PROCEEDINGS OF THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL SANSKRIT CONFERENCE VOL-3 PT-2

PROCEEDINGS OF
FIRST INTERNATIONAL
SANSKRIT CONFER'E^SE

Volume Two, Part One

EDITED BY

PR%F. V. RAGHAVAN

Chairman^ Academic Sub-Committee

Ministry of Education and Social Welfare,
Government of India, New Delhi, India.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, NEW DELHI, INDIA

March 26th-31st, 1972
Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi

EDITED BY

PROF. V. RAGHAVAN
Chairman, Academic Sub-Committee

PAPERS OF SECTION TWO, PART - 1

Sanskrit and other Languages and Literatures of India
and the World and their Thought and Culture

The Heritage of different branches of Sanskrit Literature
and their National and International Significance

1975

Published tiy : Tte Director, Rashtriya SaMrit Sahsthan,

ShastriBhavan, New Delhi, India.
' for Ministry of Education and Social Welfare
India, New Delhi, India,

Primed at : Nirupama Prtoers, ^ganj, New Delhi - M0055

PREFACE

The First World Sanskrit Conference was held under tne
authority and auspices of the Government of India from 26th to
31st March 1972, in the Vijnan Bhavan, New Delhi. I had the
honur, as Chairman of the Academic Sub-Committee, of organising
the academic work of the Conference. In view of the character
and purpose of the Conference, its wide perspective and specific
focus, the subjects were framed in four Sections and contributions
invited from scholars and participants from all over India and the
world; Schedules of subjects were drawn for the four main
Sections and invitations issued to chosen scholars who had made
significant contributions in those subjects. Because of the enthu-
siasm that the Conference evoked in the country, it became
necessary to accept papers from numerous scholars who sent their
voluntary contributions and add a fifth Section of miscellaneous
papers on diverse topics of research and also hold a Session
devoted solely to Pandits and their Sanskrit papers.

The Sections and the subjects dealt with at the Conference
were :

I. Contribution of different Areas and Countries to Sanskrit
Development of Sanskrit Studies in Different Areas and
Countries.

II. Sanskrit and Other Languages and Literatures of India
and the World and their Thought and Culture.

The Heritage of Different Branches of Sanskrit Literature
and their National and International Significance.

III. Sanskrit and Archaeology, Arts and Education Sanskrit
and Science and Technology Sanskrit and World
Languages, Literatures, Thoughts and Culture Sanskrit
and Man, Universalism and Peace Sanskrit and
Western Literature and Criticism Sanskrit in the
Modern World.

IV. Papers on diverse topics of Sanskrit Language, Literature,
Thought and Culture.

I iv ;

Books of Summaries of the papers of the Sections were

prepared in advance and placed in the hands of the participants.

It was one of the largest of scholarly Conferences and about 600

papers were presented.

The arrangements for the printing of the Proceedings and

the Papers of the Conference could be made only in 1973. Owing
to the paucity of Presses who could handle Sanskrit and Indological
research material, diacritical marks, Devanagari matter etc. and
the difficult labour situation in the Presses, the printing could not
be speeded up. Printing was arranged concurrently in two different
places, Madras and Delhi, and in three different Presses.

Volume II of the Papers was taken up by the Rashtriya
Sanskrit Samsthan of the Ministry for printing in Delhi. In view
of the large number of papers of this Section, it was decided to
issue this volume in two parts and Part I is now brought out.

I must express my thanks to Dr. R. K. Sharma and Sri P. C.
Sharma, the former and present Directors of the Rashtriya Sanskrit
Samsthan. I must thank Dr. J. Ganguly, Deputy Director
(Academic), Dr. Madhusudan Mishra, Asstt. Director (CC) Pt Surya
Narayan Jha, Miss Manisha Chaudhury and Dr. Miss Am'ita Gupta
of the Rashtriya Sanskrit Samsthan for looking after the Press
work in Delhi. I must also mention Dr. S. S. Janaki who has been
assisting me here, in Madras, in the work of this Conference.

V. RAGHAVAN
Chairman, Academic Sub-Committee

CONTENTS

1. Influence of Sanskrit on the Languages of South India in
General and on Telugu (Andhra) in Particular 1

Prof. G. J. Samayaji

2. Influence of Sanskrit on Telugu Language and Literature 7

Sri Vedam Venkataraya Shastry

3. tf^^t^f^^fsr: 19

K. A. Krishnamacharya

4. Influence of Sanskrit on Assamese Literature 30

Prof. Bistiwanarayan Shastry

5. Influence of Sanskrit on Thought and Culture of Assam 39

Dr. S. M. Sharma

6. Sanskrit in Bengal and Bengali 45

Dr. Sukumar Sen

7. Sanskrit Thought and Culture as Represented in Bengali
Literature 51

Prof. Kalidas Bhattacharya

8. The Impact of Sanskrit Literature on Rabindranath
Tagore 53

Dr. Sukumari Bhattacharya

9. Influence of Sanskrit on Gujarati Language and
Literature 73

Prof. K. K. Shastri

10. Sanskrit and Harya^avi 82

J. D. Singh

11. Sanskrit in KanaStaka Life, Thought and Culture 100

Prof. V. Sitaramaiah

12. Influence of Sanskrit on the Philosophy and Religion of
Karg&taka 106

Dr. B. R. Kulkarni

13. Kashmiri and Sanskrit 117

Sri Badari Nath Shastri

14. Influence of Sanskrit on Maithili Language and
Literature 133

Dr. Jayakanta Mishra

15. Influence of Sanskrit on the Maithili Literature 140

Dr. Bechan Jha

16. Influence of the Meghaduta on Malayalam Literature 144

Mr. K. P. A. Menon

17. Influence of Sanskrit on Malayalam Language and
Literature 150

N. V. Krishna-warrior

18. Influence of Sanskrit on Malayalam 156

C. R. Swaminathan

19. Sanskrit Influence on the Tamil Language and Literature 163

P. Nilakanth Sharma

20. Some Aspects of the Influence of Sanskrit on Tamil
Thought and Culture 178

Dr. G. Syndaramoorthy

21. The Role of Manipravala in the Propagation of Sanskrit

in Tamilnadu 188

A. Tiravengadathan

22. The Influence of Sanskrit on Tamil Languaae and
Literature 195

Sri S. Jagadisan

23. Influence of Sanskrit on the Thought and Culture of
Tamilnadu 205

-Dr. C. S. Venkateswaran

24* ^^M^it^f fa'^Tm Kf*i r ^"^^cfV ^ Sr^fi'd^rM snTT^T: 216

Sri Chintamani Misra Sarma

?5. Influence of Sanskrit on Tamil Language and Literature 226

Prof. N. Subrahmaniam

26. Notes on the Influence of Sanskrit Literary Forms on
Oriya Literature 233

Dr. D. P. Pattanayak

27. The Oriya Citra Bhagavat 235

Dr. B. Mohanty

28. Influence of Sanskrit on the Rajasthani Language and
Literature

Dr-R.C.Dwivedi

29. Sanskrit and Sinhalese Literature 255

Prof. O. H. De. A Wijesekera

30. Sanskrit as a Link Language 263

Prof. Jean Filliozat

31. Sanskrit Across the Himalayas 274

Nirmal C. Sinha

32. Sanskrit and the Indo-Tibetan Language 284

Dr. K. K. Roy

33. An Old Tibetan Version of the Ramayana 289

/. W. S. C. Jong

34. Sanskrit and Mongol Language and Literature 303

Prof. Pentti Aalto

35. The Importance of Central Asian Manuscript Finds for
Sanskrit Philology 316

Prof. Heinz Bechert

36. Studies in the ASoka Inscriptions Palaeography and

Central Asian MSS 323

Prof. Klaus Ludwig Janert

37. The Lexical and Morphological Impact of Sanskrit on

Modern Indonesian 328

Prof. Dr. Harry Spitzbardt

38. Sanskrit Words in the Thai Language 347

M . L. Chirayu Navawongs

39. Sanskrit and Thailand 353

Chamlong Sarapadnuke

40. The Ramayana in the Malay World Some Obser-
vations on Sources and Development 362

Dr. Amin Sweeney

41. General Appeal of Subhasita Literature in Sanskrit 370

Ludwik Sternbach

42. Sanskrit in Philippine Language and Literature 398

Dr. Juan R. Francisco

43. Shantideva's Bodhicaryavatara and Mongolian Ever-
lasting Songs 433

Rinchen Mongolia

44. Sanskrit and Indo-European 436

Prof. Francisco JR. Adrados

45. Sanskrit and German Languages, Literature and Thought 445

Dr. B. H. Kapadia

INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON THE LANGUAGES
OF SOUTH INDIA IN GENERAL AND ON TELUGU
(ANDHRA) IN PARTICULAR

PROF. G. J, SOMAYAJI,

Retd. Prof. ofTelugu and Sanskrit, Andhra University;

Some time Chairman, Commission for Scientific

and Technical Terminology.

All the modern languages of India can roughly be divided into
two groups (1) North Indian and (2) South Indian, The North
Indian languages are mainly derived directly from Sanskrit, Prakrits
and Apabhramsas. These are known to the linguists as Modern
Indo-Aryan. Their verbal bases, vocabulary, primary and secondary
derivative suffixes are, broadly speaking, derived from the same
or related sources.

Those in the South form a separate group as their nature,
basic linguistic content, such as numerals, pronominal bases, verbal
roots and suffixes, can be traced to one common source called 'the
primitive Dravidian*. These languages are led by Tamil, Telugu,
Kannada and Malayalam which alone have a total of87'5 millions
of speakers, in addition to a number of other dialects, which are
not so highly developed, cultivated or widely spoken. The above
four languages have different scripts today like those of modern
Indo-Aryan, but it will be interesting to note that all these scripts are
derived from one common source, namely, the Brahmi script. Tamil
alone seems to have had a separate 'vatteluttu* script which has also
contributed to the evolution of its modern form.

Sanskrit, the classical language of India, which has the record
of the Vedas, the Upanisads, the Darsanas, the Pura$as, the
Kavyas, and other secular sciences extending through a period of
three to four thousand years, has had its influence on all the above
languages.

In this paper it is proposed to indicate how far the above
four South Indian languages have generally been influenced by

( 2 )

Sanskrit with a more detailed account of the same influence on
Telugu. These four languages must have originally been dialects
of the same ancient language which later on got differentiated by
regional variations in vocables and scripts. It is reasonable to
suppose that all these existed originally in the spoken form and
were later recorded in stone and copper plate inscriptions and then
in manuscripts and finally brought into printed books, in poetry and
prose.

Of them, Tamil seems to be the earliest as its literature can be
dated to a period as far early as dr. 1000 B.C. Its extant earliest
grammatical treatise *Tolkappiyam* is assigned to dr. 7th cent.
B.C. by some scholars.

Like all Ancient Indian Literature, the ancient works of Tamil
are also shrouded in legendary accounts. A few of them like
*Pattuppattu% 'Padinen kiz kanakku% 'TirukkuraP, 'Cilappadikaram*
etc., are all highly revered classics of which any race can be proud.

The earliest extant Kannada work 'Kaviraja-marga' by King
Amoghavarsa 814-877 A IX is a grammatical and critical treatise
like Tolkappiyam. Before this work appeared there must have been
a long literary tradition which is confirmed by some evidences.

The earliest extant literary work in Telugu dates from the llth
cent. A.D.; it is a translation of the Mahabharata.

Malayalam, another South Indian language spoken along the
West coast, in the area called Kerala, has its two earliest works in
the Ramakatha Pd^u and Ramacarita, both assigned to the 10th
cent. A.D. All these four languages, although they present us with
extant works of different periods of time, are today treasure-troves
of vast literatures, both ancient and modern. They have in their
modern phase, sought inspiration not only from Indian sources but
also from foreign lands.

i the CXtent f Sans krit influence on these

languages and their literatures.

How can one language influence another? (M By lendina
(2> ? y . influencin S syntax and grammatical structur^
SUPPlymg ri * iaals for Horary works in form

- -

reg,onal peculiarities, were always borrowed by

i- That the

languages is agglutinative, did not prove a hind-

r 3 ;

ranee for absorbing a lot from Sanskrit which is highly inflectional.
Sanskrit literature has been largely incorporated into these languages
as translation or adaptation or as source material for original drama,
poetry and prose-fiction.

The earliest Tamil grammarian Tolkappiyanar has accepted that
the N orthern vocabulary (yadasol) can be borrowed into Tamil as
4 Tatsamas 9 or Tadbhavas* so long as it does not interfere with the
genius of that language. Agastyar, the great sage, is said to have
written a grammar for the Tamil language called Ptrgattiyam which
used the words 'Ilakkiyam' and 'Ilakkaiiam/, both Tadbhavas of
'Laksya' and 'Laksaria* of Sanskrit. Ramayana, Naisadha, Bhdrata
and many other Sanskrit works have appeared in Tamil as adaptations
from Sanskrit.

In Kannadi language the first extant work Kavirajamarga is
mostly Sanskrit-ridden, as the name itself indicates. A good lot
of vocabulary and material has been taken from Sanskrit. In the
10th century, a great poet called Pampa wrote a Campu kavya
called Vikramdrjunavljaya with Bharata as source for the story.
Another poet Ranna wrote the famous kavya Gadayuddha and
Ponna, the Santipurdna. All these are in Sanskrit metres with long
Sanskrit compounds and the Sanskrit vocabulary has been used here
with Dravidian suffixes.

Malayalam has also followed the same principle and it has a
large percentage of Sanskrit vocabulary in it. AH the Sanskrit
dramas, prose and poetic compositions from Sanskrit have been
translated into it.

Some of the earliest grammars of Kanna<Ja, Malayalam and
Telugu have been written in Sanskrit sutras* with commentaries in
the same language and modelled on the Paninian system.

Now a detailed account of Sanskrit influence on Telugu with
specific examples is given.

One of the standard dictionaries of Modern Telugu language
contains about 40,001) entries, and this figure seems to be an average
for many other modern Indian languages as welL Out of these
about 20 to 25 thousand are Sanskrit loans in different forms.
The remaining are derived from Dravidian stems, or are borrowed
from other sources. Telugu must have existed in a spoken form
in the region from Tirupati to Berhampore in Orissa, all along the
coastal line, and extending further into the interior. The early
inscriptions in the region are in Prakrit and Sanskrit showing that
the cultural and court languages were Prakrit or Sanskrit at different
periods. The first Telugu inscriptions available from the 4th cen-
tury onwards, though fragmentary in form, show Sanskrit
influence. As has been already said, Sanskrit names, compounds

( 4 ;

and verbal bases are used by suffixing indigenous material to
indicate the number, gender or case of the word. 'Bhramaraya-
mana% *Maharaju*, 'Nirvahanodyogamu' are a few examples from
the hundreds that are found in these documents. Some of these
inscriptions are entirely in Sanskrit, with just the names of human
beings and places given in the regional language (and not in Sanskrit
translation) for fear of being misunderstood or misinterpreted.

Tl niravadyuncju, cittajatasamundu, slvaparavarasevitundu,
akhilutuju, atataripubalundu.

The above words are from an inscription in verse belonging
to the 8th century. The final *ndu% a suffix indicating masculine
gender, is the only Telugu element, the rest being Sanskrit words.

In the llth century King Rajaraja asked his court poet
Nannayya to translate the Mahabharata from Sanskrit into Telugu.

Rajakulaikabhusanudu anyarajatejojayaatisauryu<Ju, Raja-
mahendrudu uddhatin.

The above are samples from that work indicating the influence
of Sanskrit, Also Sanskrit metres like 'Mattebha* and *ardiila*
were borrowed by Telugu.

With Nannayya began an era in Telugu language and literature
when writers delved deep into the vast mines of Sanskrit and
this is evident in their expressions and ideas. The Campu became
the standard type of literature. The style of Bana and Dandin
became the model for prose till the end of the 19th and even the early
20th century. The following is an excellent example :

Pu9<Jankasaridambulaku Candabhanundunum bole Sakunta
santanambulaku nagantakundu prabhuruju/ Atandu nijapaksa
viksepajata-vatoddhuta ka*da kanaka can4a balundu. ' ' P '

* A11 rr 6 18 Mah "P ur <W, the Upapuranas, the Kavyas and
the treatises on Aldnkara Sastra by DanZ

ta ' Anandavar dhana ^ 5i2S:

othe rs have all been translated into

Saraslh pariSHituip maya gamikarnlkjrtanaikanlvria.
AtUh.t.amanayi sg dfM sadasatsa^ayagocarodarl.

Rendering in Telugu :

Katnalendlvarasaiidamanditalasatkasarasevaratin gamikarm-
kf tanaikanivftudanai kantin Vidarbhambuman rama$in pallavapani-
padmanayanau rakendubimbananan samapinastaninastinastivi-
cikitsa hetusatodarin.

An original poem by Pingali Surana which describes Rdmdyana
and Mahdbharata as the jingle of the anklets of Sarasvati as she
steps down from the heavens to save the mortals. He eulogises
Valmiki and Vyasa in his introduction to Rdghavapdndaviya, a *dva-
yarthikavya* in Telugu.

Lokatranaratin dadadimamahllokapravesotka bhasa klptapra-
thama-dvitiyapadagunjanmanjumanjira garjakalpamala ramabharata
kathasargambulan mineu Valmikivyasula golcedan tadubhayasle-
artha samsiddhikin.

In the above two slokas, the first is in the 'Mattebha metre'
and the second in the 'Sardulavikridita', both borrowed from
Sanskrit Chandas.

The first Telugu grammar was written in Sanskrit in the llth
century. Additions to it en the lines of Vararuci (Varttikakara) in
Sanskrit have been supplied by Adharvana in the 12th century. In the
17th century a highly learned commentary on both these in Sanskrit on
the lines of the Mahdbhdsya of Patanjali was written by Ahobalapati.
Everywhere Sanskrit became the model. When any Sanskrit work
was translated, the vocabulary in the original was retained to a
great extent and only Telugu endings were added. The essence
of scholarship in Telugu meant a knowledge of Sanskrit literature
and Sastras.

The same could be said of Kannada and Malayalam. These
three languages proceeded on parallel lines and scholars of these
languages were obliged to acquire a perfect mastery over Sanskrit
to earn the title of Pundits.

But Tamil had a somewhat different history. To enrich its
literature, a section of writers of the later period wrote Sanskrit-
ridden Tamil and they adopted the 'Grantha script*, complete in
form to write out Sanskrit vocables with scriptograms which the
indigenous script lacked. But there has always been a reaction
against the influence of Sanskrit on the pure Tamil (CENDAMIJL).
Inspite of it, the process of Sanskritization went on even there.

One point to be remembered in this connection is that language
is only a means of expression. For expression one should have
ideas. Wherefrom can ideas come ? They cannot come up suddenly
for any or every individual nor are there such great geniuses spread

in the whole country to revolutionise each literature and language.
Only Valmlki could create a great Ramayana, the others had to copy
it to this day People have necessarily to resort to and use the
great traditional treasures, which were ever increasing by the
contributions of the master-minds in Sanskrit in all regions of the
country. The regional languages had to borrow both the expression
and the content of Sanskrit.

The Grammar and structure of the Dravidian languages had
to follow the Sanskrit model. There was only one grammar, and
that was written in Sanskrit, for the Sanskrit language. The regional
languages differ in structure from Sanskrit but scholars had to adopt
only the Sanskrit pattern. The Sanskrit technical terms, phonetics
and grammatical theories have all got into Telugu, Kannada and
Malayalarn, even in cases where the recipient languages could not
easily adopt or assimilate them, in the same way as we have been
obliged to use the English language today. The passive voice,
the relative construction, the division into tenses and moods, the
sentence dominated by the finite verb, the compounds and in short
everything of grammar has been imported from Sanskrit into these
languages and new constructional types have got permanently
entrenched into the literary form of language.

To this day, India has one language, the Sanskrit, one
culture Sanskritic, one tradition, the Puranic, the Vedic, and the
Darsanic, and all this re-appeared in different forms in the different
regional languages.

INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON TELUGU
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

SRI VEDAM VENKATARAYA SASTRY M. A.
Madras

The influence of Sanskrit on all the regional languages of India
has been conspicuous and it is much more so in the case of Telugu.
Though Telugu is a Dravidian language in its origin, the influence of
Sanskrit on it began quite early in its formative period and grew
stronger with the passage of time. This process through the ages
is, in a way, comparable to the influence of Greek and Latin on
all the European languages and their literatures. But the common
culture for which Sanskrit stood remained as a unifying factor,
stronger than Greek or Latin in Europe, This may be due to
historical and geographical reasons. Rich in its vocabulary, wide
in the range of its literature, Sanskrit was a mine of information
on all subjects and a perennial source of information for every
Indian. Besides the Puranas and Itihasas (the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata), Nafakas and the Kavyas, every subject was dealt
with in Sanskrit, more in verse than in prose, for study and easy
memorisation. Even long after Sanskrit lost ground as the official
language artisans and artists studied their subjects in Sanskrit the
verses of rules and code words, which teachers explained through
the regional languages.

Being placed midway between the North and the South, Telugu
developed into a fine blend of the best elements of the Northern
and the Southern languages and culture. It has, at once, the
soft melody of the Dravidian languages and the vigour of
expression of Sanskrit. In its vocabulary Telugu has words that
could easily be traced back to either to proto-Dravidian or Prakrt
and Sanskrit. While Prakft influenced Telugu long before it took
any shape, Sanskrit influence started when Telugu is seen as a
distinct language. Hence, without in any way touching the main
structure of the language, Sanskrit enriched Telugu in its vocabulary
and literary thought. While one cannot see a clear cut line of

influence of Prakrt on Telugu as there are many common features
between the Prakrts and the Dravidian group of languages, one
can clearly mark the Sanskrit element in Telugu. Sometimes these
non-Sanskritic features are called Desi or regional and Telugu has
many such.

Telugu has two names 'Andhra* and 'Telugu' probably indi-
cative of this amalgamation of the two cultures. It is noteworthy
that the term 'Andhra' or 'Andhra 9 goes far back to the age of the
Upanisads while the word 'Telugu' as applied to the people and
the language from about the tenth century A. D. in different forms
like Telugu, Tenugu, Telinga, Tiling and Tilu. The Andhra
Satavahanas ruled in Deccan from about the middle of the 3rd
century B.C., to about the middle of the 3rd century A.D. Their
language appears to have been a kind of Prakrt as found in their
records, coins, and the poetical collection called'the Gathasaptasati
The Pais"aci Brhatkatha, besides being lost, it is of doubtful value
for indicating the language of the Andhras. After the Satavahanas
Prakrit continued and usually 350 A.D. is taken as the end of the
period of Prakrt records when Samudragupta invaded the Deccan
Early samples of Telugu words are found in the records of the
f. A n *nn n S m nd ^? early in the Pallava records of Mahcndravarman
i T > The / ecords ofth e contemporary Renadu Telugu
Cholas definitely are found in Telugu and from that time TeluL
shows a continuity of development. It is curious to note that the
early Telugu records are found only in the Southern Andhra and later
ones, further up and in a more developed form. This makes it clear
InHtT V UP ^ rd s P readof the southern culture from the south
and the descent of the northern culture southwards there was a fusion

SSsS?' T" thegr Wth 0fTdUgU Witha ^od admixture of

JallaKrlL snVlTIO T\Wr T-|Oi-rna.o f rt fl,~ 1,! i _

to the language and the people Andhra

northern people known in *** . * , The Mu -!akas were a
(orAsmakes)ontheTankso?"he ?.- a ' ng with AsSakas

a section of the Andhra^wL en te? the" n ^ ^^ f rmed
Telugu words like patll kunm k, - ^ (^^^ ^"0

such Sanskrit wordfht samvaf^ ' "-"' *" '" f Und alon with

But the g -

, and nOga arf ^ Dravid.an feature; e. .,

Telugu nominate sTguLblladUTTT^ *** * e
The Sanskrit rule is not foHowed S "* ''* into tMSama '

and ja4a V5cakas

Telugu grammarians divided the language into tatsama, tadbhava,
desya and gramya. Tatsama words are Samskrita-sama and
Prakrta-sama i. e. equal to them with slight change. Tadbhava
words get much altered and are derived from the above two
languages. Desya is pure Telugu and gramya, colloquial. From
the seventh century onwards we see a progressive inciease in the
admixture of Sanskrit words and by the eighth century, they
are largely found. The * 1 ' disappeared but the other Dravidian
characteristics remained. For instance, the Sanskrit dual form,
the dvivacana, is conspicuous by its absence in Telugu as in other
Dravidian languages. But it is curious to note that the dvivacana
is not found in the Prakrts also and the Telugu alankarika and
laksanika of the 15th century Vinnakota Peddana points out that
Telugu is like Prakrt as it has no dvivacana.

One peculiarity has been noticed in the formative period of
Telugu prose. In the early Telugu inscriptions of the 7th century
the verb is placed after the subject and before the predicate, making
the sentence look like a verse, whereas from the sequence it is clear
that no verse is intended. From the 8th century onwards we find
this method dropped and the modern way of putting the verb after
the subject or predicate gained ground. The style and sentence-
formation approximate to that of Nannaya and Sanskrit samasas
enter as tatsamas. Here also the Telugu poets took care not to
mix up Sanskrit and Telugu words as it would become a dusta-
samasa or ari-samasa as it is called in Kannada. For instance,
it is wrong to form a compound like Vijayawada, Vijaya being a
Sanskrit word and Wa4a a Telugu. It is right to say Vijayu plus
Wada and all old inscriptions have this form only.

Telugu prosody is distinctly non-Sanskritic in origin and has
much in common with Tamil than Kannada, though later verses
are all modelled after the Sanskrit vjrttas, with alterations to suit
Telugu rules of prosody. Yati and Prdsa are the two distinct
features of Telugu versification. Telugu Yati, though corresponding
to the Sanskrit visrdmasthdna, is different from it. In Sanskrit it
it is a mere break but in Telugu it is a break with the first letter of the
line corresponding with the first letter after break and belonging
to the same group of letters. It is what is called 'AksaramaitrL*
Prdsa is not found in Sanskrit. It is the name given to the second
letter of every line being in the same letter-group, either the same
letter or the same letter with vowel-combinations, all the four lines
agreeing in this respect. The Tamil verses contain both the features,
the Prdsa being called yadugai and the yati called the MonaL
In Kannada the rhyming of the second letter, Prdsa, is found but
there is no yati as in Telugu. Hence, this shows that while the Kanna-

da poets, retaining the Dravidian practice of keeping the yadugai or
prasa, adapted the Sanskrit practice of having no yati being nearer
to the North, the Telugu poets composed in the Sanskrit vrttas
introducing the Dravidian Yati and Prasa. The dominant metres
until the time of Nannayabhatta of the llth century were all DesT or
Telugu without any Sanskrit prosodial influence. An attempt
appears to have been made in the 8th century to compose in the
Campakamala vrtta, in the records of Gunaga Vijayaditya. It is
a sloka but with Prasa and no yati, like a Kannada Padya. This
definitely shows the Kannada influence and the fact that the vrttas
came into Telugu through Kannada sources. Many Telugu poets
of the 10th century also are seen migrating to the Kaiijataka to
find patronage under Kannada rulers.

Definite Sanskrit influence is to be seen from the ninth
century onwards. The Telugu people came into contact with the
Kanciatakas ever since the Chalukyan conquest of Vengi in the
7th century. Though there was poetical faculty and Telugu metres
named taruvofa, sisa, and gita were in vogue, Kannada contact made
the Telugu poets adapt the Kannada Desi metre called akkara along
with the Sanskrit vrttas. The Kannada poets were some centuries
ahead of the Telugu people in poetical writings using freely Sanskrit
words, compounds and metres without using the yati but keeping
the Prasa. As the Telugu kings do not appear to have encouraged
poetry it is likely that able poets left the Andhra for Karnataka
Courts. There is also no Kavya in Telugu until the time of Nanna-
yabhatta (1050 AD.). Even Nannaya is known to have been
assisted by his friend Narayaribhatta, a Kannada poet. Just a
century prior to Nannaya, Ponnamayya, a poet of Vengi, migrated
to Karnataka and wrote the Santipurana under the patronage of
the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III. Similarly Pampa, whose ancestors
migrated to Vemulawada, the capital of Arikesarin II, the Kannada
ruler, wrote the Vikramarjunavijaya, popularly called the Pampa
Bharatam (956 A. D.). His brother Jinavallabha has, beside
Kannada, many Telugu verses to his credit, some with and some
without yati.

With Nannayabhatta Telugu literature reaches a definite stage
and h, s translation of the Mahdbh&rata marks not only the beginning
or an epoch but the very beginning of literature in Telugu. He is
acclaimed as the first poet or Jdikavt and vag-anu^Ssapa. The period
oi unsettlement or wavering about prosodial conventions or
grammar comes to an end. Every poet after Nannaya took him
tor n, s model Even though he is credited by later writers of the
*6th or 17th centuries with the composition of a grammar for
Telugu in Sanskrit called the Andhra-iabdacintSmayi there is no

contemporary evidence and no poet mentions it until we reach the
16th century. Much against it, poet Ketana (1260) who wrote a
small Telugu grammar in verse, more to help translators, takes
pride for his being the first grammarian for Telugu as none
attempted a grammar before him. He also makes it clear that
Telugu being the language of the land, it has to be learnt from the
cultured as there are different usages just like different routes to
Benaras. From Nannaya onwards it was a period of translation
from Sanskrit and the book of Ketana called the Andhrabhnsa-
bhusana (itself a Sanskrit name) makes it clear that the author
intended his book as a guide to those translators rather than to
original writers and the translator into Telugu was looming largely
in his mind.

The reforms introduced by Nannaya are not far to seek.
Besides taking largely the Sanskrit vfttas, he took the Kannada
akkara metre under Kannada influence. Just like a Kannada
writer, he used long Sanskrit compounds and many of his padyas
look like Sanskrit sldkas except for the Telugu endings. He also
introduced the Campu method of interspersing prose also between
verses as is found in Kannada and in inscriptions. The Campu
type is seen only later, in Sanskrit. The Campu had its start in
the Deccan before the Sanskrit authors took to it. As Nannaya used
both yati and Prdsa* none after him deviated from this practice.

It is curious to note that Nannaya should have thought of
translating a Sanskrit work, and that too the Mahabhdrata. He
could have taken a Telugu theme and shown the way. The reason
is quite clear. Sanskrit was in the atmosphere and the land was
fully influenced by it. No Telugu author of the early centuries
ever thought of writing anything original with a local theme or
background. The Mahubhdrata and the Ramayana became popular
from about the seventh century and the inscriptions are full of
references to these epics. The Bhdgvata influence comes much
later. The ruling royal families began to trace their ancestory to
the Sun, the Moon and Agni. The Chalukyas felt that they were
the descendents of the Pan.dvas and the Cholas of ri Rama, while
the other families from the sacrificial fire of Vasistha. The kings
were named after the Pandava heroes as Bhima and Rajaraja, i. e.
Duryodhana and poetic fancy compared the kings to those heroes.

ft^cff *RiTW: I

^: H (Inscription)

The Kanna4a JBharata of pampa (956 A. D.), though a Jaina
version, compares king Arikesarin, the patron, to Arjuna of Bhdrata
and the poem is called Vikrarnarjuncwijaya. Ranna wrote his

Gadayuddha to praise his patron Satyasraya (A. D. 997-1007)
comparing to him to Bhlma, naming his poem as Sahasabhuna-
vijaya. Even in Kannada, local colouring, except in the dedicatory
preamble, is conspicuous by its absence. This is in striking contrast
with Tamil literature where the local colouring is dominating, for
early Sangam literature has themes relating to Tamilnad, mentioning
local kings and places.

Nannayabhatta expressly states that he translated the Maha-
bharata at the instance of his patron, Rajarajanarendra, king of
Vengi in Andhra (1019-1061 A. D.). Priding himself as one
descended from the moon the king felt it his duty to get the story
of the Pandavas, his ancestors, popularised among the Andhras.
He was a great Sanskrit scholar having read the Puranas, the
Arthagastra texts, Kavyas and Natakas and was also a great devotee
of Siva and proficient in the Saiva agamas. His liking for the
Mahabharata being strong be requested his court-poet and hereditory
purohit Nannayabhatta to render that into Telugu for him. Nannaya
took up the work with pleasure to please his patron.

Unfortunately Nannayabhatta could not complete his work
during his life-time and left it in the middle of the third Canto, in
the Vanaparva. The life of the Rajarajanarendra was full of trouble
and probably this has to be ascribed to political reasons. For
nearly two centuries no other poet came forward to complete the
work and the descendants ofRajaraja became rulers of Tamilnad
and their ancestral territory of Vengi dwindled into secondary
importance. Rajaraja's son Rajendra even patronised Tamil poets
but no Telugu poet is seen in his court. The incomplete work of
Nannaya left a legacy of debt that had to be discharged by later
poets and it was in the middle of the 13th century that Tikkana
Ssmayajin, the chief minister of Manumasiddhi of Nellore, himself
a great poet in both Sanskrit and Telugu (Ubhayakavi-mitra)
undertook to complete the work. Even he being superstitious,
leaving out the Vanaparva, started from Virataparva and translated
all the rest at a stretch. Another poet Errana, known as
Errapreggada as he belonged to a Brahmin family of Ministers
completed in the middle of the 14th century the translation by
ffling up the gap. Even he being caught by the same superstition
filled the gap m Vanaparva in the name of the original poet Nannaya
himself, as a proxy, for fear of some evil consequences if the work
was done m his own name. Thus it took three centuries for the
havea ly translated te *t of the Mahabharata

m "****

( 13 )

The style of Nannaya underwent some change in the hands of
later potts. His Sanskritised Telugu is in sriking contrast to
Tikkana's pure Telugu. Tikkana used Telugu words largely and
is homely in many places. Some of his regional expressions are
now obsolete and only people in the interior of his native district,
Nellore, are now in a position to understand at least some of them.
Errana revived Nannaya's style as he had to complete the Vanaparva
almost in Nannaya's style A close imitation to Nannaya's style
was felt necessary and long Sanskrit compounds again became the
fashion. But he overdid Nannaya and became the model for
Srinatha of the next century to make wholesale importation of
Sanskrit samasas into Telugu.

