Notes On Some Prakrit Words - Book Summary

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Book Title: Notes on Some Prakrit Words Author: H. C. Bhayani Publisher: Z_Nirgrantha_1_022701.pdf, Nirgrantha_2_022702.pdf, Nirgrantha_3_022703.pdf Catalog Link: https://jainqq.org/explore/269004/1

This document presents linguistic analyses of several Prakrit words, drawing upon various Jain and Sanskrit texts, and situating them within the broader context of Indo-Aryan languages and literary history.

I. "Aduāliya" (The Partridge In / And The Cart)

This section delves into the analysis of the Prakrit word "aduali" and its variants, appearing in the context of a clever trickster story.

Origin of the Discussion: The analysis stems from a story in Agastyasimha's Curni on the Daśaveāliyasutta (late 6th Century AD). The story illustrates the "Vyamsaka" (trickster) subtype of Hetu (reason/means).
The Story: A villager carrying a cartload of wood finds a dead partridge and hides it in the cart. A city rogue asks to buy the "cart-partridge." The villager agrees to exchange it for "commingled barley-groats" (tappaṇāduyālitā). The rogue takes the cart and partridge, giving witnesses. Later, a clever fellow advises the villager to get the barley-groats by trickery. The villager feigns a finger injury, has a woman from the rogue's household soak his finger, and then claims he has bought both the barley-groats and the "soaker" (ādutālitā) in exchange for the cart-partridge, thus tricking the trickster.
Linguistic Analysis of "tappaṇāduyālitā" and variants:
- Bhayani suggests that with minor corrections, the core terms are tappaṇāduāliā and āduālāv.
- tappaṇāduāliā is interpreted as "barley-groats (Pk. tappana = Sk. saktu) which are commingled" (āduāliā being a past passive participle used as a modifier). This commingling likely involved ghee.
- Hemacandra's Deśināmamālā defines āḍuäli as "mixing" or "mixture."
- Modern Gujarati āḍvalvu means to mix a powdery substance with a liquid to coagulate.
- In a later occurrence in the story, tappaṇāḍuällä means "barley-groats and the person who has soaked them" (āḍuāliã being a feminine agent noun).
- The brilliance of the trick lies in the double entendre of the phrase, mirroring the rogue's earlier wordplay with "cart-partridge" (meaning both "partridge in the cart" and "the cart and the partridge").
"sanhoram": This word is suggested to be a corrupt reading for sa-nihoram, derived from the Modern Hindi nihorna meaning "to entreat," and nihora meaning "entreaty."
Parallel in Vasudevahindi: A similar story exists in Samghadasa's Vasudevahindi (mid-6th century AD), where it illustrates the cheating nature of urban people. In this version, the trick involves a cage with a partridge. The editor's emendation of tappaṇāduyaliyam to tappaṇadupaliya (meaning "two measures of barley-groats") misses the crucial double entendre vital to the story's point.
Tale-type: The story is identified as an example of "tit for tat" or clever retaliation, often involving deception through verbal tricks or equivocation.
Other Occurrences of "aduyāl":
- In the Avaśyaka cūrṇi (c. AD 600-650), adduyaliya (or adduyāliya) is used in the sense of "mixed up by stirring."
- In Śīlānka's Caüpanna-mahāpuriscariya (AD 869), aduyāliya refers to the stirring and heaving felt in the stomach due to undigested food, a meaning preserved in Rajasthani adāro.
Etymological Connections: The analysis touches upon the Sanskrit roots adval and tal/tval, suggesting they might be related to mixing and disturbance, and argues that Prakrit and New Indo-Aryan evidence supports distinct meanings for these roots, validating their existence beyond purely grammatical creations.

II. On the words gommata, gumaţi, gumaţă

This section explores the origins and meanings of words related to beauty and attractiveness, tracing their lineage from Dravidian to Prakrit and Sanskrit.

Established Meaning: Late A.N. Upadhye had previously shown that gomata (Old Marathi) and gomtā (Modern Marathi) mean "fair," "handsome," "attractive," "good," and similarly in Old Kannada gommata meant "pleasing," "excellent."
Origin and Etymology: Upadhye concluded the word is of Dravidian origin, an early loanword into Marathi through Kannada.
Personal Name and Deity: The word was a household name and pet name for Cāmundarāya, a minister and general. He commissioned the statue of Bahubali at Śravanabelgoda, which was then called Gommateśvara after him. The name Gommata later became synonymous with Bahubali.
New Occurrences: Bhayani adds three new occurrences of gumaţi, one in Prakrit and one in Sanskrit, missed by Upadhye.
1. Earliest Occurrence: In Bhoja's Sarasvatīkanthābharana (early 11th century AD), a verse uses gumaţi to mean "beautiful" (manojña), applied to moonlight. The phrase gora-gomtā in Marathi suggests a collocation of synonymous words for intensity of whiteness.
2. Second Occurrence: In Merutunga's Prabandhacintamani (AD 1305), a verse uses gumati in the sense of "fair woman" (priya na gumati - "I have not got a fair woman as my wife").
3. Doubtful Occurrence: In Someśvara's Mānasollāsa (AD 1131), an emended verse uses gomatā in the sense of manojña (beautiful), but it cannot mean "fair" (gaura) in this context as Krishna is described as dark (śyāmala).
Conclusion: gomata, likely a Kannada loanword, is attested from the 11th to 14th centuries.

III. Pk. halahala / haláhala and bambhani

This section addresses the meaning of halahala and its connection to bambhani, particularly in relation to the Aivika leader Gosala.

