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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) cumbijjai asahuttaM avarundhijjai shsshuttmmi| viramia puNo ramijjai pio jaNo patthi punaruttam / / -Dhvanya loka I.p.143 It may be restored as follows: cumbijjai saahuttaM avaruMDijjai sahassahuttaM pi| ramia puNo vi ramijjai pie jaNe Natthi puNaruttaM // [cumbyate zatakRtvaH, AliGgayate sahasrakRtva: api / rantvA punarapi ramyate, priye jane nAsti punaruktam // ] -iti cchAyA / / Note: Hemacandra in his Desisabdasamgraha records: 'aMkiya-avaruMDiyA pariraMbhe' - I.11 And observes: ....ayaM ca yadyapi kriyAzabda: - 'avaruMDaI' 'avaruMDijjaI' 'avaruMDiga' ityAdiprayogayogyazca tathA'pi pUrvAcAryairdhAtvAdezeSu na paThitaH ityasmAbhirapi tadanurodhAt tatrA'paThitveha nibaddhaH / The third quarter ramia puNo vi ramijjai I owe to Bhayani's suggestion.
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________________ 32 so jayai kUDavaraDo siddhanariMdo dharAi sylaai| chittUNa rAyavaMse ekacchattaM kayaM jeNa / / [sa jayati kUTa-varaTa: siddhanarendraH dharAyAM sakalAyAm / chittvA rAjavaMzAn ekacchatraM kRtaM yena / / ] __-Vagbhara, Kavyanusasana, v. no. 4, (p.21) Note 1: siddhanarendra is the famous Siddharaja Jayasimha of Gujarat (V.S. 1150 - V.S. 1199). 'kUDavaraDa' is obviously a biruda/viruda (title). Note 2 : Regarding this verse Bhayani wrote to me to say : "The citation in Vagbhata II (so jayai etc.) occurs in its correct form at prabandhacintAmaNi(SJS No.I, 1933)p.75(v.no.171). It is as follows: so jayau kUDavaraDo tihuyaNamajjhammi jeslnriNdo| chittUNa rAyavaMse ikkaM chattaM kayaM jeNa / / [sa jayati kUTa-varaTa: tribhuvanamadhye jayasiMha-narendraH / chittvA rAjavaMzAn ekaM chatraM kRtaM yena // ] varaTa in the chaya is just a stop-gap back-formation. jesala is a shortened term of endearment for jayasiMha. vaMza and chatra are zliSTa." (iii) [teSu virahiNAmasAdhAraNadharma: viyuktsvruupm|....paatre....shaantaasthm.... zAntAyAmanumIyamAnaM yathA-] ohicadeNa u vihurA puMNamahuA paosi aMpathaM / ThiavahiaMpi gahavai AsANaDi yA puloei / / - Srngaraprakasa Vol IV p.1074 I found this verse rather 'corrupt and obscure' (Prakrit Verses...Vol.II, p.124). Bhayani reconstructed this gatha as follows: ohie diNe u vihurA vivaNNa-muhaA paosi paMthaM / Thia(?thakka)-pahiaMgaavai AsA-NaDiyA puloei ! /
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________________ 33 [avadherdine tu vidhurA vivarNamukhA prAdoSikaM panthAnam / sthita(virata)-pathikaM proSita-patikA AzA-vyAkulA pralokayati / / ] [The earlier part of the second half is metrically defective. If we read Thia-pahiaMgaavaiA AsA-NaDiyA puloei,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. [avadherdine means 'on the stipulated day of return from journey abroad'.