It was not Bharata alone but the Rdmayana also caught
the imagination of the people and, like the Andhra Maha-
bhdrata, was done by several poets during different periods.
One Bhaskara is said to have been the first poet in this direction
and if his identification with Bhaskara, the grandfather of
Tikkana were to be correct, he becomes a contemporary
of his Tamil counterpart, the great Kamban. The last poet who
completed this book known as Bhaskara Ramdyaria appears to have
lived in the 15th century. Even Errana claims authorship of one
Rdmayana in his translation of Harivamfa. Tikkana of the previous
century wrote, prior to his Mahdbhdrata, Uttara-Rdmdyanam and
as it is expected that one would think of taking up writing on the
later fortunes of Rama only after completing the earlier, it is believed
that the Rdmayana was rendered into Telugu and Bhaskara, his
grandfather, could easily have been its author.

The end of the period of the Kavitraya is a land-mark in the
history of Telugu .literature. Nay, even from the time of Tikkana,
many changes began to appear along with political changes in the
land. The Kavitraya were rather not close translators. They did
not go verse by verse but rendered the sense of the original into
powerful Telugu. Their aim was to bring the spirit of the original
to the local audience Hence we find in their works whole chapters
reduced to a few verses and a fine idea developed into a descriptive
story. The religious or dharmic aspect also was given greater
attention; for instance, Tikkana Somayajin has just four or five
verses for the entire Bhagvadgitd, as he probably felt that the great
Sacred Song would get abused or go cheap, if rendered into a
regional language and it was best read in the original for religious
merit. Thus we find certain standards being maintained, as for
instance the Rdmctyana has to be read for pdrayana (i.e. religious
merit) only in the original as it has the Or<zj><2/rf-letters and reading a
translation is useless for the purpose. Telugu poets were "Ubhuya-

Kavis" i.e. poets in both Sanskrit and Telugu and considered them-
selves as the very descendants of the ancient Rsis. Tikkana
Somayajin was a pious Brahmin as his name indicates and is praised
as a Sanskrit poet by the poetess Gangadevi of the early Vijaya-
nagara period (1370 A.D.) in her Sanskrit poem Madhuravijaya

The Andhras encouraged Sanskrit studies and great cities like
Warangal, Kondavidu, Rajamundry, Nellore and Vijayanagara were
centres of Sanskrit learning. Great Sanskrit authors who were
Andhras by birth flourished in these cities. For instance, Vidyanatha
was the court-poet of Prataparudra of Warangal and after its fall,
Vijayanagara attracted the Court-poets of Prataparudra. For
Gangadevi, mentioned above, was the Queen of Kamparaya, son of
Bukka I and was the disciple of poet Vijvanaiha, a nephew (sister's
son) of Agastya (Vidyanatha 1) These poets were moving from court
to court, though attached permanently to one place, displaying their
talents. Vamana Bbattabaria flourished at Kondavidu and Vijaya-
nagara. Snnatha visited almost all courts and defeated in argumen-
tation one Gauda Dindimabhatta at the Vijayanagara Court. For
this he was bathed in gold and called Kavisarvabhauma. This he
mentions in his translation of Ka&khanga :

We find also other great Sanskrit authors in Andhra like Mallinatha
at the court of Sarvajna Singabnupala of Rachakon4a. Mallinatha's
commentaries on the Kavyas of Kaiidasa and other poets iS^d
to be the best in the field. Many of the Reddi kings like Katayavema
and Pedakama* Vema were great Sanskrit writers. Every fi reat
XW or Nataka produced in the North found its way to fhle
southern court and was studied with great avidity. ThTwe see in
the minor Kavyas in Telugu. m

Soon after Tikkana, a poet Manchana of Velanadu

f 15 J

made into Kavyas. The reason for this is not clear and it cannot
be said that they were averse to dramatic art. In fact many of the
Andhras wrote dramas in Sanskrit and got them enacted. There are
references to stage, curtain, actors, dramatic halls and performances.
Whether these were dramas of the Sanskrit type or local dance-
dramas, the earlier forms of the Yakshagdnas, it is not clear. No
doubt there was some indegenous dramatic entertainment but the
Telugu poets believed that the Kdvya was a child (santdna) of the
author and its dedication to a deserving patron gave religious merit
to the author.

This idea that Kavita is a damsel who would voluntarily go and
marry an accomplished poet and their children are the Kavyas grew.

The idea developed in Telugu and a sap fa santdna theory was
evolved. A putra i.e. son Vana or garden, for public utility, an
agrahara given to brahmins, nidhi or find, a temple for any deity, a
tank or water reservoir and, finally a krti or poem were the seven
san tanas.

Of these a poem is said to have been the best santdna as it
would last longer than the rest. Besides it is said to be a strT-
santdna or a girl that could be offered to any deserving patron as one
would offer his daughter in marriage to a bridegroom. The kdvya
is also said to possess an additional quality of gaining wide publicity
and travelling all over the world while the other santanas being
permanent fixtures cannot move from their places. Thus it became
a practice with poets in Andhra to compose poems and dedicate for
money, for money was also one of the kdvya prayojanas (sfrrssf q^l%

--) and in many

case the man prayojana.

After translating the epics the Telugu poets took up purdnas
and rendered them also as Kavyas. Keeping the main theme as in
the originals they began to develop the descriptive portions in the
kdvya manner. Mar ana, a disciple of Tikkana, took the Mdrkan$eya
purdna and made it a Kavya. Nacana Soma's Uttara-Harivamsa
(1340 A. 3D.) and Nrsimhapurdna of Errana (1360), one of the
Kavitraya, are in the descriptive style. This was much developed
after ^rlnatha (1360 1440) the 'Kavisdrvabhauma^ whose translation
of Sri Harsa's Naisadhiya-Carita with the title Sj-ngdranaisadha,
became the model for later writers. From, this period narrative
puranic type of versification already verging on the descriptive style
became popular. Though there was the tendency to give a descrip-
tive, polishing, explanatory touch to the originals from the time
of Nannya, it gradually expanded as the Kavya style gained ground.
This is largely due to the influence of Srlnatha.

The distinguishing feature of the age of Srinath is the
introduction of the a?tadasa varnanas or the eighteen kinds of
descriptions as mentioned by Dan<Jin and other alankara
writers. This was due to the above-mentioned Srngaranaisadha.
Poets from the time of Palkuriki Somanatha (C. 1320) mention
the Kavyalaksanas in their introductions and Vinnakota Peddana,
a contemporary of Snnatha, but living at the court of the
Chalukyas of Visakhapattana, wrote the Kavyalankara-Cudamani
(1404 A. D.)- This work is based completely on Sanskrit alankara
literature. Hence Srinatha appears to have supplied a model
Kavya by translating ri Hara's Naisadha, true to the original.
In this verse-translation Srlnatha has retained many of the fine
expressions of the original with only slight verbal changes to suit
Telugu metre. His Haravilasa, Kafikhayda and Bhtmtisvara pitrana
are more free and Haravilasa looks like an original piece though
his indebtedness to Kalidasa and others is apparent.

It was during the age of Srinatha that the great God-inspired
poet Potana flourished. His verse-translation of the Bhagavata is
in a sweet blend of Telugu and Sanskrit words; his work soon
became the Bible of the Andhras. He introduced the Kavya
element where ever an opportunity presented itself to display his
poetic faculties. He developed the bhakti or devotional clement
and excelled therein. With Potana we can say the period of regular
translations came to an end, as with his great book all the great
voluminous Sanskrit works had been rendered into Telugu,

Besides completely imitating these literary forms of Sanskrit
the Telugu authors felt, along with their patrons, as already
mentioned, that they were the very descendants of the great Sanskrit
authors but were writing in a different language. In all their trans-
lations they started the Turva-Kavi-stuti' in their introductions
with Valmiki and Vyasa, mentioned all poets from Kalidasa upto
Nannayabhafta and then mentioned other poets of Andhra
Nannayabhatta, himself mentioned Valmiki and Vyasa. Srinatha
gives a long list of Sanskrit and Telugu poets, including Bhusa,
Saumillaka, Bilhana, and others. This explains the love of the
Telugu poets for Sanskrit.

In all these poems one clearly sees the absence of local
themes Folk lore or janapada literature took up Telugu themes
y^/IFfrc*oFnw attributed to marks a depar'

ture. Being composed in the deSt dvipada metre, not much liked by
Kavya writers, it found favour with masses.

i^A he b r ! ginnin S of the sixteenth century there was a

tendency among Telugu poets to discontinue translations as such

but rewrite Sanskrit stories, developing them into Kavyas like
Naisadha. These were called prabhandhas in Telugu and herein
the Telugu poets employed not only the eighteen varnanas but added
some more, making them twenty-two. They took all the Sanskrit
alankaras* artha and sabda, all the Sanskrit conventions i.e. *Kavi-
samayas', special importance to dohadakriyas and to a large extent
developed the element of love or srngn ra, thereby contributing much
to the 'Nayika-Nayaka, literature. It looked as though Telugu
literature of this period was nothing but a logical development and
continuation of Sanskrit literary thought in a different language.
Allasani Peddana, the poet laureate of the Court of Srikrshnadeva
Raya (1509-1529 A.D.), was the pioneer in this type of composition
and his Manucaritra is the story of Svarocisa Manu, developed
into a fine Kavya wherein the poet took full freedom to display his
poetical talents. The style and imagery struck a new departure in
the field of Telugu literature and though the language is not Sanskrit
it looks like the work of one deeply read in Sanskrit lore. Other
poets of the period called the astadiggajas followed his example and
the next great poet is Ramarajabhusana whose Vasucaritra became
the hall mark for this type of composition. It was not only imitated
by many whose works were called smaller Vasucaritra or *Pilla
Vasucharitralu', but translated into Sanskrit also at an early age.

It was during the time of Krishnadeva-raya that the Yak$ag&na
took a shape and though a desi or regional dance-drama catering to
the masses, it borrowed much from the Sanskrit Bharata Natya
Sastra. While Saiva temples were more interested in maintaining
devadnsis or dedicated girls for the form of worship represented by
Bharata Natya and called the Natya-seva or Nrtya-sevsi, the Bhnga-
vatas or worshippers of Yinu took to the Yaksagdna and popular-
ised Krsna-stories. Music of the Sanskrit school called Murga
along with the regional called Desi played a prominent part in these
representations.

In the field of arts and crafts, the artisans had no text-books
in Telugu and got by rote all their rules from Sanskrit texts as all
the technical words are found in Sanskrit. Though here and there,
there were translations of books on arithmetic and geometry,
astrology and astronomy much "remained in Sanskrit and its study
was unavoidable. Even in wrestling the term Jyes~hika for a
wrestler became Jetti in Telugu and their Sastra is also in Sanskrit.
It is too well known that books on Dhanurveda, yurveda and the
like are still in Sanskrit. Not only professionals but even Kings
and Queens were proficient in Sanskrit and contributed much to
Sanskrit Literature.

After the fall of the Vijayanagra Telugu was encouraged by

the rulers ofTanjore, Madura, Pudukkottai and other places in
Tamilnad besides many Zamindari areas of Andhra. In the Telugu
.endings from all these, the Sanskrit touch persisted. Even Telugu
Grammar was fashioned after Sanskrit grammar and the Andhra
$abda,cintwani became popular from the seventeenth century. The
'Muslim rulers of Golkonda encouraged Sanskrit pundits and the
Telugu Singaramanjari of Bade Akbarshah translated into Sanskrit,
probably by himself, excellently edited by Dr. V. Raghavan, stands
,as a monumental example of the hold of Sanskrit on Telugu
authors.

Coming to the modern period we find a large number of
Sanskrit works being translated into Telugu, but the view of the
translators has changed. The renderings are verse to verse, line to
line to the original without avoiding even a 'tu' or a 'ca' bringing
out the beauties 'based on puns on 'linga' and 'vacana'. The
Sanskrit dramas especially have been translated into Telugu so
closely that with their help one can easily study the originals as if
through a guide.

Sanskrit has so influenced Andhra that it has even affected
the Telugu pronunciation. The Telugu author to this day is unable
to shake himself off from the age-long Sanskrit influence and feels
that there are still many Sanskrit works awaiting translation.
Indeed much remains to be done in this line.

THE RELATION OF ANDHRA POETS
TO SANSKRIT POETS

i
i

K. A. KRISHNAMACHARYA

Andhra University

P, G. Centre, Guntur

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INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON
ASSAMESE LITERATURE

PROF. BlSHWANARAYAN SHASTRI M. A.

Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha)

Assamese is the direct descendant of Eastern Magadhi
Apabhramsa. Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji observes : "Bengali
Oriya and Assamese, as sister languages coming from the same
Eastern Magadhi-Apabhramsa of about 1200 to 1500 years ago
have very great resemblance with each other, and no wonder their
literature would also show the same family-resemblance" It is
therefore, quite obvious that Sanskrit has direct and all pervading
influence on Assamese language and literature.

Though Assamese comes from the Eastern Magadhi-
Apabhramsa and inherits some of its characteristics, it does not
follow the rules of Apabhramsa grammar in respect of Natva and
atva, Mraka ^ and Vibhaktis. Rather Assamese retains certain cha-
SSTr al Sanskrit ' Assa ^se follows the rules of

ISS I?I ^^^^^^^^S^^

Assamese possesses certain phrases and expressions of
common use which are found in Vedic Sanskrit. Tg "urjam
Vahanti" is used to described anger. J ^

Early Assamese Literature :

Subject-matter :

Early Assamese literature is translation of epics and puranas

( 30 )

"Early literature in modern Indian languages was either
lyrical or narrative. The first dealt naturally with love and other
sentiments or religious devotion subjectively ; and second treated
objectively, mythological tales and themes from the Sanskrit epics
and pur&nas."

Sankara Deva (1449-1568 A. D.) ? the great vaisnava religious
reformer and poet, inaugurated the &/za/cri-movement in Assam, and
the early Assamese literature saw a great output and a new era
ushered in. In fact this vaisnava bhakti-movement was a modified
provincial form of Pan-Indian Vaisnava movement.

Along with the spread of Vaisnavism more and more literature
in Assamese was produced which was mainly translations into
Assamese from the epics and puranas and other classics either in their
entirety or of selected episodes there-from. Since this neo-Vaisnava
movement embraced the masses the translated literature was also
meant for the masses. Literacy was not high and therefore, these
versions were read and recited by one to a group of people. For
this purpose two method were adopted : (i) Difficult passages are
made intelligible to the common people by way of interpretation
and (ii) the texts were so composed that they could be recied and
sung.

Dr. S. K. Bhuyan says : <fc The Assamese translation of the
Sanskrit classics is of interpretative character. The translatior took
up the essence of the original Sanskrit passage and explained it in
pure literary Assamese, simplifying those phrases and expressions
the ideas of which did not come within the ken of the ordinary
Assamese reader/'

Both Sastras and Kavyas in Sanskrit were translated into
Assamese. The method adopted for translating Ssstras was not
rigidly followed in translating a Kavya. For instance, Sankara
Deva translated the first book of JRamayana and here he introduced
some elements. As the Ramayar^a is a Kavya and not T Sastra,
greater latitude was taken to embelish the poem with the free use
of invented materials and opportunity was often taken for
descriptions.

His predecessor, "the unerring poet", Madhava Kandall who
translated the Ramayana into Assamese verse, followed the original
faithfully. His poetic diction is elegant and refined and difficult
Sanskrit words were changed by him into melliflous Assamese. He
introduced some new elements in the depiction of characters. t

Tn describing nagara and upavana, he follows the poetic conven-
tions, showing the dominating influence of Sanskrit.

( 32 )

Comparatively, the Sakta literature in Assamese was far less
than the Vaisnava, and thoughts and ideas of Sakta literature in
Sanskrit did not reach the common men.

Rendering of the Bhagavata ushered a new era of renaissance
in Assamese poetry. The literary influence it had on Vaisriava
literature is manifold and immense. As a matter of fact, Sankara
Deva and a host of his followers not only borrowed the Krsriite
legends and myths from the Bhagavata but had taken its literary
form, expression and tradition. How he rendered it into Assamese
idom, the quotation given below will illustrate :

Evam sa bhagavan krno vrndavanacarab kvacit /

Yayau ramamrte rajan kalindlm sakhibhir vrtaftt //

Atha gava^ca gopaSca nidagha-tapa-plditalj /

Dutaip jalam. papustasyastrsarta visadusitam //

Dineka Govinda deva Baloka lagata nalai appuni melila save gai /

Gopaisu savasame yamunara tire tire dhenugana phuranta carai //

Jyestha masara ghora roudre pidileka ati eko ara trsata najani /

Kalira hradata nami nirantare garugopa paraimane pile bisapani //

Here the translation is literal, but the poet introduces a homely
scene and an expression of common knowledge. For the words
sakhibhir vrtah 9 he gives *gopaiusava same' meaning 'along with
the cowherd boy's ; and the words 'nidagha-tSpa-pfditab', he
renders into 'jyesthamasara ghora raudre pjcjilika ati\ It is not
known whether the incident of Kaliyadamana took place in the
month of Jaitha or Aadha, but the poet describes the sweltering
heat of Jyestha. Jyetha is the hottest month in Assam and there
is no rain for days together during that period which is known as
drought period.

The Bhagavata was the inexhaustible source for the Vais^ava
poets ; the stories of Vinu or Krsna from it were also utilised for
some independent works.

Sankara Deva's Kirttana, a collection of number of verses
depicts some aspects of K^sna's life-story. These poems are
romantic and didaction literature as well. Here the K&vya style of
Sanskrit literature is not followed ; neither a complete theme is
developed nor any sentiment or sentiments are given full play
Herein the treatment of the theme, in style and diction, the poet's
ingenuity is remarkable ; influence of Sanskrit is on the theme
alone.

Kdvya :

In early Assamese literature there are several long narratives,
and each poem, describes a complete episode. These works do not
conform to the Sanskrit Kavya form of literature. However, there
are kavyas which have some characteristics of Sanskrit Kavya.
Usa parinaya of Pltambara is a Kavya on the love between
Usa and Aniruddha. The work is neither composed to glorify the
character of Krsna nor to propagate the bhakti-cult. It is, to a
great extent, non-spiritual. Of course the theme was taken from
the Bhagavata and Harivamsa, but there is no all-pervading atmos-
phere of bhakti. The poet follows carefully the Kavya style. The
description of city and park, forest and hills, hero and heroine, love
and pang of separation : all are conventional.

Early Assamese literature has two types of Kavyas : Vadha
Kavya (killing of a demon) and Harana Kavya (elopement of a
princess). These two types are typical of Assamese and show the
ingenuity of Assamese poets. These works do not follow the
norms of Sanskrit Kavya. Nevertheless, influence of Sanskrit
cannot be ruled cut. Rukminiharava (elopement of Rukmini) is one
such work in Kavya style, a charming idyll. The materials of this
work are drawn from the Bhagavaia and Harrvamsa as the poet
states in the beginning that he mixes materials collected from both
the works as one mixes milk with the honey to make it more tasty.

Although the theme is pauraoic, the poet has also added some
scores of common domestic experience. However, the theme was
developed in Kavya style. The description of physical charm of
the hero and heroine, courtship (purva-rdga) separation (yiraha),
sending of messenger, preparation for war, the battle scene, des-
cription of city and forest all these foavya-elements were introdu-
ced. The author following the poetic convention and the tradition
of Sanskrit Kavya describes Rukmini's longing for Krna first.

Love, the dominating sentiment of the work (Sfngara) is
supported and developed by heroism. The work has an all-perva->
din p* overtone of bhakti or devotion. Krna's love for Rukmini
and his fight with Rukma is but a manifestation of His Ilia.

This Vaisn.ava literature is a peg to hang the bhakti cult.
Bopadeva in his Muktaphcla establishes bhakti as one of the senti-
ments (Rasas) in Kavya and according to that theory the works of
Vaisnava poets have bhakti as the principal sentiment.

Devajit by Hema Sarasvati and Hariteandra Upakhyana by
Sankara Deva and a few others are aho treated as Kavyas, but
they are more or less long narratives and have little kavya
embellishment.

( 34 )

Khanda Kavya : As already mentioned certain episodes from
the life story of Visnu or Krsna are taken and narrated in Kavya.
In such narratives also, the Sanskrit Kavya tradition is retained,
for instance, Haramchana, the enchantment of Hara by Mohini, the
enchantress.

A passage may be cited to show the Kavyas and the Sanskrit
influence :

Tapta suvaranra sama jvale deha nirupama lalita valita hata

pava /

Caksu Kamalara pasi mukhe manohara hasi saghare daraya

Kama bhava //
Urddhaka kepante bhanta Karanta kataksa chata lllagati

dekhaya phure paka //

Soloke ucchal khopa khase parijata thopa varna hate

sambaranta tak //

* Drama : Sankara Deva introduced a new type of drama into
Assamese literature. This pattern was followed by his disciple
Madhava Deva and others. These dramas are known as Anklya
nata or one-act plays. They have retained the following charac-
teristics of Sanskrit Drama.

(i) Nandi : Nandi or benedictory verses are in Sanskrit.
They have 8 Caracas.

(ii) The Prastdvana or prologue, where the SQtradhara carries
on a dialogue with his sang! (colleague) and Nati
(mistress).

(iii) The Bharata Vakya : To fit in with the dominant trend
of the nataka it is termed as Muktimangala.

The aaka-division, soliloquy, the five junctures etc. are how-
ever omitted.

The language of anklya natas is Brajabuli, that is Maithili
mixed with Assamese. Brajabuli had lesser use of compound
consonants a preponderance of vowel, and alliterative expression
all of which made this language eminently suitable for rnythmic
prose. J **"*,

^The prose of these pl ays reveals such rhetorical figures of
speech as consonance and alliteration which are generally conside-
eltS **** Th ^ P etic ^bellishments are not

( 35 )

"Jagataka parama guru parama purusa
purusottama-sanatana Brahma
Mahesa~sevita-cara$a-pankaja-Narayana
Sri Krsna/Sohi DaSaratha-rajakumara
Kotikandarpa-darpa-dalana Sri Ramacandra/"

The characters are typical Assamese based on, mythological
image. The description of beauty and feminine charm is after the
Sanskrit Kavya.

Ki kahaba rupa kumarika Rama /
Kanaka putali tula tanu anupama //
Ratana tilaka lole alaka kapola /
Heriye bhrubhanga tribhuvan bhola //
Dekhiya badana cSnda bheli laja /
Nayana niriksi Kamala jal majha //

x x x x

Banduli nindi adhara karu kanti /
Dadimba nibira bija danta panti //
Isata hasita madana moha jal /
Nasa tila phula kamalinimai //
Nava yauvana tana badarl pramana /
Uru Karikara kati dambarnka thana //

Prose : Besides the prose of Ankiya nata another specimen
of early Assamese prose is the prose rendering of the Bhagavata,
Bhagavad Off a of 16th century. These are remarkable psoductions.
The language is simple, couched in homely Assamese expression
with Sanskrit words. The composition follows a particular order
of placement of subject, object and verb which is not a regular
feature in Sanskrit prose.

Another specimen of prose is the Buranji literature. The
prose of Buranji, meaning history, was influenced by the Sino-
Tibetan speech. This came from the Buranjis written by the Ahom
people in Thai language. Gradually the Thais became Assamese
speakers and introduced the style and expression in Buranjis
written in Assamese. In their form, style and subject matter
the Assamese Buranjis are unique in Indian literature.

Another specimen of prose is the carita puthls or the
biographical books. These are on the great Vaisnava saints. In
style and form they follow the prose of Buranjis and not the Sanskrit
prose.

Mantras are composed in prose. This is again a new form
of literature in Assamese. "The prose of these writings is irregular
and cryptic The sentences have disjointed structure of grammar.
They lack the essential characteristics of prose style and tire but a
conglomeration of unintelligible and mystic expression and phrases
without grammatical verbs and proper syntactical form/ 1 (B. K.
Barua).
Literature on mundane subjects :

A mass of technical literature was produced from the 16th
century onwards on astrology and astronomy, veterinary science,
music, dancing etc. These were in prose and verse. They show
the influence of Sanskrit.

In the 18th century a few Kavyas, rather narratives, were
composed ; the themes of these were taken from Persian folktales
or literature. Mfgavati Carita, Cahapari upakhydna are a few of
them. These works in their form and style are quite new and not
at all influenced by Sanskrit.

Songs : Songs composed by Sankara Deva are known as
Baraglia. These compositions were not couched in homely
Assamese. The speech used for songs and drama is an artificial
one., Brajabuli a mixture of Maithill and Assamese.

In style and expression these songs follow the high tradition
of Sanskrit. The ragas used in these songs arc mainly classical.
In a few songs Des*l ragas are also used. Madhava Dcva, the
disciple of Sankara Deva, in his Baragitas describes mainly the
boy Krsija's childish pranks and as such in subject-matter and
treatment they are greatly influenced by Sanskrit.

Metre and Simile :

Sansksit metres are divided into Vrtta and Jati on the basis
of number of syllables and matras.

In Assamese Vrtta is used alongwith the alliteration of the
last syllables of each or each alternate line. Sanskrit Sabdalankara,
except Anuprasa, is rarely used in Assamese literature. Among the
Arthalankaras simile is used. Other figures based on upama are
also used. It is interesting to note that there is use of Vyafijana,
in a broad sense, in many Assamese words.

Modern Assamese Literature

The beginning of the new era in Assamese literature dates
from the 3rd decade of the 19th century. Modern Assamese litera-
ture took its shape and continued to flourish from the last quarter
of the 19th century.

( 37 )

Dr. William Carey, a Baptist Missionary at Serampore, West
Bengal, with the help of an Assamese pundit brought out an
Assamese translation of the New Testament in 1817 and the Old
testament which was completed in 1833. "The language of this
version was full of Bengalism and had too many learned Sanskrit
words."

After a few years another Baptist Missionary Rev. 1ST. Brown
brought out another Assamese version of Testament from Sibsagar,
Assam. The style of this version was colloquial Assamese and free
from Sanskrit. While the former version betrays great Sanskrit
influence, the latter one shows a new style.

The Missionaries, by writing and publishing grammar and
dictionary, tried to give a new shape to the language and a new
style in composition. New words and new expressions found place.
As a result, from 1838 A. E>. onward, with the translation of
Christian literature into Assamese, the language was set up for
modern requirements. New direction in thought and expression
and a new style in composition was clearly visible. This style was
somewhat followed by other immediate writers and Hemchandra
Barua introduced a new style.

The Baptist Missionaries used words as spoken by the
common people of upper Assam. They tried to avoid even common
Sanskrit words. But still the language was under the influence of
Sanskrit. 1 quote here two, lines from their writing and give word-
for-word Sanskrit translation :

Kono ejan manuhara duta putek achila /

Tare sarutoe bapekak kale - he pitr,

Sampattira yi bhaga mota pare, taka moka diya /

Tate teon apona sampatti sibilakaka bati dile //

Kasyacit manavasya dvau puttrau astam /

Tayoli kanisthab pitaramvadat/sampatteh

Vo bhagab niayi vartate tad mahyaip dehi.

Tatafe sa svTya-sampattirn tebhyo vibhajy pradat //

Young men from Assam came down to Calcutta for higher
education from the latter half of the 19th century. They studied
English language and literature and imbibed is spirit and "Bengali,
which they could not help knowing since a large mass of reading
material was available in it also influenced them. They tried to
introduce the new tone in Assamese and to improve it. As a result
a new romanticism, new imageries and a new style came to
Assamese. Sanskrit yielded ground to the Western influence.

The influence of Sanskrit on early 20th century modern
Assamese literature came through the Vaisnava literature particu-
larly through the writings of Ankara Deva and Madhava Deva.
LakmmathBezbarooah (1869-1938 A. D.) a versatile genius used
a good number of figures of speech and other expressions in his
works drawn from Vainava literature which in their turn were
taken from Sanskrit. Particular episodes described in the Vaisnava
literature were used, in his works conveniently and intelligently,
K Asvathamahataitigaja^""Grahagajeadara yuddha" (battle of
graha and gajendra) and hundreds of such idioms which became
part of Assamese speech are found in the writings of standard
Assamese writers, Such idioms and figures of speech are not used
as foreign elements but have been completely assimilated into
Assamese. They invigorated and enriched the Assamese.

After the spread of English education new ideas and ex-
pressions came.

The short story, novel and poetry in modern Assamese litera-
ture do not betray any influence of Sanskrit in form, style and
thought. The full-length drama, here and there, has some aspect
of the technique of Sanskrit drama. The literary criticism in
modern Assamese is based half on Sanskrit alamkara sastra and
half on English criticism. The essays are usually full of teehnical
terms and expression used in the Sanskrit alamkara Sastra. In
construction of sentences and expression these essays are just some
sort of re-oriented Sanskrit,

INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON THOUGHT
AND CULTURE OF ASSAM

DR. S. N. SHARMA
Gauhati University

Assam which till the recent times comprised not only of
the present State of Assam, but also the small States of Meghalaya,
Nagaland and Mizo land, is the easternmost part of the Union
of India. As the State of Assam now covers only the plain
districts of the Brahmaputra valley, we shall confine our discussion
to the impact of Sanskrit on the thought and culture of the
present political boundary of the State. Moreover the hill areas
which have been recently separated from Assam and formed into
separate States have been very little influenced by Sanskrit or
Sanskrit culture. For the convenience of our discussion it would be
better to deal with the topic under four separate headings, viz.
(i) language, (ii) literature (iii) religion and (iv) social rites and
observances,

(i) Language

Assamese is derived from the eastern ApabhrarhSa of
Magadhi Prakrt. It stands in a sisterly relation to Bengali, Oriya
and Maithili and occupies the status of a grand-daughter of
Sanskrit. Sanskrit contributes the major share to the stock of
Assamese vocabulary. Tatsama and tadbhava words constitute
about eighty percent of the vocabulary usually used in Assamese
language and literature and it is still the main source from which
new words are daily imported to meet the growing demand of a
developing language- The scientific and technical terminology
that have been coined recently is also mainly Sanskrit-based.

(ii) Literature

The history of early Assamese literature which dates back
to the early centuries of the first millenium A.D. is nothing but
the history of the Assamese renderings of the epics and the
Puranas into popular verse and some times into prose. The Neo-

( 39 )

40

Vaisnavite movement initiated by Sankaradeva, a man of un-
P, ushered in a cultural renaissance m Assam.
as not only a religious saint, but was also a poet,

common femu

was

and social reformer-all in one. But even before
undertook the task of translating the Vaisn.avite
Ar.ame.c. His predecessors of the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries rendered seme parts of the Mahabharata and
the entire Ramayaria of Valmiki into lucid Assamese verse.
Madhava Kandali, the court-poet of Mahamanikya, a tribal king
of the fourteenth century, successfully translated the entire
Ramayana into Assamese verse without marring the literary
beauty of the original version. During the period of the Vaisnavite
revival of the succeeding centuries the entire Bhagavata purana,
the Mahabharaia, Harivawfa. parts of the Padma-purana and Visnw
pwana were translated into Assamese. Besides these, the Brahma-
\aivarta-purana, Noradiya purana. Dharma-purana. Kalkl ptirana were
also translated into Assamese in the eighteenth century. The
major part of the Bhagavata-purana which is considered by the
Vaisnavas of Assam as their supreme religious work was translated
by Sankaradeva himself and his followers completed the work by
rendering the remaining parts. The chief translator of the
Mahabharata is Rama Sarasvati who undertook the stupendous
task of translating the great epic under patronage of king Narana-
rayana. Besides Madhava Kandali's version of the Ramayana^
we have a few more local versions of the Ramayona of which
Durgavara's lyrical rendering and Ananta Dasa's Ramay ana-kin ana
and Raghunatha Mahanta's prose rendering in the eighteenth
century deserve special mention. We have several Assamese
renderings of the Gita including a prose one and two important
renderings of the Markandeya CandT. All these were written
between the 16th and 18th centuries of the Christian era. Some
of the Kavyas mainly intended for the enjoyment of the rasikas
written during this period are based on well-known Sanskrit
works. Jayadeva's Gitagavinda and Kalidasa's Qakuntaia were
adapted in Assamese verse with certain modifications. One of
the important branch of the early Assamese literature is the
authology of devotional verses gleaned from, different puranas.
Besides the famous Bhakti-ratnavali of Visnupuri, the Rhakti-ratna-
kara of Sankaradeva and the Bhakti viveka of Bhattadeva are
noteworthy devotional compendia of early Assamese Literature.

Besides the works briefly noted above there are many other
works, too numerous to mention, which owe their existence to
the vast store-house of Sanskrit language. The influenc of
Sanskrit literature in recent times is too broad a subject to be dealt

( 41 ;

in a single paper. Suffice it to say that Sanskrit literature, both
religious and secular, is serving as the principal fountain-head of
the current Assamese literature.

We have so far discussed the Assamese versions of Sanskrit
works, but besides Assamese works a large number of works in
Sanskrit itself on different branches of knowledge were written
in Assam during the medieval times. Scholars are of opinion
that KdHka purdna, Yogim-tantra and Dharma-purana (not
Brhaddharma) were composed in ancient Assam, because these
two works contain many geographical or topographical references
in respect of Assam. A number of Smrti-nibandhas, generally
referred to the Kamarupa school of Smrti mbandhas, were written
between 13th and 16th centuries AJD. Rajguru Damodara Mira,
NilSmbaracarya and PTtambara Siddhanta-vagTs*a were well-known
Nibandhakaras of medieval Assam. The last one is reported to
have written 18 Smrti-nibandhas (digests) known as Kaumudls,
Day a Kaumudi, Darida-Kaumudf, Sraddha-kaumudi, Pretakaumudi,
Tithi-kaumiidi. Udvaha kaumudi and so on. Most of them are still
available and religious rites and rituals in Kamarupa are still
performed according their prescription. Two more branches of
study received special attention from the Sanskrit scholars of
Assam. They are Jyotisa and Ayurveda. Well known works
of all-India vogue on Astrology, Astronomy and Ayurveda were
assudiously copied and preserved and also new works in these
branches were written in Assam. Vaidya-sdroddhdra by Brajanatha
Sarma, Vaidya-kalpataru by Ananga Kaviraja, Dravya-guna by
Narayana Dasa, and Rasendra-kalpadruma by Rama Bhatta, for
instance, are Ayurvedic works based on the traditional medical
system. Astronomical calculations are found to have been based
on what is called khandasadhya calculation, drawn from an early
work on the subject known as the Kamarupa Nibandhaniya khanda-
sadhaya, supposed have been written in the 7 century A.IX In
the sphere of dance and drama, the influence of Sanskrit drama-
turgy on the technique of the medieval devotional plays of Assam
(Arikiya-nnta) is very patent. The Assamese rendering of ubhair
kara*s Srihastamukatdvali may also be noted.

