Rules Concerning Speech In Ayaranga And Dasaveyaliya Suttas

Author(s): Collette Caillat
Publisher: Collette Caillat

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THE RULES CONCERNING SPEECH (BHĀSĀ) IN THE AYARANGA-AND DASAVEYALIYA-SUTTAS
Collette Caillat
One of the major vows taken by the ascetics of ancient India, whether Brahmanic, Buddhist or Jaina, is "not to make any untrue statement1." In fact, this prescription applies to each and every individual, for (as is well known)", speech is assumed to exert extremely potent forces. It is therefore quite natural that the fastras lay down rules about what is or is not to be said, and where, when, how it should be uttered, not only on solemn occasions, but also in daily life. Such prescriptions are specified in the Scriptures of the Buddhists and the Jainas
1. For a general survey and appraisal, H. JACOBI, SBE 22 (London, 1884, repr. Delhi, 1964), Introduction, p. XXII ff.
For general considerations on "oral rites", M. MAUSS, Theorie de la magie, reprinted in Sociologie et anthropologie, Paris, 1950, p. 48 ff.-As far as India is concerned, L. RENOU, Etudes vediques et panineennes, 1, Paris 1955 (Institut de Civilisation Indienne de 'Universite de Paris 1), p. 1-27; IDEM, Etudes sur le vocabulaire du Rgveda, Pondichery, 1958 (Institut Francais d'Indologie 5), on naman, p. 10-12 ("le nom n'est jamais" "pretexte, apparence" (oppose a "realite"); il est au contraire la realite meme, il touche a l'essence de l'etre....", p. 11). Moreover, see, e.g., many of J. Gonda's books and articles, among others, Jan GONDA, Die Religionen Indiens I, Veda und älterer Hinduismus (Die Religionen der Menschheit. Herausgegeben von C. M. Schroder, 11), Stuttgart, 1960, p. 21 ff. (Das Wort").
3. Väg ghy evaitat sarvam || vāca hyevaitat sarvam aptam,
"Everything here is speech // for by speech everything here is obtained", Satapatha Brahmana 10.5.1.3 (ed. A. Weber; Berlin-London, 1885 translation J. Eggeling SBE 43, Oxford, 1897, repr. Delhi, 1963); cf. ib,
14.3.2.20:
2.
vacyarthaḥ niyataḥ sarve, vän-mālā väg-nisritäh
"all things (have their nature) determined by speech; speech is their root, and from speech they proceed", Mn 4.256 (trsl. G. Bühler);
vān-mayāniha fāstrāṇi vān-niṣṭhāni tathaiva ca
tasmäd vacaḥ param nästi väg ghi sarvasya kāraṇam,
"the sastras are made up of words, and words are the source of everything", Natyasastra, 9.3 (ed. M. Ghosh, Calcutta, 1967, trsl. Id, Calcutta, 1951, BI 272).