Roth's Observation: Dr. Gustav Roth suggested that the name Halāhala for a potter woman who hosted Gosala meant "poisonous snake," based on Sanskrit lexicographical entries and halahaladhara (a small, black, venomous snake).
Bhayani's Counter-Evidence: Bhayani presents evidence suggesting that the original meaning of halahala and its variants was a "kind of lizard," possibly a "fat lizard with a red tail."
- Monier Williams records haláhala as "snake," but also as "lizard" and "mouse."
- Hemacandra's Deśināmamālā lists halāhalā with meanings "garland-maker" (mālāra) and bambhani (which Hemacandra's commentary explains as bambhanika).
- Hemacandra's Abhidhanacintamani lists halāhala with synonyms halini, añjanikā, and anjanādhikā meaning "a type of lizard." It also lists brāhmaṇī as a "fat lizard having red tail."
- Sanskrit brāhmaṇī is found in the Rāmāyaṇa with the same meaning and is preserved in Hindi bābhanī/bāmhanī and Gujarati bodī bāmṇī.
- Hāla's Gāhākośa commentator states halāhalā is the same as grhagodhikā, popularly called brāhmaṇi.
- The Deśi-Sabdakośa records haliya, halliya as "lizard" or "brāhmaṇi."
Conclusion: The potter woman's name Halāhalā likely signified "a red-tailed big lizard," a type of personal name traditionally common in lower castes. Bhayani notes that Prakrit lexical evidence strongly favors a non-poisonous lizard meaning (colloquially called "aunt of the serpent" in Gujarati).

IV. On the Rise of Apabhramśa as a Literary Language (Separate Section)

This section, presented as a separate essay within the same document, discusses the historical development of Apabhramśa as a literary language.

Literary Language Definition: Bhayani defines a literary language as one used for literary purposes, presupposing the existence and cultivation of literature. He notes that Indian concepts of literature differ from Western modern understandings.
Indian Literary Tradition: He highlights the multilingual nature of Indian literary traditions, the influence of patronage (rulers, elites, religious institutions), the interplay of "class" and "mass" literatures, societal hierarchies, and the impact of transmission and preservation modes on literary history.
Reinterpretation and Transcreation: A key feature of the Indian tradition is the emphasis on reinterpreting, revising, retelling, and transcreating existing works to keep them "living" and meaningful in changing socio-cultural contexts, rather than a modern notion of singular authorship and originality.
Apabhramśa's Place: Apabhramśa literature emerged after Sanskrit and Prakrit and preceded New Indo-Aryan languages. It was recognized as a literary language by the 6th century AD, alongside Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Paiśācī.
Early Indian Linguistic Situation: By the 6th century BC, the colloquial "Magadhi" was used by Mahāvīra and Buddha, indicating dialectal shifts. Asoka's inscriptions (3rd century BC) show regional dialectal features.
Sanskrit's Dominance: Sanskrit was a language of elites for learned discourse and high literature (Sastras and Kavyas). Sanskrit drama used regional colloquial dialects (Sauraseni, Mahārāstri, Māgadhi) in a stylized manner for different characters.
Prakrit Developments: By the Christian era, genres like Gahā, Dhavala, and Kahā (romantic fiction) developed in Mahārāstrī Prakrit. An ornate Mahākāvya was composed in this language by the 4th century. Literary Mahārāstri was a stylized form of Sanskrit, often rural in content but appreciated by elites. It developed its own metrical forms suitable for song and music.
Paiśācī and the Vaddakahā: Information on Paiśācī is scarce. The Vaddakahā (around 2nd century AD), a vast work of stories, legends, and romance, is lost in its original form, with only late recasts in Sanskrit and Mahārāstrī Prakrit surviving. The origin and region of Paiśācī are debated, possibly a stylized Prakrit influenced by tribal dialects.
Apabhramśa's Beginnings: Dandin (7th century) characterized literary Apabhramśa as based on the dialects of communities like Abhira and Gurjara, suggesting its origins in the Western region (Rajasthan, Gujarat, Sindh, Malava). It began as a colloquialized form of literary Prakrit, becoming stylized and Sanskrit-influenced, but developing its own metrical and literary genres.
Apabhramśa's Role: Apabhramśa absorbed colloquial elements to bridge the gap created by the divergence of stylized Prakrits from popular dialects. It was phonologically a developed Prakrit but morphologically and lexically closer to New Indo-Aryan languages, acting as a transitional stage.
Jain Contribution: Jaina circles preserved Apabhramśa literature until the 15th-16th century. Most preserved Apabhramsa works are Jaina. While modern views might call it "religious poetry," the Indian tradition categorized literary works based on Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Mokşa, giving Dharmakathā (religious fiction) equal status to other narrative forms.
Apabhramśa Literature Characteristics:
- Primarily verse texts, with little evidence for prose.
- Recited, sung, or performed for audiences, often illiterate but responsive to oral literature.
- Patronage came from ruling classes, wealthy merchants, and heads of religious institutions.
- Apabhramśa literature remained relatively homogeneous but underwent modifications in later periods due to oral transmission, adapting to changing colloquial idioms and cultural conditions to remain relevant.

Overall, Bhayani's "Notes on Some Prakrit Words" is a scholarly exploration of linguistic nuances within Jain and ancient Indian literature. It demonstrates how seemingly minor words can unlock significant insights into storytelling, cultural exchanges, etymology, and the evolution of literary languages.