In this connection, special mention may be made of the role
of the kings of Assam (Kamarupa) who played a conspicuous part
in the diffusion of Sanskrit culture in ancient and medieval Assam.
They not only encouraged the Aryan migration into Assam but
also encouraged the Brahmins to settle in various parts of the
country by granting them lands generously. The language of the
landgrants written on copper plates was invariably Sanskrit and
many such copper plates have recently been recovered. Some of

the earlv kings of Assam were poets and scholars in Sanskrit.
The Galati grant of king Indrapala of the 10th century A.D.
credits Purandrapala with the epithet Svkavi. King Harsapaia
of the same dynasty is credited with the composition of Sanskrit
verse. King Dharmapala of the llth century is described in his
Puspabhadra grant as Kaviciidamani . Prince Sukladhvaja of the
Koch dynasty is credited with the authorship of a learned
commentary on the GitagovfnJa. Besides their personal achieve-
mentin the field of art and letters, many kings of ancient and
medieval Assam encouraged and patronised Sanskrit learning in
Assam. This considerably contributed towards transforming a
domtnently non-Aryan region into a land of Aryan culture.

(iii) Religion

During the pre-historic times, Assam being a habitation of
non-Aryan tribes, was animistic in religious beliefs. But gradually
with the spread of the Aryan language and culture the Hindu
religious ideas and beliefs supplemented the premitive ideas and
beliefs. The Brahmins who migrated to Assam were mainly
instrumental in spreading the Aryan culture and Sanskrit learning
in Assam. Saivism, Saktism and Vainavism are the three main
channels through which the Hindu religious ideas, philosophies,
beliefs and customs percolated to the Assamese society. It should
be remembered in this connection that most of the principal
scriptures of the above religious faiths are in Sanskrit and although
the laity were not conversant with Sanskrit, yet they were made
familiar with the fundamental ideas and beliefs by the priestly
class to a considerable extent. Saivism appears to be the earliest
Hindu religion in Assam, for the kings of ancient Assam from the
4th century A.D. till the first millenium A.D. are known to have
professed Saivism. Many Saiva temples, still in existence, testify
to the existence of the Saiva cult in Assam from early times. At
present, however, the influence of this sect is mainly confined to
the temples and its sphere of influence. The next important
sect prevalent from early times is Saktism with its radiating
centre on the Nllacala hill where the temple of Goddess Kamakhya
is situated. Saktism in Assam has always been associated with
tSntricism and the Kamakhya temple has been famous from early
times as the centre of tantric rites and practices. The Kallkd-
pura$a* Yogim tantra* Hara-gaun-SamvQda and KQmakhya tantra,
all written in Assam, have elaborately dealt with various rites,
practices and beliefs of the Sakta and tantrika cult in Assam. All
the works mentioned above are in Sanskrit language. The Kalika-
purana further gives a detailed account of all the holy places of
Assam, including those sacred to Vairiavas and Saivas. The

f 3 )

most important sect of Assam, having a large following, is
Vaisnavism. Even before the advent of the Neo-Vaiavite
movement in the 15th century, a thin current of Vaisnavism was
flowing in Assam. This older current was later submerged by
the tide of Neo-Vainavism of the 15th and 16th century AJD.
We have already referred to this movement which paved the way
for the rendering of almost all the Vaisnavite Pvranas into
Assamese, The Bhagvata purana played the dominant role in
this tremendous movement. As a result, hundreds of Vaisnavite
centres, known as Sattras, were established in different parts of
the country and these became so many centres of religious
propagation as well as centres of mass education in ancient lores.
Every Sattra became in course of time a repository of religious
scriptures and centre of religious discussions. Sanskrit as well
as Assamese religious books were carefully preserved and worn
out copies were replaced by new ones. Thus the Sattras served
as the institution for diffusing Sanskrit learning and culture.

The prevalence and propagation of the above three principal
religious faiths are also responsible for moulding the ideas, thoughts
and beliefs of the people. Unity of Godhead, transmigration of
soul, incarnation of Cod, pantheistic belief, emanation of God,
belief in the theory of rebirth, efficacy of love aud devotion and
such other pan-Indian traditional ideas and beliefs are also part
and parcel of Assamese Hindu social life. These are the legacies
of the Sanskrit culture which has permeated the society in all
its facets,

(iii) Observances

So far as social observances, rites and habits are concerned,
they may be classified into two categories, religious and non-
religious. The Sanskrit influence appears to be more marked in
case of the religious observances. Religious rites, observances
and Festivals of all-India character like JanmSsfami, Phalgutsava.
JDurg&-piija 9 Sivar&tri. RSsapftrnima etc. are observed according
to the pan -Indian pujapaddhati, i. e., according to prescriptions
laid down in the Sanskrit manuals. The puja and the sastraic
rites are performed by reciting Sanskrit mantras or hymns.
Even some of the n on- Aryan deities which found a place in the
Hindu pantheon much later, are worshipped according to newly
introduced puja-vidhi with Sanskrit hymns and incantation. The
worship of the snake-goddess Manasa may be cited as an instance.
Her worship as obtaining today is a mixture of Hindu (Sanskrit)
and tribal rites. Sanskrit mantras are also recited while observing
religious fasts and taking ablution in sacred water. In some of

tie popular Vaisnavite rites and festivals, songs and verses
composed in Assamese are also sung, over and above the
scriptural rites performed by Brahmin priests in accordance with
the prescription laid down in DhmdMm and Pip-manuals,
The verses in Assamese recited on suck occasion are mostly
translations from the Mimtafunw or similar Sanskrit work,
The Hindus of the upper strata of society perform the important
Swskm in accordance with prescriptions laid down in Dkm&>
fastm, Local customs and usages, no doubt, play some part,
but Sanskrit rites play the dominant role,

The impact of Sanskrit on the thought and culture of Assam
is deep and abiding, though, it must be admitted, the study of
Sanskrit as a language has considerably gone down during recent

SANSKRIT IN BENGAL AND BENGALI

DR. SUKUMR SEN,
Calcutta

The history of the written speech in Bengal (undivided)
starts with a small, mutilated inscription written in the Brahml
script of the 3rd cent. B.C. It is a stone plaque discovered in
Central Bengal (old Pui^ravardhana-bhukti). The language is
early Prakjt (MIA) and is akin to the language of the Eastern
Pillar edicts of ASoka. This is the only MIA epigraph found
as yet in Bengal.

The Prakft was replaced by Sanskrit in Northern India from
the beginning of the Christian era. The process was no doubt
gradual but as there is a blank of several centuries between the
Prakrt inscription mentioned above and the next, a short Sanskrit
inscription written in the fourth century Brahmi script, there is
no means of knowing how and when Sanskrit was used here
for public announcements in written speech. This oldest inscrip-
tion in Sanskrit in Bengal (West) tells us of the dedication of a
cave as a sanctum ofViscui, the Wielder of the Disc. The style
of the script suggests that the inscription was contemporaneous
with that of Samudragupta.

From the fifth century onwards Sanskrit inscriptions have
been found in increasing numbers and their style is progressively
ornate. A high literary quality in the epigraphical records (generally
copperplate land grants) in Bengal (undivided) was achieved
before the end of the eighth century as evidenced by the Khalimpur
Grant of Dharmapala. A mature or ornate prose style, later known
as "GaudI Rlti" appears less than a century earlier, in the Nidhan-
pur-grant of Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa. I suspect some hand
of Sana in the composition.

We do not know when the Indo- Aryan speakers had first
settled in the part of Eastern India which came to be known as
Bengal from the days of Pathan rule in Bengal. The accepted

( 45 )

stand of historians and antiquarians is that Bengal was Aryanized
at a comparative late period.

But linguistic evidence on the contrary points out that Indo-
Aryan in Eastern India appears to have a longer history there
than elsewhere in Northern India. To give an instance : The loss of
intervocalic consonants does not appear before the beginning of the
Christian era, while in the eastern dialect of the piller edicts and
cave inscriptions of Asoka we find sporadic loss of intervocalic-t-
and even a step beyond the contraction of the udvrtta vowel with
the preceding, which is a still later feature. We have for cdtudasa
(<OIA caturdasd) cavudasa (Delhi- Topra) and for catudasa (<OIA
caturdasa) codas a (Nagarjunl Cave), cavudasa may be explained
away as a scribal error but codasa cannot be so dismissed. I am
inclined to think that Old In do- Aryan was introduced in Eastern
India not at a post- Vedic but at a pre-Vedic or early Vedic stage
and that the Asuras, the elder brothers of the Devas, that were
pushed away to the East, as in the stories in the Brahmanas* are
reminiscent of the pre-Vedic or early Vedic Aryan settlers in the.
East which was considered as outside Brahmanical Aryandonx,

So far as evidence goes Buddhism and Jainism were both as much
popular in Bengal (undivided) as Brahminism. If we are to believe
Hiuen Tsang, Agoka had built several stupas in the different regions
of Western and Central Bengal and in some localities in Eastern
Bengal. If the reading savagiyal in the early Prakrt inscription
referred to earlier stands for Sanskrit sadvargiyandm, existence of a
Buddhistic monastery in Central Bengal in the third century B. C.
is proved. The existence of Jainism is proved by a land grant
copperplate inscription discovered at Paharpur in Central Bengal
which records the offering of some land to the maintenance of a
Jaina monastery (vihara) by a Brahman Natha-Sarman and his wife
Raml. The date of the inscription is 159 Gupta era ( = 479 AD)
Worship of Visnu in different names and forms are recorded in
inscriptions dating from the fourth century A. D. and from all
ports of the country.

T> ^ S regardS Iiterar y and cultural activities in Bengal the
Buddhiste were by far the leading community. When Fa hs en
visited Northern India (beginning of the 5th cent.) he found In
Tamralipt! (south-westesn Bengal) the best and most earned centres

( 47 )

acknowledged master of this school who however followed Panini
but not blindly. (Candragomin was not merely a grammarian, he
was a notable scholar and poet as well. For his outstanding scholar-
ship and piety he was held in great esteem by Buddhists in Bengal
and elsewhere. He was still living when I-tsing visited Eastern
India (673 86). To quote J-tsing : "In Eastern India there lived
a great man (Mahasattva) named Candra (lit. ' Mo on-official*, it may
be 'Candradasa') being like a Bodhisattva, endowed with great
talent. This man was still alive when I, I-tsing, visited that
country." (Takakusu P. 183). Earlier I-tsing mentions Candra* s
activity as a poet : "Mahasattva Candra (lit. 'Moon official*,
probably Candradasa), a learned man in Eastern India, composed
a poetical song about the prince ViSvantara, hitherto known as
Sudan a, and people all sing and dance to it throughout the five
countries of India." (Ibid. p. 164), I-tsing's translation of the full
name of Candra indicates that it was Candra-gomin or Candra-
gomika and not "Candradasa" as he thought. Gomin or Gomika
means the master or possessor of cattle, and gomika meaning a
superintendent of a king's cattle occurs in the list of officials given
in many of copper-plate inscriptions from Bengal).

It was however not Buddhistic Sanskrit that was cultivated
by the Buddists and others in Bengal. It was classical Sanskrit
with some alternative and special forms in grammar and with some
vocables of its own.

The study of Candra's grammar was vigorously pursued in
Bengal. Even as late as the tenth century scholastic monasteries
devoted entirely to the grammar of Candragomin was established
and endowed in Samatata. Sricandra the king of Vanga and
Samatata established nine scholastic malhas and for the
maintenance he endowed Chandrapurx-vz^orya, a fertile area of some
100O square miles, as recorded in a recently discovered copper-
plate grant from a village in South Sylhet named, PaScimbhag. 1
Four mafhas are mentioned as "foreign" (desantarlya-matha-
catu$taya) and another four as "Bengal" or "native" (yangala-
rnatha-catustayd)* At each of these eight mafhas the four Vedas
were taught and eight professors (Upadhynyd) were appointed to
supervise study. The remaining rnatha which is mentioned first
in the document was devoted to the study of Candra's grammar
and a professor was appointed at the head of the institution who
received, as the other eight professors did, the income of ten

1, Published with translation and annotations by Sri Kamala-
kanta Gupta in his Copperplate Grants of Sylhet Vol I.
Rasheedistan, Sylhet, 1967.

pntakas of land (each pataka, being of ten drona measurement):
etanmathapratibaddhacandravyakhyanopddhynyasya dasadronikadasa-
patakah.

There was provision for ten students who together enjoyed
income from ten pafakas, and for other functionaries such as a
superintending Brahmin, an astronomer, an accountant (kayastha),
suppliers of flowers, oil and pottery, two conch blowers, various
drummers, servants, shoemakers, a dancer, two carpenters, two
masons, two ironsmiths and eight hired labourers. The document
reads like the charter of establishment of a University.

Literary activity in Bengal apart from Buddhistic texts and
commentaries and epigraphical records seems to have flowered
from the 7th cent. A. D. Bengal did not always follow the set
patterns or vogues of the established or classical literature.
Bengali poets generally preferred to write stray (praklrna) verses
on various topics not excluding the life around them. It is no
wonder that the two oldest and best anthologies of Sanskrit stray
verses were compiled in Bengal before the advent of the Muslim
and disappearance of good Sanskrit poetry.

The literary spirit in Bengal from the early times seems to
have had a bias for the realistic and the practical. Unfettered by
too much of the Sastras and Puranas a Bengali poet naturally,
preferred the myths and traditions that grew up in his own
linguistic and cultural area. And so he could not have remained
unmindful of the vernacular. Before 800 A. D. the spoken
tongue in Bengal was a late form of the New Indo-Aryan speech
which was cultivated in popular and folk poetry as well had an
extra territorial currency which had helped it to grow up into a
literary lingua franca of a sort. It was, however, the heretic and
ascetic scholars, mainly tantric Buddhists, Jain yogis and the like
that occasionally wrote aphoristic and didactic couplets and short
songs in this late NIA literary speech which came to be known
as Apabhrasta (Avihattha, Avahaffha) by the end of the twelfth
century. The literary Prakrts which were much more artificial
thanSanskitdo not seem to have been any preference in Bengal.
The dissatisfaction against the Apabhratfa verse written in Bengal
is expressed in a Sanskrit./^ attributed

rajan vijMpayami tvsm parihssajihirsayd /
gaujas tyajatu va gstham anya vdstu sarasvati //

?tt^~ZX?J5'*

Before the e*d of the 9th cent, the vernacular (or spoken IA)

( 49 )

in Bengal had already started showing its characteristics of the
third (New or Modern) stage of Iiido-Aryan. In the tenth and
the following two or three subsequent centuries the Buddhist
tantric and Jaina Yogi writers were writing esoteric songs in the
emergent NIA speech. Some of them wrote also in Avahatfha and
almost all of them also in polished Sanskrit. This trilingual
activity in Bengal was one of the most happy factors in the develop-
ment of the language and literature in Bengal.

How Sanskrit and Vernacular (Avahattha and Bengali)
spontaneously helped one another is indicated by the songs of
Gitagovinda which form the last great contribution to poetry in
Sanskrit and which was the first of really significant poetry
in the vernacular. The songs of Jayadeva are couched in Sanskrit,
but their cadence is of Avahatta and their spirit is of Bengali.

From the very beginning Bengali poetry was cultivated by
persons who had a good knowledge of Sanskrit. This is
true for all the subsequent centuries. From the end of the
13th cent. Bengali language began to be handled by Persian
speakers also* In the early days of the Muslim rule down
to the middle of the sixteenth century the administration
was carried on by the Bengali speaking Hindus and Muslims and
the language was mainly Bengali. The thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries saw the development of the Payar metre in Bengali.
Paydr in Bengali, like Anus^ubh in Sanskrit, was a very pliable
medium which served all purposes which delayed the emergence of
a literary prose style. Sanskrit largely and Persian to some extent
supplied the required material words and expressions of the
fast growing language. At the same time Bengali (i.e. the tadbhava
and ardhatatsama elements) contributed literally to the lexical stock
of Sanskrit. Apart from the two oldest anthologies of stray
poetry (Subhasitaratndkosa and Saduktikarridmrtd) the main
contribution of Bengal to Sanskrit language is a host of important
lexical works beginning with Tikdsarvasa of Vandyaghatlya
Sarvananda (12th cent.) and ending with Sabdaratnavali of
MathureSa (17th cent.)-

By the end of the 16th century Bengali culture in its two
levels, high and folk (or low), had become so much saturated with
the Puranic lore that a Puranic text containing mythological stories
was not entirely unintelligible to the common people who had
no knowledge of Sanskrit. This was achieved by the spread of
Caitanya's faith throughout the country and beyond. Sanskrit
was studied by the members of staunch Vainava families,
iucluding the ladies, both Brahmins and non-Brahmins. By the

( 50 )

end of the 17th cent, an elementary course in Sanskrit was taken

rs of the Brahmin caste but also
who would go ,n for farming,

e ,

no only by the young learners of the Brahmin caste but also
byyoungmL from other castes who would go ,n for farming,
mmerce or service. Persian however was by no means neglected,

commerce or servce. e ,

soSly by those who went in for service under Zanundars and
official revenue collectors. The simple course m Sanskrit consisted
of some sections of Amarakoto, eight rcprescn aUvc declensions
(astaiabX) and eight typical conjugations (astadhatii). \ have not
come across any manuscript of the first book of reading to Sanskrit
nor have I noticed any reference about the existence oi any such
work during the period of Muslim rule. But such a work existed
in the seventh and subsequent centuries. IMsing mentions Us
name Siddhirastu and gives an idea of its contents ^(v. Takakuru
p p 170-71) The Siddhacarya Saraha in one oi his Avahttha
couplet mentions such a work : (siddhiratthu mir padhamc padhiau)
A Brahmin student pursued a higher course consisting oi as much
of Sarttkfiptasara (or any other grammar current in the locality)
as he could, some portions of Pr&kftaptngata and some cantos of
Raghuvamsa and Bhaftikwya. This was considered enough for
a Brahmin youngman who would not proceed further for a
scholastic career.

Scholars who wrote Sanskrit or/and Bengali did not look
upon the vernacular as a language entirely different from Sanskrit.
They considered it to be only a current local form (Gaudiya Calit
Bhasn') of Sanskrit which was the high language (Stulhu Bha$a).
They wrote Bengali full of Sanskrit words and long compounds
and they called this style Gaudiya Sddhu Bhasa (Bengali High
Language). Naturally native scholars did not feel any necessity
for writing a grammar of Bengali, It was the Europeans who
did not know Sanskrit and who were not born to the language
that wrote the first two or three grammars of Bengali. Native
scholars took to writing Bengali grammar only when there was
a demand for it in the new system of education introduced towards
the middle of the nineteenth century.

Bengali had cast off practically all the older inflexional
trappings before its emergence as a NIA speech. From the
16th cent, it had become almost an isolating language. There
is therefore very little of a formal grammar in Bengali; the
"grammar" of the language has been replaced by idioms. An
isolating language can be easily understood, to a large extent,
from its vocabulary. The vocabulary of Bengali has always
depended largely on Sanskrit. It has been drawing on Sanskrit
lexical stock uninhibitedly and very largely from the beginning of
its literary career. It inay appear .that Bengali has not yet weaned
from her grandmother.

SANSKRIT THOUGHT AND CULTURE AS REPRESENTED
TN BENGALI LITERATURE

PROF. KALIDAS BHATTACHARYA
Former Vice-Chancellor, Visvabharati, Santfniketan

The culture of a people at a particular epoch is its total
enlightened life diversified into aspects like literature, fine arts,
society, polity, economy and technology. These aspects of life
incorporate certain basic ideas and principles which, though lived
in that life, are formulable in intellectual studies like philosophy,
aesthetics, sociology, politics, economics and physical sciences.
Intellectual study is autonomous and refuses to remain confined
to the limits of the actual life lived. It examines the underlying
ideas and principles and, in course of intellectual reassessment,
inevitably suggests their modification and expansion. In the period
following, these modifications and expansions are again incorporated
in actual life, and soon. [The logic of the relation between life
and intellectual study requires some close examination.]

Till practically the end of the eighteenth century Bengali
Literature, as one aspect of the total Bengali life, was very largely
in the traditional Indian line, the basic ideas and principles of
which were studied in the traditional Indian Sastras, written mostly
in Sanskrit. In other words, till then Bengali literature was steeped
in Sanskrit, and this is true not only with regard to thought and
culture, but even regarding the structure of the language, except,
of course, for what was distinctive of the people and language of
Bengal, as distinct from other groups and languages of India.
[Muslim influence, e.g., was more pronounced here than elsewhere.]

The situation began to change rapidly from the beginning of
the nineteenth century. The new influential factor was English
education with absolutely new basic ideas and principles. The
whole cultural face and even the use of words and the structure
of language began to change appreciably. There was a definite
trend toward Westernization. Fortunately, there was revivalism

( 51 )

( 52 ;

also a great urge for the rediscovery of ancient India. The idea
behind this revivalism was that the true Indian culture could not
be against the good points of Western culture . This explained.
Naturally, the situation turned healthily toward some sort of
synthetic culture. This had its influence on Bengali literature and
language. Some illustrations.

But unfortunately the over-all stress in Bengal's cultural life
grew more and more Western, and this began to develop rapidly
in the fourth decade of the twentieth century. Till the last days
of Rabindranath there was living continuity with the old tradition
and, therefore, kinship with Sanskrit, in spite of many drastic
changes that had occurred in the meantime. But that continuity and
kinship came soon to be almost snapped, and not merely the ways
of life and thinking, but also use of words and the structure of
Bengali language changed almost basically. This illustrated.
Exceptions, of course, are there. But this is the present-day trend
in Bengal.

One chief reason for this change-over to Westernism is the
elite Bengal's preference for the Upanisads during the days of
revivalism, rather than to the ancient Pauranic culture. Not that
some of the important revivalists did not opt for the latter. But,
because of the fact that the Upanisadic culture appeared nearer to
the present-day Westein Culture, the lessons they taught came
soon to be forgotten. This illustrated,

The way out is to popularize Sanskrit and introduce large
doses of the integral ancient Indian culture in all popular media of
communication including literature.

THE IMPACT OF SANSKRIT LITERATURE ON
RABINDRANATH TAGORE

DR. SUKUMARI BHATTACHARJI

Rabindranath Tagore imbibed the influence of Sanskrit from
the following sources : (i) his early training at home where he
learned the language the hard way, with grammar and dictionaries;
(ii) the general cultural milieu where Sanskrit was one of the chief
formative factors in a cultured family and (iii) his own later reading
sometimes desultory and sometimes systematic, as well as from
discussions with scholars. Autobiographical works like Chelebeln*
Jlvanasmrti, his letters and biographical sketches written by others
bear testimony to this.

His early training gave him sufficient grounding in the
language to enable him to follow the drift of any non-technical
passage of moderate difficulty even when the exact meaning of
certain words escaped him. As a poet he had the imaginative
resources to fill the lacuna of unfamiliar vocabulary or
construction. 1

In the early nineteenth century Bengal, at the time of the
breaking up of the feudal relationships and of the forging of new
ones of a comprador culture, when sections of the landed gentry
were vying with each other in becoming westernized at a very fast
pace, the Tagore family rather stood out in their attempt at
re-discovering and retaining the best of our ancient heritage and in
transforming it according to the needs of the day. When waves of
Western values were sweeping over the educated sections of Bengal
it is to the credit of the poet's father and brothers (along with a
few other landlords) that they examined their own ancient cultural
legacy to find what it had to offer to satisfy the spiritual needs of
the generation* Tagore grew up in an atmosphere of this respectful
search and he, too, rescued some treasures from neglect, oblivion
and destruction. He emulated what he found and created others
in their likeness*

1. He says so in the Jivanasmfti.

( 53 )

( 54 )

The impact of Sanskrit on him was varied beginning from
the more obvious, formal aspects like vocabulary, rhetoric, prosody,
and themes, to the subtler and more complex aspects of ideas,
Weltanschauung and values. What he found in Ssknt literature
affected him in various ways on different levels at different times as
L bound to happen when the recipient is too spiritually static.
Yet in spite of the dynamism and mobility of his mind - in spite
of growth, development and change - there were certain things
which left a lasting impression and which remained as the firm
mooring when the diverse currents of the age were trying to sweep
him off These values and attitudes may be said to constitute the
abiding impact of Sanskrit literature on him. Any fair assessment
of the flowering forth of his poetic genius, however, must neccesarily
take into account the impact of Western culture on him. A
comparison of the immaturity of the poetic experience and emotion
of ganaphul*, Kavikahini* and Satiava sangita\ all composed before
his first trip to England at the age of seventeen (1879-80) and the
very next significant works Sandhyasangtta (1881) and Prabhata-
sangita (1883) bear out this truth. While in the early poems and
verse-plays the poet has vague emotions and suffers from the
inability to articulate his experiences, in the last two books the
articulation is more complete and the poet can communicate his
experience more adequately. Later he himself wrote a preface to
the Sandhynsangita in which he said : "The Sandhyns appeared as
the first work which crossed the threshold of the age of copy-book
writing (i.e. apprenticeship). I shall not compare it to the mango-
blossom but with the first fruit-bud i.e. it has just made its
appearance in its individual shape in green. It has not yet filled
with juice, and so is yet of little value. But these poems gave me
joy showing me for the first time their own individual shape.
Therefore the Sandhya is the first introduction to my poetry. It is
not good, but it is distinctly my own. It had on its individual
attire as distinct from the rest of the poetry of that age; this attire
was not in vogue in the market then" 5 . At a distance of a few
decades the poet had attained a degree of objectivity and could see
that these poems for the first time bear his individual stamp and
these were composed immediately after his return from England.
The young impressionable mind had responded to a set of fresh
and unfamiliar stimuli and the poetic verve became different

2. Composed in 1875-76.

3. Composed in 1877.

4. Composed in 1877-80.

5. Introduction to the Sandhyasangita in the third volume of
the Centenary edn.

richer, more complex, and released from a maze of unformulated,
shapeless emotions. Sandhya reflects discontent with his involve-
ment with emotions which lead nowhere; he is restless and feels
suffocated with them. Prabhatasangita 'Songs of the Morn* as
it is aptly called reflects a release from these utterly personal
emotions so close and so stifling. The famous poem c Nirjharer
Svapnabhanga* (The Water-fall Waking from its Dream) where the
stagnant pool of water held in a cave is suddenly touched by a ray
of the sun and the song of birds from the outside world and it
rushes forth joyfully from the dark mountain fastness to the bigger
and brighter world, is significant because it is symbolic and bears
testimony to the poet's sudden vision of life outside his own private
world of emotions. The next poem Prabhata-Utsava (The Morning
Festival), too, carries on this joy of release into a bigger and more
meaningful world.

The poet visited Europe the second time at the age of twenty-
nine in 1891 and returned in 1893. The next book of verses is
Sonar Tari, the first really mature book of poems. The tone of
bantering, mockery and cynicism mingled with innate romanticism
is already evident in the last poems of Manasl (1890) but the
maturity of attitude and expression is clearly more evident in
Sonar Tarl in which the romantic poet has attained a poetic richness
never found in the earlier poems.

In all these poems the poetry is the product of a conflict or
to be more precise, of many conflicts. The impact of the West
came to a mind already enriched by the literature of several
centuries The continuous attempt at assessment of Sanskrit
literature by standards set by the Western poets went on in the
poet's sub-conscious mind and yielded a rich harvest in poetry,
the first fruits of which appear in the Sonar Tar % in which he has
found his own distinctive poetic idiom for the first time.

II

First let us take up the more obvious aspect of the influence
of Sanskrit literature on the poet - vocabulary and prosody. When
Tagore wrote his early poems, the literary (esp. poetic) heritage
consisted of translations of the Runny ana and Mahnbharata, the
medieval Mangalaknvyas the Vaiwava lyrics and the poetry of
MadhusudanDatta, Biharilal Chakravarti and a few others - aU
of which was steeped in the Sanskrit lore. This poetic repertoire
was part of the milieu of the educated Bengali of his time so in a
sense Tagore had absorbed the Sanskrit tradition even before he
had learned the language. Kaliprasanna Smha's translation of the

Mahnbharata acquainted the Bengali reader with hundreds of
Suit and unfamiliar Sanskrit words; to the educated Bengali its
ianguage was fully intelligible because his education was Sanskrit-
H^ed So through hearing it recited much of the obsolete
vocabulary became familiar to the boy because he found them in
their noetic context. Then as his own acquaintance with Sanskrit
literature grew he came across words whose poetic potentiality had
not been exploited by Bengali authors hitherto; because their needs
were different i.e. because they were in the habit of borrowing
words physically whereas Tagore modified them according to his
own poetic need. This need was different because his poetic verve
was of a different order. While every significant poet before him
tried his hand at an epic, Tagore was the first poet who contented
himself with lyrics, for he was aware that his genius was pre-
eminently lyrical. His romantic mind groped for words which a
medieval mind like Bharatchandra or an essentially classical mind
like Madhusudana would never need.

From my study of Tagore T came to the conclusion that in
this effort to coin words from Sanskrit he would turn to the
Ramdyana, and to Kalidasa's and Banabhatta's works. So when in
1964 I could persuade members of the library staff at Visvabharati
to show me copies of these works used by the poet, 1 was thrilled
to find my guess borne out by facts. The copious marginal notes
show the yarious stages of word-formation from the Sanskrit.
They are not total physical loans or neologisms but adaptation and
modification of Sanskrit words to suit the needs of a heavily
charged emotive language. In the MeghadUta of Kalidasa we read
Revam drakyasyupalaviame vindhyapade visiniam, "you shall see
the thin stream of the Reva at the pebbly foothills of the Vindhya
range." In Tagore's Meghaduta we have 6 : *the lean and clear
stream of the Reba pained at every step by the pebbles at the foot
of the Vindhya'. The emotive overtone is all his own. In Bana
we read : "in the world deafened on account of the unceasing
cooing of the sad doves*'. 7 Tagore has 'the sad dove moans in her
nest. 8 The borrowing is clear but the evocative beauty is his
own contribution. One also thinks of the image in MayQra's
Suryasataka where "the chariot of the Sungod cruelly crushes the
stars into smichereens under its wheels while it moves forward
heedlessly. 9 In the late novel Sesher Kavitn the poet has : "Do you

6. Vimala viSlina leva vindhyapadamiile upalavyathitagati,

7. Katarakapotaktijitanubandhavadhiritavive Navavarsa.
K$anika. v

8. Kulaye kandiche katara kapota.

9. Ksodo naksatraraseradayarayamilaccakrapistasya dhulihi
Stanza 69. *-*../

hear the noise of moving time ? Its chariot moves on for ever
sending pulsation through the firmament, the cry of the stars rising
out of the crushed heart of darkness/' 10 The key image-making
word *cakrapita' is common to both poems but the emotive
element is distinctly more pronounced in Tagore where the cry
rises from the rent hearts of the stars in the midst of the
apparently indifferent dark nocturnal sky. The Sanskrit poet
merely creates a cosmic image; the lyric poet makes it vibrate with
the pain of broken hearts. Words which evoke emotive associations
and suggest deeper connotations are more suitable for lyrics than
mere connotative terms.

In later life when the poet was running a school and also a
University he wrote books on popular science fand for technical
and purely denotative terms he turned to similar works in Sanskrit
and made extremely suitable innovations.

Ill

Tagore did not borrow many metres from Sanskrit prosody
directly but modified well-known metres to satisfy the Bengali
ear so accustomed to many variations of Apabhrams'a metres
through works of Jayadeva and others. Many scholars have
written on this aspect of Tagore; so I shall confine this discussion
to a few analyses only. Jayadeva writes "Vadasi yadi kincidapi
dantarucikaumudi/harati daratimiramatighoram.** Tagore has 11
the position of two syllables shifted from that of the Sanskrit
original; or (in Madanbhasmer Pwrve) 12 approximately the same
quantitatively, but somewhat jarring on the Bengali ear which is not
used to stretching the final vowel length to cover the expected
length of the line. Its effect is tortuous because the vowels have
to be artificially lengthened to fulfil the prosodic requirement.
Then came the next poem Madanbhasmer Pare where a few
more syllables are added to obviate the difficulty and we have the
perfectly satisfying metre. 13 Even in a mature work like the

10. Kaler yatrar dhvani sunite ki pao ?

tari ratha nitya i udhao
Jagaiche antarlkhe hrdaya-spandana.
cakrapista Sndharer vakaphata tarar krandana/
The last poem in the Sesher Kavita

\ I . Ekada prate kunjatale andhabalika/patrapute aniya dilo
pupamalika

12, Ekada tumi a&gadhari phirite nava bhuvane/mari mari
anangadevata.

13. Pancaare dagdha kore koreche eki sanyasi, viSvamaya
diyecho tare chadaye

Sesher Kavitn he has made a significant experiment with rhythm."
Here the even lines slightly stretch the final vowels but the odd
lines do so considerably. The result is a kind of supplicatory
effect bordering on music in which the quantitative lack is filled
with the resonance of a longing appeal. Such experiments with
metrical effect can only 'be carried on by a poet who knows the
exact weight of each rhythmic structure and can make effective
alterations to suit the emotional need of the theme. Metre thus
became another medium for communicating the experience, it adds
an extra dimension to the total poetic experience. The chief
obstacle to imitating Sanskrit metres in Bengali, however, is the
expectation for end-rhymes, a direct legacy from ApabhraniSa
end-rhyme as found in Jayadeva. Classical Sanskrit poetry, except
in a very few cases, does not know end rhymes. Tagore uses it
extremely judiciously. Sometimes he avoids the apparently
inevitable cheapness of eifect by introducing conjunct syllables; 15
at others he lengthens and alternates the rhyming lines so that
they stand at some distance from each other. 26 Or again he
made the rhyming lines of unequal lengths so that the rhyme-
effect is subdued in a subtle and complex sound-structure. 17 With
an infinitely vaster range than Jayadeva or any of his predecessors
he borrows with extreme care from Jayadeva and the doxologies
which use rhyme for an incantatory effect, but also from the non-
rhyming sonorous classical metres where the effect is due to the
judicious arrangement of the vocables. Towards the end he
reverted to the stark unrhymed glory of the Rgvedic verses. All
effort at embellishing his poetry with artfice was abandoned; he
relied on the innate grandeur of the experience itself and we have
the hard gem-like structure of poetry after the Purabi.

