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264
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
and a later one, commencing "a month later than the full-moon of Ashadha," i.e. with the day after the full-moon of Srâvaņa. And it is further stated that the "later" term closed with Komudi chátumásini," the full moon of Kärttika with which the season of four months ends".68 Both these passages presuppose, just like that from the Digha Nikaya (above, p. 261), the use of the pirnimánta reckoning for the months.
In the inscriptions of the Indo-Scythic period there is no indication showing when the seasons began. But, if the restoration of the Gupta inscription No. 39 is correct, it follows that in the fifth century A.D. the winter began with Karttika, and that the scheme of the seasons was the older one, given under No. I.
Under these circumstances it is not possible to decide with certainty which full moons are meant by the three Châtummâsîs." They may be either those of Phalguna, Åshadha and Karttika, or those of Chaitra, Sravana and Margasirsha. It is further not certain if these full-moon days were considered respectively as the last days of winter, summer and the rains, or as falling in the beginning of summer, the rains and winter. But the consensus of the three passages from the Buddhist scriptures and of Manu's passages induces me to assume that the former view was that held in Piyadasi's times, as these works were probably composed not very long before and after Piyadasi.
The fourth full moon, which our passage mentions, is that of Taisha or Pausha, December-January. The forms tisyan (R) and tisiyam (M) are derived from the feminine adjective tisí, which has been formed from tishya without Vriddhi in the first syllable. With the form tisáyam (D. S., D. M.), the locative of tisá, i.e. tissá (tishya), compare the first part of the Vedic tishya-púrnamdsa (see Prof. Weber, op. cit., II, p. 326). The word dhupaye which stands before anu posa tham must no doubt be taken in the sense of the Sanskrit dhruváya, "constantly" (see the Petersburg Dict., sub voce) i.e. "in all months". Anuposathan consists of anu and posatha, and it is worthy of note that the form posatha, with which Piyadasi denotes the fast days or Parvan days, stands midway between the Pali uposatha and the Jaina Prakrit posa ha.
The total number of days on which Piyadasi prohibited the killing and sale of fish, amounts to fifty-six in the year, viz. :
(1) Six in each of the months in which a new season began and in Taisha or Pausha, the eighth of each fortnight, the full-moon days with those immediately preceding and following them and the new-moon day, or 24 in all; (2) four in the remaining eight months, the full and new-moon days, and the eighth of each fortnight, or 32 in all.
As regards the reasons which induced Piyadasi to apply his prohibition to the particular days mentioned, the selection of the Posatha days as well as of those at the end and beginning of the seasons is easily intelligible. The four days of the changes of the moon, which the Brahmans designate by the astronomical term Parvan, were the ancient Sabbath days of the orthodox Hindus. The Brahmanical Sutras prescribe on the two chief Parvans, the full and new-moon days, for every householder, the performance of sacrifices, which are preceded by fasting. Moreover, there are in the Dharmasiltras and Dharmasastras a number of rules which make the Parvan days times of
See Sacred Books of the East, vol. XIII. p. 299 f. and p. 324. The note on the second passage explains the word Chátsmasini erroneously. I translate it according to the explanation given in the Sumangala Vildsini, see above, p. 261.
" See Manu iii, 45, and iv, 128, as well as iv, 160 and 163, and the passages quoted in the Synopsis to my Trans. Jation.
