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On the Etymology of 'Puggala or Poggala'
13 'पोग्गलात्थिकाएणं पुच्छा, गोयमा ! पोरगलात्थिकाएण जीवाण ओरालिय-वउविय - आहारय-तेया-कम्मए-सोई दिय-चिवखंदिय-जिभिदिय-फासिंदिय-मणमोग-यय जोग-कायोग-आणापाणाणां च गहण' पवत्तति, गहणलक्खणे ण पोग्गलत्यिकाए ।'
In this passage, galiana i, e. 'receiving' is said to be the inherent cha. racteristic of Poggala. Now, gahana implies an active as well as a passive sense, i, e, 'receiving' as well as being received'. When Siddhsena says, geu a fofia Foral a la tano, he has clearly both these meanings in mind. Here also, both Akalanka and Siddhasena appear to be uncertain about the origin of the word puggala, How puggala' is phonetically formed from purs' and 'gil is not explained by them. The Buddhist etyinology of Puggala offered by Buddhaghosa runs thus : Punti Vuccali nirayo tasmim galanti ti paggala. Pun means a hell, therefore puggalas mean those that drop i. e. fall down into that i. e. (miraya).2
As against these explanations, Prof. P. TEDESCO observes that Puggalo is essentially a Jain and Buddhist word. I believe he is right. According to him, Pudgala is a sauskritization of Middle Indic Puggala which represents an early Middle Iudic Puthakala, a derivative of Sanskrit Prthak. He points out the agreement of meaning between Pali Putin' 'individual' (Putthu atta-individual self) and Puggala "the individual (as opossed to a group)' and tries to combine them phonetically also. He assumes that, while Sanskrit bad only the neuteradverbs Pfthak, the pre-stage of tlie protoBuddhistic and Proto-Jaina-languages had besides the adverb Pythak (Puthak) 'separately an adjective Pythak (Puthaka) 'separate'. And this puthaka, he holds, was further enlarged by ---Ia- into Puthaka-la; Here the final -la-is the secondary suffix which appears as an enlargement of adjectives since Rgvedic times and more frequently later on-(e. g. bhuala (RV) Pingala (AV) etc;-La-derivatives are frequent in Ardhamāgadhi also, e; g; majjhilla 'middle' bahirill-exterior etc.;)
Prof. TEDESCO further investigates as to how Puthakala became puggala, Apparently, first-th was deaspirated, hence putakala. From here on, two ways are supposed : (a) either putakala became pudagala by sonorization of the intervocalics and then by syncope Pudgala and Puggala or (b) Putakala was first syncopated into putkala, pukkala, and this became puggala by sonorization of the geminate.
The processes assumed above are : de-aspiration, sonorisation of intervocalics, syncope, and sonorization of geminate.
Prof. Franklin EDGERTON agrees with Prof. TEDESCO so far as the Jaina or the Buddhistic origin of the term puggala is concerned; but he differs from him so far as its etymology is concerned. Prof. Edgerton, like Professors T. W. Rhys DAVIDS and William STEDES connects puggala with pursand holds that pungava a Sanskrit word, may have influenced the form with