} -Prakrit Verses....Vol. II, S.No.1319,p.495 (iv)[viyogavedanAzAntaye sakhIjanAdivAkyaM sahAyAzvAsanam / tat ApAtArambhapravRttaprakramoddIpanAbhinivezakAleSu uppgh(?dyote|] abhinivezo yathA pattiamehacaMdaM sahi sUradIva asihaae| kajjalapaDaNiNahanuparammidiasehi sNglaN|| - -zRGgAraprakAza 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: pattia Na mehavaMdaM, sahi sUradIvasihAe~ u kajjalaM / [saira-/saaa-]paDaNeNa Nahakhapparammi diasehi sNgliaN|| (pratIhi na meghavRndaM sakhi sUryadIpazikhAyAstu kajjalam / [svaira-/satata-]patanena nabha:kapare divasaiH saMghaTitam // ) -iti cchaayaa| 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-tatparyani yatha - asasiUsasaMtehiM ubbu0Dai taha Niu0DamANaMmi / saMkeakuDuMgeaDa aNAe hiaa0mi li0kha0taM / / -zRGgAraprakAza Vol. IV, p.899 Dr. Bhayani restores this gatha as follows: "AsAsa-UsasaMtehi ubbuDDui taha NibuDDamANammi / saMkeakuDuMge aDaaNAe~ hiaaMpi NibbuDheM / / [AzvAsa-ucchvasadbhiH unmajjati tathA nimjjti| saGketa-nikuJja asatyAH hRdayamapi nimagnam / / ]" iti cchaayaa| Bhoja cites this gatha as an example of sanketa-tatparya. 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 Vakroktijivita a Prakrit passage as an example of suggested Utpreksa. The text of this passage is highly corrupt and it is given as running prose. pavANa cala vijju ca duliaMrAiAsu khanaantime aAso uvANa urulisa dayami hikiAsuka jillai virhe| (?) // 168 / / 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 : pavaNeNa calaM vijju-caDuliaM rAiAsa pulaaMti meh| soUNa a oralli saddaaM mahiliAsu kalijjai virho| The Sanskrit chaya : pavanena calaM vidyut-prajvalita-pUlakaM rAtriSu pazyanti megham / zrutvA ca dIrghagambhIra-garjita-zabdaM mahilAsu kalyate virahaH //
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________________ 35 Kalpalataviveka (p.75), however, seems to have preserved the original text intact : ghettuANa calavijjucaDuliyaM rAiAsu pulayaMti mehyaa| souANa orallisaddayaM mahiliyANa kA jIyai virahae / / gRhItvA calavidyut-pradIpaM rAtriSu pralokayanti meghaaH| zrutvA dIrghamadhuradhvani (? dIrgha-gambhIrameghadhvani) strINAM kA jIvati virahe ?]] - iti cchAyA / / 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: 'dIharamahurajhuNIe oralli' [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 Srngaraprakasa (Vol. III, p.800) Bhoja cites a Prakrit Gatha as an example gitanimittah (naimiltikanuragah.) Its text is somewhat corrupt : keNAci ajja gose, kappivaNe vaLLahaM mhrNtenn| aMhamaaNasarAhaahiaavaNapphoDaNaM gIaM / / kenA'pi adya prabhAte ...vane vallabhAM smaratA! ...madanazarAhatahRdayavraNasphoTanaM gItam / / - Syngaraprakasa Vol. III, p.800 I reconstructed the text as follows: keNAvi ajja gose kappivaNe(aMbavaNe?) vallahaM bhrtenn| dUsaha-maaNa-sarAhaa-hiaa-vaNa-phoDaNaM giiaN!|
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________________ 36 kenApi adya prabhAte Amravane vallabhaM smrtaa| duHsaha-madana-zarAhata-hRdaya-vraNa-sphoTanaM gItam / / ] After the text was printed I realized that the second half of the gatha is metrically defective. I should have read either 'hiaa-vvaNaM' or 'vaNa-pphoDaNaM'. But my two emendations of kappivaNe to aMbavaNe and aMha to dUsaha were quite arbitrary. But when the translation was being printed, by a happy chance I came across the original gatha ; ajja sahi keNa gose kaM pi maNe vallahaM bharaMteNa (pA.bhe. mhrNtenn)| amhaM maaNasarAhaa-hiaa-vvaNaphoDaNaM(pA.bhe. hiaa-vnn-pphoddnnN)gii| [adya sakhi kena prabhAte kAmapi manye vallabhAM smrtaa| asmAkaM madanazarAhata-hRdaya-vraNa-sphoTanaM gItam / / ] -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