Morphological Evidence For Dialectal Variety In Jaina Maharastri

Author(s): Nalini Balbir
Publisher: Nalini Balbir

Page 11

JAINA MĀHĀRĀSTRI
513
JM narrative works have emphasised that, to some extent, unquestionable Apabhramsa forms such as absolutives in -evi, -eppi, -eviņu have crept in. This trend is documented in Vimalasūri's Paumacariya, in the Dhūrtākhyāna and the Līlāvaīkahā 62. Some attempts have been made to discover a similar trend in the Vasudevahindi, but, in my view, they have remained rather unconvincing since they are not all based on absolutely undeniable criteria 63
I shall here consider two narrative stanzas quoted in the Avaśyaka commentaries which show dialectal variety and efforts towards standardization.
The first one is a triştubh included in the “ Tale of the ElephantDriver” 04. It shows ordinary JM features, except for the absolutive jāņeppi in pāda c:
cira-santhuo vā 'liya-santhueņa mellāvio va 65 dhuva addhuvenam jāņeppi tujjham pagai-ssabhāvam
panno naro ko tuhu (tuha] vissasejjā? "He who was (your) intimate since long is forsaken for the sake of another made intimate through a lie, he who is reliable for the sake of an unreliable. Knowing your innate behaviour which reasonable man could trust you?” 66
The second stanza has a problematic wording. The brahmin Vararuci who wants to take revenge on Sagadāla, the faithful Jaina minister of king Nanda, spreads a rumour in order to drive them apart from each other. In Hemacandra's clear Sanskrit it runs as follows:
na vetti rājā yad asau Sakațālaḥ karisyati vyāpādya Nandam tad-rājye Srīyakam sthāpayişyati 67.
62. Examples are conveniently collected in SCHWARZSCHILD, Some Forms of the Absolutive... (see above n. 27), p. 114 who notes: "(The short forms sevi and -ivi) are the most frequent in Apabhramśa from the beginning, and they appear in Prakrit texts influenced by popular speech where the Ap. endings of the absolutive have penetrated", see also K. R. CHANDRA, A Critical Study (as above n. 13), p. 554-578. esp. p. 572 (karevi 2 x; sunevi 1 x).
63. K. R. CHANDRA, Apabhramsa Forms in the Vasudevahindi, “Sambodhi" 4, 3-4 (1975-76), p. 34-39.
64. AVC 461, 14-465, 6; AvH 349a, 1-352a, 2; etc. See A. METTE, The Tale of the Elephant-Driver in its Āvasyaka-Version in Siddhantacarya Pandit Kailashchandraji Shastri Abhinandanagranth. Rewa (M.P.), 1980, p. 549-559.
65. The cürni edition 464, 11 reads mellevi tāva, a difficult reading : mellävio va is the emendation proposed by Mrs METTE, loc. cit., p. 553.
66. Trsl. A. METTE, loc. cit., p. 553. 67. Parisistapar van VIII, 50. Ed. H. JACOBI. Calcutta, 1932.