Considerable influence of Sanskrit poetry can be traced in
Tagore's diction, arrangement of vocables to produce lilt, inner
rhythmic structure and assonance. Certain passages read very much
like Sanskrit because without repeating the Sanskrit construction
or metres the poet makes deft and effective use of both. Some-

14, Sundari tumi SukatarS./sudtira aila-gikharante/sarvarl
jabe habe sara/darSana diyo dikbhrante/

15, Jedina himadrispige nami ase asanna asaqlha/Mahanada
brahmapntra akasmat dftrdama durvara/du^saha
antaravege tirataru kariya unmula/matiya khunjiya phire
Spanara kula-upakttla/Bhaa O Chan da

16. Duftkha peyechi dainya ghireche alHa dinerate/dekhechi
ku&ritare ;/mnuera prane vis. a miSayeche manua apana
hate/ghojeche ta barebare Patrottara. SENJUTI.

17. Ghuma bhanganiya jyochana/kotha theke jeno akase kc
bale ekatuku kache bosona Aspatta, Navajataka.

times entire passages echo similar passages from Sanskrit, at others
they are so much in the Sanskrit convention that one wonders if
they occurred somewhere in Sanskrit poetry. 18

The alliteration is of the best kind recommended in Sanskrit
poetics. We have still closer juxtaposition of the alliterating
consonants in Tagore but the unfailing artistry saves them from
the cloying effect so common in decadent Sanskrit poetry. 19 His
predilection for metres roughly divisible into feet of five or six
syllables is also derived from many Sanskrit metres. 20

IV

In rhetoric, Tagore's poetry is marked more by departure
than by adherence to the Sanskrit model. While the basic stock

18. e.g. Snigdhasajala meghakajjala divase/vivaa prahara acala
alasa avese/sasitarahina andhatamasl yamim/kotha tora
purakamim ?" Kotha tora ayi tarum pathikalalana/
janapadavadhu taditcakitanayana ?/malatimalml kotha
priyaparicarika/kotha tora abhisarika/ghanavanatale eso
ghananllavasana/lalitanjtye bajuka svarnaraSana.

Or Varsamangala, Kalpann

Ayi bhuvanarnanomohini/ayi nirmala suryakarojvala
dharani/ janakajananijanani/nllasindhujala dhautacarana-
tala/anilakampita Syamala ancala/amlaracumbita bhala
himacala subhratusarakirrtlm. Bharatalaksrnl, Kalpana
19. Ohora ghananilagunthana tava/calacapalar cakita camake
koricho cara^iavicarana/kotha campaka abharana ?
phalgune ami phulavane vase gethechinu jato phula-
hara. Avirbhava, Ksanikn

Or Vatayane bosi vihvalavina vijane bajal haiya.

Antaratama, Ksanikft

20. And even from the prose construction of Baza's passages
like Jalavagahanagatajayakunjarakumbhasindurasa-

ndhya manasalllayonmadakalahaipsakulakolahala-

mukharlkytakulaya vetravatya (Kadambari). Metres

like Upendravajra with feet of 5 and 6 are very common
in Sanskrit. Akhyanaki 5/6, Rathoddhata 6/5, Bhujanga-
prayata 6/6; Drutavilambita 6/6 7/5, Hariruphita 6/6
6/5, Vam^asthavila 5/66/7, Indravamsa 5/7 and
ikharim 6/6/56/6/4 are the shorter metres more
frequently used in the major Sanskrit Kavyas, The
basic structure is a variation of five, six or seven syllable
foot with the caesura changing place and determining
the nature of the cadence and lilt of the rhythm. Tagore
made frequent experiments with their potentialities but
his experiments were always determined and conditioned
by the existing rhythmic patterns of Bengali metres.

( eu )

of the major figures (simile, metaphor, alliteration, allusion,
pathetic fallacy) is common to all literatures, Tagore makes free
L of them. The more complicated and artificial figures are
avoided except when he ridicules them. Thus m the play Phalgunl
the hypocritical pundit Srutibhu?ana says to the king : <My wife
wishes to hear His Majesty's fame resounded in each of her limbs
(meaning, she would like the king to give her ornaments for every
part of her body). This artificial image is directly borrowed from
the decadent Sanskrit tradition of hyperboles, but is put to banal
use intentionally. As a romantic poet he has a healthy instinctive
aversion for the baroque-type super-abundance of rhetoric so
common in post-Kalidasa literature. For him Kahdasa remains the
model for the essential balance in content and form and for the
artist's taste that prefers the simple and elegant figures of speech
which embellish without excess. Tagore's rejection of the decadent
exuberance of rhetoric is a proof of innate good taste. As a poet
who fared on the 19th century English romantic poetry he was
repelled by excessively heavy and complicated rhetoric. His great
contribution is the shifting of his legacy and the sense of inherent
balance between form and contenta sense conspicuously lacking in
post-Kalidasa Sanskrit poetry.

Another contribution is the extension of the field of image-
making. While the classical Sanskrit poet was progressively
restricting the field from which similes and metaphors could be
drawn because the artificial poetic conventions 21 were multiplying,
genuine inspired poetry was moving more towards the dialects
after the 10th. C. Besides, works of poetics were slowly but
surely acting as a stranglehold to poetry so that Sanskrit poetry
was fast becoming an excuse for grammatical and rhetorical
exercises a pleasure of the blase elite and a luxury of the courts
and coteries. The vast and bulky literature of this period is
marked by increasing ardity and to compensate for the lack of
inspiration poets take to verbal gymnastics or burden their verses
with piles of tired and hackneyed images. The freshness of
Tagore's imagery after this long period of barren ornate poetry is
due to many factors, one of which is the expansion of the field
from which he drew his images and this is mainly due to the impact
of European romanticism.

V

The subject of imagery brings us to Tagore's use of
mythology which can be roughly classified under three heads :

(i) simple allusions (ii) use in imagery (iii) symbolic inter-
pretation and extension into neo-Puranic myths. Allusion is used

2 1 . Kaviprau<Jhoktisiddhi.

C 61 )

for illustration by reference to the stock of traditional myths, a
storehouse which all poets before and after Tagore have drawn
upon. Myths are also used in imagery where the Puranic conduct
of the gods is brought in to illustrate the subject in hand. Then
again, existing myths are given symbolic interpretation. 22 But the
best and most creative use of myths is in images in which the
conduct of gods and godesses are quite in character and where
they serve to confirm or establish a statement of the poet (E. g. in
the play 'The Card-land* the race of cardmen, weary and inert are
said to have been born out of the gaping mouth of old Brahma
when he yawned wearily at the end of a busy day of creation.
Here the aged god busy with the task of unceasing creation is
drawn from existing mythology; the. inert race of spiritually dead
card-men being created from his yawn is the poet's own. And it
is quite in tune with many Brahmanical and Puranic myths of
creation where the character of the creature depends on the mood
and condition of the creator at the moment of creation. 23 It is
in such passages that we are suddenly made aware of the depth and
thoroughness of his acquaintance with ancient mythology.

Tagore's imagery frequently reflects a world of vanished
glory, a world which may never have been a historical reality but
which Sanskrit literature has made more than real to its readers.
The poet's images are drawn from, an imaginary world where
princes and princesses dream of and languish for each other,
where woman walk stealthily in the darkness of the night to meet
their lovers at rendezvous, where love-lorn maidens teach their pet
parrots love-songs or play plaintive tunes on their lyers and sigh
and shed silent tears when they string flowers for their absent
lovers. It is a world of lotuses, lyres, sandalwood, rich jewellery
and colourful costumes of bowers, music, moonshine and love.
It is this dream-world of a by-gone age that most of his images
are drawn from, images which so enrich his poetry. The colour
and music of the sensuous images created by an exceptionally
refined sensibility render them so haunting that quite frequently
they seem to have a life of their own. This happens because they
are reverberations of an age which is so very real to the poet's
imagination that he feels nostalgic about it. 24

Many of Tagore's themes are taken from Sanskrit literature
from the TJpanisads, the epics, Buddhist Sanskrit literature and

22. As Tth^jR<5m3j>0#0-story is symbolically interpreted in the
preface of the Raktakarabl (the Red Oleanders) or in his
article on Indian History in Bharatbarsher Itihnsa.

23. Cf. the myth of Andhakasura,

24. Cf. Sekal and Svapna.

( 62 )

the Puranas.* 5 In Kahini we have tales from Sanskric literature
made into poems enriched with the poet's own interpretation. 28
In the poem Premer AmaravatI (Citra) there is a passage 27 which
recreates the romantic age very vividly but at the same time it is
essentially Tagore's own because he creates it out of the many-
splendoured bits of description from different Sanskrit poets of
vastly different ages. It describes DamayantI, Sakuntala, Mahagveta
Subhadra and Parvati figures which lend themselves very easily
to transformation into heroines of romantic poetry. Around
each the poet weaves a thin but splendid haze of indistinct yet
charming colour and leaves it there. Suggestion takes over
where description leaves off and the pictures become immortal.

This world was not a historical reality, it is essentially a new
myth, entirely the product of glimpses of the past derived from
heightened descriptions, recreated by a poet whose mind had early
imbibed the impact of the 19th C. English romantic poets and

25. Poems like Gdndhnrlr Avedana- Karnakuntisamvdda,
Meghaduta, Puraskdra, Narakadar&ana, and Sekal are
directly drawn from Sanskrit. Plays like Citrdfigada t
Kdlamrgayd and Vdlmikipratibhd are based on the epics;
Sydmd, Cdnddlikd, Aruparatana (or Raja) and
Sdpamocana as well as numerous poems derive their
themes from Buddhist Sanskrit literature. From the
Avaddnasataka he took the plots of Sre$thabhiksd 9
Pujdrini, Mulyaprdpti (Kathd O Kdhini)\ from the
Chandogyaopani$ad that of Brdhmana (ibid); from the
Mahdvastu Mastakavikraya and Parisodha; from the
Bodhisattvdddnakalpalatd, Abhisdrd: from the Divyavaddna,
Sdmdnyaksati and from the Kadpadrumdvaddna Nagaral-
aksmL

26. In Kalpand the poem Caurapancdsikd is a romantic
transmutation of Bilhana's poem; madanbhasmer Purve
and Madanbhasmer Pare are directly based on Kumdra-
sambhava Cantos III and IV, and Tapobhanga in Purabl
has echoes from Cantos II and III. In Mdnasl while
Rahur Prema, Meghaduta and Ahalydr Pratt are direct
extensions of epic-Puranic myths, Rdjdr Chele, Rdjdr
Meye, Nidritd, Suptotthitd, Manasasundarl and Kalpand
in Sonar Tan are the actual imaginative recreation of
the past with rich romantic overtones; the themes are
the poet's own but as a romantic he explores the
remote past to find a suitable myth to communicate
his experience adequately. The poem Vasundhard in
Sonar Tari recalls the Bhumi-sukta (A.V. J5k XII).

27. Beginning with Premer amaravatl yetha.

( 63 )

who was quite at home in the atmosphere of European art, music
and literature.

As early as at seventeen the poet went to England and
received impressions at first hand. Endowed with an innate
refined sensibility he reacted in a creative way as is very clear
from a comparison of his poems before and after his trip to
England. Western culture was a living reality to him, a positive
and formative force which modified and coloured his response to
life. Much of his great creation is a direct product of the powerful
tension between acceptance and rejection of his own past heritage.
The urge to reject it partially came upon him when even at seven-
teen he saw European life at first hand and wrote articles from
England for the journal BharatI, revaluing accepted Indian values.
Later he revisited Europe and came in closer contact with the
Western civilization through his reading and through contact with
European friends. He absorbed the influence of Western literature,
esp. the 19th C. English romantic literature and the Indian tradition
appeared to him as vastly different from how it had appeared to the
medieval Bharatchandra or the classicist Madhusudana. A proof of
this change of attitude is revealed in his symbolic and suggestive
plays. 28 He could see why so much of the Indian reality had become
static and dead. He ridiculed it in veiled or overt manner pointing out
how and why the dynamism of social life had come to a stand-still.
As a fair judge he was not blind to the evils and excesses of the
highly mechanized existence in an industrial age and wrote a caustic
commentary on it in the Raktakarabi (Red Oleanders) as well as
in Muktadhard (The Released Stream). Significantly enough for
both types of deadness he finds salvation coming through youth.

The rejection of the dead and decadent values also permeated
his poetry as imagery; for winter symbolized this deadness while
spring stood for love, joy and life.

Urbaxt in Citra takes the theme from the Indian epic-Puranic
picture of a nymph, but the treatment clearly bears the mark of
acquaintance with Shelley's 'Hymn to Intellectual Beauty'. The
poem VijayinI (Citra) is based on the Mahasveta-episode in the
KSdambari, but the treatment, the universalization of her grief as
the eternal Inverts portion is essentially romantic.

More directly connected with the traditional past are some
poems in Chait&ll** These are poeticallay inferior except in

28. Like Tasher Death, Acalayatana (Guru), Muktadhara,
Kaler Yatra, Rather Rashi and many other compositions.

29, Like Vane O Rajye* Tapovana, Pracina Bhdrata*
Meghaduta, Rtusarnhara, Milanadr&ya Kumnrasatnbhava

and Kzlidvser Pratt.

patches. In them he lecreates the past simply as it appears to
him and ends nostalgically on a note traditionally associated with
the themes, sometimes with minor variations. The poems of
Ksanika betray a satirical note, a sense of slight revulsion at the
cloying image of the past. In them he humorously debunks the
romantic past. Inherent in some of them is a rejection of and
triumph over the vision of this past which was but an illusion
and the poet as a champion of the present glorifies present reality
and is not any the less happy. In Seknl he boasts that Kalidasa
living in the remote past missed the glory and romance of the
present, while he is both an heir to the past and is blessed with
the attractions of the present. As we all know the Ksanika
poems were composed after a period of bitter disillusionment,
after the failure of various political and social ventures. Part of
the process of spiritual recuperation was through self-mockery.
The sarcastic smile still lingered when he composed these very fresh
and very charming poems. The anti-romantic veneer is very thin,
but it adds a new beauty to the themes and treatment.

Still later Tagore's poetry draws heavily upon Kalidasa's
Rtusamhara and other celebrated descriptions of nature. 30 Unlike
the monotonous Shepherd's Calender type long poems, most of
them concentrate on the advent and departure of cither spring
or the rainy season. Natardja and RtUrangasala deal with the six
seasons in an interpretative way and the interpretation is Tagore's
very own.

Tagore's nature poetry is quite frequently symbolic. We
have already noted the symbolic significance of winter and spring.
The obvious symbolism is present in many poets but in Tagore
it becomes an extension of the myth of the Kumarasambhava where
in Canto III the destructive forces win and in Canto V love and
life triumph. The poet gives away the secret of the symbolism
in the poem Tapobhanga which thus becomes an expanded
metaphor : Winter is Siva practising penance in the cold
Himalayas or appearing before ParvatI disguised as a mendicant. 31
The whole drama was acted futilely with PSrvatl displaying her
physical charm premature spring intruding on the scene of stillness
and asceticism. Such fickle love is doomed to frustration; Siva spurns
Parvatfs love, consumes Madana with the fire of his third eye;

pieces, Nafaruja, RturangaSala, Navina,
Se$qvarsaria, Sravariagiithn echo many passages of the
poetry of the seasons in Sanskrit.
31. ViveSa kaScijjatilastapovanam Sarlrabaddhalj prathama-
iramo yatha /

Vasanta flees and the drama ends in tragedy. In the next (IVth)
Canto Rati laments for the dead Madan a - like Isis mourning for
Osiris while in the background Parvati purifies her love through
penance. Then in Canto V Siva disguised as a hermit appears
to Parvati and provokes her against her lover. She affirms her
unflinching love, he reveals his identity and they are united.

To Tagore's mind this disguise motif is symbolic of the
eternal drama in nature. Winter is nature's temporary disguise to
conceal the approaching spring. This theme is repeated ad
infinitum.** The symbolic play Phalguni has this theme and many
passages strewn in poems, songs, novels, essays, letters and dramas
repeat this idea. Similarly the theme of penance purifying fickle
physical love which runs thiough many of his works derives directly
from Kalidasa whose three dramas may be regarded as trilogies
constructed on three aspects of this theme and whose Kumara-
sambhava, Qtusamhura and Meghaduta are constructed on the
opening bar of this theme. The disguise motif supplies a key
theme to Tagore who sees the seasons revolving around it. His
concept of summer 33 is of a harsh mendicant (the Siva of Canto I);
the rainy season symbolizes separation (Canto IV) as well as
fulfilment (Canto (VI). Sarat is the bride. To Kalidasa, the
bride is Sarat 8 * and Sarat is a bride. 36 Autumn is the fulfilled
matron. Winter the disguised lover and spring the bridegroom
(Canto VII). One hears echoes from the Kumar&sambhava and
J^tusamhara all through Tagore's poetry.

VI

In. his criticism of Sanskrit literature Tagore merely interprets
the literary legacy and linds an inner conceptual pattern in
the significant literature of the past. In the articles on Snkuntala,
Ramayarta, Kadambarl and Kdvyer Upeksita he finds echoes of his
own ideas. Or, conversely, it is perhaps safer to say that both
belong to a common tradition and the later artist merely takes
upon himself to reinterpret the aesthetically valid sections of the
older ones. One misses maturity and complexity in the criteria
which he brings to bear upon his subject. Criticism according to
him is an appreciative appraisal which will induce others to read
the works under consideration. Here, too, one traces the
standards of Sanskrit literary criticism which at its most barren

32. Cf* Songs Nos. 183-87, 190, 208, 238 and many

othets in the Gltavit'&na.

33. Or Vai&kha as in numerous poems and songs.

34. Kumara, Canto, VII,

35. fttu : Sarat ; I.

level is an examination of conformity with the poetic norms. 3 '
If the poet conforms he is good, if not he is bad. At its highest,
Sanskrit poetics judges a literary work by the best of criteria viz.
that of rasa, poetic sentiment. Tagore, too, adheres to this principle
and takes up time-honoured works of art pointing put how and
where they have succeeded in producing the poetic sentiment,
rasa.

VII

The field where the impact of the ancient past is most subtle,
pervasive and significant is that of ideas. The tension between
the urges to accept and reject is at the root of much powerful
creation the best of which is the novel Gora where the issue is
treated directly through dialogues and indirectly through symbolic
action. The poet's nostalgia for the distant past is at once a living
and deadening force. He frequently says that the abiding ethos of
a nation cannot reject its past outright. The pivotal point, then,
is the criterion for selection and rejection, the degree in which the
past should be allowed to condition the present and the future.
Tagore' s patriotism prompted him to shift the legacy, to critically
evaluate the past, to select and reject. Thus in the field of ideas
acceptance and rejection alternated periodically. His essays on
Indian history reveal a sharp change in his attitude. While in the
earlier essays he idealizes India's past and reinterprets its cultural
heritage as one worthy of total emulation, in his later articles he
is more cautious, critical and discriminating. Analysing some of the
poems of Naivedya we find that the poet is disappointed with the
state of affairs because he believes that much of misery and evil
of modern India is due to deviation from the norm set up by
ancient India. Needless to say he is rather uncritical and
unhistorical in his conclusions because the values postulated by
individual seers were ideals and not necessarily the actual social
realities. The noble realization of the ancient Aryans that there is
one immanent spirit in fire, air, water and trees 37 does not tell
us anything about the world of men and the poet's assumption
that men were united by the bond of universal brotherhood, is
merely romantic. Hence his lamentation over the departure from
the noble ideal and his conclusion that the wretched condition
of the twentieth century India is due to that departure is not
tenable historically. He compares the present and the past and

36. As Iai4 down in works of poetics these norms are fairly
exhaustive and most often quite mechanical,

37. C/. poems nos. ^7, 58 ; Naivedya.

says, "Where are we, in what distant, dark and dilapidated city
of despondence." 33 Then quoting the well-known Rgvedic stanza
he says, "O dead India, that alone is the way, there is no other
way." 39 In his view the present is dreary and dismal because we
have forgotten the Rgvedic message of joy. Salvation then lies
in reviving the past. At the turn of the century in 1900 he was
still harping on the "message" of the ancient Aryans.

But this revivalism was not his permanent attitude. He
developed and grew and changed positions several times. What
is important is the inner dynamism.

In poetry there is a direct attempt at reassessment of ancient
values. 40 An element of healthy cynicism is noticeable in his new
attitude to the past. In Gord his most significant work, he lays
his cards on the table and through long, threadbare discussions
weighs the traditional values against those of the Westernized
sections. But even here Gora's values are not strictly traditional,
for in him tradition confronts Western culture and the modified,
refined and sifted tradition is Gora's own. The novel contains a
phase of the poet's spiritual autobiography, his journey to and from
the Indian past, and the 19th C. educated man's ideas in their un-
modified forms. The poet-thinker traverses vast distances between
the extremes of the traditional and the modern, and crosses all
degrees and shades of modification conceptually. Almost each of
the characters is a hypostasis of a particular conceptual position.
He pauses before each and seeks to evolve a set of values valid for
the spiritual needs of the age. An innate idealism, however,
coloured all his concepts.

In the Yogayoga, Chdr Adhyaya, Ghare Baire and Caturanga
the same painful exploration is apparent. Like a true poet he can
not choose a final position; his sensitive arid mobile soul wavers
between the various positions .and much true art is born of this
creative tension.

One example of how he sought to translate ancient Indian
tradition in terms of modern life is his protest against the eduction
system introduced by the British rulers so that he set up an old-
world hermitagetype university at ViSvabharati. A study of the

38. Cf. poem no. 60.

39. Poem no. 64 echoes nanyafc pantha vidyate* yanaya;
also, poems 64-71.

40. C/. poems like Mnydvada (Sonnr Tari\ Mukti, Khela,
Bandhana, Gati, Aksama, Atmasamarpana Vairagya
(Chaitali), Punyer Hishab, Devatar VidSya, Tattva-
jnanahma and Karmaphala (Ksanika),

history of gantiniketan gives us a glimpse into the troubled mind
of the poet swinging like a pendulum between the east and west,
between past and present. True, there were certain basic values
from which he never swerved, but the process and modes of trans-
lating these concepts into every-day practice changed frequently
according to his attitude to the past. The model hermitage (tapo-
vana) is a reconstruction from references in different literary works.

The series of essays known as Santiniketana as well as the
spiritual autobiography Atmaparicaya, his credo Manusher Dharma
and his last testament Sabhyatar Itihasa contain records of his
oscillation and search for a balanced and valid ethos. His quest
for values lends itself to interesting and significant periodization.
There are periods when he turns to the West and others when he
veers more to the ancient Indian tradition but throughout his
entire spiritual career there are some beliefs and values which acted
as sheet-anchor. Vedic, epic, Upanisadic and Buddhist literature
offered him something of abiding value and left an undying
impression in his thought, work and art. Of these the contribution
of the Upanisads is the most obvious and has been studied most
exhaustively by many very competent scholars, although the impact
of the fresh, vivid and moving imagery of the Upaniads on such
an impressionable mind has not been adequately explored. From
Buddhist Sanskrit literature he borrowed numerous themes and a
general attitude that finds effective expression in Rajarfi, Mukufa
and many other poems and stories. 41

VIII

To me the most significant impact on Tagore was that of the
ggveda. He came to inherit a tradition which had for many
centuries been conditioned to regard renunciation as the supreme
value. The basic tenets of the Upaniads as interpreted by
Sankaracarya and the doctrines of the Vedanta philosophy posit
that life is illusory ; only Brahman is real ; creatures are in essence
nothing but Brahman** Appearance is Maya. The only right
endeavour is for emancipation through the realization of the
equation : Jzva, the individual self, is equal to Brahman the absolute
principle. Man must discern the futility and illusory character of
life itself and seek to disengage himself from all pursuits prompted

41. cf. Ebar Chalinu Tabe, which recalls the Buddha's renun-
ciation.

42. SlokSrdhena pravak$yami yaduktaip granthakotibhifc/
Brahma satya^jagaumithya jlvo brahmaiva

by Maya. This prevalent attitude coloured the Weltanschauung
and literature for more than a millennium before Tagore appeared
on the scene ; it was the basic assumption of all poets and philoso-
phers before him.

This attitude generates a negative view of life, for it regards
the joys of earthly life as evil. A distinctly different note is struck
in poem no. 30 in Naivedya which enunciates Tagore's belief in
unambiguous language. It says "Release through the practice of
renunciation is not for me. I desire to taste release fraught with
great joy in the midst of innumerable attachments'*. This is a reply
to the millennia-old attitude of self-abnegation, privation and
turning away from the world of sensuous joys. Tagore repudiates
this attitude in unequivocal terms. The true poet in him revolted
at the idea of the barren existence which is advocated by the
preachers of self-denial. In hundreds of poems he has stated his
position : he loves life in all its myriad manifestations, in nature
and man. Nothing human and nothing in nature is alien to him.
He is proud of the privilege to be born in this world, even the
minutest detail has a rich significance to him. Life has spread a
feast for the senses, it is wrong and unnatural not to enjoy the
delights offered by life. The sky, sun and moon and stars, light
and darkness, trees and rivers, birds and beasts, joys and sorrows,
hopes, dreams and even frustrations, all this constitutes life.
This rich experience comes only once and it is sinful to spurn it. 43

Tagore's predecessors had for many centuries been steeped in
Vedanta and the doctrine of Maya. This doctrine is absolutely
untenable for a poet to whom life is real, rich and significant. But
the current attitudes had permeated the emotional and philosophi-
cal atmosphere of the country for too long and the basic assump-
tion was that life is illusory, and therefore an evil which deludes
man into unending misery.

He struck an entirely new note : Life is glorious for its own
sake ; man is blessed with his span on this earth and should enjoy
it gratefully and proudly, bearing in mind its fleeting nature. Life
is hallowed by the splendour of nature and the richness of human
emotions and relations. The same sense of glory and wonder in
human existence is seen in the #F. There we have frequent
references to the joy of life itself. Prayers for long life are
common/ 4 Life on this earth is desirable. 45 We desire to live and

43. Tagore never used the words Mnyn (illusion), mukti or mok$a
(liberation) except derisively.

44. Satamjivantu Saradab purucirantarmrtyu dadhatwn parvatena
(RV X ; 18 : 4).

45. Jlvam vrdtam sacemahi RVS : X 58 : 5,

dwell here i.e. on this eartn*" is tne retrain 01 nymn ^ : ;>. .Death
is sought to be warded off for as long as possible, man is not eagei
to escape life into a condition of eternal spiritual bliss, for that
bliss is now and here. Soma and other gods are supplicated so
that the devotee can see the rising sun for long years. 47 To those
ancient Aryans the rising sun was a symbol, the privilege of
witnessing it was precious to them for it symbolized life. 48 Life,
not death is to be coveted. 49 The famous prayer to Soma for
immortality is a keynote to many RV prayers. "Put me in the
region where there is resplendence, where the sun is placed, where
there is no death or decay, where Vivasvat's son is king, where men
enter the sun and where wide rivers flow, make me immortal
there." 50 The desire for earthly joys and for the fulfilment of the
eternal craving for happiness find eloquent expression in that
hymn. 51

People should rejoice in life and live in a full way, the simple
delights are not to be spurned ; sense-organs need satisfaction and
long life is to be enjoyed in this body. The famous hymn in the first
book reiterates this attitude. 62 Nowhere is there a craving for an
early quietus before one's time, and the normal span of life to the
Vedic Aryans is a hundred years. 63 The famous Madhusukta is a
hymn in praise of the humble items which make life what it is, if
blesses the air, water, wind, trees, rivers, cows, day and night. This

46. Tatta a vartayamasihaksayayajivase.

47. Mo su nah soma mjrtyave para dah pasyema nu suryamucca-
rantarn, Dyubhirhito jarima suno astu parataram su nirrtir
jihrtam, X : 59 : 4.

48. A ta etu manafc punafc kratvaya daksaya jivase, jyok suryam
drfe, X : 58 : 4. Jyok pasyema suryamuccarcmtamanumate
mrlaya nah svasti X : 59 : 6.

49. Esa dadhara te mano jivatave na mrtyave" tha arisfatataye
X '. 60 i 8.

50. Yatrajyotirajasramyasminllokesahitam. Tasmin mam dhehi
pavamanamrte Joke aksit indrayendo pari srava. Yatra raja
vaivasvato yatravarodhanam divah. Yatrabhurjahvatlrapas-
tatra mamamrtam Krdhi ... X : 113 : 7, 8.

51. Yatxtaandfifca modafca prainuda asate Kamasya yatraptah
Kamastatra mamrtam kydhi. ibid verse 11.

52. Bhadram Karnebhib sryuyamo deva bhadram " pafyemaksabhi-
ryayatrab. Sthirairangaistustuvamsastanubhirvyatema devahitam
yadayufr* 1 . 90 : 8.

53. *rjatfal:50:3c; Pasyema Saradab satam jivema taradab
Satam sukhinab syama faradab satam ; #V VJI : 66 ; 16c.

indicates a definite predilection for life as we know it on the earth ;
it glorifies life and is a hymn tojoie de vlvre.

This note was stiuck on the Indian soil after two millennia
throughout which period life was tacitly regarded as a necessary
evil by the unenlightened and as an illusion by the metaphysicians.
Tagore upset this idea : "I do not wish to die on this beautiful
earth", he said "I wish to live among men". 54 He fought a life-
long crusade against the dry, sterile and negative attitude ; he
ridiculed renunciation, questioned the theory of Mdyn. 6 If the
universe is dreaming, then of what can the dream be'. 65 The
refrain of this poem in Kari O Komal is "will that be in this lifeless
loveless blind darkness*". This is how he sums up the Vedantic
position which dismisses as illusion all that makes life meaningful.
In the famous poem Ami (i.e. I) in Syamall he. repudiates this
negative attitude as untenable because it contradicts the basic
scheme of the universe, of existence itself.

In song no. 77 in the Gitavitana the poet says that long ages
ago he was invited in the bright heaven of the stars ; but it gave
him no pleasure, so he came away to this earth. Numerous songs
of his reflect his deep love and ever fresh joy in life on earth. No
prospect of a happier existence in the next life in heaven or in a
union with the Supreme Being could tempt him ; he never grows
weary of life, for life with all its conflicting experience was to him
a blessing, to be alive was the supreme privilege.

Except metaphorically Tagore never speaks of transmigration,
or life after death. Here, too, we have the influence of the -RF
which, except in the latest book is never preoccupied with death or
heaven and hell. It has a fresh and vigorous zest for life and
healthy appreciation of the many-splendoured glass.

It is a sin to lose faith in man this was his very last credo. 57
Throughout the middle phase creatively the most prolific
phase of his literary career he had leaned more on the Upauisads.
Vai$riava poetry and the medieval devotional poetry, however
counterbalanced what might otherwise lead to a negative attitude
of barrenness and renunciation. But as he grew really old and
matured in his Weltanschauung he steadily came closer to the
Rgvedic attitude of thankfully accepting life and singing hymns to
its glory. His last four books Rogasayvay : Arogya, Janmadine and

54, Marite cahina ami sundara bhuvane/manavera majhe ami
bancivare cahi The first poem in Kari O KornaL

55. Viva yadi gvapna dekhe e svapan kahar svapan ?
Ciradina : Kan O Komal.

56. cf. Sabhyatnr Sahkata.
57. Manuser opare vivasa harano papa. Sabhyatar Sankata

Sesalekha are a glorious manifesto to his faith in life. And it is
not accidental that sometimes one hears clear echoes from the RV
in them. 68

The first poem of the next book Urogya begins with an echo
of the Madhu hymn of the RV. Poem 3 of that book speaks of the
sun in exactly the same way as the RV does. Jt also says. "I have
thought to myself that if 1 had the message of the Vedic hymns of
the ancient age then my own chants would also mingle in this
flood of transparent light. But alas : I do not have that language".
Poem 5 is also a very clear echo of many -RF-verses. In poem 13
ofJanmadine he uses the jRF-language 59 and says that he remem-
bers the words of Vedic sages (15). Poem 23 echoes a Vedic hymn
directly in the last five lines. In poem 25 he yearns for an echo of
the ancient Saman hymns. Even in his very last poem in Sesalekha
he is an ardent believer in the triumph of life. Even the language
becomes redolent with the fresh aroma of Ijlgvedic poetry.

58. cf. the last few lines of poem no. 15 Rogasayyay. In many
poems in this book we find the poet's joy at the rising sun
which here becomes the symbol of the victory of life over
disease and death just as it was to the ancient Aryans. The
entire book is a record of the battle between darkness and
light symbolizing the struggle between death and life. Cf. poem
nos 4, 5, 13, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28 and 32. Poem 36
reaches its climax in the last two lines where the poet quotes
from the Upani^ads. Ko *hyevany3t kafr pr&mySt yadesa Tika&a
anando na syat. "Who would live, who would breathe if this
sky itself were not pure joy ?"

