Mahanisiha Studies And Edition In Germany

Author(s): Chandrabhal Tripathi
Publisher: Chandrabhal Tripathi

Page 49

MAHĀNISĪHA STUDIES AND EDITION IN GERMANY
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15.2.1 Hamm: Even if one could correct some of the pādas with nine syllables "by elision of an intruding vowel" or "by letting run together an initial vowel with the preceding nasal" in MIA (H. Jacobi, KZ.24,p.613) there would still remain enough cases to prove that the author was either simply careless or even incompetent to compose normally structured ślokas. It seems, he has selected and overburdened the motto: na vā ekenâkşarena cchamdāmsi viyanti, na dvābhyām (Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, 1.6.1). The same conclusion can be drawn from the statistics about the opening and cadence of the pādas. 15.2.2 Deleu: "Not only is it possible, as Hamm (see 5.2.1] explains, to correct many of the pādas with 9 (and even more) syllables, the author also shows some regularity in his departure from the metrical tradition. This obviously is the case with b and d pädas of 7 syllables, the metre of which as a rule is GGGGGLG (see MNSt.A,p.34). Among the thirty odd instances40 that are found in Chapters I-II there are only six rather unimportant exceptions to that rule, namely pādas 1.28b, 165b, II. 118d, 1610, III. 10d, 45b. 15.2.3 It should be added that one cannot always know for sure whether the supernumerary syllables are not to be put down to some extrametrical addition".
15.3 Opening. 15.3.1 From among the schemes of opening a pāda which are prohibited, we find in Chap. VI: in a/c 6 cases,i.e. 2.8% 41. The opening thus shows relatively few deviations from the schemes allowed, because the number of permitted opening is considerably bigger than those for the cadence. If one may say so, even a less trained author has very few opportunities to miss the structure of the opening. 15.3.2 Deleu: "In Chap.I-II, 39 pādas a/c, i.e. 19.5%, and 33 pādas b/d, i.e. 16.5% show an irregular opening. 42
40 The pādas with 7 syllables in the whole of Chap.I-III are: 1.206, 286, 700, 860, 900, 1010, 1031, 1381, 142b = 900, 164, 165, 166b, 1970, 214, 215, 218d; II.16b, 270, 500, 536, 620, 95d, 103d, 112, 117, 118d, 1400, 1536, 1610, 1906; III.9b, 100, 396, 420, 440 = 420, 45b.
41 The details are: in a/c 6 cases, i.e. 2.8% (GLLG: 3, LLLG: 2, GLLL: 1), and in b/d 7 cases, i.e. 3.3% (GLLG: 3, LLLL: 2, LLLG: 1, GGLG: 1).
42 The details are: GLLG in 32 pädas (a: 16. b: 5. c: 5. d: 6), LLLG in 18 pādas (4.6.4.4), LLLL in 13 pādas (3.5.3.2), GLLL in 7 pādas (2.2.2.1), GGLG in 2 pādas (6:1, d:1).