Indian Antiquary Vol 50

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 94

84
Besides we are not sure about the date of Râmâyana. The original text may be very old, certainly pre-Buddhistic. But there are many interpolations in it, which we know are certainly post-Buddhistic. The very name of Buddha-the Tathagata and the Nástika-is mentioned in it (Ayodhya, 109, 34). There are similar interpolations in the Mahabharata also.
We find the word pravrajita (female ascetic) in Manu (VIII, 363), Vatsyayand's Kamasutra (V. p 69, XXI, p. 234, XXVII, p .290), Arthâsastra of Kautilya (I, 10; I, 12). But in all these places it is clear, from the contemptuous way in which the female ascetics are referred to, that they are the much hated Buddhist pravrajitas. These are generally mentioned along with women of bad character for purposes of espionage and as go-betweens. It is certain that the Hindus began to hate these Buddhist Nuns, as the institution was unknown to them, and as these nuns, at least some of them, must have led a life of doubtful morality. It is natural that they should have hence fallen very low in the estimation of the Hindus. Gradually the word Sramana connoted the sense of a beggar. woman, an unchaste woman, a beautiful woman without character. These are some of the meanings given to the word Sramand in various Sanskrit lexicons.
I therefore consider the śramand and pravrajita mentioned in the Sitra and Ganapatha of Panini as referring to the Buddhist Samanis and Pabbajitas.
SPECIMENS OF NEPĀLI.
By R. L. TURNER.
The following examples of Nepali are taken from a collection of stories which were written down at the time of hearing in phonetic script. The narrators were men of the 2/3rd Q.A.O. Gurkha Rifles, and their stories describe the campaigns in France and Palestine in which that battalion shared. I have chosen extracts only from stories told by men whose native tongue was Nepāli (Khaskurä) and not Mongolian language.
a
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
In preparing them for publication and annotation I have (with considerable reluctance) changed the phonetic scrip of the Société phonétique internationale to the Roman script for Indian languages adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society. In order however to preserve the more important differences of sound, I have had to use a few additional symbols. The chief points to notice are:
A
denotes the a in Hindi makkhan.
33
73
[ MARCH, 1921
27
37
a shortened a and must be distinguished from A.
the neutral vowel a heard in H. kartā citra.
the short e in English set.
the short close vowel corresponding to the long ō.
the short open vowel of the English hot.
5
the long open vowel of the English awe.
ǝi
a diphthong like that of English boy.
33
ai au are diphthongs: ai au two separate vowels.
6
is a sound between English 8 and sh.
c ch j jh represent ts tsh dz dzh with a very slight palatalisation of the s element. The aspirates are pronounced with much feebler aspiration than in Hindi. It will be noticed that Middle Indian intervocalic -- has practically disappeared.
Manu does not consider the offence of a man who secretly converses with a parivrajikd to be very serious. He puts it along with the offence of conversing with a female slave. These offences are to be punished with a small fine. [VIII. 363.] In commenting upon the word pravarjità all the comentators explain it to mean a Buddhist nun. Vdleydyana proposes the use of pravrajitde to seduce chaste women. Though Vatsyayana points them in this ugly light, we know from the Malat Madhavam of Bhavabhiti the noble and self-less part which these Bhikhunts played in bringing together true, noble and virtuous lovers. Kautilya makes use of these Pravajitas as spies for political purposes.