59. TamasSr parapare. ; cf. tamasafi parastat.

INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON GUJARATI
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

PROF. K, K. SHASTREE
. J. Institute, Ahmedabad

I Influence on the Language

The middle Indo-Aryan stage was on a point to be developed
into Neo-Indo-Aryan dialects at the beginning of the llth century
A.D. Thus the ApabhramSa with its dialects in Western India
was in an evolving stage with some peculiar and new changes.
The first authentic ApabhramSa grammar given by the famous
Hemacandra at the end of his Siddha-Hema Vyakararia was a land-
mark for the development of dialects of Western India. The
remark at the end of his grammar is noteworthy. Concluding the
treatment of the ApabhraihSa he said : 3fof 4K4cTlc[ fes^ What-
ever you cannot find in the grammar about ApabhramSa is the
same as what is seen in Sanskrit. And we can see that some pure
Sanskrit words and forms were gradually getting prominence.
The use of an extinct vowel ^ (y) draws our attention in words like
TS~^ ( 329 )> W (336-1), *$*3 (341-2), ^s^tft (370-4),
for (350-2), ^fb^ (394) qon? (422-15), The consonant T (r)
as a second member in conjunction is peculiar to Sanskrit, and
this is abundantly found in words like ^f^T (360-1), ^-sftcq*
(391-1), 31(394-1), W* (418-3), a^r (422-4), SHT (422-4),
SHTT-JT (438-3), ^Rf^ (414-2), ST|ffrr (36C-1), srfprs (420-2),

sraRfe ( 404-1 ) , snsrfe ( 393-0) , srafP>r?re ( 422- 1 ) , srra-srT^-sm^

(41 7),

There is no doubt that in the llth and 12th cent. A.D., not
only in the present land of Gujarat, even in the vast tract of the
present Rajas than and Western Madhya Pradesh including the land
of old Nimad, the common language of the people was rather the
Gaurjara ApabhratfiSa. There might be occasional dialectical]
trends in the speech, yet we have little evidance to find out the
difference. The works already found are from Gujarat, excepting

one inscription from Dhar in M.P. near Indore. The Prithviraja-
Rdso and VUdladeva-Raso are later works, Khumana-Raso, being of
a very late date. According to Dr. Dhirendra Verma the language
of the Paheliya of Amir Khushio represents a stage of a very late
period. Jain Bhan<Jaras of North Gujarat and Western Rajasthan
possess very important Mss. of the old period, majority of them
being works of Jain authors. And we know well that in the
histories of the Hindi Literatute, the works found in these
Bha^ujaras have been considered as representing the old form of
Hindi Language. This has no logical or historical basis. Rajasthani
dialects, at present, are considered as dialects of the Hindi
Language, but they have no family-relation with Modern Hindi.
Their family relation is only with Gujarati. We know that the
late Dr. Tessitori chose a common name of this language-stage as
the Old Western Rajasthani. The reason is quite clear. We are
not in a position to differentiate older forms of Marwadi, Jaipuri-
Dhutfhadi, Mewati Hadauti, Malavi and Nimadl of the medieval
period. All these old dialects were being separated in the 15th
cent. A. D. as seen in contemporary Mss. material. We get pure
Gujarati language in that century, in mss. found mostly in Gujarat
and Western Rajasthan. In the period beginning from the time of
Hemacandra, i.e. the latter half of the 12th cent. A D to the
former half of the 15th cent. A. D. Sanskrit words made their way
into the literature in their original form and/ or in a corrupted form
which was quite an independent non-prakritic mode. J shall give
here a prose passage found in a ms. dated V. S. 1330 (1274 A D )
wiitten at Afiapalli (which was in southern suburbs of modern
AJamedabad) :

5

~ . . . IdpeqiS Kavio Pt.I , p. 2541

One thing is to be known that in poetry Jain authors were

but the prose was highly
. a period of 29 years the

second version of the above prose writing is found representing the
old Gujarau stage. It is be noted that it is a

nown at n poetry Jain authors were

still using old forms of ApabhraAsa, but the prose was highly
influenced by Sansknt loans. Within a eriod of 29

old Gujarau stage. It is be noted that it is a pure old Gujlrati
vemon devoid of any trace of the allied dialects or languages. Vast

fent he rD "S" W ** ^ tfau> f Ac ^ a Hemacandra,
cent. A. D. the pure Gujarati stage paved its way

iii the early decade of the 14th century A. D. Balavabodha, a running
illustrative commentary by Tarunaprabha composed in 1355 A. D.
is a fine model of the old Gujarati stage. The influence of Sanskrit
language is clear as for example in the following extract.

5T*rfl",

" \tbid* p. 351]
Within fifty years, the prose develops and attains a recognisa-
ble form. A passage from a Balavabodha of Somasundarasuri :

*mr ^n^ g^fi i q^r g^sfl
Trfsr ^nrff ^rftr^fl 1 ^g Tr'jfl- Prfr-^p pft ^rri i
*rtff[ ^rrfr?ft ^^r^ft ^ J^T ^

[7Z?zW, p. 367]

Though not found abundantly, a rhythmic style was also
developed. For example a passage from Prthvi-candracarita
by Manikyacandrasuri of this period may be given :

etc.

[7/>zW, p. 372]

Works of authors other than Jains are seldom available in that
early period. Only two poetical works, Asaita Nayaka*s Hamsduli
(1371 A. D.) and Bhlma's Sadayavatsa-katha (1404 A.D.) have come
to light so far. A prose work named Ganita-s5ra (1393 A. D.) is
also available in print. In these works also Sanskrit loan words
are in abundunee.

In this century, the language is mostly free from traces of
contemporary dialects of the border-lands. In its early phase
the Gujarati Language, was called *Gujara-bhakha by a prominent
poet, Bhalana of the first half of the 16th cent. A. P., who contri-
buted a few hundred lyrical and narrative songs. Some fifty years
earlier, the language was fortunate to have a great devotee and a
poet, Narasimha Mehta, who contributed hundreds of lyrical and
narrative songs. He is the first poet of the Modern Gujarati
Language. He was much influenced by the popular Sanskrit
lyrical poem, the Gita-Govinda of Jayadeva and the BhQgavata Purana
and the famous Marathi saint-poet Namadeva. Narasimha's
famous Jhuiawa Metre is a copy of Namadeva's Abhangas. From this
time onwards the works of non-Jain authors come to the forefront.
Hundreds of mss. of the works upto the middle of the ninteenth

cent. A, D. are known ; much of these have been prin.'ed separately
and in collections.

It is note- worthy that the famous Prakrit Grammarian
Markanideya of the 15th cent. A, D., differentiating peculiarities of
ApabhramSa dialects, mentions that the Gaurjarl dialect was full
of Sanskrit loan words : cf*$3Tr<(in > ^ *fWf)r I We have seen above,
how richly the Sanskrit vocabulary influenced the language. Here
I shall quote only prose works, because generally they only
represent the clear development of the language. A quotation from
a heroic poem kanhadade Prabandha of Padmanabha a Nagar
brahman of Gujarat, who composed it in the year 1456 A. D. at
Jalor near Jodhpur (Rajasthan), runs as it follows :

and so on

[K. B. Vyasa's Edn., p. 157]

And a passage from the prose work Pancakhyana-balavabodha
(p. 3) of Yaodhira, a Jain author :

^' 7 and so on

As I said before, Jain authors were utilising Prakrit and
Apabhramga word-forms relatively in a greater measure, while
authors other than Jains are found leaning more towards Sanskrit.

The language of Gujarat in its present form is found in Mss.
mostly from the 17th cent, A. D. Jain and non-Jain authors freely
used Sanskrit loans. The next stage could be seen in the beginning
of the 19th cent. A. D. The famous Vaishnava saint Sahajananda-
svami gave his preaching in a running Gujarati prose. The last
representative poet of the old Gujarati Language, Dayarama,
composes hundreds of lyrical songs as also some prose works. A
passage from one of his prose works may be seen :

ft

" and so on

[Anubhava maHjari^ p. 187]

Uptb the middle of the 19th century, under the rule of *he
British regular schools were opened and prose text books same
into being. Two phases of modern Gujarati were prevalent

( 77 )

simultaneously : 1. corrupted form and 2. of a rather pure form.
In the latter the purity of the spelling was noteworthy. It has been
found that the purity of spelling started in Bombay and came to
Gujarat in the sixties of that century after the establishment of the
University of Bombay in 1857 A. E>. Hope Reading Series laid a
foundation stone in that direction and ultra-modern Gujarati came
in existance. As the university education was increasing day by day
students had chances to be familiar with the different branches of
sciences. There was then the usage of various technical terms.
Most of these words were coined from Sanskrit, while some were
directly taken from ancient scientific writings in Sanskrit.

Apart from this, there developed defferent forms of literature.
Journalism had its own importance. To enrich the language the
main source was and is Sanskrit. A common man now has no
distinction in his mind, whether the words he or she uses in his or
her daily usage are pure Gujarati words or Sanskrit loans.

II* Influence on Literature

(/) Classical Metres

It is to be particularly noted that the variety of Sanskrit
literary forms was not adopted even in the Prakrit stage, nor in
the ApabhrarhSa stage. This was the case even when our modern
Indo- Aryan languages were emerging slowly. As mentioned above,
the Apabhramsa grammar portion of the Siddha Herna Vyakarana
of Hemacandra was a land-mark for the literature of Gujarat. The
majority of verses quoted by Hemacandra here are of folk type,
orally current all over Western Rajasthan including Gujarat,
Saurashtra and Kacch. The first noteworthy poem so far known
is a Rdsa-Kdvya the Bharatesvara-Bdhubali Rasa of Salibhadrasuri
composed in 1185 A.E>. This form, an off-shoot of a Samdhi-
Kavya form of ApabhramSa language was unknown to Sanskrit.
But the poetic form is quite like that of Sanskrit. Narration,
figuers of speech, sentiments and other poetic elements are of the
same nature, though not reaching to the richness of Sanskrit. The
Rasa and other literary forms, developped chiefly in the stage of the
later Apabhramsa, which may be termed as Uttara-Gaurjara
ApabhrariiSa, were devoid of classical Sanskrit metres with the
exception of some later Fhagu poems of the early Gujarati period.
Local musical non-Sanskritic metres developed in the Prakrit stage
and were noted in Bharatas* NdtyaSdstra as Dhruvas, which were
found utilised in the 4th Act of VikramorvaSiya of Kalidasa,
considered as later interpolations. In the 12th cent. A.D. we have
the lyrical poem GTta Govinda of Jayadeva which contains 24 songs.
The language is Sanskrit but the metres utilised in all the songs are

purely non-Sanskritic. At that stage Duhas, Copais. Savaiyas,
Harigttas, Jhulanas and such other rythmic metres became common.
The last 'eight hundred years have given such local melodious
musical metres continuously upto the present time. For a period
of seven hundred years upto the last century, we come across a few
works where the classical Sanskrit metres have been used. Such
works known so far are Arbudacala-vi-nati of Jayasekharasuri (15th
cent. A.D.) only nine Druta-vilambita verseb, and a few itpajati
verses, the Tribhuvana-dipaka Prabandha, Virata parvan of Salisuri
(15th cent., A.D.) using Svagata, Upajati, Malini, Vasantatilaka and
Drutavilambita metres; some Phagus such as Suranga-bhidha Nemi
Phaga of Dhanadevagani (1 446 A.D.), Caturmukha Adinatha Phaga
of an unknown author (about 1501 A.D.) Rangasagara Neminatha
Phagu (about 1400 A,D.) all these Phagus with stray Sardula
vikridita verses; and two non-Jain works Riipasundarakatha
(1650 A.D ) of Madhava and Bhasa-Vicitra of Gapala Bhatta (of the
same century) are also noteworthy. The narrative style of a majority
of these poets have the same touch as the classical Sanskrit
style, e.g.

n 1 isterc

[ Gujarati SahityaMi Rekhadarsana, p. 204. ]

The above is from Rupasundarakatha\ the following is from
Bhnsavicitra :

"FT f?P&3T*F

[Ibid, p. 203]

Three plays of the classical Sanskrit type, ascribed to the
famous Gujarati poet Premananda of the second half of the 17th
cent. A.D. were published in the fourth quarter of the 1 8th cent.
A.D. These plays have been, however, considered apocriphal and
belong actually to a later period.

As I have mentiond above the modern Gujarati begins after
the establishment of the University of Bombay. New literary forms
were adopted and a new era started even in the case of poetry.
Dalpatram and Narinadashankar are the known poets of that
period, Both these poets used classical metres abundantly in

their vast contributions. Both of them gave works on poetics and
metres in which definitions as well as illustrations were given in
Gujarati. Then a large number of educated poets came forward
and some of them imitating foreign forms, used mostly classical
Sanskrit metres. Narsimharao Divatia, Govardhanram M. Tripathi,
Manilal Nabhu bhai, Ramanbhai Nilkanth and such prominent
poets upto the present day used and the living ones do use classical
metres in their poems, some of them have introduced new varieties
in those classical metres also.

(2) Themes

From the beginning of the earliest phase of the modern
Gujarati language, the themes were of Sanskrit origin. The
Mahdbhdrata, the Rdmdyana 9 mo$t of the Puranas, later Sanskrit
Story Literature like Kathd-saritsdgara, stories about Yikramaditya
and such other legendary figures in Sanskrit were the source books.
Most of the non-Jain authors and some Jain ones from the second
half of the 14th cent. A. D. to the end of the middle half of the
19th cent. A. D. took their stories from the above-mentioned works.
There arose a few philosophical poems also, based on works like
the Bhagavad-gitd and Yoga-vdsistha Rdmdyaria. ISTarasimha Mehta
had also sung some philosophical songs. Most prominent were
Akho and Oayaram, Akho being conversant in the Advaita Philoso-
phy of Samkara and Dayaram in the Suddhadvaita Philosophy of
Vallabhacaryaji. It can not be ascertained whether both of them
were scholars of Sanskrit ; however they were able to get proficiency
enough through their teachers.

Narasimha Mehta translated some Sanskrit verses from the
Bhagavata Purana independently in his Rdsa-sahasrapadl and imita-
ted Jayadeva's GUa-Govinda in his Caturls. After him several
authors contributed their vast musical literature taking stories and
incidents from Sanskrit Purana literature. Virasimha Karmana,
Man4ana, Bhima, Bhalana, Srtdhara, Nakara, Kasl-suta, Haridasa
Visnudasa. Sivadasa, Avicaladasa Vaikuitfha, Bhau, Premananda,
Ratnesvara and others were fully indebted to Sanskrit Purana
literature. Most of their poems all narratives, i.e., Akhyanas
established a new form in the medieval period. Amongst these,
Bhalana of the first half of the 16th cent. A. D. and Ratnesvara of
the later half of the 17th century A. E>. were translaters also.
Bhalana translated Durga-saptasati verbatim and Kddamban of
Bana *Bhatta in an abridged form. Ratnesvara translated the
Bhugavata Purnna and Jaimimya Asvamedha Parvan verbatim.

Original writers are also in abundance during these centuries,
utilising the matter from Puranas mostly. On the Lyrical side*

Narasimha Mehta, Bhalana, Mira, Gopala, Akho, Raje, Ranchod,
Raghunatha, Bapu, Dhiro, Muktananda Brahmananda, Niskula-
nanda, Premananda Premasakhl, Sivananda and Dayarama are also
noteworthy for their following the theory of sentiments (Rasa-
Siddhanta) in a general way. Most of them were under the influence
of the songs of Kabir and Astachapa Vrajabhasa poets.

Even modern authors are highly indebted to the Purana
literature. Authors like late K. M. Munshi went even to the Vedic
legends.

With the ever increasing college education new forms of
literature appeared in Gujarati as in other New Indo-Aryan
languages. The novelwriting as well as story-writing is an
imitation of the western literature. Though foreign, the style of
narration was and is of a Sanskritic nature. Karana-ghelo of
Nandshankar Mehta, Sadhara Jesing of Mahipatram Nilkanth
Ranakdevi of Anantprasad Shri-Vaishnav are all of such a mixed,
nature. Inscriptions of different situations generally follow the
Sanskrit model. In several other contributions even themes are
puranic.

In the field of Dramas, the beginning was from Dalapatram
and Narmadashankar. Both of them adopted foreign trends, even
Navalram gave *Vlramati' is in the same line. Ranchhabhai Udiram
wrote a number of plays in the classical Sanskrit style leaning to-
wards western trends, giving verses mostly in classical metres. In
last hundred years hundreds of stageable plays were written and
were being performed on a grand scale, but a few have been
published. The opening of all these plays was marked for their
Introduction in the classical style, a feature not found in the
western stage. The number of Acts was limited to three generally
but each and every Act was divided in western style, into several
scenes. The notable thing is that several plays had their themes
from pauranic sources. Such is the case of the works in the poetic
field also.

In conclusion I must say that the modern trend is leaning
towards westernism, and the different forms of western literature are
predominant, yet the language is becoming enriched by using easy
Sanskrit loan words. The majority of the technical terms, old as
well as newly formed, are Sanskrit. The Gujarati Language has
one noticeable peculiarity. In its long course it adopted words
from all the languages with which it came into contact, yet the
words so taken as loans became quite common and intelligible
whether they are in their pure form ie. 'tatsama* or slightly altered
so as to be suitable to the Gujarati tongue. No bombastic words
whether they are from Arabic. Persian, Portuguese, French English

or from any other modern Indian languages, have been and are
being honoured. Generally simple woids are being taken as loans
from all these languages, giving preference to Sanskrit and used as
if they are of this region. The peculiarity of Gujarat people is m
their adaptability and simplicity in each and every mode of life. The
soil oft his region has no fanatism of any sort. It is a fact that
modern poets, play-wrights, novelists, short-story-writers, authors of
racers and articles, critics, even journalists and others have adopted
ie mode and style from the vast English literature and other allied
sources and developed it to a large extent, yet when we hear and
read their writings, we feel as if they are written in the Sanskrit*
atmosphere, because of the richness of the language and its natural

heredity.

SANSKRIT AND HARYAtfVI

J. D. SINGH
Rurukshetra University

Harya^vi, a dialect of Hindi, belongs to the Indo-Aryan
Branch of Indo-European family of languages. It is spoken in the
State of Haryana and the rural areas of Delhi Administration. Its
speakers approximately number seven to eight millions. We are
not sure of any literary activity at any particular period of the
history of the dialect. But there is always a possibility of unearthing
some old literature, as some religious sects would prefer to record
their tenets in local idiom. However, folk-literature of present day
is available in plenty. It is composed chiefly in verse and printed
in Devanagari script.

The present day Harya$vi has evolved from the ancient
dialect of Vedic Sanskrit spoken in this region. The process of
evolution is spread over several millenia. In the absence of records
representing various stages of its development, to reconstruct the
history of the dialect is well-nigh impossible. All that we have are
the two extreme of along revolutionary process : the Vedic literature
on the one end and the spoken dialect of today on the other. And
to what extent does the language of the recorded documents of the
intervening period reflect the every day speech of the people is
difficult to say. In fact the claim that the literary idiom mirrors
contemporary colloquial speech does not appear to be justified in
the first flush* The literary Hindi of today for instance, would be
a poor source for reconstructing the history of Harya$vi, say, after
five hundred years later from now, since Hindi as a medium of
literature is employed over a vast area where dialects of divetse
structures such as Bangru, Rajasthani, Bundeli, Avdhi, etc., are
spoken. Naturally it could not be related genetically to all of them
simultaneously, in fact to none of them for that reason.

However, the story of the literary vehicle through the ages will
certainly give us an idea of the general tendencies of phonological,

( 82 )

grammatical and semantic developments in related dialects. The
observations made here thus are not in the nature of systematic
chronological treatment of an evolutionary process. These are based
simply on the comparison of two extremes of a long historical
process and should be taken only in this sense. The purpose of
this study is very limited, namely, to show that the present day
Haryarjivi has its source in the ancient Sanskrit speech, that it has
inherited in the normal course of its development a good deal, that
it has preserved some distinctive features of its parent language and
that it has continued to be influenced by it through out the ages to
the present day.

We should not however lose sight of the fact that in the course
of its long history, Haryanvi came into direct or indirect contact
with various other languages, Indian and foreign. Long contacts
with them have influenced it and some of the features borrowed from
them are well established in it now. Influence of Perso- Arabic, and
English particularly, is visible in its vocabulary. The core, neverthe-
less, remains Sanskritic. With the neighbouring Indo-Aryan dialects,
namely, Rajasthani, Punjabi, Khari Boli and Braj it shares besides
vocables, some grammatical features also.

We may now present here a synoptic statement of comparison
of their sound system, grammar and vocabulary.

Sound System :

Vowels :

Haryarjivi has a system of twelve vowels, namely, /i!j;eaBuuo
o 9 a/while Sanskrit has the simple vowels/i I u u a a/, the dipthongs/
ai ai au au/ and the vocalic liquids /r r 1 1 / , totalling up fourteen in
all. However in Sanskrit /I ?/ are of rare occurrence and /?/ is very
infrequent. The diphthongs /ai au/ were reduced to monophthongs
/ e o / respectively long ago. (Henceforth the diphthongs / ai au /
will be represented as /ai au /.)

The Sanskrit diphthongs in Haryanvi are reduced TO monoph-
thongs and /r/ is generally resolved into /rj/. Harya^vi has
developed two centralized front and back short vowels // and /a/,
which normally correspond historically to Sanskrit /i/ and /u/
respectively. A few examples to illustrate these correspondences
may be given here

jg-veda rjgbed "Rig Ved"

yna rjp "debt"

rsi rjsi "seer*'

kprpa "compassion"

krna

kjrson

ghpaa

ghirna

trpti

tpopti

djsti

d^s^i

drtanta

dpastant

pjthvl

pprthwi

mjtyu

mjrtu

vjtti

bpti

hfdaya

hirdse

spakhanika

Sj[^9k

Srngara

sfgar

indra

jndor

kirana

kjrsn

pita

Pita

ninda

njnda

Sila

sjla

vighna

bjghon

likh

likh

misa

mjs

niradara

njrador

hita

hj[t

utpata

utpa

utsaha

utsah

kurajya

kuraj

kudha

khudhya

f purana

pnran

dtirga

durga

'yudh

JSdh

suta

snt

ai > SB

vaira

baer

kailasa

kselas

"hatred"

"satiation"

"a blade of grass"

"sight"

"parable"

"earth"

"death"

"inclination, disposition' 1

"heart"

"mucus"

"make-up ; adornment"

"God Indra"

"a ray"

"father"

"censure"

"a stone"

"obstruction"

"write"

"a pretext"

"disrespect"

"good, interest"

"calamity"

"encouragement"

"anarchy"

"an ear-ring"

"hunger"

"the scriptures purana"

"goddess Durga"

"war"

"a son"

"enmity"

"the name of a mountain'

"one of the four castes"

vaidya baed **a medical man**

vaidyaka bsedsk "science of medicine'*

vaidika dharmi baedsk dhormi "a follower of vedic

religion**

bhairava bhserd "the god bhairava'*

vairiava baesnu "relating to vis^u"

caitra cast "the month of caitra"

vaiakh bsesakh "the month of vaigakha"

b^sakh

au > s

auadha okhsdy * 'medicine**

kaurava koru "the sons of Kuru"

gaurl gori "Goddess Gauri**

mauna mon "silence**

bhauma bho (bhai) "relating to earth**

paundra boda "the sugarcane"

gautanaa gotom "the sage Gautam"

III. In Sanskrit according to Indian grammarians the simple
vowels (excluding a) have two more grades, namely guna and
v^ddhL These grades of vowels however should not be confused
with short and long or laghu (light) and guru (heavy) varities of
vowels. Thus in Sanskrit we have

Simple guna vyddhi

i e ai

u o au

j ar ar

J al al

These are illustrated in the following formations :
ji-ta "conquered** ; je-tum "to conquer** ; ajaiam "I conquered" ;
gru-ta "heard** ; ro-tum "to hear** ; a-grau-sam "I heard" ;
ki-ta "done" ; kar-tum "to do" ; a-kar-sam "I did'* ;
klpti "formation** ; kalpana "imagination" ; kalpanika "imaginary**.

/a/ and /a/ are designated guna and vrddhi vowels respectively
by Indian grammarians. The corresponding simple grade is inter-
preted to be zero : These are illustrated in the inflection of the
nominal stem rajan "king" : rajan-i "loc.sg." : rajan-am "acc-sg" :
rajfL-as "gen.sg.*%

(

86

In Haryanvi, on the other hand, the following ablaut pattern
is available :

a

i e ae
u o o

i

TI

Examples are :

kat

"cut"

kst-a

pis

"grind"

pp-a

met

"erase"

mjt-a

bseth

"sit"

bjth-a

kut

"pulverize"

kat-wa

khod

"dig"

khud-a

bohr

"return"

buhr-a

"cause to cut"
"cause to grind**
"cause to erase"
"cause to sit"
"cause to pulverize"
"cause to dig"
"cause to return"

However, in a few cases three grades are also retained;
nevertheless these are not the same as found in Sanskrit e.g. tor
"break" ; tut "be broken" ; tur-wa -cause to break ; dekh see >,
dikh "be seen" ; dikh-a "show".

It may also be pointed out in passing that while Sanskrit
does not tolerate any vowel sequences Haryanvi has occurrence of
all sorts of such sequences. Examples are : /au/ "may I come",
/aie/ "please come in"; /koe/ "some one", /dhuaie/ "have it
washed", etc.

Consonantal System :

The consonantal system of both the languages share the
stops (k kh g gh n c ch j jh n t th d dh n t th d dh n p ph b bh m),
the semivowels (y r 1 v) and the fricatives (s h). Sanskrit has
additional fricatives /S s/ while Haryanvi has the flaps/r I/. The
consonant clusters occurring in Sanskrit are res olved variously. In
case of individual consonants there is not much variation. //
gives place to /s/ while /s/ goes to /s/, /kh/ and /eh/ in different
environments; initial /y/ and /v/ change to /j/ and /b/ respectively.
Lexical frequency of retrofiex stops and flaps has quite considerably
increased in Haryanvi. Examples given further under 30 illustrate
these observations.

Grammatical System /

In grammar Haryaiivi, like any other modern Indian speech,
shows marked divergence. There are in Haryaijvi, for instance,
two genders masculine and feminine; two numbers singular and
plural and two vibhaktis direct and oblique besides vocative.

e is reassignment of gender in the inherited vocables. Almost
suters in Sanskrit are masculine in Harya^vi. Some masculine
5 like mirtu (-< mrtyu) become feminine. Distinction of
er in pronominal forms of "this" and "that" is preserved in
t singular yah (iyam) "she", yoh (ayam) "he" and vah (s)
" and oh (sab) "he" only.

? System :

The various case (karaka) relations in Haryanvi are expressed
neans of post-positions, a small class of words, used after
tcted nominal forms. For instance, in the sentence /ram nse
h piya/ * 4 Ram drank milk", the post-position /nae/ expresses the
it, while in /ram me hula lya/ "Call Ram" it denotes the
;ct (karma) and in /ram me de dc/ "give (it) to Ram", dative,
pradana. Similarly /ram to*/ "by Ram", /ram mse/ "in Ram"
n pas/ "on Ram"*, etc. denote instrumental, locative, etc.

However, certain nominuls largely expressive of place and

e take a locative suffix,, e.g. /burn-as/ ""out of doors", /ag-se/ "in

nt'% /pach-se/ "in the rear", /kandh-&/ "on the shoulder",

r-ae/ "in the village common", /dhor-s&/ fi *in the vicinity", /mhar-ae/

, ourV% /toj-k-ai/ "in the morning, i.e. tomorrow", /bskht-ae~

cht-e/ "in time, i.e. before time, early", /agl-ae(sal)/ "in the

lowing (year)"*, /p$*rar k-ye/ 4 *in the year before last", /purk-ae/

L the last year". In the utterance /kis-se k-se bharos-se na rshie/

>o not act on the reliance of others", the pronominal form /kls/,

5 post position /k& / and the noun /bhsrosa/ admit the locative

fftx /SB/. Haryai.ivi thus has retained locative in certain cases

ly, otherwise the inflectional system, of Sanskrit has given way

reduction of inflection and use of postpositions.

;rbal System :

Sanskrit and Harya^vi show still wider deviation in their

jrbal systems. The distinction of atmane and parasmai padas

herited in Sanskrit from the Indo-European is lost in Harya^vi,

or instance, the situation described in Sanskrit by /devadattafr

atam karoti/ "Devadatta makes a mat for another" and

ievadattafr kafam kurute/ "Devadatta makes a mat for himself"

\ taken care of in Harya^tvi syntactically, /devdot catai bsriawse

x/simply means : **Devdatta makes a mat". It does not specify if

he mat is being made for his personal use or for someone else. If

he former need be specified the phrase /apni khatory/ "for one's

>wn sake" has to be inserted in the above sentence to make it read :

devdat aprju khatory csfai bsnawas sae>/ **J>evdatt makes a mat for

limself". Alternately the use of /le/ "take" and /de/ "give" with

the main verb in the verbal phrase also express the same distinction;
e.g., /podhy lyii ga/ "I shall read it for myself" while, /psdhy dyti ga /
"I shall read it for you".

The tense and modal system in Haryarivi is largely syntactic
rather than inflectional. The verbal phrase is pretty complex in
formation and several types of distinctions are packed in it. For
instance, the phrase /katya ja sskas sae/ "can be possible cut"
expresses the distinction of passive, capability and possibility besides
present tense.

Inflectional suffixes in Sanskrit fall into two groups :

(i) those which are employed for tenses and moods other than
perfect and

(ii) those for perfect tense. The former are further distingui-
shed as primary and secondary. These primarily denote person
and number. The distinctions of various tenses and moods are
expressed by means of formation of special stems, may be in certain
cases in conjunction with inflectional suffixes. For instance,
compare a-bhu-t and a-bhava-t ; bhava-ti and bhavisya-ti ; a-bhava-t
and a-bhaviya-t, etc.

The set of suffixes for parasmai-pada for the sake of illustra-
tion are reproduced below :

Secondary
am va ma
tam ta
tarn an,ur

Primary

I mi

vas mas

a

II si

thas tha

s

III ti

tas anti

t

Perfect

a va

ma

tha athus

a

a atus

ur

Haryaijvi has just one type of inflectional suffixes. As stated
above the distinction of atmanepada is not expressed morphologi-
cally. Here we have only two sets, one definitively for second
person singular and plural imperative and one for optative (which
expresses present tense also with some verbal stems). The suffixes
along with the forms of kat "cut" are given below :

Singular Plural Singular Plural

(a) I ti a kaf-u

I 1 & ? kat-a?

III 3e se kat-ae kat-as

(b) II y o kat-y kat-o

Further two more modal distinctions are expressed by
verbal forms, namely, distinctions of polite imperitive and potential.
These are denoted by special stem formation as in Sanskrit. In case
of polite imperative the stem forming suffix /i/ is added directly to
the verbal stem, primary or derivative. To the stem thus formed
the second person suffixes from set (a) above are added. It may be
pointed out that /se/ after /i/ is realized as /e/. The forms made
from /kat/ are /kat-i-e/ and /kat-i-o/. The second person pronominal
forms indicating respect are used with these forms. Examples : /to
jorur aie/ "Please do come" ; /sccha botaie.../ "Please just tell
(me)...'% etc.

The distinction of potential mood is denoted only by a single
root, namely, /cah/ "desire" in Haryanvi. (This is true of Hindi
also). To the root is added the suffix /i/. The stem /cah-i/ admits
suffixes of set (a). The auxiliaries are also used with it to specify
time reference.

I cah-i-u cah-i-S

II cah-i-e cah-i-o

III cah-i-e cah-i-e

A few examples to illustrate its use are : /mannas ek kjtab
cahie/ "I should have a book", /des nae tae ham cahiS sa/ : "The
country needs us," /torn nae meri bat smini cahie/ "you should listen
to me."

Haryarivi has also retained the distinctions of karma-kartari
and passive. The stem for karma-kartari is formed from
most of the transitive roots by ablaut change. The general pattern
of ablaut change is the same as described above. The stem from
/kat/ is /ket/. It takes suffixes of both the sets. Further polite
imperative stem may be formed from this. To denote tense use of
auxiliaries is made. A few examples of its use are : /ped ksttae sse/
"The tree is being cut" ; /to ks^-y/ "you allow yourself to be cut" ;
/us tse moty pjt-i-e/ "Please do not allow yourself to be beaten by
him. i. e. do not let him beat you."

Passive stem is formed from all roots, transitive or
intransitive by the suffix /i/ (which incidentally is homophonous with
the potential and polite imperative). The stem from kat is kat-i.
This admits suffixes of set (a). The inflected forms thus obtained
obligatorily take auxiliaries. The paradigm of /kat/ in passive is as
follows :

kat-i-u kat-i-a

kat-i-e kat-i-o

kat-i-e kat-i-e

A few examples of its use are : /ped kat-i-e sse/ "The trees are
being cut" ; /torn pit-i-o ge/ "you will be beaten" ; /horn jur-i-a ge/
"we will be bound down".

Passive is expressed by phrasal structure also where the stem
/ja/ "go'* occurs after the main verb (transitive and intransitive) to
which is added the suffix /y/, e. g. /ped katyaja// "let the tree be
cut" ; /ib soya ja/ "let it be slept now L e. let us go to bed now".

Haryanvi like Hindi and other Indo-Aryan speeches has
two stems in causal formed by suffixes /a/ and /wa/ respectively.
Before these suffixes the vowel in the root is reduced to the weak
grade while in Sanskrit on the other hand the causal stem has
vjddhi. Compare for instance.,

pSc-aya- : psk-wa "cause to cook"

go-aya- : snkh-a ''cause to dry"

sec-aya- : sjc-wa "cause to water"

There are three krt suffixes extensively employed in
HaryanvL These are added directly to the verb stems to express
distinctions of various tenses, modes and aspects. Forms made with
/y '<f>/ 9 /d^~ 'nd/ and /sn^n/ may be respectively called perfect,
imperfect and obligative participles. These take gender and number
suffixes. The forms from kat in masculine singular will be : kat-y-a,
kat-d-a and kat-n-a.

These participales in Haryarjivi appear to be reflexes of the
past passive (kta), present (Satr) and potential (anlya) participles.
The present participle (Satr) survives in another form, namely, /ot/in
such usages as/ratat bjdya, pscst kheti/ "By committing to memory
one acquires knowledge and by working hard one suceedes in raising
crops", /ot/ appears to be the archaic form preserved in folklore
only. The extended perfect and imperfect participial forms with the
suffix/6/ illustrate the use of locative absolute; /kat-y-5/ "on cutting,
i.e., when the action of cutting has been completed**, /kat-d-e/
"immediately on cutting".

The obligative participle in/o^/is used either by itself or with
the tense auxiliaries. The former usage denotes a sort of future
imperative or request; e.g. /yah cjtthi patfh-n-a ra/ "Please read
this letter (for me)". With the auxiliaries it conveys the sense of
"ought to, must, etc." For instance /ram nae pothi patfh-n-i s^/"Ram
has to read the bc*>k"; /ham nae bsteu jj;ma-L~e the/ "We had

to serve meals to the guests"; /tana nse horn korna hoga/" you must
perform the sacrifice".

