________________
Lexicographical Notes on the Tarangalolā
Thomas Oberlies
Right at the start of the Tarangalola, its author Nemicandra states he had decided to re-write an older work bearing the name of Tarangavai because "it was composed by Pälittaya using a lot of Desi words. It had an entertaining [but] also very detailed story. [So] nobody heard' of it2 nor did anybody ask for it nor did anybody narrate it. It was fit only for the educated ones. What should other people do with it? Having
divested the stanzas composed by Palittaya of the Desi words, this abridgement was made for the pleasure of other people so that [the Tarangavai] may not pass into oblivion
Pālittaeṇa raiyā vittharao taha ya desi-vayaṇnehim nāmeņa Tarangavai kahā vicittā ya viulā ya (5)
katthai kulayāi maṇoramāi aṇṇattha guvila-juyalāim aṇṇattha [ca]kkalaim duppariallãi iyarāṇam (6)
na ya sa koi sunei no puna pucchei neva ya kahei, viusāṇa navara joggā, iyara-jano tie kim kuņau (7)
tā ucceūņam gāhāo Pālittaeņa raiyão desi-payaim mottum samkhittayari kayā esā (8)
iyaraṇa hiyaṭṭhãe ma hohi savvahā vi vuccheo evam vicintiūņam khāmeūņam tayam sūrim (9)
Judged by the amount of Desi words Nemicandra still uses in his Tarangalola despite this announcement, we can imagine how rich the original work must have been with such words. No wonder Padalipta is credited with the composition of a Deśikosa.3 Over the next couple of pages quite a number of these, as well as words previously unattested in the literature, are listed, which suffice to give an impression, however faint, of how much our Prakrit dictionary would be enriched by a
Jain Education International 2010_03
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
