Sanskrit Pranabhrt Or What Supports what

Author(s): A Wezler
Publisher: A Wezler

Page 7

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A. WEZLER
SANSKRIT PRĀNABHRT
405
asterisms such as tisya are called - and to wit by the learned .60 "life force", i.e. are classed with the life forces, because the existence of (breathing) living beings, first of all human beings, depends on them: The use of prânah, albeit in the Sastra only, with reference to certain celestial bodies is, I think, an interesting parallel to the extension of meaning observed with regard to prdnabhrt so as to include human beings, too, in so far as in both these cases a new, i.e. historically later, 'knowledge', viz. of the influence of asterisms on life on carth and of the role played by man himself in supporting life, has been, or rather may have been taken into account.
development of the latter word - including men and, although no clear evidence for this can be brought forward, plants, too. On the contrary, regard this development as particularly plausible if the following considerations are taken into account. Already in Vedic times the use of prdnabhrt to denote certain animals did not correspond to the stage of knowledge about the interdependence of different forms of life, but was based on an emotional - and traditional - high regard for livestock, rather than on soberly balanced reflection. In any case, the cultural and cconomical development of ancient Indian society took a course which cannot but have made at least a large part of the population aware of the extraordinary and direct importance of the vegetable kingdom as a means of subsistence for man. And for any word meaning "vegetable and animal life the step is but short to its assuming the still broader meaning of living beings', including men; in the case of prdnablut, however, it is important to note that this latter step in its semantic development has meant at the same time the loss or at least an essential alteration of its original) anthropocentric background; but one may well doubt if this was felt by later Sanskrit authors. On the other hand, it is important to see clearly that this semantic development was in itself not influenced by the fact that the word was even in later times now and then rightly recognized to be paraphrasable by pranam bharati (and that it offers itself accordingly for a play of words or can be reinterpreted): the conventional lexical denotation of a word, and its development, are one thing; its derivational meaning, and the possibilities it offers to those who are aware of it, are something quite different.
It is in this particular connection that I should like to draw attention to a remark of Patanjali's, the Mahabhāsyakära's. At the end of his discussion of Pan. 1.2.63 (tisyapunarvasvor naksatradvandve bahuvacanasya dvivacanam nityam, 'in a Dvamdva compound formed from names of asterisms ... of fisya 'a single asterism' and punarvasu "twin star asterisms' the dual ... necessarily ... replaces the plural ..."), the question is raised what purpose is served by the expression bahuvacanasya in the sutra. The answer is to prevent the application of Pān. 1.2.63 to the singular dvandva compound tisyapunarvasu. This Icads to the next question, viz. the justification of the singular, which is answered by referring to Pan. 2.4.6 jatir apraninám (dvandvah: 2.4.2 ekavacanam: 2.4.1]). This argument is refuted by the counterargument that asterisms do not belong to the category of pranins. This objection is in its turn refuted by a rule of interpretation, viz., sarvo dvandvo vibhasayaikavad bhavati", and - alternatively. by stating (MBhasya 1 232.61.): athand natrabhavantah praninah, prand evitrabhavantah I,
or/or rather their Honours (i.c. asterisms like tisya, punarvasu, etc.) are not breathing living beings; their Honours are in fact prdnas". This is cxplained by Kaiyata in his Pradipa (II 70 a 24ff.)S thus: athaveti: na hy elesu loke praniavaharah prasiddha iti bhavah prind eveti: Padahamuthini naninde ata eva prdnd uyante Il. That is to say,
4.2.3. When Närada thus addresses God Väyu at Mbh. (ed. Poona) 12.151.4(ab): jänami vám aham vdyo sarvapranabhtam varam I, a much more convincing interpretation than "(as) the best of the living beings', obviously favoured by Bõhtlingk and Roth, would certainly be "(as) the best of the deities/forces who support life fupon earth!". And it would not also be necessary then, although possible, to assume that this Vedic cpitheton of gods was still known as such to the Epic poel because the etymology of prdnabhrt has clearly remained comprehensible in later times also.
This leads us back to the passages referred to in the Larger Petrograd Dictionary which have still to be scrutinized. Almost all of them are found in later Vedic texts so that it cannot be entirely precluded that pránablert is used in them in a sense already somewhat removed from the original one. But it is, I think, methodically legitimate to make this assumption if and only if the old(er) meaning is clearly not compatible with what is said in the corresponding sentence and/or section, i.e. wider context. ŚB 14.6.1.12 - BĂU 3.1.7: Yajlavalkyeri hováca - katiblir ayam adyargblir holdin yajrle karisyarili / fisbhir iti / katamds tisa ili / purnuvákydca yayd ca tasyaiva Artyd / kim tabhir jayatiti / ya kim cedam prdnablid til Böhtlingk renders the last sentence by 'alles, was hier Leben hat"; but I don't see any necessity to assume that the formula ya kim cedam prdnabhrt should have been used here in a sense different from that it has in the AIA, especially since the puronuvákyd etc. are subsequently, viz. at BAU 3.1.10, 'identified' with the prang, apana and vydna. The indirect relation between the prāna, etc., and the prdnabyts need not consist in the idea that the latter "bear" the former 'within themselves"; both can be vicwed as equally plausibly related to each other by the fact that the animals called prdnabhrt support these "breaths".
Yet it has to be admitted that at least in the passage to be discussed now, viz. SB 11.2.6.2, there seems to be more to this relation for this passage reads thus: prdnd evdsyedhmah / prdiena hidan drvam iddham ydt prdnabhin nimisddydd éjati så vidydd dham evaisd idlund i 1. The Matement that what is called prdnabhyt is "kindled by breathis does