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Observations on some Variants in Harşacarita
sacrifices and swans, it is difficult to harmonize them with darkness. They emanate from the sacrifices and not from their smoke. This incompatibility with the adjectival phrase makes the reading : suspect. The alternative reading aro: (fire) seems to represent the original. The sacri. ficial fires bura under their smoke, that more often than not, does not assume the form of a column to put out the fire itself. The swans move in darkness resembling the smoke. Because of its pure effulgence the fire can be legitimately concieved as a swarm of swaas. Thus at: is in conformity with both अनवरतकतुघूमान्धकारमतैः and हसयूपैः and as such has a better claim to recognition. With it, the clause would mean that the fires, blazing on the altars, under smoke, sanctified the universe as the swans whiten it even while the fly in darkness. The apparent virodha serves to heighten the poetic charm.
The sentence, fagánaı 999191 3fq araa: qzı za gefitsfà fe fa quifa
1 faat :......(P. 106), forms part of the phraseology with which Acarya Bhairava greets Puspabhüti for his multiple qualities of head and heart. The aforesaid text as the Bomba, edition reads it, seems to be a jumble of words, caused by the intermingling of two separate clauses and omission of certain crucial parts thereof. It is almost void of meaning. To translate it as 'good people like chaste words, cause fame. even in a steadfast heart,' is like begging the interpretation. Evidently. the sentence suffers from erratic arrangement of the text, compounded by loss of a verb. P. V. Kane has rightly detected the lacuna and in reading विद्वसंमता श्रयमाणा अपि मुखयन्ति साधवः शब्दा श्व, सुधीरेऽपि हि मनसि safe går (P. 48) he seems to have hit the mark. Now, the यशांसि कुर्वन्ति sentence admits of an interpretati:n that seems to have been originally. intended: Like words approved by learned grammarians, noble persons. esteemed by the elite, are a source of happiness to the people 5 And What Bhairava
their fame dents into even an extremely firm heart'. means to say is that though I had not met you Puspabhūti) before, your very name inspired confidence in me and your fame had deeply impressed my heart.' A hole (vivara) cannot be easily made on a hard object. That Paspabhūti's fame opened a chasm in the heart of the Acarya bespeaks of the intensity of its impact.. The virodhabhasa enhances the poetic beauty further.
223
सौहार्दस्य भाग्यरूपपरमाणुसृष्टिरिव प्रजापतेः (P. mother of Harga, is sought to be described.
5. Compare एक शब्दः सम्यग्ज्ञातः सुपयुक्तः स्वर्गे लोके च कामधुग्भवति ।
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122 ) is how Yasomati the This reading of the Bombay
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