The suffix /on <ana/ added to verbal steins to form
nouns is very common in Haryanvi; e.g, /koron/ "doing"
/m^ron/ "dying"; /poddh-on/ "reading", etc. Similarly the suffix
/u<u/ is added to all verbal roots in the sense of "desirous
of .-.", "anxious to" e.g. /kor-u/ "anxious to do"; /ja-u/ "desirous
of going", /poddh-u/ "desirous of reading", etc.

Summing up, in grammatical structure Haryanvi has preserved
only a few features such as locative, locative absolute passive, Satr,
potential and obligative besides a few derivative suffixes.

Vocabulary :

Stems in Sanskrit may be classified into two or four classes,
namely nomlnals (nama) and verbals (akhyata, or into nominals,
verbals, verbal prefixes (upasarga) and particles (nipata). From the
point of view of their internal structure these are derived or
underived. The former are built around a nuclear element to which
affixes are added. Or there are compound stems where two or more
constituents are involved, i'n Haryanvi stems may be classified into
nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, post-positions, connec-
tives, particles and interjection. Compounds and derivatives here
too have the same type of morphological structure, /on-ho-n-i/, a
nominal meaning "something which is unlikely to happen" is made
on the verbal stem /ho/ "be, became" with nominalizing suffix /on/,
the feminine gender suffix /i/ and /an/ the prefix of negation.

As regard to the sources of vocabulary in Haryanvi, the
larger part has been inherited form Sanskrit. It has preserved items
typically reminiscent of rural and ashrama base of Sanskrit culture.
We shall like to illustrate here such items which are close cognates.

hoi "plough" <hala

holosy "the pole of a plough <halea-hallsa

s^moly "the pin of a yoke" <amya

badhi "a leather strap" <cbadhrl

me^hi "a pillar in the middle of the threshing floor to which

oxen are tied <methi

syuasony "of marriageable age (of a girl)" <csuvasinl
neta "the string by wich a churning stick is whirled around"

-<netra

dhenu "milk cow" <dhenu
bulhod "bullocks" <ballvarda

nath "the string passed through the hole bored in the septum
of the nose; the golden nose ring" <Cnasta

ukhol "a wooden mortar" <:ulukhala

musol "a, wooden pestle" <:muala

doi "a wooden ladle" <:darvl

taku c 'a spindle" <:tarku

dat "a chopper" <datra "a sort of crooked knife"

dati "a sickle" <cdatra

sa^ "a whet-stone" <:aigLa

cakh-j-a "a wooden ring on the top of the churning pot through
which the churning-s tick is passed "<:casala" a wooden
ring on the top of the sacrificial pot."

soral "a shallow dish." <: Sara va

bassn. "utencil" <vasana * fi a receptacle for water"

from Hindustani < Bengali <:Portguese

bhanda "utencil" <bharida

khur "hoof" <ksura ; khura

korua "a water jug with a spout usually made of earth"
<:karaka

kadam "uproard" (figurative use) <kardama "mud"

athsmna <e west"<:astamayana

chlka "a basket suspended with a rope, etc."<gikya

ssta **difficult"<:asti "the stone of a fruit"?

nyar "fodder 9 *<nikara

samsk "a particular grass <yamaka.
muj "a particular grass" <cmunja
bo^iosti "the cotton plant" < van a-yasti
kspas "cotton"<karpasa
asamedh cc pregnancy"<avamedha
bokksl "the bark of a tree"<:valkala
arna "dry cow-dung" <ara^yaka
syar "a die" < gar a
gu^y "a sack"<gonl

ppesy "the village assembly hall"<pariad
dhtira "shaft of a carriage" <dhur
musa "a rat**<:mtzsa
mldha *'a ram"<mendha-ka
a skeleton "<karanka

,)

"the edible bulb of a creeper "
jhar "a bush"<:jhata
jhama "a burnt brick" jhamaka

Quite a large number of verbal stems in Harya^vi are
from Sanskrit. Some of these have suffered very little phonetic
change. As would be clear from the examples given below. Some
of these are derived from simple roots, some from causais, some
from past passive stems, while some from atmanepada forms and so
on. Examples :

boh

"flow"

<Cvah

sdh

"bear"

<Csah

doh

"burn"

<Cdah

tjr

"swim"

<tf

duh

"milk"

<duh

nos

"run away"

<na

kpr

"drop"

<Ckr

ja

"deliver"

<:jan 9 jay ate

Jan

"generate"

<:jan

su

"give birth"

<;su

pis

"grind"

<Cpis

pel

"urge, push"

<pel a "go"

cus

"such"

<cus

moh

"entice"

<muh ; mohaya-(causal)

mxn

"measure"

<cmi, minati

map

"measure"

<:ma, mapaya-(causal)

jhur

"grow old"

<jur, jhy

b9S

"live"

<cvas

nQm

"bend"

<cnam

poc

"digest"

<Cpoc

mjnaa

"bleat"

<cma, mimati

sukh

"dry up"

<Cus

bsros

"rain"

<cvars

bor

"choose"

<vr

k^r

"do"

<kr

dhsm

"carry out

<dham "blow"

enthusiastically"

aTth

"show resistence"

<ceth

(

94 i)

ak

"evaluate"

-<ank

gah

"trample"

<gah

cu

"trickle"

<cyu

ched

"bore a hole"

<Cchid ; chedaya- (causal)

bhor

"fill"

<Cbhr

pur

"cover"

<pur

par

"split"

<pat ; pataya (causal)

"split

open"

dhun

"card"

<dhu "shake"

pir

" squeeze"

<pid

puch

"ask"

<prch

bujh

"enquire"

<cbudh ; budhya-

bhokh

"devour"

-<bhaks

moth

"churn"

<cmanth

man

"agree"

<cman, manaya- (causal)

ja

"go"

-<ya

ram

"enjoy"

<<ram

lip

"besmear"

<Climp

rus

* e he angry"

<crus

r l s

"ooz"

<:rig "tear, injure"

rudh

"obstruct"

<Crudh, runaddhi

rop

"plant"

<Cropaya (causal)

bldh

"pierce"

<:vyadh ? vidhyati

bodh

"grow"

<Cvrdh, "grow"

bsdh

"declare"

<cvrdh "speak", vardhate

vardhayati

bsrsj

"direct not to

<cvrj, varjayati

proceed"

ssk

"be able"

<Cak

maj

"cleanse"

<:mrj ; marjaya (causal)

sun

"hear"

<;ru ; griioti

koh

"speak"

<lkath

sadh

"accomplish"

<Csidh, sadhaya (causal)

se

"propitiate (a

spirit,

etc.) stop ; support" <csev

mos

"twist"

<mus khatwjane, "break, divide"

Ijkh

"write"

<likh

bac

"read"

<cvac, vacaya (causal) "read"

II

Iskha

dekh

ghor

tak

phur

"look at"

"see"

"shape"

"observe, look it"

"flash"

<Claks

, drakyati

kos

khds

khas

kud

khur

khij

gin

gUri

guth

gath

tol

cet

cakh

cit

cha

"tighten ;
reprimand"

"rub"
"cough"
"jump"
"corrode"
"be annoyed"
"count"
"contemplate"
"string together"
"stitch"
"weigh"
"be aware"
"taste"
"paint"
"cover"
"mutter"
"keep awake"
"be alive"

<tark

<Csphur

<ckamp

<Cka <c punish'* cf ka-a "whip"

<kas "scratch"

<Ckas

<kurd

<khur "cut" ksur "scratch"

<Ckhid, khidyate

<cgan

<gun

<Cgumph

<Cgranth

<ctul ; tolaya

<cit

<citr

<chad ; chadaya (causal)
<jap
<jagr
<cjlv
i ; jita

jag

ji

jit "conquer"

sumor "remember"

We may also give a few examples of verbal sterns in
Haryanvi which have developed from verbal roots preceded by
Upasargas in Sanskrit.

r}tar "strain, cleanse"

n ISl "devour"

njkhar "make clean"

njstar "stoop down"

bskher "scatter"

bySp " pervade* cover"

ssma "contain"

"get married"

<ni-tf (causal)

<ni-gal

<cni-kal/ksar

<cnis-tr

<vi-kf

<:vi-ap

< sam-ma

<Cvi-vah, vi-vahaya (causal)

bya
bjsrah
bjgar
udhon

utor

"deliver"

"disapprove"

"upset"

"throw up and

down"

"open, divulge"

"cross"

"make visible"

6 ,)

<vi-jan, vi-jayate

<vi-Slagh

<vi-kr, vi-karaya (causal)

<ud-han

puch pujh "wipe out
ukher

njpaj
upsr

gcsr

Schal
usar

blswas

<ud-gha{. (causal)

<ud-tr

<ud-jval (causal) "cause to

shine

<pra-uiich
* e uproot, pull out" <ut-khid (causal) draw out,

extract

<ut-pad, ut-padyate
<ni-pad
<ut-pat
<ut-pat
<ut-car

<ut-cal (causal)
<ut-sr (causal)
<vi-vas (causal)

"be produced"
"be produced"
"be visible, come
on the surface,"
"speak, utter"

"throw up"
"raise up"

"test, to find if
one is trustworthy"

Through out the ages Sanskrit has been the language of
religion and culture in this region. Thus there have been countless
centres of learning here. The very fact that the river Sarasvati
came to be deified as "Goddess of learning" speaks of the literary
activities carried on along its banks. We can visualize a time when
me banks of the river Sarasvati were dotted with ashramas, the
seats ol learning, resounding with the recitation of vedic

anH /-j~\l 1-1 -**,_ . ^ 1 ... v**v

P through the

karma

dharma

> kam

"work"

"actions that count towards future

recompense; fate."
dham, e.g. kam-dham "work, etc."
ahsrem "religion, religious "virtue"

karya

karsj

cakra

> cak

cskker

pakva

> paka

pskka

laksml

> tekhmi

llchmi

laka$a

> tekkhsn,

Inchon

ksatriya

> khstri

chstri

sandhya

;> sajh

sandhya

mala

> mal

mala

lakmana

> ram-lokh9i]L

Ijchman

daksina

> djchna

dokesna

bhiksa

> bhikh

bhjcha

sadhu

> sadh

sadhu (moh

strl

> tirla

Sch&rya
Sretha
chandra

jstri

pQndet

caroj

ocarja

soreseth

"a public feast given in honour of

one's dead ancestor"

"work, purpose"

"earthen wheel"

"circle, perambulation"

"ripe"

"hard, baked"

"usually proper name of a male"

"Goddess of wealth; name of a

female"
"sign, traits"
"symptom, traits"
"a sub caste"
"'the warrior class"
"evening""
"prayer"
"the string around the wheel of the

spin 11 ing- wheel"
"garland, rosary"
"Ram and Laksamana"
"proper name"
"offering"

"offering to one's teacher"
"alms"
t alms"

<C"an ordinary mendicant"
ma "a respectable renunciate"
"woman (derogatory sense)"
"woman"
"a brahman guide at religious

places"

"a learned brahman"
"a mendicant brahman"
"a teacher in a gurukul"
"a rich man"
"worthy, excellent"
"moon"

(l 98 i)

ram cond "Ram Chand"
ram condor "Ram Chandra (the hero of the
Ramayaiia)"

In recent times the socio-cultural movement of the
Arya-samaj tended to revive the Vedic culture. It gave a great
fillip to Sanskrit studies in the region. Gurukuls and Pathshalas
for boys and girls were started in various places to impart education
in Sanskrit. In quite a few of them Sanskrit was adopted as the
sole medium of instruction. Moreover temples were established
in urban and rural areas where weekly meetings were scheduled to
recite Vedic hymns. Religious preachers moved about from village
to village propagating the message of the Vedas. Lively discussions
and debates were organised. Such extensive use of Sanskrit language
and religious literature is responsible for diffusion of Sanskrit
vocables which were commonly used by the learned on such
occasions. Thus we have sondhya<sandhya "prayers ; howan
<chavana "sacrifice,,, howsn montora<Chavana-mantrah "a book
containing the Vedic hymns recited in performing a sacrifice ; suami
<lsvaml "a religious renunciate,, ; goruktil<;gurukula "seat of learn-
ing,., pathsala<rpatha-ala "a school" ; bedi<vedi "alter" ; mondhep
<Cmandapa "canopy"; asrom<aSrama "the four stages of life" ;
birhomcari<brahmacSrI "an unmarried student 6 , ; bjrhomcarni
<;brahmacarini "a female unmarried student" ; ghjrsthi<cgrhastha
"a house holder" ; baporosthi<vanaprastha "hermit" ; sonnyasi
<sainnyasi "a religious mendicant" ; mohatma<:mahatma "a highly
respected religious man" ; bhs>jon<bhajana "religious songs":
sastrarath<:astrartha "polemics to settle the import of gastras" ;
arye somaj<:arya-samaja "the association of the aryas, a socio-
religious reformative movement" ; s];ksa<giksa "education" ; konya
pathsala<kanyapathala "girl school" ; podet<pan4ita "a scholar";
gjronth<:grantha "a book of scriptures" ; sotyaroth-porkas<satya-
rthaprakaSa "a book of this name written by Swami Dayananda ;
acmon<acamana "sipping water for purification ; 3tyacar<!atyacara
"committing excesses ; doksna "offerings to a teacher ; nomsste
<namaste "the exclamation 'namaste' to wish another ; mhasa?
<mahaSaya "gentleman, used as mode of address ; sjriman
Srpnan "mode of address ; potibhsrta<pativrata "chaste and
virtuous wife ; npdes<upadea "religious sermon ; su r aj<svarajya
"ones own government", etc. etc.

Hindi in its highly Sanskritized form has been accepted
as the official language in the State of Haryana. It is taught in the
schools and is increasingly employed in the administration. Thus
more and more Sanskrit words through literary Hindi are being
p!cked up by the native speakers of Harya^vi. Coupled with this,

the policy of the Union Government of India to borrow technical
and scientific terminology from Sanskrit is responsible for introducing
such words as montri -jivantrl ^minister"; psrdhanmsntri <pradha-
namantri "prime minister 11 ; mukhy nwntrl "the chief minister"; lok
ssbha <loka-sabha "parliament"; bldhan ssbha <vidhana-sabha
"the state assembly 1 ' msndoj <mandala "circle", etc* etc,

The influence of Sanskrit is equally pronounced on folk-
lore. Stories from Epics, Puranas, Upanisads are quite common.
Also stones of bir Bjkarmajlt (<vlra vlkramaditya). Raja Bhoj,
Harischandar (<HariSchandra), DharuBhagat (<Dhruva Bhakta)
Mahade.ParbatI (xMahadeva-Parvati) are household. Motifs
and themes of folk-drama and songs are largely drawn from Sans-
krit literature. Quite a few of these are available in printed form
also.

Sanskrit scholarship continued i > flourish in this region,
through out the ages. Teaching was organised in a temple or at
the residence of an individual scholar who would attract advanced
students in his Held of specialization. Students repaired to KaSiji,
the renowned centre of Sanskrit students in India, for advanced
study* Such scholars were held in high esteem for their learning.
Most of the centres whether based in an individual or located in a
temple were financed by the local chieftains or philanthropists. The
river Sarasvati the perennial source of learning, never dried up in
Haryana. It continued to flow from ancient times to this day.
Thus original works in Sanskrit and commentaries in Sanskrit on
ancient literature were produced from time to time. A survey of
such literature in modern times is attempted by Satya Vrata Shastri
and is published in Halvasiya commemoration volume (Hindi), 1971,
Halvasiya Trust, Calcutta.

SANSKRIT IN KAR^ATAKA LIFE, THOUGHT
AND CULTURE

PROF. V. SITARAMIAH
Retd. Principal, Bangalore.

The Karnataka country was known as Punnata, Kuntala,
Mahisama^4ala etc. from the days of the Mahabhdrata and the
Mahavamsa. The Nandas ruled some portions of Kuntala right
up to Banavasi. The Mauryan kingdom later inherited it, Asoka
sent his missionaries, Rakkita and Mahadeva, upto the Chitradurga
district in the modern Mysore State. His edicts are formed at
Siddapur, Jatinga Ramesvara and Brahmagiri; at Koppla and
Maski. About the 2nd Century B.C. a Jaina saint Bhadrabahu
came down from Bihar with among others, a disciple of the Royal
Mauryaa line, Samprati Chandragupta by name. He remained
with the Master while a section of the Guru's followers went
further south to Punnaja and to the Tamil regions. The Tamilnad
has some literature connected with Buddhism. Kannada does not
have any such. But from the time the Jains settled down in
Sravana Belgola, the Jaina doctrine was spread among the people;
and their learned men wrote in Samskrt and in Ardhamagadhi,
even as they wrote in Kannda. The earliest rulers known to the
Kannada country are the Satavahanas (C. 250 to 550 A.D.) who
trace their names from Mothers than from Fathers. Their
patronage for Samskjt was firm and continuous. Practically all
the rulers of the Kannada country trace their descent from the
is, from the Solar and the Lunar families or from the Yadavas,
Their titles and Prafastis liken them to the famous names in the
Vedic or the Epic periods. The Vedic Dharma along v/ith the
performance of Ydgas and Yajnas is common and social life was
organised on the Varnasrama-dharma pattern. What elements
there were of a southern Dravidian influence, were gradually
assimilated into the Aryan pattern, at least among the middle and
upper classes, and this process was complete by the 6th century
A.D. The earnest inscription in Kannada, that of Halmitfi (C. 450
A.D ) is only partly in Kannada; the opening part is in
Sanskrit : v * v

( 100 )

Jayati Sriparisvanga sannga (myanati)r Acyutaft
Danavaksnoryugantagnih (sistanantu) sudarsanah
The Kannada portion is itself not easy flowing or idiomatic and
the words are in early old Kannda, But by the time of the first
great and extant work in Kannada, Kavirajamarga (C. 850), the
language has become capable and sophisticated. The Kavirajamarga
is a work on Poetics and mentions many earlier writers in Kannada
Prose and Verse, while it owes its own substantive content to
Bhamaha and Dandin. It intends to instruct poets on Language,
Grammar, Metre and the principles of Composition, Guna, Dosa
and Alarhkaras and on the cultivation of style and taste. The
poetic style is that of 6th and 7th centuries and many beautiful
stanzas in Varna Vjrttas are seen. There are other stanzas of
native modes like TripadI, Kaoda and GItika which get a recogni-
tion from the learned.

The Sanskrit Epics were very well known to the Kannada
people by then* Possibly the Bfhatkatha had been familiar,
directly or indirectly. The religion and philosophy born and bred
under the Vedic and the heretical Buddhist and Jaina systems had
exerted full influence on the life and thought of the Kannada
people. Along with the Vedic Gods Agni, Varuna and Indra came
those of the later pantheon, principally Vinu and Siva. The
Pasupata and the Puncaratra sects developed centres and strong-
holds of influence. And among all the kings of Karnataka (the
Satavahana, the Kadamba, the Ganga, the Calukya, the Rastrakuta,
the Hoysala, the Kalacurya and the Vijayanagar Kingdoms and
later the Odeyors) there was much tolerance and patronage of all
religions. The popular Samskrt Sloka "Yam Saivas samupasate Siva
iti" etc. inscribed on the walls of the temples at Belur reveals the
tolerance of the great Hoysala kings.

In. social relationships as well there was much free mingling.
The supreme feature of Kar^ataka tradition and culture, habits
and ideals of living, have made for a reconciliation of conflicts in
gods, religions, philosophical doctrine and even in linguistic
tendencies. In the North of the Karnataka country, i.e. Maharaja
to the North-west and Andhra to the East North and North-east
came much more under the influence of Samskrt, there was in the
Kar^ataka country a balanced and healthy influence of Sanskrit.
Without losing its native idiom, Kannada accepted and developed
the Samskrt models. This more or less built a bridge between the
Northern and Southern factors.

The Kannada country has many associations with the
Mahabhdrata and the Ramayana. Many kings claim descent from

( 102 )

the Yadavas. Kiskindha of the Ramayana gives Hanuman to India
and to Indian Culture ; Gokarana is a place associated with Ravaria,
who being unahle to carry the ivalinga for his mother further
South, seems to have set it down there as Mahabalesvara. The
Mahisaman4ala became a seat for Durga. Banavasi as Vaijayanti-
pura is connected with the Mahdbhdrata. Kings and heroes, donors
and leaders were proud to compare themselves with _Sibi and
Bhaglratha, Arjuna, Visriu, Siva and ParaSurama. The Adivaraha
and Narasimha Avataras and the Mahisamardini are favourites as
much as Games' a and Hanuman.

Learning meant Samskrt learning and it was rarely neglected.
The most intellectual section of the community essentially cultivated
it and expressed itself in it and carried on discussions and works
of many classes in it. Powerful Saiva and Vaisnava sects built up
institutions and centres of learning in the Kannada country. To
old Saiva schools of Lakulisa, PaSupata and Kalamukha,
Karnataka contributed something new. A new vital Virasaiva
movement from the 12th centuiy onwards arose from Kalyana,
and it was democratic and reformative, taking in Saiva influence
from the Vedas and Agamas and assimilating the forces coming
from Kashmir and Gujarat and drinking deep the Saiva Siddhanta
on the one side, the Nayanmars and the Periyapurcinam of the
Tamils on the other.

The Vaisi^ava sect developed two systems, the Silvaisnavism
which got into Karnataka from Kanci and Srlrafiga under Sri
Ramanujacarya, introducing the Prapatti school of Bhakti into our
life, and the o.her wholly native to Karnataka, that of Si I Ananda
Txrtha, known otherwise as Sri Madhva. Both the Vai^ava
schools were monotheistic, whereas the Vedantic system propogated
by Sri Sankaracarya was Monism, Advaita. Sankara set-up his
Pltha at Spageri ; Madhva at Udupi in South Kanara and
Ramanuja, at Melukote. Philosophically and from the point of
view of worship, there were differences in docttine and message,
but the Smftis held sway over the people in matters of conduct and
law ; for the ethical and social system derived from them. Only
the Srivaisijava faith made social conditions more flexible. The
Madhva influence inspired a special spiritual type of Bhakti in
Orissa and Bengal which lead to the Caitanya and the Goswamis
of Mathura and Vrndavan. The Virasaiva movement threwofF what
were deemed the inequalities of the caste system, and enfranchised
women and those called the castes outside the Varria-pale. The
Bhakti doctrine of Ramanuja threw open the temples of Visnu-
worship to these. The Azwars being recognised as equal to the
Bhaktas of the Epic and the Puram"c period like Prahl^da, Dhruva,

Bali, Vibhlsana, Narada, and Bhlsma. Samskrt came to be the ins-
trument of all this dynamism for the extension of this new influence
which pervaded the whole of Karnataka.

Along with the Vedic and the Epic influence came the Agamas
and along with Samskrt, the Prakrit, both in Pali and Ardha-
magadhi. The stories of Udayana and Dasakumaracarita,
Pancatantra etc. were directly and/or indirectly a source of affection
for our people. Along with literature., secular, religious and
philosophic, the study of Language, Prosody, Poetics etc. estab-
lished themselves in the writings and curriculum of studies of
scholars. The authority of Kautilya and Brftaspati was felt in the
organisation of political and economic life and Vatsyayana was
studied. Manasolldsa, an early work, spoke of many aspects of
life and thought and art. VijnaneSvara added a commentary
Mitaksard, to the Ydjfiavalkya SmrtL Manu was still accepted as the
great Law-giver. Kings and chieftains declared themselves as
protectors of the Varriasrama Dharma, which was nothing but
the 'Srauta-Smarta,'* which came to be known in later days as
Hinduism. Not only Panini and Patanjali were studied, but a
Kannada Satavahana ruler was the patron of a Sarvavarman, who
gave the Katantra school which sought to simplify the Parunian
system. Jainendra and Sakatayana systems also were studied.
There were great grammarians in the Kannada country. Two of
our grammarians wrote their Kannada Grammars in Samskrt
Sutras. Grammar and Logic were particularly dear to the Madhva
system. Prosody was as much a field of study and practically all
the Kananda writers who came after Nrpatunga were conversant
with the principles enunciated in Pingala and the other writers
on Metres. Indeed they revelled in exhibiting their skill in the
many forms of Vrtta, in the Kannada Campu which arose almost
simultaneously with the Nala Campu in Sanskrit by Trivikrama in
the Ratrakuta Court. In the handling of the Vrttas, the Kannada
poets made the four-line structure more flexible and integral;
introduced a />rastf-pattern at the second letter in each line and
added an Arthayatl in addition to or supersession of what was a
necessary Yatt in lines beyond the Tritubh lines. The Karnataka
people were familiar with the Nafyasastra. All the speculations of
the masters of Poeacs and all works on Poetics in Karnataka
closely follow or are based on the Masters of Samskrt Poetics.

To Music, Drama and Dance, Nafyasastra was a never-failing
source of reference and inspiration. High was the prestige of
Samskrt and of the Masters who weilded the Samskrt language, in
interpretation arid disputation to win prestige and distinction m
courts and learned sabhas. Many of our poets and writers were

well versed in these technical subjects wanted to distinguish them-
selves as at least equals to the Sanskrit writers in those branches.
In a beautiful stanza Raviklrti of the Aihole (C. 600 A.D.) inscrip-
tion mentions Kalidasa and Bharavi which indirectly helps to fix a
date limit for Kalidasa. One of our writers speaks of his being
greater four-fold than Kalidasa himself ! A Karnataka poetess by
name Vijjika, is so self-conscious as to say that if only Daridin had
seen her, he would not have described Sarasvatr as fi Sarva-ukl&*
a.nd she goes one step further :

Eko* bhun nalinat parastu pulinad anyastu valmlkatat/
te sarve kavayo bhavanti tebhyonamab kurmahe/
Arvanco yadi gadyapadya-racanais cetas* camatkurvate
tesam murdhni dadami vamacaranarh KarnatarajapriyaH

Some of the Kar^iataka poets speak of themselves as being masters
of three or four languages. Their knowledge of Jaina Literature
made them use the Kagavaka metrical patterns in what they wrote
as Ragales which only Halayudha mentions as 'Raghatd Bandhairf ',
and which Jayaklrti possibly a Kannada Jain writer defines
as Kannada part of metric form in the 7th Chapter of his
Chandonusasanam.

Kannada language uses all the alphabets of the Samskrt
language, dropping / and 1, adds a shorter form each of e ando
and two essentially Dravidian letters r and / and so Kannada
language can use all the letters of the Samskrt language in its
choice of words and in composition and is fitted to articulate
clearly and distinctly any and every sound of an Indian language.
The practice of young people was to get by heart the three Kartgas
of Amarakosa in the olden days and that enabled youngsters to
master not only words, parts of speech, mythology and varieties of
meanings and grammatical structure in Samskrt but enabled perfect
pronunciation. It built up memory and helped them in later years
to understand even the most recondite writings in Samskrt and to
express themselves through Slesas and other clever and learned
forms of composition.

Except when a show off is intended Kannada writers simpli-
fied Samskrt forms and used what are called Tatsama and Tadbhava
words freely in addition to the Desi words. Writers who have
desired pride of place among learned men have affected the Mnrgi
style but quite a number of them have rebelled against the use of
too much Samskrt. One or two go to the extent of saying he is
writing pure Kannada. Generally a fine balance of Samskrt and
Kannada has been the feature of many of the best writers of the
country. The Tadbhavas are formed directly from Samskrt or

adopted through intermediate or Prakrt forms. Even when the
language and the metres used are Desi, like Ragale, $atpadi and
the Snngatya, the conventions and technique of the Marga literature
are usually accepted and followed.

Among the activities of the Kannada people, I have mentioned
the patronage extended to Samskrt by the Kings as noteworthy.
Learning Samskrt was rarely neglected. Under such patronage
works like Bilhana's Yikramfinkadevacarita were composed. Bharavi
is known to have been a guest in the court of the Ganga king
Durvinita ; the king, in addition to writing a few good works in
Samskrt himself, seems to have written a commentary on the XV
Canto of the Kimtarjuniya. A Vijayanagar Queen Gangadevi wrote
the Vlrakamparnyacarita on the conquests by her husband in the
South. Scholarship in disciplines ancillary to literature and to the
Vednnta and in the studies of the Jaina religion, in the Tantra and
Gaktl cults found many followers and propagators. In the
Vedangas, both for the exposition and clarification, much work was
done here. The studies in Natya, Silpa and Citra based on N&tya
Sastra, Abhinayadarpaya, Dasarupaka, Bhavaprakasana etc. have
yielded special forms to sculpture, architecture, painting and
dancing. [Sangltaratnakara by] Sarngadeva, Somanatha, Kallinatha,
Yidyaranya and Madhava, Pundarlka, Vitthala, Nijaguna Sivayogi
and Purandaradasa established what is called the Southern or
Karnataka School of Indian Music.

When North India could barely defend itself for the daily
tasks of life, the best part of the conservation of the Veda, Sastra
and Literature, Cultural institutions, modalities and practice were
all preserved here.

INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON THE PHILOSOPHY
AND RELIGION OF KARtf ATAK

DR. B. R. KULKARNI
Director, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi

Kanriataka Philosophy as all Indian Philosophy goes hand in
hand with religion. It will be difficult to stamp doctrines enunciated
by Karnataka thinkers exclusively as philosophical or as religious.
Philosophical doctrines are coloured with religious fervour and
religious practices embody philosophical truths.

In Karnataka philosophy and religion, we find two types of
writers, those writing in Sanskrit and those writing in Kannada.
The philosophical and religious ideas found in Kannada literature
are deeply influenced by Sanskrit which is veritably the watershed
of all philosophies and religions developed in different languages
in India. Ideas inherited from ancient Sanskrit literature are so
much in the air that we do not realise what influence they wield on
us. The wisdom that has come down from Sanskrit thinkers has
become a part of our being. r ^/e do dot know the great debt we
owe to Sanskrit tradition ; for, it is impossible for us to separate
ourselves from it. So too our customs, traditions, outlook on life,
ideals, the individual and social systems of behaviour are so much
rooted in Sanskrit that Sanskrit has ' ecome the very sap of our
life. We are so wrapped up by ideas coming from Sanskrit that it
is difficult to talk of mere influence of Sanskrit ; Sanskrit is the
elan-cmn-ethos of the whole of Indian Culture.

Sanskrit lore is a significant ingredient in our intellectual life
the development of which cannot be appreciated apart from that
background. A study of Sanskrit literature is a precondition of
the understanding of thought in the regional languages.

Sanskrit writers touched all aspects of life, theoretical and
practical, aixd discussed them with equal acuteness and thorough-
ness. They had known different theories of knowledge like realism,

( 106 )

idealism, and criticism ; formulated various metaphysical doctrines
like absolutism, dualism, theism, pantheism, monism or pluralism ;
examined the status of the world and the individual in relation to
the ultimate reality ; discussed the divergent ethical theories of
hedonism and asseticism reconciling them in eudaemonism; analysed
threadbare the religious pursuits of man and determined the place
of Jnana, Karma, Bhakti and Dhyana in attaining to the highest
ideal.

If we study the history of Karnataka philosophy and religion,
we note that there are two strands in its development, viz., one of
the Acaryas who wrote scholarly Sanskrit commentaries on the
scriptures, and the other of poets writing in Kannada. The
influence of Sanskrit on the Acaryas need not be reiterated as it is
too obvious from the fact that they have commented on scriptures
in Sanskrit itself. The poet-saints of Karnataka have taken many
a doctrine from, Sanskrit though they have written in Kannada, In
some of them we find an exposition of the traditional doctrines
while in others there is a good deal of contribution from personal
experience. Phraseological and methodological impact makes its
appearance everywhere. These writers have also borrowed profusely
from Sanskrit philosophical and religious vocabulary.

Even a glance at Kannada literature in general will make
clear the impact of Sanskrit on it. Kannada works of the Mahak&vya-
type are the direct descendents from Sanskrit. Kumaravyasa's
Bhurata and Torave^s Rdmayana may be cited as examples. Many
of the great Jain a writers have owed their inspiration to these epics
though their versions of R&m&yava and Mahabhdrata are slightly
modified perhaps to suit the Jain a ideology. Pampa, the greatest of
the Jaina poets, has narrated the story of MahabhUrata in Kannada
and Nagacandra has written on RnmUyana. There are direct
references to Sanskrit texts in Kannada works. Mahipati of
Kakhandki says : "I consulted the four, the six and the eighteen."
meaning thereby the four Vedas, the six Sastras and the eighteen
Purartair. Such writings are rooted in orthodox tradition. The
Vacanas of Vlraaiva poet-saints are called Kannada Upaniads
which indicates the desire to raise any profound philosophico-
mystical treatise to the status of an TJpanisad. Many of the
philosopher-saints of Karnataka are writers of great Vedantic
learning, not to speak of their insight into Yogic physiology. In
the strain of the traditional Acaryas, Nijagunaivayogi makes a
survey of the a<ldaranas and then puts forth his own philosophy
of Advaita in his Viveka-cintnmcwi and Anubhavctsara. Ranganatha
wrote the Anubhavumyta to develop Advaita philosophy. Advaita

Vedanta has reached even up to Kannada folk songs : n-rr
?rfterc<rr ^?rq- ij^Tr by the poet Sang is an example. A number O f
Siddhas like Ravanasiddha and Kadasiddha famous in Karnat Ir
were great Yogins. Vaisnavite saints of Karnataka who a *
Dvaitins owe the origin of their doctrine to Madhvacarya. In th
Haridasa literature, we clearly discern the basic doctrines of Dvait
philosophy. Jagannathadasa's Harikalhdmrtasara can well be said
to be a Dvaita encyclopaedia.

The impact of Sanskrit in the field we are dealing with maybe
methodological, phraseological and ideological, not to speak of its
deep stamp on religious practices. As regards validity of knowledge
we have in Kannada literature both faith and reason, faith exhibited
in the elucidation of scriptural teachings and reason found mainly
in the subtle dialectics of the Vacana literature. For Kumaravyasa
the authorities are : the Vedas, Vedangas, Puranas, Smrtis, the
Purva and Uttara Mimanasas and Nyaya. Dialectics of a' high
order is found in the argument and counter-argument put forth by
the parties in debate, a veritable intellectual warfare, as in the
conversation Prabhudeva has with Siddharama or Muktayakka.

