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TWO PECULIAR USAGES OF THE PARTICLE
KIRA/KIRI IN APABHRAMSA
Herman Tieken
1. Introduction
The Sanskrit particle kila has been studied in considerable detail, first by Emeneau(1969) and Ickler (1976) and after them by van Daalen (1988). Where Emeneau distinguished one function of kila and Ickler two, van Daalen recognized as many as four. Whatever is exactly the case here, in most contexts of kila, if not all of them, we seem to be dealing with a speaker who wants to convey the idea that he is only passing on a message or is affecting to do so. The speaker wants, among other things, to convey the idea that he himself does not have the slightest idea or cannot think of any good reason as to why things are the way he is reporting them to be.
The above-mentioned studies of kila were based on (Vedic) Sanskrit, the dramatic Prākrits and Pāli. Apahramsa material has not been considered so far. In what follows I would like to present some findings from Apabhramsa. I would like in particular to draw attention to two usages of kira (or kiri) in Apabhramsa, which, though otherwise "regular", seem to be peculiar of that dialect.
2. kira in combination with an interrogative pronoun
What immediately strikes the eye are the many instances in Apabhrama of kira in combination with an interrogative pronoun, in particular so in the Harivamsapurāna. In this text this combination accounts for altogether 18 of the 28 instances in the passages edited by Alsdorf.1 One example is 89.12.9:
rappijjai kim kira kāminīhim vaisiyamandiracūdāmanīhim,
How is it possible to entertain a passion for women, who are the crest-jewels of the brothels?;
