Notes on Some Prakrit Words

Author(s): H C Bhayani
Publisher: Z_Nirgrantha_1_022701.pdf and Nirgrantha_2_022702.pdf and Nirgrantha_3_022703.pdf

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Notes on some prakrit words
Thus gomata, quite probably a Kannada loan word in early Marathi, is attested from more number of texts, of the 11th, 12th, and 14th century.
(3) Pk. halahala/old and bambhani
In a recently published paper on the 15th chapter (Teyanisagga, Gosalaya-saya), which gives an account of Gosala Mamkhaliputta, the leader of the Ajivikas, Roth has made the following observation on the significance of Halahala, the personal name of the potter woman, in whose shop Gosala with his follower was accommodated :
Vol. 1-1995
"From this it appears that the name Halähala was given to the potter-woman, who accommodated Gosäla, in order to characterize her as a poisonous snake." (p. 448, note 13).
Roth's observation is based on the meaning 'snake' recorded in PW and on halahaladhara' a small, black, venomous kind of snake'. It may be noted that MW also records haláhala 'a kind of snake' from Indian lexicographers. It has, however, also recorded halahala and halähala' a kind of lizard' and halahala' a kind of small mouse'. Besides, it has given halini a kind of lizard'. All these derive from lexicographical sources.
It seems that there is strong evidence for supporting a kind of lizard' as the original meaning for haláhala, halahala, etc.
Roth has noted (p. 419) that, Hemacandra's Desinämamālā records under 8.75 halāhalā with two meanings: mālāra (= SK. môläkara, malika 'garland-maker') and bambhani (= bambhanika according to Hemacandra's commentary on the passage). Roth has misunderstood bambhani / bambhanika. We may note in this connection that the Deśināmamālā records under 8.63 halahala also with the single sense of bambhani and further it has given bambhani (with its variant bambhani) also under 6.90 in the sense of halahala. Corresponding to PK. bambhani, the SK. form is brahmani. Dhanapala, using possibly the same source as Hemacandra, records (714) halāhalā as synonymous with bambhania.
Now, Hemacandra's Abhidhanacintamani records, as noted by Bechardas Doshi (p. 316, note 2. p. 429, not 1), under v. 1298 halähala with its synonyms halini, añjanikā, and anjanādhikä in the sense of a type of lizard' and under 1299 brähmani in the sense of a fat lizard having red tail (rakta-pucchika)'. So here Hemacandra has given halahala and brāhmaṇī as Sanskrit words, but as words with somewhat different meanings. MW. has recorded brāhmaṇī from the Rāmāyaṇa in the same sense. The word is preserved in Hindi bäbhani, bämhani a type of lizard', and in Gujarati bodi bāmṇī in the same sense.