Reviews Of Different Books

Page 13

REVIEWS 259 six versions. This text is called 'ur-text' on the understanding that each verse, each aphorism is a separate entity and the question of an organized text does not arise in this volume." (ibid.). The result is a collection of all the staznas of the six basic versions given in their original form and arranged in alphabetical order. The ur-text taken in this sense is quite different from the ultimate form of a certain text obtained by reconstruction as is familiar to us from Edgerton's 'Pancatantra Reconstructed'. On this point see further below. E. New texts (pp. 72-77): First treated is the Canakya-saptati edited by K. V. Sarma, Supplement to Vishveshavranand Indological Journal, III, 1 (Hoshiarpur, 1965). Sternbach denies the editor's opinion that this short text forms a separate version and recognizes it as a CN manuscript, for it is "a compilation of stanzas usually ascribed to C. and prevalent very often in the South" (p. 73). Next follow some remarks on the so-called notebook manuscripts (s. CNTT, I 1, p. XII) which look like notebooks of students in Sanskrit or those of school children and some of which are divided into adhyayas of equal or unequal length. Cf. Table LXIV-LXV (pp. 163-179). F. Presentation of the text (pp. 77-78, cf. also Preface, pp. V-VI): important section as it contains the definition of Sections A(= CNTT, II, 2), B, and C(= II, 3). Section A(= aphorisms 1-1119, in reality 1122 stanzas, see p. 77, n. 73) comprises the ur-text (or orginal text) of the individual stanzas of the six basic versions arranged in alphabetical order, while Section B (= aphorisms 1120-2103, in reality 960 stanzas, see p. 78, n. 75) contains those aphorisms of doubtful authority not reconstructed before in the six basic versions but found in the texts and manuscripts which formed the basis for the reconstruction of these versions, and Section C(= aphorisms 2104-2235, in reality 133 stanzas, see p. 78, n. 76) contains those of a fragmentary character. G Metres used in the reconstructed text (pp. 78-92): Besides the sloka (1841 out of 2215 stanzas), twenty-five different metres are met with and, as expected, the greatest variety is observed in the version CR, some aphorisms of which are known for their refined language and style. H. Presentation of the stanzas (pp. 92-93): explanation of references used in the critical apparatus under each stanza. The rest of the book (p. 95ff.) consists of tbales of concordance (I-CVII) showing the correspondence between the one hundred and thirteen main texts used for the reconstruction and the text as it is given in CNTT, II, 2 and 3. The last table (CVIII) is assigned to the stanzas ascribed in secondary sources to Canakya but not found in any Canakya text. Instead of discussing the appropriateness of the use of the term ur-text in the above mentioned sense, I would prefer to point out here the difficulty of reconstructing the ur-text of Canakya's aphorisms in its ordinary meaning. One usual way for reaching an original state of a versified work consists in collecting the stanzas common to all or the majority of the versions or texts concerned. Unless I have overlooked something, I could find only one verse in Section A which is found in all the versions, that is, no. 212, though even here the version CL is represented by the stanza M of Group II (CNTT, I, 2, p. 45). When one excludes CL in view of the fact that CL and Cv can be regarded as one unit (See IIJ, 9, p. 303), one obtains nine stanzas common to five versions, that is, nos. 174 (also in Pancatantra textus simplicior, Hitopadesa, 392 in Vetalapancavimsatika), 501, 527 (also in Pancatantra textus ornatior, Hitopadesa), 565, 646 (also in Hitopadesa, 746, 886, 1002 (also in Vetalapancav). Even if one contents oneself with the stanzas common to four versions, only thirty-five aphorisms come up to this standard, and not a few of them occur also in other Sanskrit works (e.g. Mahabharata, Manu, Pancatantra, Hitopadesa, Vetalapancav), CV Cv CN CS nos. 352, 355, 428, (for CN: Gr. II, B), 691,714,885. 959, 1058, 1076,