The different methods found in Sanskrit philosophical and
religious literature find their replicas in Kannada literature as well.
To note a few of them : we see the enigmatic method in a Vacana
where it is stated that a merchant of Jambu isle gathering his fares
set up his stall. He was overcome by insatiable thirst. A baby
carries his mother's dead body on its back (^q- *fqr^ I. 15). This
is to be understood as the Jiva, carrying the burden of the" body
accumulating past Karmas with desires and passions which are
unquenchable. Similarly we come across a song of Purandaradasa ;
* 'there is a silent being in the assembly of saints : it does not appear
does not eat, does not demand. It knows every thing but does not
speak ; it does not go any where". This silent being must be
interpreted as the Nisprapanca Brahman which is aloof from the

^sin^v air ^ We are familiar wit > the use of t*e symbolic method
fc * w eXample > in the ^tasvatara Upanisad (I. 4) there
is a remarkable account of a great circumscribing felly with three
tyres, sixteen ends, fifty spokes and so on, which if to be^nlrstood
as Reality with three Gunas, sixteen Kalas and fifty Bhavas,

^ et 7 mol g'~ cal ^thod which depends upon
meamng to ev ^ tetter of a word. For example,
" 21 explain the -tymologicai moaning of
> AUM. The first letter A (ofctf) of the
r * p *** a ttainment, the second letter

means Utkarsa or exaltation and M (rnakard) means Miti

<, 109 )

6r measurement. So too the letters of the name 'Allamaprabhu* are
interpreted by Kannada writers. "A" will lead to Aisvarva <T "
to Lakullsa or Siva ; "Ma" stands for crossing t^ Mn^abdhi or
Ocean of Mayn, "Pra" leads one to the vision of Prabha or splendour
and "Bhu" will lead to Bhutesvara or God iva.

In the analogical method the lesson is brought home by way
of examples. The Chandogya Upanisad talks about the rivers flowing
into the ocean and losing their individuality to show the non-
difference of the individual from the universal souL The same
analogical method is found in Kannada, many times developed into
a continued metaphor, as in Sarpabhusanasivayogi who says that
the body is the field, tranquillity and self-control are the oxen,
equanimity is the manure, the seed is the teacher's instruction, and
you reap the harvest of firm and continuous freedom of the soul
(s th iramukti) .

As many of the philosophical topics are discussed in the form
of dialogues (Samvadd) in Sanskrit, so too we find the dialogue
method used profusely in Kannada literature. The famous characters,
Yajnavalkya and Maitreyl who figure in Sanskrit literature are
found in Kannada also.

Alongside is the monologic method too where the person is
engaged in a conversation with himself. Here a saint loses himself
in a revery and almost thinks aloud as in the post-ecstatic
monologue ; Cf. Ha vu ha ..... Ahamannam...(Jkzm>fyfl III. 10. 5-6).
Similarly MahTpati of Karnataka exclaims : 'When the highes.t
desire I could ever contemplate is fulfilled, what else now remains
to be achieved ? The knowledge of the real nature of the Jiva and
Siva and their inter-relation has dawned upon me and I experienced
the truth of So*ham\

We now proceed to the phraseological impress. Though
Kannada literature has contributed to religious and philosophical
thought and though VlraSaivaism in particular might have added to
the religious practices, the diction throughout is dominated by
Sanskrit. The philosophical terms like

or the psychological terms like
and q^^r^^fpSTZTs or the Yogic physiological terms

like 5^ftr*fv, 53T, fq-*rsnr, 3*^1,, fw^, sr^nc ^^ or ST^T-^ST are
found again and again in Kannada literature. Look at the descrip-
tion of an ideal Yogin given in Kannada :

*ftf*r

-M <*fftM| fa' ^ff^ fif*r; or again a

( no )

Kannada lyrical prayer : iTWl^Fr *W * *
or yet again *ft "'

Are not these lines likely to be taken as instances of Kannada
words used in Sanskrit passages rather than vice versa ?

Sanskrit sentences are taken verbatim and used tactfully i n
the course of an argument : ST^ftr^^tg^t*^ sjf^ ifteg (^ *f. III.
116); 2f^r^T f^r^ fa:^ ^^=sq% (g;. *f. ill. 119);

and

Phraseological identity is not confined only to a few phrases
or terms referred to above. In most of the cases ideological identity
which we shall presently notice, is also seen. Sanskrit terminology
has been so profusely woven into the texture of Kannada language
that these Sanskrit terms have commanded a permanent place in
Kannada thought.

The ideological impact is far too important to be summarily
treated. We shall therefore note this impact in different branches
of philosophy like epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and religion.

Coming to some of the Karnataka epistemological doctrines,
we find them asserting that those who boast about their knowledge
are away from God ; they really do not know. This is similar to
the Upaniadic assertion that those who think they know, really do
not know. In line with Sanskrit thought, in Kannada literature
also Ajnuna or ignorance is taken to be the root- cause of all
bondage. In fact all Indian philosophy has always subscribed to
.this. According to ordinary psychology all senses are opaque,
The eye cannot hear ; nor can the ear smell. But in supersensuous
experience, this is not so. We read in the Upaniads about vision
without eyes and audition without ears : q-^^iTErer: ST ^J'rftcirW:
We find such expressions in abundance in Kannada literature.
Purandaradasa goes a step further and points out the fact of
interchange and apperception in mystical experience. He says that
the eye is not only able to hear but is also able to smell, taste and
touch. This is true of all the sense-organs. This unique experience
Purandaradasa attributes to faofrfcOT. This ft^T ^fc&X is what Kant
termed original, synthetic, transcendental unity of apperception, the
central sun of knowledge by whose light and attraction discrete
.sensations are raised into form and system. In Bhngavata, Dhruva
$ays that the immanent God enkindles all our sensory and motor

( ill )

organs. Likewise we find Siddhalingesvara holding that God is the
inspirer of all external and internal sense organs. He uses the
expression :

We find in the Chandogya Upanisad a conflict between the
claims of intellect and will for supremacy. There are passages
which lay stress on Will as the primary reality while in others
intellect becomes supreme. Similarly there is a controversy between
Reason and Will in the dialogue between Prabhudeva and Mukta-
yakka. Prabhudeva stresses the necessity of identity of Jnana and
JtLriya (reason and will) after one has annihilated the sense of ego.
The theory that knowledge is of two types runs through Kannada
philosophy. The distinction which the Advaita Vedanta makes
between Vy U vahurika Jnana and Paramarthika Jnana* the Buddhists
between Samvrti and Parinispanna and the Jainas between Vyavahara
and Niscaya is expressed in, Kannada as Upadhika and Upadhirahita
Jnana. These are the two degrees of truth, the empirical and the
transcendental which are too familiar to need elucidation.

We come across the analysis of mental processes when we are
told that those who claim that they have cleansed the mind are
still in the domain of mind. For Prabhudeva mind has no absolute
existence. It is to be transcended. In fact it has to cease to be
for the attainment of the absolute. Gaudapada has already said
that to realise the Advaya principle, mind will have to be transcended.
Mind works in the domain of Maya and creates the appearance' of
duality, Dvayubhnsa. When the objects of the mind are gone Manas
ceases to be i.e. it becomes Amana (III. 21-32).

The poet-saint Mahanta in his poem cT^T 37 %ft>^ *f ^ r efers
to the epistemological aspect of cosmic consciousness and tells us
that he was himself the subject-world and the object-world as well
as the subject-object relation. This is nothing but the famous
Vedanta doctrine of Tripulilaya where the distinction between the
subject, the object and the subject-object relation is wiped out in
the unitive experience.

We do not want to make a plea that Kannada literature is
just a replica of Sanskrit and that it has borrowed everything from
Sanskrit. We want to show that the roots of Kannada philosophy
and religion are in Sanskrit though the development of these ideas
is in Kannada. Regional genius has enriched them and for the
nourishment of what has been inherited from Sanskrit, they halve
provided a healthy environment,

Coming to the views of Kannada philosophers regarding the
nature of the ultimate reality, the reality of the world and the nature

( 114 )

and destiny of the individual soul, which three constitute the
fundamental metaphysical problems, we find the Absolute being
described as the subtlest of the subtle, immaculate, indivisible and
omnipresent. The absolute is not only self-luminous but also self-
conscious. Interestingly enough Kannada writers term the Absolute
as Mahvkaranabrahman or Parataravastu. Brahman which is
(non-dual), tpynr (unparallelled), f*ra?T* (partless),
(untainted), *rf5*reFre (truth, consciousness, bliss), and
(eternally perfect) in order not to remain alone, created in itself,
by an act of its own spontaneous sport, myriads of macrocosms and
microcosms. All this seems as if taken from the Upanisadic
description of Brahman (Chandogya VI). Both the Sanskrit and
Kannada writers agree that the ways of the Absolute are inscrutable.

Further the Absolute is described in the Upanisads as that
which the eye is not able to see, but which enables the eye to see
and in Sunyasampndane (III. 78) as that which reveals everything
but itself remains unrevealed. Agnostic tendencies, as in Sanskrit
philosophy, are not wanting in Karnataka thought. If the Upaniads
declare the Absolute as that from which the speech and the mind
return back without appropriating it, the Kannada philosophers
regard it as beyond the grasp of speech and mind. Even the
expression used is src^TiftScffa' (*?TO *fo III. 112). As in the
*NasadIya Sukta* which delineates the mysteriousness of creation,
the ViraSaiva mystics hold that GuheSvara or the ultimate reality was
there when the primal ground or support was not there, when
neither void nor non-void was there, nor that which moves nor
moves not was "there.

According to Kumaravyasa as according to Nicholas of Cusa
there is in God the coincidence of opposites. Thus according to
him Kj-sna is both ^04^ an d spszpfcT manifest and un manifest ;
He is both Sat and Asat, being and non-being (Adiparva 11-10).
He creates the world but remains uncontaminated by it. He
devours the world but is not cruel. He protects the world but does
not become infatuated (Udyogaparva IX. 70-71). On such a
positive-negative characterisation of God and ascription to the
God-head of the three functions of creation, preservation and
destruction, the influence of Sanskrit is obvious. Kumaravyasa
makes an important point that Krna whom he regards as the
ultimate reality is simultaneoxisly present in all four states of
consciousness, viz^., ^mra;, ^r, ^rfer and gaf. Further we find in
him the different philosophical theories like DvaUa, Vii$tadvaita
and Advaita as well as a synthesis of Jnuna, Bhakti and Karma.

As to the status of the world, there are frequent references to
the Maya doctrine in Kannada literature. Everybody including
Brahma, Visnu and all creatures are under the spell of Maya. The
Bfhadnranyafca Upanisad recognises the moral order which governs
the cosmos (III. 8-9). Similarly the Saint of Nimbargi refers to
the cosmic law in his song f%rcirT^> TfT^1% where he says that it is
God who supports the canopy over our heads and directs the
motions of the sun and the moon. Kumaravyasa in his Mahabharata
says that the world is empirically real because it is experienced ;
but transcendental ly ideal because ultimately it is grounded in
Paratattva which is Nirguna or formless.

The realism of Samkhya is accepted by theistic thinkers of
Karnataka who trace the evolution of the world to Prakrti.

Coming to the nature and destiny of the Soul, the terms
'Bayalu* and 'Nirbayalu* in Kannada literature signify Jiva and
Brahman. The famous phrase 'Bayalige Bayalu Nirbayalu indicates
the mergence of Jiva in Brahman, The Sajsthala Siddhnnta of
VIraSaiva philosophy describes the stages by which the Jiva
approaches the Brahman. Though the exfoliation of the stages is a
special feature of Virasaiva philosophy the central idea running
through the whole doctrine is a familiar concept of the process of
Jiva becoming Brahman.

Side by side with this Advaitic philosophy there is also develop-
ment of Dvaita theory. In Jagannathadasa we find the fundamental
tenents of Ovaita philosophy. The doctrine of Bheda that Jiva is
not one with Brahman even in moksa stands in bold relief in him.
There is also a great stress that Paramn tmabhakti leads to Mok$a.

Prabhudeva points out that when one realises J&rahman, all
doubt in Karma* Jnnna and Bhakti is expelled from one's conscious-
ness. Brahman cannot be realised unless the tie between body and
soul is broken. Has not the Upanisad said :

H *The knots of the heart are loosened,
all doubts vanish when ultimate reality is visualised.* The song
OTft ! ^rf^r: I^Rf re-echoes the teaching contained in the Brahma-
satra III. 4-1 which says that Vision itself is liberation.

In their ethical teachings Kannada writers have freely borrowed
from Sanskrit. They advocate that in a virtuous man the five
senses (qps?%fesrs), the seven passions (srepsoreFTs), the six tiemies
(*rff! s )* and eight kinds of pride (spss^s) are vanquished. The
idea that senses lead to destruction is present in the famous Vacana
of Alcha^4e5vara : ^r^f^rf^nrf^^T; due tcr the fcttr Action of tfie

object of the eye, the moth is destroyed ; of the ear, the deer meets
its doom ; of the nose, the bee is caught in a flower ; of the skin,
the elephant is subdued ; of the tongue, a fish is entangled.
AkhandeSvara puts forth that only one sense leads these creatures
astray and bewails that he himself is oppressed by all the five senses.
Does this not appear to be a reproduction of the verse :

ft^r 1 1

The idea that one has to become a devotee and leave aside all
egoism is a familiar concept in both the literatures.

In Basava we find an echo of the Nisk&ma Karma doctrine in
that he emphasises the reconciliation between activism and renunci-
ation. He prescribes that all work should be done in. the spirit of
service to God. Again we find the synthesis of Bhakti, Kriyn,
Jnana and Dhynna in the $atsthala Siddhunta*

One of the ethical problems, viz., the freedom of Will is
discussed by Jagannathadasa. He classified men into three types.
In the first place some people believe that everything is done by
God, whether good or bad. This is exactly what the Kausitaki
Upanisad says : ^ f ? qcf *rrf p*f 37rOTf5T"<T V rrcf 5^75 *tf
tTXflf[a U (III. 9). The doctrine of predestination in the Gita is
clearly reflected in Kumaravyasa who says that the Jivavrata or the
multitude of souls has not any Svatantrya or freedom (Udyogaparva
IX. 73-74). If God does not intend a thing, it will never come to
pass inspite of the best intentions on the part of the individual to do
it. Secondly, there are some who regard man as responsible for
all actions good or bad ; this speaks for complete freedom for man
man 1S the architect of his own destiny. ^fAr g^cf fttrffcRTT 37
3%feaTr^5T ?nc nMPa echoes the same idea. Jagannuthadasa talks
9f the third type of 'men who say that they do bad actions while
God does good actions. But he does not only classify men. He
grades them He says that those who take the agency of actions
upon themselves are the lowest, who own bad actions and give the
credit to God of good actions stand in between and those who
attribute both good and bad actions to God are the highest.

i religious practices, we may note that the very
T*T which we ar.e enjoined to meditate upon, is
Itself in Sanskrit, Tfep a^votee is looked upon as the bondsman

( 115 )

of God. The word Jagannathadasa uses in this connection is
which is common in Raman ujian philosophy of religion. The
whole mode of worship right from invoking the deity in the image
(?rr^T^) to respectful send off to the deity (fro^r) through the
Vpacaras is again in the spirit of Sanskrit tradition.

The virtues we are asked to cultivate are silence (*?>?),
equanimity (*T*T3T), detachment (^FZT). Cittasuddhi or purity of
mind is also stressed. Basava in one of his Vacanas says that truth,
absence of self-flattery, non-hatred is what constitutes internal
purity and external purity. It is no wonder if the whole gamut of
virtues is the same here as in Sanskrit literature. The virtues taught
in Sanskrit philosophy are universal. There is no reason why the
Kannada writers should not accept in toto what has come to their
hands ready-made as part of their cultural inheritance.

Narasimha gives an allegory on the process of shooting at the
target of Brahman. The gun-powder is the initiation by the spiritual
teacher. Further, a steady posture is prescribed. The body is the
gun and Bhakti, Jnuna and Vairagya are the three fingers. The
same allegory is found in the Upanisad :

IT. 2. 3-4) : shoot at Brahman with an unswerv-
ing mind. While stressing the necessity of concentration for self-
realisation, Gurus iddha prescribes that mind, breath and sight
(*Ff, 'TsnT, ^fcs") must DC focussed together. The emphasis laid in
the Yoga philosophy on trspnicrT or one-pointed concentration need
not be reiterated.

Cidananda in his song rrq- *rrefk*rr ^5^ sa y s that having lost
all bodily consciousness he became the spectator of all existence.
We see here the infiltration of the idea of Snksi of Samkhya
philosophy. The Yoga ideal that after realisation the self abides in
its own nature ^rSTT &*&: '$4 ^S^^TT?n^ is met with in Kannada
literature times without number.

Ananda or bliss is the spiritual ideal in many a system of
philosophy. So too in Kannada literature, we have Nirupadhisiddha
who enunciates the ideal of M<cKM?^. The account given by
Prabhudeva of an ideal saint is full of traditional ideas : wherever
the saint casts his eye, that place becomes sanctified ; whatever
falls from his lips, constitutes the highest instruction ; whatever
water he touches, becomes a Punyatirtha (holy waters) ; those who
come into contact with him are liberated at once

(116)

The Vedas extol the released soul as the over-lord
ruling in the kingdom immortal (nipt jfa), while Kannada
mystics enthrone him on the ^qfifyOT throne of the infinite in the
or spiritual assembly.

We find similarities in many fields ; but every time we find a
similarity, we need not say that it is due to the impact of Sanskrit,
The expression may be similar because the experience itself is
similar. This is particularly true of the spiritual experience which,
as Dr. R. D- Ranade points out, is universal. The similarity of
expression is due to the universality of mystical experience. That
is, spiritual experiences like Anahata Nada (the subtle sound), Rupa
(form), Tejas (Light), Amrtarasa (ambrosia) are repeatedly found in
mystical literature. The words particularly found in Kannada
literature are Nada, Bindu and Kato.

Thus it will not be an exaggeration to say that there is not
merely an impact of Sanskrit on Kannada philosophy and religion
but Kannada philosophical literature is just a further elucidation of
Sanskrit philosophy in local language. Here ancient doctrines ara
taken up, accentuated, transformed and adopted ; they are thus
given anew garb and handed on to posterity.

KASHMIRI AND SANSKRIT

SRI BADARI NATH SASTRI
Lalit Kala Academy, Srinagar (Kashmir)

517 ^r^nr *f srftrs TT i q-|t %

?fV ^f^J TO ^cr ^TT^: "^rr^^f^ % f^rq;
n i
ferr

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: f% Of^:

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goff ^
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\

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-*ft ^c^r i ^JTOTVK %
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( ?voofo)
OTT

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n

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fangs'

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sft m H^^^r % rrnr ^r ^ft 5r%^c I,

i

crrr

(?)
(^)

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(RTfd*dM'

) ^^t ^t ^rr^rr

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European Family) ^r^ *rTnp ft^^gr q^ ^^: % i *f*rrc

t ^rf
f i

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f i firar^r % ^ET ^t ^r ?rnr TsrnfV w^rr ^nf

i
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"[Elements of the sciences of language, By Taraporewala p. 362]

i

OTT ^Tr^to ^nqruff ^ srmfirar | i

3T

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ft rf ^: T^ftft^rtrr $f ^rf ^r^ sriwar OTT

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it

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vrofrtt ^IWT ^r ^ ftrarer | i ^r <ss*r' w snwr

ftm

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%

:, *nwRiRi?iT,

, S^TThC, TT^ c ftT,

cf % ^g?r PT^S f r

^f qr% ^n% ^ i ^Ef^Rra'
& Verbal Derivations)
^ft ^f

'STTcTT | I

cTrr ^^?cff (Nominal Derivations
*tT**JI<i' qr g^^T q~T | I ^

%

?r

Indeclinable Participles)

| i ^f

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tf

of imperfect past) grqr ^fte

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i ^f^^r %
(Imperative Mood)

f ^

% (use

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%

srnr:

c^ff

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ag-

%$T*r

(exception)

: ^f^fr^r %

wort ^T^^T srr^cr ^f WIVK 'i' ^f tfVafira 1 51? I

SRT

w

(Exception)

cTTq- cTFT

dMMI

(Exception)
TTTT

( 125 )

si*:

STT5

CO

WTff

(f-xccption)

( 126 )

(Exception)

(Exception)

w 3%

*fcnfr i ^^

(O : ^r %

srn^r ^ rr^ T v ^ f

^^
wr

,

5

( 127 )

Exception

i
i

j

*r5r *r*r

^rr ^ftcq-fer i
i

j

i

I
I

i

^rr ^-nq-^r i ^-TTTO- ^tr crfar

^rr

5=r" ?=Trf ^Tcf^ t fq- ^Ff T^ ftf

i

i qTTW ^r 1% i

i *r> TT 3f?T

( Syntax) vMm ^TW^?TT %

( 128 )

TTT

Pr

C 129 )

qranr

*rHRl

flnnr

f^sq-

rTTl

[<rrqra>) SP?T

% qmr :

SK

q-uf q-UUT

4ft Vf ^| i

f Tf

I

^137 3?fr srnsft

)

Hi^4 < H<4 ^ **'*'

( 132 )

- T,

IT-

W % OT <ffl flT flflWr

fer

m

v

INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON MAITHILI
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

DR. JAYAKANTA MlSHRA, M.A., D. PHIL

Reader, Allahabad University.

The History of Mithila has been singularly free from wars and
conquests. 1 With the exception of about a dozen occasions, the
Kings of Mithila have been mainly engaged in building up traditions
of learning and art. Indeed, Plato's ideal of 'philosopher Kings'
has perhaps been fulfilled in no other country of the world except
Mithila (e.g. Janaka and MM. Mahes"a Thakkura).

Before 1 ,000 B.C. Mithila was the great centre of Vedic and
Upanisadic lore; it was the age of Janakas and Yajnavalkyas. Then
followed the foundation of at least five of the six orthodox systems
of philosophy; from about 1000 B.C. to 600 B.C. Mithila,
according to some scholars, had the proud privilege of having the
rare galaxy of Gautama 3 , the author of Nyaya Sutras, Kanada 8 the
propounder of Vaisesika System, 4 Jaimini, the founder of Mimamsa,
Kapila the propagator of S&nkhya Szstra, and Vyasa the first
author of Vedanta philosophy. From the Sixth to the Third
Century before Christ, VaiSall, a town within Mithila's borders,
became a renowned stronghold ofJaina and Buddhist Philosophy
and Logic. Thereafter we find a gap of about five hundred years.

1 Darbhanga District Gazetteer, p. 22,

2! Shyamnarayana Singh, History of Tirhut, pp. 190-2 ; and
Ganganstha Jha Commemoration Volume (Poona) p. 38S.

3. Vindeshwan Prasad, Introduction to VaUe?ika-DarSana, p. It ;
and Mithilamoda, UdgSra 80, p. 4, f. n. 1.

4. Gang&natha Jhz Commemoration Volume, p, 388.

5. Ibid. It is not clear ifKakarauda and Kapilesvara are both
relics of his residence in Mithila,

6. Mithilamoda, Udgara 114. p. 11 places his ASrama at ViraulL

(, 133 )

( 134 )

By the Sixth Century A.C. or so we have again unmistakable signs
of great literary and philosophical activity. According to Maithila
tradition, Uddyotakara, Marujana, Kumarila, Prabhakara, Vacaspati
Udayana and later Gangesa, Paksadhara and several others
Naiyayikas and MTmamsakas were engaged m combating the
Buddhists, and ultimately re-establishing Brahminical thought in the
province.

After the invasion of Turks ( = Muslims) another occasion
arose when Maithila scholarship asserted itself. While the 'Turks'
succedded in coming down the Ganges as far as Bengal, they some-
how bypassed Mithila, which, therefore, remained for centuries the
home of Hindu learning and culture. Maithila writers of Digests
(Smrti Nibandhd) came forward with Codes of Law and with Hand-
books of Polity 7 wherein they recognised the new conditions and
tried to protect the purity of their ideals and traditions. Of course,
the greatest writers in this field are Ca#dewara and Vacaspati
Misra II.

Even to this day Mithila has been able to preserve her interest
and love of the traditional scholarship. There are spread all over
the country Tols or Catu$p&thi-s (popularly called caupacft-s) where
pandits impart education on the old lines. Hundreds of palm-leaf
MSS. and paper MSS. are read and commented upon in Mithila
even in these days of brisk printing. The official examination
system of Darbhanga Raj (Dhauta pariksn*) is based on the old
Maithila systems of Safakft-PariksaP where the candidate is allowed
even to have his books by his side when experts take his viva-voce;
of course, the old system of taking a SarayantrdP is no longer
current. In the latter system the scholar was even required to
present himself for examination by the public; the scholar who
intended to take a Sarayantra could be asked any question on any
, topic the people liked. From what we know of the last person who

7. See Introduction to Mithila Mss. Catalogue Vol. I and Intro.
to Ca$desvara*s Rajamtiratndkara by Dr. EL P. Jayaswal.

8. Vide, for example, the syllabus for a Dhauta-parik$n published
under the supervision of the late Sir Ganganatha Jha.

9. Vide Satishchandra Vidyabhushan, History of Indian Logic -, p.
522 f. n. 1 and M.M. CJopinatha Kaviraja, Saraswatf Bhawana
Studies VoL IV, p. 62.

10. Sir Ganganatha Jha, Kavirahasya, Dr. K. P, Jayaswal Intro-
duction to Mithila Mss. Catalogue Vol. II ; and R. Jha,
Twelfth All-India Oriental Conference (Benares), proceedings
Vol. I, part 2, pp. 310, 325.

( 135 )

is known to have taken ii, it seems that it was a sort of intelligence
or General Knowledge Test by the public. Similarly, the institution
of Upadhyayus, Muhopfulhyayas, and Mahamahopadhyayas 11 as
graded degrees of seniority among Professors is today extinct.

The marks of this aspect of Maithila Culture are found in
various things. Most of Maithila place-names are commemorative
of the particular branch of learning that has been perfected or
specialized at those places, 1 - e.g. Yajuara (seat of Yajurvedd), Riga
(seat of Rgveda), AthurT (seat of Atharvaveda), Mau-behata (seat of
Undhyandim-sakha). Bhaitasimarl and Bhattapura (seat of Bhatta
School of Miniums;!). Names and even surnames of men, such as
Upadhyaya or Jhii as common surname, indicate the same thing.

Most of the customs and practices of Mithila are also rem-
nants of this very feature. For example, a peculiar custom
mentioned in the Sattiputha Brahmana (IV. iv. iii. 19) is still observed
in Mithila in its original form. On the day after the Sukharatri
festival (corresponding to the Diwali festival) a pig is tied to a post
or tree outside the village where all domestic animals, such as the
cows, buffaloes and bullocks, are brought by every farmer. Then
these animals are given a chance to play with the pig, strike it with
their horns and, it is believed, the more the pig cries the better are
the fruits and harvests of the people (called "Hura-Hurl").

Similarly, there are various customs and usages which can be
traced to the fact that the roots of Sanskritic studies or Brahminical
culture are deeply engrained in Mithilu, Pandita Bhekhanatha Jha
has recently completed his monumental work on this subject after
twenty years' research, called the VyavahdTa-vijft&na. I shall,
however briefly describe one such Maithila game where the
principles of phi losophy are used for dialogue : it is called
"Pheholcla-chhoo" 1 ** It begins with a number of boys throwing
water on all sides. One of them takes up some water in his hand
and asks : "What is in my hand ?** He is told : "Water". Then
comes a second boy who also asks : "what is now in my hand" ?
The answer given is '"An egg*\ Another boy is made to ask :
"who hatched this egg ? % * and he receives the reply that "such and

11. See M. M. Dr. Sir Gangan&tha Jha's Foreword to Kashi
Mishra's edition of MM. Sacala Mora's commentary on

12. I am indebted to the late Ft. Baladeva Mishr^ Librarian, Mss.
section Raj Darbhanga for his information,

13. See Ft, Buladcva Mishra, Khela-mtn Brahma-Vidya (Mithildnka
number of the Afithtt&miMra, Darbhanga).

( 136 )

such a boy (hatched it)". Then follows the query : -Who will
destroy it?" and he answers "such and such a boy (will destroy
it)" Then asks the original questioner, who kneads it ?" and
they will not let him rest till the latter accepts defeat.

Now it is pointed out that the dialogue refers metaphorically
to the first creation of Brahma, viz. water, then it describes the
Brahmanda (cosmos) which can be destroyed by Siva the great
destroyer at the time of Pralaya, and lastly it describes the knocks
and kicks (Dheha) which ajiva gets in this world till he realizes his
defeat and * begins to strive after "mitkti". Such is also the case
with plays like Sataghara, dolabati and other Mithila sports and
pastimes which are based on some philosophical concept or the
other.

The cumulative effect of this extraordinary devotion to the
Sanskrit learning has been on the whole very fruitful in keeping
the lights of scholarship and culture burning throughout the ages.
Nevertheless, it must be said that it has also been responsible for
the excessive orthodoxy and conservativeness that are found in
Mithila. "They (Maithilas) are guided by the mint, anise and
cumin of the Brahminic Law in their everyday life 14 . They view
everything that runs counter to it with great suspicion. The result
has been that when the majority of Indian Provinces were giving
new lease of life to their languages and literatures and customs by
imbibing new influences with the study of Western languages and
liteiatures, Maithilas had remained comparatively static for a long
time. This explains the delay in the introduction of Journalism
and various other forms of literature hi Maithili. This also explains
the almost complete neglect of the local language in the Educational
and Administrative spheres of the Province today.

The exclusive and excessive cultivation of Sanskritic ideals is
also responsible for the archaic, complex and comparatively
synthetic character of the mother-tongue of Maithilas. The verb-
system of Maithili is extremely complicated unlike other Indo-
Aryan languages, with a peculiar combination of honorofic and
non-honorofic forms in the subject as well as in the object of the
verb its nouns continue to take inflexions, and its peculiar
pronouns and certain other features preserve many obsolete links
in the study of Modern Indo- Aryan Philology.

"The practice of using the pronoun of the third person with
an appropriate verb for that of the second person in an extremely
high honorific sense continues to this day, especially in the conver-

14. Grierson, Linguistic Survey, Vol. V, Pt. 2.

sationtbat takes place bet \\ccn a son-in-law and elderly persons
O fhis father, in -law's family and among the Kabirapanthis and
servants class. This goes to suggest that originally, like Sanskrit
bhavW, the word apane, a noun, was used in the sense of the
pronoun of the second person with verbs of the third person, and
gradually with the passage of lime the idea of its being a noun or
pronoun of the third person disappeared and it began to take, like
ah&> the verbs of the first person.

"The word apunc is also found in the nominative in the passive
voice, an idiom in which the nominatives of different persons take
the same form of verb.

"A very extreme form of high respect is indicated by using
the proximate demonstrative pronouns for the second person. In
this case the verb is of the third person. Such a use is generally
confined to the KtrhTrtxpanthis of Mithila and to that of women and
man of the higher classes in course of their conversation and vice-
versa and that of servants and upper classes/' 15

MaithiiT literature has been very closely associated with
Sanskrit* In fact the earliest use of Muithill words has been found
in the form of equivalents of difficult Sanskrit words in early
Sanskrit works such as Vaeasputi Misra^s famous commentary
Bhamati (9th century A JX) or Rucipati Upadhyaya, Jagaddhara
and Vidyapati O*Hh -15th centuries). When we find Maithili emer-
ging as the leading literary language of the whole of Eastern India, it
was Jayadevu's immortal Sanskrit lyrics in Gitagovinda that inspired
the great lyric poets of Maithili Jyotirivara and Vidyapati. Indeed
VidyapatTs eminence as one inspired by Jayadeva's Sanskrit lyrics
was regarded by the award of the title **Abhmava-Jayadeva" by
his illustrious patron Maharaja Siva Shyiha of the Oinivar Dynasty
(1414 A, IX). in VidyapatTs love lyrics* moreover, we may seethe
very essence of Sanskrit love poetry. Kaiidasa, Amaru, Govardhana,
and other Sanskrit pouts of love have provided images and themes
to Vidyapati and his followers* through the ages. Often one may
find allusions and such borrowed images taken for granted by
Vidyapati and one may not follow the argument of the poems if one
does not remember the Sanskrit poetic conventions and images, and
if one remembers them one's enjoyment of their diction and
argument is immensely enhanced*

In the middle period of Maithili literature, Maithili poets
began introducing Maithili translations of Sanskrit verses in the
dramas. Soon they introduced independent Maithiii songs also in
form of the dialogues or introduction of various characters when

15, Dr. Subhadra Jha, Formation of Maithili Language*

they make their appearance. In course of time Maithili prose was
also introduced and both in Mithila and Nepal wholly vernacular
plays came to be written. This is how the great Kirtaniya Drama of
Maithili was brought into being. In the secluded Hindu courts of
Mithila and Nepal Maithili could thus develop a new stage and a
new dramatic tradition different from that of the Sanskrit drama. la
subject-matter of "regular" and "irregular" Maithili dramas the
various Puranas and Epics of Sanskrit have provided the
material. In the 18th century, Manabodha began a tradition of
condensed translation of Sanskrit Puranas in long poems.
Manabodha produced the entire \Harivamsa in 18 chapters only, and
in the 20th century Canda Jha wrote the Ramdyana condensing
Adhyatma Rdrnayana. Such long poems made a great impression
on the Maithili readers. More effective than this has been the
revival of Modern Maithili literature by a series of translations
and adaptation of Sanskrit Puranas in the 20th century. Of
course, in modern times foreign languages and sister Indian
languages have also provided inspiration. But the work of trans-
lation from Sanskrit has not been given up. Almost all important
Sanskrit classics have today been translated or adopted into
Maithili, and some very abstruse and difficult philosophical texts
have been also rendered into Maithili e.g. Sriharsa's Khangana-
khandakhadya and Udayanacarya's Kirandvali, the Brhadnranyaka
Upanisad and the Brahmasutra along with detailed commentaries.

