व्वणफोडणं(पा.भे. हिअअ-वण-प्फोडणं)गी। [अद्य सखि केन प्रभाते कामपि मन्ये वल्लभां स्मरता। अस्माकं मदनशराहत-हृदय-व्रण-स्फोटनं गीतम् / / ] -Gatha-sapta-sati IV-81 The gatha may be translated as follows : Early this morning, my friend, some one sang a song remembering, methinks, his sweetheart and that tore up all the wounds caused to my heart by Madana's arrows. One learns by experience, and we must remember impatience is harmful to research. AS PROFESSOR V. M. KULKARNI 5, SURUCHI SOCIETY Dixit ROAD EXTENSION VILE PARLE (EAST) MUMBAI 400057