Nirgrantha-2

Author(s): M A Dhaky, Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre

Page 46

NON-STANDARD USAGES IN THE PAÑCATANTRA1 (TANTRAKHYAYIKĀ)*
Dinanath Sharma
The Pañcatantra (Tantrakhyāyikā) is a compilation of old Indian fables. As is known from the prologue, it was written by Viṣṇuśarman (c. A.D. 300) in order to educate politically the three sons of Amaraśakti, the then king of a South Indian state, Mihilaropya. It was originally written in the language of the educated court - circles of the time, the Sanskrit. But the original text of the Pañcatantra, however is not available; the work is known through its recensions, which are as follows: [1] The Tantrakhyāyikā, [2] The text that was translated into Pahlavi in about A.D. 570 [3] the Kashmirian Bṛhatkatha, [4] the South Indian Pañcatantra and [5] the Nepalese Selection of Stanzas.
In respect of the text, these five recensions agree among themselves to such an extent that Hartel has rightly traced them to a common single source and, from their correspondences, he has drawn the conclusion that the Tantrakhyāyikä the only complete Sanskrit text among these recensions provides the best picture of the primary work; it thus stands next to the original Pañcatantra. Hence, generally speaking, it also holds that whatever may be said with regard to the Tantrakhyāyika is largely valid for the primary work of the Pañcatantra2.
For this reason I have preferred the Tanträkhyāyikä for my langual study.
The language of the Pañcatantra is phraseological and facile, but there are some usages which go against the discipline of the standard Sanskrit grammar, the Aṣṭādhyāyī by Pāņini. This article is oriented to highlight those usages and justify them, if possible, from other sources.
They are as follows:
(A)
अकस्माच्चानुषङ्गिकं देवगृहे वानरयूथमागतम् । कीलोत्पाटिवानरकथा, P-5, Line 4: (A flock of monkeys, incidentally came to the temple.) कुतस्त्वमस्मिन्नयोग्याधिवासे आगतः । मन्दविसर्पिणीमत्कुणकथा P-25, Line - 16: (Wherefrom did you come in this improper dwelling ?) तदस्मिन्नेव न्यग्रोधपादपे आरूढो यामिनीं यापयामि मित्रसम्प्राप्ति P 76 Line-8 : (Then, I shall pass the night having climbed only on this banyan tree.) According to Panini, the verb denoting movement with physical activity should have its object either in accusative case or in dative case provided the object is not the path3.
(B)
(C)
This article was presented in the Xth World Sanskrit Conference, Bangalore, held from 3 to 9 January 1997.