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192
In Ma lacuna upto (e) am in c. Apparently the variants readings of P have been overlooked by Weber. nohaliyan Bh; dohalia B; noalian sa (nohaliam in Ed., p. 6 probably is a misprint.) -- ayyaņo K -- kuruvaassa S -- eā K -- kha Ma; tu Bh; vu K, kkhu Y; vvia kkhu S -- hasai tuha suhaa Bh, R; tuha suhaa hasai K, Y, suhaa suhasai U, suhaa hasai tuha B -- viliyamuha Ma; valiāņaņa , B, valiāna Y -- paṁkaja(lacuna) Ma.
Pāda c quoted in Hem. II 198 (ean khu hasai).
Why don't you look for a 'yield of new fruits' for yourself instead of looking for a 'young woman' for the kur abaka-tree? Thus, you know, handsome man, your wife is laughing, her lotus-face turned aside.
This Gātha and the following are closely related. The present Gathā refers to the belief that the kur abaka-tree, a red amaranth, blossoms only after having been embraced by a young woman; in * 7 reference is made to the aśoka-tree, which needs to be kicked before it blossoms. For these motifs, see, among others, Karpūramanjarf II 43. Furthermore, in the following Gathā a pun is made on the word asoa, meaning 'aśokatree' as well as 'griefless'. Likewise in the Gathā under discussion a pun is made, namely on the word nohalia. According to Hem. I 170 this word goes back to Skt navaphalikā. In Skt it is restricted to the lexicons, which translate it with 'a girl with whom menstruation has recently begun' and 'a newly-married woman' (PW, s.v.). It has been analysed as a Bahuvrthi-compound, consisting of nava and phala, the latter having the ad hoc meaning 'menses'; see AIG II 2, S 199 dy. The commentaries available on the Gathā give a totally different translation, namely navaphalodgama 'a yield of fresh fruits' or 'a fresh yield of fruits (see Abh., p. 74 for Kulanātha). The word probably is a feminine abstract noun ending in -ika, for which type of noun, see AIG II 2, $210.
The situation underlying the first line seems to be the following. The man addressed was in search of a young woman (nohalia), ostensibly for the kurabaka-tree. It is also possible that he looked for one for his own pleasure and used the kurabaka as an excuse. When his wife
