Nirgrantha-3

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

Page 31

12
Herman Tieken
Nirgrantha
clearly represents an ad hoc solution. As earlier argued by me, the original text must have read savvappagam piukkassaṁ (sarvālpakam api utkarşan) and akammāse (akalmāsah) : Pulling out a thing (ukkassam), however small it is (savvappagam pi), one should remove (vihuniya) everything which is lying deep (or : is hidden; nümam). Not believing (this to be necessary; appattiyam, negated present participle of pattiya-) (being innocent, 'akalmāsa), therefore the spotless [deer) has died. The only room for argument seems to be whether the text had been corrupt first or whether the corruption is the result of editing. A more complicated instance is furnished by the word tānae in Sūyagada 1.1.1.5/5. I quote the passage together with the second line of the preceding verse:
mamāti luppati bāle annamannehiṁ mucchie (4cd) vittaṁ soyariyā ceva savvam etam na tāṇae
saṁkhãe jīviyam ceva kammunā u tiuttai (5). In the commentaries tānae is translated with trāyate. Conformingly, tāna- has been explained as a denominative verb of t(r)āna. It should be noted, however, that this seems to be the only instance of this verb. In support of this derivation several supposedly parallel passages have been advanced. E.g. Sūyagada 1.9.5/441 : mātā pitā ņhusā bhāyā bhajjā puttā ya orasā/nālam te tava tāņāe luppaṁtassa sakammunā //, ibidem I.2.3.16/158 : vittam pasavo ya nātayo tam bāle saranam ti mannati Vete mama tesu vi ahań no tāņam saranam ca vijjai /l, and ibidem 1.13.11/567a : na tassa jāti va kulam va tānam. The verbal agreement of these passages with the verse under consideration should not close our eyes for the fact of the isolated existence of the verb tāna-, which remains striking, especially as it does not concern a technical or special term. Moreover, these so-called parallels are counterbalanced by another, a well-known Sanskrit saying: athitir bālakaś caiva strijano nrpatis tathā/ete vittam na jānanti jāmātā caiva pañcamah //38 On the basis of this parallel it is tempting to "emend” the phrase na tānae into na anae, which would lead to the following translation: He is greedy; infatuated then by this then by that, he, a fool, is broken. Possessions, even (or: and (ceva)) sisters born from the same mother (soyariya), all this he does not acknowledge. But only by (acting with) deliberation (saṁkhae) (one's whole) life long one escapes from karma. It is not difficult to see how the rare word tānae would have been introduced for original anae as a result of a reinterpretation of the verse in the light of the supposed parallels such as the Süyagada 1.9.5/441. In this connection it should be noted that this latter verse is also found in Uttarajjhayana 6.3/164, which would indicate that we have to do with a well-known, free-floating, verse.
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