Kansvaho

Author(s): Rama Paniwada, A N Upadhye
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas

Page 13

KAŃSAVA HO
been following the Sūtras of Vararuci, and this was further confirmed by the fact that he uses many Prakrit words specially illustrated in the Sūtras and the commentaries of that grammar. So I could conveniently check some of the meaningless scribal errors of the copyists in the light of the Sūtras of Vararuci. In so eliminating the errors I had always in view the possibility of misreading the original Malayalam, especially in the case of some letters, already noted above, which are written almost alike in the Malayālam script. When the grammatical standard was well-nigh settled and the possible orthographical errors were deleted, the Sanskrit Chāyā helped me, more than once, to lay my finger on the possible original reading. In discarding, discriminating and ascertaining the various readings, I have taken utmost precaution to see that I am not violating the limits of the material supplied by the Mss. After eliminating the scribal errors, if I found that the two Mss. differed, I have adopted one reading and given the other in the foot-notes. When both the Mss. agreed on a suspicious reading, which could not be called a scribal error, I have usually adopted it in view of the metrical necessities etc. When certain forms do not agree with the recognised conventions of the Präkrit language, though both the Mss. concur, I have followed this method : I have put the expected form in the Text with an asterisk to indicate that I have gone beyond the material supplied by the Mss.; and the available readings are given in the foot-notes. I do not claim that my suggestions are final, and the asterisk will immediately attract the attention of the intelligent reader who may have something to say for or against my suggestion.
Following the lead of GOLDSCHMIDT1 and PANDIT? I have
1 Rāvanavaho, Prākṣt und Deutsch Herausgegeben von Seigfried GOLDSCHMIDT, Strassburg 1880.
2 Gaüdavaho, A Historical Poem in Prākrit by Vākpati, ed. by S. P. PANDIT, Bombay 1887.