________________
INTRODUCTION
127
anuraa is the reading for sohagga, it must be regarded as an aberration not found in any of the recensions of the poem known to us, because the word sohagga as used in the verse conveys two meanings beauty and love, a function which aņurda cannot fulfil.'
The materials available in the above citations are too scanty for determining the relation of Mārkandeya's text of the Setubandha to the other recensions, but there is no doubt that it had certain independent features of its own.
Linguistic features of the Setubandha.? In a wellknown verse of the Kavyadarsa Daņdin tells us that the language of Mabārāştra, i, e. Mahārāștrı, is called the best of Prākṣtas in which works like the Setubandha are written. Bhoja in his Śrågäraprakāśa, chap. 3,4 speaks of six varieties of Prākrit : Samskrta-sama, Deśya, Mahārāştra, Saura
1 See Extracts 1.24. Latakanamiśra brings out the meaning of sohagga clearly :
इन्द्रधनः प्रम्लायति । किंभूतं धनु:-दिशामाशानां सरसनखपदं अभिनवनखक्षतमिव । इन्द्रधनुषो दिग्नखपदत्वेन रूपणादनुक्तमपि दिशां नायिकात्वं लभ्यते । विपुलजलधरलग्नं, प्रवसज्जलदसमयवितीर्ण अपगच्छता मेघकालेन विरचितं सौभाग्यप्रथमचिह्न सौभाग्यस्य रामणीयकताया आदिभूतं लक्षणम् । नखपदमपि पीनपयोधरलग्नं यियासता पुरुषेण दत्तं सौभाग्यस्य प्रियानुरागस्य प्रथमचिह्नम्. 2 Abbreviations : GS - Gāthāsaptasati with the comm, of Gangādhara, NSed. 1889:
Gaüda=Gaüdavaho, ed. Pandit; KM=Kuvalayamālā; Lilā=Lilāvai; SC= Setutattvacandrikā; SK=Sarasvati-kap thābharana; Vasu= Vasudevahindi; GOMMaster, A Grammar of Old Marathi. Oxford. 1964; OMR=Tulpule, An Old Mara
thi Reader, Poona, 1960. 3 महाराष्ट्राश्रयाँ भाषां प्रकृष्टं प्राकृतं विदुः ।
ATTT: Carai TEST PHH || 1.34 4 ed. Josyer p. 102. Mysore, 1955. 5 Three main varieties (sahaja, lakṣita and slista) with two sub-varieties each. Mahā.
răstra and Saurasena come under lakṣita.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
