Ludwig Alsdorfs Studies In Arya

Author(s): Klaus Bruhn
Publisher: Klaus Bruhn

Page 17

K. Bruhn
Ludwig Alsdorf's Studies in the Arya
scribed by him as "difficult to understand" (p. 66). They belong to Bhag. 3.4.159 (see Bhag Vya: p. 14. lines 2-4). The Bhag Vya text of 34,58/59 has the reading wvavão as mentioned by A. on p. 66 in fn. 2.
ITTHIPARINNĀ. Süyagada I 4. - A. pp.*193-214. LAI no. 30 (1958). Itthiparinnà is composed in the old Arya which had been discovered by H. JACOBI (p. *194). A. gives a fresh description of the metre on pp. 196-97 (see also ALSDORF Pa, pp. 20-22) and analyzes Itthiparinna on pp.197-214 (critical edition, translation, and extensive notes). There are two more texts with old dryl.s in the Svetämbara canon, viz. Ayara 19 and Utt. 8. ALSDORF It supplements earlier studies in Ayira 1,9 and Süyagada I 4, and is followed by NORMAN Ka on Utt. 8 (1977). The term "parinna" which appears in the title of the chapter has more than one meaning: See TATIA Pa.
Besides Utt.15/Dasav.X (supra), Itthiparinna is the only canonical text portion which has been translated by A. As a connected section it demonstrates the style of A.'s translations better than the individual verses translated by him in his other arya studies. Quoting an observation by H. JACOBI, A. claims that "the ancient author allows us an unexpected, and sometimes not unamusing, "glimpse of a Hindu household some 2000 years ago"."
vedha a semi-metrical variety ("variante semiprosaique":p. 57) of the dry, but mentions it in his Paris lectures only in passing. He surveys six Jataka.s discussed in ALSDORF Pa (nos. 542, 525, 485, 479, 358, 301) on pp. 61-63, the beginning of Mahāvagga (also ALSDORF Pa) on pp. 66-68, and numerous Uttaridhyayana chapters ([9, 13, 22, 20); 10:36, 26, 28, 30, 34) on pp. 72-81. A.'s studies in the arya were in an advanced stage when he gave his Paris lectures, and the abstracts contained in ALSDORF Ét can be read as an introduction to the three studies which followed at short intervals in 1966 (Th, Ut) and 1968 (Pa). Sometimes A. refers in these studies to the Erudes and sometimes not. Considering the difficult subject matter and the elaborate treatment, ALSDORF's three arya publications are a demonstration of the alacrity with which he used to work. All studies are closely related, but ALSDORF Ut occupies a special position: It does not stand for a monograph but for a method.
A few topics of the Brudes require special mention. On p. 54. A. makes two sig. nificant observations on the arya. He says that it is difficult for Western Indologists "to hear this metre: "L'arya cause d'ordinaire aux indologues occidentaux modernes quelques difficultés. Même qui d'habitude a le sens des mètres indiens se plaint de ne pas l'entendre, de ne pas en percevoir le rythme a l'oreille." On p. 55 he says that the āryā, although open to considerable variation, follows well-defined rules: "En fait, malgré des possibilités de variation qui semblent déroutantes, elle suit des règles subtiles et très strictes, beaucoup plus strictes que le sloka, de sorte que précisément pour elle le métre se révèle un inappréciable et presque infaillible moyen de détermination du texte." These passages may appear outdated today, but apart from their importance for earlier phases of studies in MIA verse texts they have indisputable didactic relevance.
A. has devoted several pages (68-72) to the controversial subject of the history and chronology of the arya (see also ALSDORF Th: 233). For the present state of our knowledge the reader is referred to NORMAN Pa (p. 110) and NORMAN Ār (especially 5.1-6), and to the relevant observations in the reviews (CAILLAT Re 1968 (LAT: 48) and DE JONG Rc 1971 [LAI: 65-66]). The chronology of the arya is not without effect on the chronology of the canonical texts (pp. 69-70). For much later datings of canonical Jaina texts on the basis of other testimonia we refer the reader to M.A. DHAKY'S recent studies, especially to DHAKY Nă (passim) and DHAKY Bo (p. 135, fn. 1-2).
ALSDORF Et also explains details such as A.'s knowledge of some (at least in his day) little known early Jaina texts. A. had always taken interest in the question of the position of early Digambara literature vis-a-vis early Svetambara literature. Following LEUMANN, he therefore studied Mülacara and Malaradhand in combination with related Svetambara works (pp. 94-97). These studies stood him in good stead when he had to analyze the dogmatic chapters of the Uttaradhyayana.
$3. Les Études Jaina LES ÉTUDES JAINA. ÉTAT PRESENT ET TACHES FUTURES. A. pp. 1-97. LAI no. 13 (1965). - Four lectures (pp. 1-25, 25-50, 51-72, 72-97). ALSDORF Ét is almost a compendium of A.'s views on Prakrit and Pali philology with no less than thirty pages (pp. 51-81) devoted to the arya subject. The close connection between ALSDORF Ét and A.'s two arya monographs is also reflected in two reviews. In 1968, C. CAILLAT reviewed Ét along with ALSDORF UI (LAI: pp. 46-51), and, in 1971, J.W. DE JONG reviewed Et along with ALSDORF Pa (LAI: pp. 61-68). The reader of the present paper will remember that ALSDORF Et was published after the Uttaradhyayana articles and shortly before the Uttaradhyayana monograph. Strictly speaking, the Eudes Jaina must be read as a whole, but here we concentrate on those pages which are relevant to the arya subject. At the end we will return to the issue of A.'s general approach, which has already been touched upon on pp. 15-17 supra.
On pp. 54-57, A. gives a description of the three relevant metres (new Iryi, old äryä, vedha), which is followed on pp. 58-72 by a report on his studies in the Pali kryd (then in preparation), and on pp. 72-81 by an analogous report on his studies in the Prakrit kry. For the vedha, we refer the reader also to pp. 60-61. A. calls the