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Reprint IIJ ID-2
TWO SOGDIAN ETYMOLOGIES
(II)
Iranian
(1) The word for "astrologer" occurs in Buddh. Sogdian as snptsr and in Man. Sogdian as smbţsr (cf. W. B. Henning, Sogdica, p. 21, 22). Benveniste in his edition of the Vessantara Jataka apparently divides the word into two parts, snpt and sr, and suggests to compare the first part of the word with Persian sambat, sambut "vision, fantôme" (p. 90.22).
It may, however, be suggested that it would be better to connect this word with Skt. samvatsara "astrologer" and regard it as a loan in Sogdian. Skt. samvatsara is attested since the epics. The Sogdian form points to a pronunciation sambatsar with the shortening of the víddhi vowel and the change of my to mb. The fact that both these types of changes are found in the Buddhist Sanskrit and further that the cluster is is preserved in this language would suggest that the speakers of Sogdian took sambatsar as a loan from Buddhist Sanskrit
For the shortening of the vyddhi vowell we may compare abhinadita for -nddita "caused to sound", anantariya for anantariya "crime bearing immediate fruition, deadly sin", karaka for käraka "doer, maker", etc. (F. Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, Grammar, 3.31). For the change of my to mb we may note that Edgerton in his Dictionary of BHS notes both forms samvara and sambara for samvara "restraint, control".
We may also note the following instances of this kind of change from the other north-western Indian and Central Asian material. Thus the shortening of the vrddhi vowel is seen in Khotanese in valmiki for valmiki (Ernst and Manu Leumann, AKM, XX, p. 497; also cf. H. W. Bailey, BSOAS, 10.917 ff., where he gives such instances as niväysva (-ya < -ika) < naivāsika etc.). For the second, we find such cases as sambatsara (also samvatsara) in the North-western Indian Kharoşthi inscriptions (cf. Sten Konow, Kharoshthi Inscriptions, CII, Vol. II, part 1, pp. cv and 158, 165 and 62). Similarly we get svayambar as a loan from Skt. svayamvara in Uigur (cf. F. W. K. Müller, Uigurica, II, APAW 1910, p. 21 lines 19 and 7) and svayampăr in Tokharian (cf. E. Sieg and W. Siegling, Tocharische Grammatik, p. 517).
(2) In Buddhist Sogdian we get 'pks- (apkaš-) "side" (Vessantara Jataka 8). At one time it was thought that the word was a borrowing from Skt. paksa.. But this view is now given up since Benveniste (his edition of the Vess. Jät. p. 90) made the good suggestion to derive it from upa-kaša, av. kaša. However, an alternative suggestion may be made to derive the Sogdian form from *apkaša- going back to Old Ir. *api-kaša-, which would correspond to Skt. api-kakşd- "region of the arm-pits" (Rv. 4.40.4, 10.134.7).
Deccan College, Poona
M. A. Mehendale
! I am greatly indebted to Prof. H. W. Bailey for most of the references in this note.
Madhu Vidyā/178
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