In the end it may be said that like many Modern Indian
literatures Maithili has writers who follow the forms of Sanskrit
literature closely. Not only the plots and themes are from Sanskrit,
the imagery, the prosody and the diction were basically associated
with Sanskrit and Prakrt till recently, and the treatment of
subjects was frequently on the lines of Sanskrit classics; but also
the style of early scholarly works in Sanskrit is perpetuated in
several ways. Thus, the greatest Grammatical Treatise in Maithili
today by Pandit Dinabandhu Jha is written in Sutra-form and has a
long Dhatupatha attached to it in the Paninian manner; the Maithili
Dictionary compiled by the Editor of Mithilamihira is on the lines
of the AmarakoSa and lastly such types as the Mahakavyas and
Kharida-kavyas and Camp&s are still the common forms in which
quite a sizable number of poets in Maithili take pride. Even the pious
Folk Tales (particularly the Vratakathas) are inspired by the ideals of
Sanskrit works, Puranas and Epics. There is a very old custom
m Mithila of obeying a strict procedure of writing letters in
Sanskrit: Vidyapati, Vararuci, Ratnapani and several others have
written hand-books on letter-writing in Sanskrit. In special the
letters of invitations on all social and religious occasions are well

( 139 )

graded to suit all ranks and relations of the host. Now this has a
counter-part in the numerous specimens of letters in Maithill which
form the bulk of medieval Maithili prose,

In one way the literature of Maithili has suffered very much
by the high esteem in which Sanskrit has been held in Mithila, The
Sanskrit scholars have always considered Maithili as the Apabhramfo
language and therefore only lit to embody light literature. This is
w hy we had in the past rarely any serious or scholarly writing in
Maithili. The lit vehicle for it was Sanskrit alone, It is only now
that people are prepared to write serious works also in the
vernacular, Of course, this meant also that the less scholarly of the
Brahmins, the Kayasthas and other classes of society took greater
interest in cultivating Maithili literature, and have thus balanced
the otherwise over-burdening of the language with models and
ideas of Sanskrit literature, and have ultimately brought it nearer
the masses than could otherwise have been possible with its courtly
and aristocratic patronage in the past,

INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON THE
MAITHILI LITERATURE

DR. BECHAN JHA
Professor, Patna University

Mithila is an old country. The Satapatha Brahmaria (1000-
600 B. C.) refers to its boundaries and states that the river Sadanlra
divided the kingdoms of Videha and Kosala. Mithila of to-day was
known by the name of Videha in the Purarias and the epics. In the
Bfhad-Visnu-Puraria (5th Cent.) twelve names of this land are
mentioned.

r i^rfte ^^^fF^rrsfe ii

it

Of these Videha, Mithila and Tirhut are the names most
widely used, Videha being the earliest. The land borrowed the
name of king Videha Mathava, its ruler, who brought Agni,
performed sacrifice and made the region holy and happy. The
capital city of Videha, the modern Janakapur in Nepal territory was
perhaps given the name of Mithila. According to the Ramayana and
the Pwmias, the name originated from its king Mithi. It is derived
from VManth=to churn and explains as

that is, the place where enemies are vanquished.

The geographical boundaries commonly given for Mithila are
sharply defined consisting of the Himalayas on the north, the
Ganges on the south and the Ga$dak and the KoSl on the west and
east respectively. It is to be noted that the northern and southern
boundaries are of special significance. It is not only that the
Himalayas and the Ganges are two of the most sacred geographical

symbols ot Hinduism, but the Ganges has historically represented
aboundry against competing religious practices from the south.
Over the millennia the land north of the Ganges has been a strong-
hold of sandtana dharma, Yedic orthodoxy. The language of this
historical land is known as Maithili, which is grammatically a
distinct language with an independent literature.

Mithila is famous for the study of the different branches of
Sanskrit learning. In ancient times, it was the centre of Vedic and
Upanisadic lore. The foundations of several systems of Indian
philosophy were laid here. Maithili literature has been undoubtedly
influenced by Sanskrit, Almost all notable writers of Maithili
literature were well-versecl in Sanskrit. They followed the lines of
Sanskrit literature closely. Not only has the subject-matter been
taken from Sanskrit, the imagery, prosody and thought have also
been taken. The Maithili grammar has been written in Sutra-form
by Paiidita I>Inbandhu Jha in the Paninian style. Types of Sanskrit
literature, mahnkavya> khavcta-k&vya, campiikavya, have been
imitated. They have been inspired by the Sanskrit Pura^as, and
the epics.

In the following pages J propose to give a brief account of
some important works of Maithili which bear the clear imprints of
Sanskrit literature and tradition,

1. The Var$a-ratnakara > $ description of ocean is the oldest
prose- work in MaithilT. Jt is of the 14th cent, and is preserved in a
unique manuscript on palm-leaf in the library of the Asiatic society,
Calcutta, The manuscript is written in old Maithili characters. The
author of this great work, KaviSckharacarya Jyotin&vara fhakur is
quite a well-known figure in Sanskrit also. He is the author of the
Prahasana called Dhtirtasamftgama and the works on erotics
PaRcasSyaka and Rangatekhara. Dhurtasam&gama is quite a popular
drama which has been published and mentioned in works on
Sanskrit drama by European writers. From the prologue of the
Dhurtasatnngama we learn that Jyotirivara*s father's name was
DhlreSwara and his grand-father was RSmes"vara. He was in the
court of Harisimhadeva, a king of the Karijata dynasty who defeated
the Mohommedan invader. Sultan. JyotiriSvara was an accomplished
Sanskrit scholar and a successful writer. His work Varva-ratndkara
is divided in Chapters called kalhlas as follows :

1. Nagaravarnana, 2, NSyikavanjana, 3. Asthanavanjana,
4. tuvar$aua, 5/ Pray$akavarnana, 6. Bhattadivarnana and
7, SmaSSnavarflana.

This important prose work of Maithili literature is written in
g vernacular speocb with T&$wn# ^d TarfMtfva forms of Sanskrit,

( 142 )

Much of its materials are taken from Sanskrit Puranas and epics.
It is a book in the set pattern in the orthodox Sanskrit style
cultivated by Bana and others.

2. The most famous literary figure in Maithilf history and
the central symbol is the great 15th cent, poet Vidyapati. He was
followed by a long line of poets who imitated his style and who
maintained an unknown literary tradition for more than five
centuries. He has many works to his credit written in Sanskrit,
Apabhrams'a and Maithill. The Paduvdll of Vidyapati is in pure
Maithill language and is preserved in several mss. in the libraries of

Nepal and Mithila.

Vidyapati was born in an age when Sanskrit was the language
of culture and learning in Mithila. He was a contemporary of
renowned Sanskrit scholars, like Pakshadhara. Vidyapati, however,
took bold steps and began to write his songs in a language actually
spoken by the people of his land. He tried to simplify Sanskrit
which was getting difficult to be understood by a man of average
learning. The secret of Vidyapati's popularity lies in the fact that
he brought the true delight of poetry to those who did not under-
stand Sanskrit, especially the womenfolk. Vidyapati has been kept
alive in the throats of lacs of ladies all over Mithila for five
centuries.

The themes of Vidyapati's songs may be classified as 1. songs
depicting love, 2. songs of devotion to Lord Siva and 3. songs
appropriate for social functions like marriage and upanayana. His
songs on the love of Radha and Krna are jewels of Indian lyric
poetry. They exerted a tremendous influence on the lyrics of Bengal,
Orissa and Assam. Vidyapati is a poet of love and while writing
love poetry, Jayadeva's Gltagovinda and the Bhagavata were models
to him. The influence of Sanskrit is no doubt great on his poetry
which is clear when we compare his poetry with the Sanskrit authors
who preceded him. It has been mentioned that while writing lyrics
Jayadeva's Gitagovinda was his model and rightly Vidyapati has
been called <Abhinava Jayadeva*. He has made an abundant use
of the figures of speech such as vakrokti, hyperbole, simile and
metaphor, prevalent in San ski-it. His imagery is influenced by the
conventions of Sanskrit. The imagery is what is inherited from
Sanskrit. A critical and comparative study of Vidyapati shows that
he has been greatly influenced by Sanskrit poets like Amaru,
Govardhana, Bharavi and Magha.

3. In the 17th and 18th centuries many contributions were
made to different forms of Maithill litetature. Many scholars -of
Mithila and Nepal wrote dramas, They are written in Sanskrit

Maithill, generally the speeches are in Sanskrit and songs
^ vernacular. Amongst these Umapati deserves to be men-
are jft rs t. He lived in the court of Hariharadeva and belongs
tl0 h 17th cent. His drama, the Parijataharana was published with

English translation by Sir George A. Grierson. This drama is
based on the well-known Pauriimc legend.

4. Manabodha wrote the Krsna-janma which was published

Grierson in 1882. It is written in pure and simple Maithill
language and narrates the story of the 10th Skandha of Snmad
mgavata of Vyusa. Ramiinati's Rukminixvayamvara, Devananda's
UsQharana also Jesene mention. Sri Chunda Jha's Rcimayana is the
most famous of all works \\riUen in recent years. All these derive
their themes from ancient Sanskrit sources, the MahabMrata and
the Ramayaija .

Among the modern writers of Maithill, names of Kavisekhara
panflt Badrlnalh Jhu, Tan trail fit h J ha, Munsh! Raghunandan Das,
Yatri and Suman deserve mention. Kavisekhara Pandit Badrlnatha
M has composed the I-'kavallpariijaya, a Maithill Mahakavya in
fifteen cantos. It strictly follows the conventions of Sanskrit
MahSknvya and is written in a language full of tatsama words. It
contains descriptions of natural objects the sun, the moon, the
evening, the six seasons, the river, the hermitage etc. in conformity
with the rules laid down by Sanskrit rhetoricians. Sanskrit has
thus exercised its patent influence on Maithill literature.

INFLUENCE OF THE MEGHADUTA ON MALAY ALAM

LITERATURE

MR. K.P.A. MENON, I.A.S.
Commissioner, Jalpaiguri Division,
Jalpaiguri, West Bengal.

Poetry has always remained an effective, attractive and appeal-
ing medium for sending messages to the beloved. The fact that
Adikavi ValmBd himself used it speaks for itself. A new dimension
was however, given to Sandesa Kavyas (message-poems) with Maha-
kavi Kalidasa's Meghadutam. The sigh of the Yaka eking his
existence on the sacred rocky terrain of Ramagiri a sigh burning
with passionate longing, moistened with tears yet fragrant with
fond nostalgia shook the poetic world as never before. History
gave the role to the poets of regional language to develop the
Sandesa-Kavya as a regular class of poems. This is illustrated bv
Malayalam literature also.

The earliest Sandesa KSvyas of Kerala were not certainly
modelled on Kalidasa's work. Popularly known as 'SandeSa-
ppftttnkaT (message songs), these were written by amorous young
men to get the attention and favours of their beloveds who were
flirtatious and rather free with their love. This later developed
into a regular class of poetry (San&Sa Kavya Prasthana) with explo-
sive popularity. Hundreds of Sandefo Kavyas written during these
centuries have been lost to posterity since no attempts were made
to preserve them. The oldest among the Sandete Kavyas of Kerala
available to posterity is the SukaaandeScf written in Sanskrit by the
gifted poet Laksmldasa. y

Before commenting upon the Sandesa Kzvyas of Kerala it
^lh 0t tK e Ut f P 1 ^? menti a ^thing about the society in
which the poets flourished. Whatever might be the general

s^rh 60 ^ 0118 . '/ 116 C0mm n man there exitedfrS
society which comprised the Nambudiri Brahmins, the rulers 3

kmgd oms .ad principalities, petty chieftains and affluent landiorcfc
With assured mcomes from estates or temples tbey ha<J enough.

( 144 ) >;

( 145 )

time for literary pursuits and pleasing pastimes, amorous exercises
getting precedence over anything else. So far as women were
concerned, with the exception of ritual marriages prevalent among
certain classes, it was a period of free love. The hetaerae had the
pride of place in the society and were much sought after by princes
and priests, poets and philosophers with equal fervour. They were
well educated and trained in all artistic pursuits. Many of these
'geishas* of the middle ages were eulogised by poets and often
accepted as consorts by some of the rulers of the period. With the
enviably influential position enjoyed by the hetaerae ic is but natural
that poets often found in them the heroines of their compositions.

In Suka Sandesa the heroine is the charming hetaera Ranga-
laksml. It is supposed to have been written by poet Lakmidasa,
possibly in the second quarter of the fourteenth century. It faith-
fully follows the model of Kalidasa's Meghadutam, but the separa-
tion in this case is only in a dream. The author belonged to the
"Karin gamp ally Swaroopam'% an affluent Brahmin family. As in
many subsequent Sandesa Kavyas, the hero and the author are
identical. While sleeping in the arms of the beautiful hetaera
Rangalaksmi on the terrace of his mansion at Trikkanamtilakam
the hero is separated from her in a dream and finds himself in
distant RameSvaram. The poet chooses the uka (parrot) as the
carrier of his fond message, giving the bird clear directions of the
route and the text of his message. We get more than a bird's eye
view of such places as Trivandrum, Quilon, Tiruvalla, Kaduthuruthy,
Tripunithara, Trikariyoor, Mahodayapuram and Trikkanama-
tilakam besides a panoramic view of the Periyar river. The pastime
of the ladies of Mahodayapuram also finds ample expression in the
poem. This reminds one of Kalidasa's description of Ujjayinf. If
any Sandesa Kavya has come within approachable distance of
Kalidasa's great composition it can be undoubtedly said that it is
the '^uka* of Lak$mldasa,

"Unnuneeli Sandega" which was written in the third quarter
of the same century can easily get the pride of place among the
Malay&lam Sandes"a Kavyas. It can also be assumed that this was
the heyday of * Manlpravnla Sande&a Kavyas because the Koka
SandeSa which can be considered as a close rival to the 'Unnuneeli*
must have been written within a reasonable span of time after the
latter. It is an unfortunate fact that a large number of SandeSa
KSvyas of this period is lost to posterity. Running into near
about 240 Slokas, 'Unnuneeli SandesV is one of the most exquisite

*Poetry in which Sanskrit and Malayalam words are blended
together like coral and ruby.

( 146 )

literary productions in Malayalam. The story is purely imaginary
but it is abundantly clear that the poet had pictured himself as the
hero. While the hero is sleeping after his amoral exercises with
his beloved on his chest a wicked female spirit, jealous and passion-
ate, carries away the hero and proceeds south in an aerial route.
When he suddenly wakes up to find himself in the clutches of a
wicked spirit he recites the 'Narasimha Mantra" which had the
power of frightening away the evil spirit. Unfortunately, when he
escapes from her clutches and drops down near the Padmanabha
Temple of Trivandrum he sustains physical injury and finds it
impossible to return to his beloved very soon. While groping
about with a confused mind the dawn breaks out in all its glory.
The description of the vanishing night, the stars losing their lustre
and the glory of the approaching dawn is remarkably beautiful
It reminds one of Kalidasa. Luckily, he chances to meet his inti-
mate friend Aditya Verma of the Quilon royal family who had
come to the temple for his usual worship. Here is now a situation
where a human being is himself sent as the massenger of love to
the heroine. The royal messanger is requested to make a journey
which will take him three days to go to Mundakkal where the
beautiful hetaera Unnuneeli who is supposed to have descended
from the clan of the celestial dancer Urvast, had her abode. A
clear direction is given of the path to be followed but the route not
being aerial, the description also takes a new dimension. Quite
often, the descriptions of landscapes are associated with exotic
ideas. The moomise on the Atamudi Lake with dusk descending
on it like unbraided tresses of hair finds comparison with the
beloved in the excitement of dalliance. The description of the
heroine is also on the model of Kalidasa, but there are inevitable
variations, the heroine being a hetaera.

In Koka Sandesa, also written near about the same time, we
have been able to recover only less than 100 Slokas. The author
seems to belong to South Malabar. Every grain of sand at Ponnani
is familiar to him and his descriptions are delightful. Here also,
the separation is not real. While in the arms of his beloved the
T* & ets into a fainting fit. On recovering, he tells his beloved
mat he felt he was separated from her and taken to a place in
fcouth Malabar by a spirit. From there he sent a message through
a cakravaka bird. The route is described in meticulous detail and
tne imagery here is intimately domestic. The description of the
mouth of the Periyar river is unforgettable.

trinity.

Hundreds of Sandela Kavyas followed uka-Unnuneeli-Koka
y. The situations of separation differed in each case. Some-

( 147 )

times, it was real and in other time* made up for the sake of sending
the message. Almost m%uunb!> the message is sent by the hero to
the beloved, but there are rare eases in which messages were sent
by the heroine. In Kokila-MtnJc^am, the hero was moved away to
Kanclpuram from Marakkara b> the mischievous Varuna Puran-
dhris. In Jifin fi.\uh' tt.tr i of Udaya Snkantha the prince of Manak-
jtulam and his beio\ed Taehapulli Uti Umfi are mistaken for Lord
giva and Parvatl making love. Indignant at the mockery indulged
in by the hero they cursed him and brought him to Trivandrum.
In liraiiiti''ii-~ <**'* * ' r:: v^hieh is a blind imitation of Unnuneeli-
sandesam the hero is carried auay by a Yaksa to Trivandrum. In
Subhaga-aandc.sufn the hero is carried away from Trichur to Kanya-
kumari.

Imitation is said to be the best form of flattery. In that case,
the poets of Kerala have paid most flattering tributes to the author
of Meghadutam because they have blindly imitated him in all the
Sandesa Kfivyus. 'I he Yaksa tells the messenger that he should
first understand the route to be followed. This he does in the
first part. Sub -^queniiy he is to listen to the fond message itself.
This is clone in the second part. All the Sandesa Kavyas, just like
\Tezhadi~ii a:i: are written in lv\o parts, the first one dealing with the
circumstances of the ^-p.irati>n itself and the route to be followed
by the nio-^sei-^or. In the second part, the heroine is introduced
along with the message meant for her. In most cases, the 'Manda-
kranta metre so appropriately selected by Katidasa to suit the situa-
tion has been adopted by the Kerala poets. Except in Hamsasandesa
and Cntaka-iwmU'xa, the I ti'itiliunMui is the dominating Rasa in ail the
Sandesa Kavya->. In the former* the pix-xalent Rasas are Santi and
Bhakti and the latter is written in the form of a panegyric address
to Rama Verma NKil'.uMi.i of Truvuneore by a Namboodiri, Princes
and parrots, animals, birds and insects of various types were
imposed upon by the later poets.

An innovation brought in by LuksmTdasa in his uka-sandeia
was that the separ.iiit.n was only in a dream. This seems to have
influenced some of the later poets occasionally. Bringing about
such a situation might mean that the poet wanted us to understand
that the love druinu as \\eil as other material themes were only a
transient dream. It might also be that the poet wanted to impress
upon the reader* the unbearability of separation even in a dream.
When we consider the nature of the society in which the poets
flourished the latter conclusion arrived at by some of the commen-
tators appears to be less controversial.

While Kalkiasa's heroine was a model of chastity and the
Yaksa a devoted and faithful husband, the Keiala poets were not

( 148 )

prepared to accept these norms. The hetaerae were the central
figures not only in Sandesa Kavyas but in other compositions too.
These were well-educated women and were great exponents of all
forms of fine arts. Possibly, upto the eighteenth century, women
other than the hetaerae did not venture to be educated in these
sciences. These women who practised sacred prostitution were
having a position of pre-eminence in the society. Unniyachi, a
Devadasi of the thirteenth century, was married by Raja Kerala
Verma of Vendu. A hetaera of the same temple. Kuttati, was
married by Odanadu Kerala Verma in the fourteenth century. The
hetaera Unniyadi became the consort of the prince of Perumpa-
dappu. Maracemantika, the heroine of Mayuradutam is depicted
as "Vesyakularatnam" (the gem among prostitutes) and was the
wife of the Raja of Manakkulam. Poets did not even want to call
her by the real name Tachapalli Itti Uma, but gave her a sophisti-
cated and meaningful name Maracemantika.

Many of the gifted poets of this period were the constant
patrons of these hetaerae. Great poets like Punam, Damodara
Cakkiar and ankara Warriar wasted quite a bit of their talents by
composing poems in praise of these women. Sankara, the author
of Sri-Krishnavijayam, had as his paramour the celebrated courtesan
Manavi Menaka.

It was at a time when the situation had gone to such an
extent that the Candrotsava was written by one of the most talented
poets whose name should unfortunately remain unknown for ever.
Written about 1500 A.D., it is an exceptionally brilliant composi-
tion. Irony and sarcasm are so subtle while the author ridicules
the entire stratum of the elite who were doing nothing but hanging
round the hetaera's salons. The hetaera Medinl Vennilavu i s cele-
brating the moon festival at a village near Trichun There is a
grand assembly of all the famed hetaerae. The poet conveniently
and purposely ignores the lapse of time to introduce them. The
renowned Namboodiri Brahmins, many of them well known poets,
rulers and chieftains assembled there for the Candrotsava ready to
attend to the slightest wishes of the hetaera. The hetaerae came
physically carried on the shoulders of aristocratic young men. The
great poet Punam carried on his shoulders the beloved Maralekha.
A ridiculous situation indeed !

After the age of Candrotsava, no work of notable quality
seems to have appeared among the SandeSa Knvyas till Mayura
sandeta by Kerala Varma Koilthampuran in the present century.
Hundreds of Kavyas have been written but their quality had become
worse than mediocre. In May&ra-sanfcto the situation of separation

( 149 )

s real and a historical tact. FromHaripad Kerala Varma sends a
message to his beloved at Trivandrum. By the beauty of its senti-
ments, the melody of its verse and the intensity of feelings to which
it gives expression Mayura-sandw reached a fairly high water
mark of Malayalam Poetry, Mention may also be made of the
flrifttfandesa by Sirdar K.M. Panicker and the Xlik Canto of
Urn Keralani by Ulloor which is in the form of a Sandesa Kavya.

Though many of the Sandesa Katyas written after Candrotsava
are nothing but trash it cannot be denied that the really good ones
have enriched Malayalam literature to a great extent,

Among the Mtiniprmk Kavyas of Malayalam literature some
of these have a distinct place. It is also possibly true that Kalidasa's
^eslutdutont has influenced Malayalam poetry more than that
of any other Indian language. Though they have tried what may
practically be called a blind imitation many of the poets have been
able to do it with a touch of genius, The Sandesa Kwyas can
certainly claim a unique p'ace among tk Manipwwla Knvyas d
Maiayalam literature,

INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON MALAYALAM
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

N. V. KRISHNA WARRIOR

Director of the State Institute of

Languages. Trivandrum.

Malayalam, the mother-tongue of the people of Kerala.

Malayalam is the mother- tongue of more than 25 million
people living mainly in the State of Kerala on the West Coast of
India. A narrow coastal strip lying in between the Western Ghats
in the east and the Arabian Sea in the west, Kerala was supposed
to extend from Gokarna in the north to Kanyakumur! in the south,
However, the mother-tongue of the people inhabiting the northern
half of this region is not Malayalam, but Tula. Having been
conquered and administered for long by the rulers of Mysore, this
Tulu area came under heavy influence of Kannada which became
the language of administration and education here. Discarding its
former script which it shared with Malayalam, Tulu adopted the
Kannada script. This completed the cultural separation of the
Tulu area from the Malayalam area, and naturally at the time of
the re-organisation of States, the Tulu area was finally incorporated
in Mysore, Kasaragode thus became the northern boundary of
Kerala.

The Kanyakumar! area in the South had always been under
strong Tamil influence, because here the western Ghats tail off to
the plains with the result that no natural barrier separates the Tamil-
speaking area from the Malayalam-speaking area at this point,
Since Malayalam developed as a medium of literary expression only
^ comparatively late, Tamil remained among large sections of the
t people of Kerala as the medium of higher education and administra-
tion. This was especially true in the southern half of the native
State of Travancore which was comparatively less amenable to
Brahmimc influence. Consequently, at the time of the re-organisa-

( 150 }

tion of States the Kanyakumarl area was ceded to the State of
Tamil Nadu on the basis of the numerical preponderance of Tamil -
speaking people, and the small town Parassala in the Trivandrum
District came to be the boundary of Kerala in the South.

The majority of the Malayalam-speaking people are now densely
packed in this small State of Kerala with an area of 38,900 sq.k.m.
and a population of 2,12,80,397 (1971). 60.16 of this population
is literate. Malayalam-speaking people can also be found in all
States of India, in Pakistan and Bangla Desh and also in the former
European colonies of Asia and Africa. Outside Kerala they are
scattered among the local population and do not form anywhere
sizable blocs of linguistic minorities.

The relationship hetween Malayalam and Tamil.

Geneologieally Malayalam is a Dravidian language and is
closely related to Tamil. Malay alum developed from an old Tamil
dialect current on the West Coast towards the 10th century AJD.
From this period onwards we have epigraphical records which enable
us to trace its d^w-lupinem, while the earliest literary compositions
in Malayalam date from the 12th century A.D,

There are various theories as regards when and how Malayalam
separated from Tamil and assumed the status of an independent
language, but all are agreed on the circumstances which led to this
decisive break. The separation was solely due to the overwhelming
influence exerted by Sanskrit. Owing to this influence the dialect of
the West Coast cut its connections with the mainsprings of Tamil
and started on its career as an independent language.

This transformation might have been slow and might have
stretched over several centuries. We have absolutely no record of
this formative period in the career of the language. The earlier
epigraphical records are all in the VATTEZHUTHU script which
provides graphemes only for the Tamil phonemes. Hence we cannot
be absolutely sure that the written forms were also current in the
speech of the people* for conscious attempts by scribes at approxima-
tion to standard Tamil forms cannot be ruled out from these
inscriptions. Still, the increasing use of specifically Sanskritic
phonemes and abandoning of personal and numeral terminations
in verbal forms, which together with progressive nasalisation and
palatalisation as well as a preference for certain forms of case
endings and primary (krt) suffixes no longer in vogue in standard
Tamil, are evident in these inscriptions. And in these features the
influence of Sanskrit is clearly discernible.

When we come to the earliest literary works, the transforma-
tion of Malayalam into an independent language is fully achieved.
The earliest available literary composition in Malayalam is perhaps
BHAAKAUTALlYAM, a prose commentary on Kautalya's
Arthasastra, written, most likely, in the 12th century A.D. The
current script of Malayalam, which is an adaptation of the Tamil
Grantha script introduced by Pallavas for writing down Sanskrit
works and commentaries on Sanskrit works in South Indian Lang-
uages, has been used in writing this work. This Malayalam script,
which incidentally is closely allied with the Singalese script current in
Ceylon, provides distinct graphemes for all the phonemes in Sanskrit
and Tamil. The use of this script facilitated not only orthographi-
cally correct representation of Sanskrit words in Malayalam, but
reversely also approximation of many purely Malayalam words to
somewhat similar Sanskrit words. This "Sanskritisation" of Mala-
yalam words gained quick currency. Use of Sanskrit terminations
along with purely Dravidian stems was the next logical step. How-
ever this is found only rarely, and was soon discarded.

Mani-pravdla Style.

All this contributed to the development of the so-called Mani-
pravala style. Use of local dialects along with Sanskrit has been
a very ancient practice on the Indian Stage, as testified by Bharata
in his NajyaSastra and Abhinavagupta in his commentary on it.
Abhinavagupta has pointedly referred to the Marii-parvQla style
current in Dak$inapatha. Even before Abhinavagupta the term
Mavi-pravala has been used by Jain authors, but the Mcmi-pravala of
the Jains seems to have been Sanskrit passages interspersed with
passages of Prakrt. Mixing of Sanskrit words . with words of local
languages in the same sentence must have been a later development,
the application of the Grammatical devices of Sanskrit to the
local dialects being the culmination of this process.

At the dawn of the history of Malayalam language, however,
we find this mixed literary dialect of Maiii-prawlam in its fullfledged
form. The earliest use of this dialect must have been for presenting
Sanskrit plays m temples in what is now known as the Kutiyattam
style and for commenting on and expounding epics and scientific and
philosophical works in Sanskrit The problem of finding Malayalam
equivalents to Sanskrit words was solved by indiscriminate borrow-
ing from Sanskrit, with the result that the boundary line between
Sanskrit and Malayatam got blurred to such an extent that all
Sanskrit words with Malayalam terminations added to them were
pronounced as Malayalam words by the author of LlLATILAKAM,
a 14th century work on the Grammar and Poetics of Mani-pravala.

IVSI/:^" In Kerala.

The intcnsi\e cultivation ^ofjSanskril in Kerala must have
tarted even before the birth of Sri Sankara in the 8th century A.D.
t continued for the slice-ceding 12 centuries without any interrup-
ion. Thus "Sanskritisiilioir* in its widest meaning has been going
m in this region for more than a millennium. Almost all available
vorks in Sanskrit were collected, copied and critically studied by
reneration after generation. Most of these were also commented
jpon in Malayalam, for the medium of Sanskrit education had,
rom the earliest times, been the local language. Gradually Kerala
dmost forgot its Tumi! heritage. So much so that even classics
ike cilapputikliratn* composed by Keralites in Kerala went out of
/ogue in the region of their origin. It is only recently that we find
i revival of interest in this Tamil heritage in Kerala.

During the long period of intensive cultivation of Sanskritic
ore, certain families in Kerala developed into reputed Gurukulas
specialising in particular branches of knowledge. The A$ta Vaidyas
3r the eight families of Physicians and their numerous disciples kept
the torch of Ayurvcda burning. Original texts in Sanskrit were
studied, but commentaries which supplemented the texts and
practical manuals were mostly written in Malayalam. This was
also the position in Astronomy-Astrology which was another vast
field of knowledge to be systematically cultivated in Kerala. The
study of Vedas and Dharmaxastras was also not neglected. One
of the earliest works in Malayalam is YAOAM BH&SA, a manual
on the performance of Vedie Sacrifices. There were also families
specialising, generation after i*cnei at ion, in MTmarhsa, . Vydkara^a
and Sahitya. 1 hero were communities entirely devoted to the
enactment of Sanskrit plays, which also included expounding of epics
and Prabandhas based on stories taken from epics, in temples. Even
such specialities as 'I oxieology and Veterinary Science were not
neglected*

One fact which deserves special mention in this connection is
that this cultivation of Sanskritic lore was not confined to the
Brahmins. All communities had free access to the secular part of
the Sanskritic lore, while certain non-Brahmin communities
specialised in teaching Sanskrit and the practising of Medicine and
Astrology. These included communities considered as untouchables,
Christians and Muslims.

System of Rural Education,

As education meant the exclusive study of Sanskrit texts, the
entire system of rural education was Sanskrit-oriented. Well-to-do

families considered it a point of prestige to maintain teachers
in their turn provided free education to those who cared for >0
Boys and girls started with mastering Malayalam script by writ'
with fingers on sand spread on the ground. This was soon follow!
by practising writing on palm-leaves with an iron stylus. Aft
mastering the scripts the students memorised a few Stotras '
Sanskrit which served as material for oral practice of corr
pronunciation. The study of Stddharupa (Sanskrit declensions and
conjugations) and Amarakosa and the Cdndra Vakyas of Vararu '
which provided the foundation for practical Astronomy wasth*
next stage. After this those who wanted to continue took up th
study of a few cantoes of the three Easy Kavyas (Laghutrayl -
Kjsna Vilasa of Sukumara, Raghuvamsa and Kitnmrasambhava of
Kalidasa) and the three difficult Kavyas (BihuttrsLyititfupalavadha
of Magha, Kiratarjunlya of Bharavi and NaisadhTyacarita offo
Harsa). The system followed was a kind of integrated course. The
students were required to memorise the verses, separate the Pados
decline fully every Subanta and conjugate fully every Tinnanta, find
out the prose order by the Akanksa method, repeat the prose
order in Malayalam, dissolve the compounds and state the meaning
of every word and finally explain the idea contained in the Slokain
Malayalam. Thus gaining sufficient mastery over the language
students selected their fields of specialisation. The system TO
liberal, both from the point of the opportunities it provided to all
sections of the community and from the point of view of the variety
of subjects brought under it. This was the general pattern of
education in Kerala until the modern system of school education
came into vogue.

Influence of Sanskrit on Malayalam Literature.

The influence of Sanskrit is stamped as a birthmark on the
Malayalam literature. The most important of our early works are
either translations of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavata or
based on these three classics. Our medieval literature is mainly
Campus in Manipravnla style expounding the stories of Rama or
Krsna.

In the latter half of the 19th century A. D. when there was a
e f Malayalam literature, an era of neo-classicism was
, d ftranSlationS ofSans *rit JBfrjwandFIaj.
"^ landsca P e ' T1 * same work was translated
an / XampIe> more <han a dozen translations of

, a a v Untala has been P" blished "> Malayalam.
Sanskrit supplied the models which were indis-

( 155 )

cr jmitHitely imitated by writers. Even the best of our poets composed
huge Mcthakavyas which no one bothers to read now. This state
of affairs continued till nineteen thirties, when the attraction of the
western models began to present a powerful alternative.

The points emerging from the above discussion may now be
summarised. Though geneologically belonging to the Dravidian
group of languages, Val:i\;J.M.i has been profoundly influenced by
Sanskrit both phonetically and morphologically. Besides, almost
the entire lexical stock of Sanskrit has been incorporated into
Malayalam. The use of Sanskrit words, i. e. nouns and verbs and
indeclinables, with Sanskrit terminations, has been very common,
Now this sort of excess has been bridled, and Sanskrit case-endings
are used in Malayalam only in certain exceptional instances. But
there is absolutely no ban on the use of Sanskrit loan words with
Malayalam case-markers. And it appears that when necessary
Malayalees prefer (o take a Sanskrit word on loan rather than
coin a new word from a Malayalam root. Recently there has been
a massive exercise in the creation of a technical and scientific
terminology in Malayalam, and it was found that the people of
Kerala prefer a Sanskrit-based terminology with possibility of All-
India currency rather than creation of purely Malayalam words
coined from Dravidian roots. This provides a marked contrast to
the practice in Tamil Nadu where the tendency is to discontinue
the use of even simple Sanskrit words and to coin instead recondite
words of pure Tamil origin.

The literature in Malayalam has been moulded, for centuries,
after models in Sanskrit. Mot only the literary norms, but also
figures of speech, conventions and even the most popular metres
have been those of Sanskrit. Even though this situation has
changed of late, and the main models are now supplied by the
more relevant literatures of the West, and in the realm of expression
pedantly has been replaced by simple native idiom, the rich Sans*
kritic tradition is still very powerful and it can be safely assumed
that this tradition will continue to exert its beneficial influence for
as long a time as we can envisage.

INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON MALAYALAM

C. R. SWAMINATHAN, M.A., M, LITT,

Ministry of Education

The Southern part of India was, from very ancient days,
known as the Dravida Country. The Mahabharata speaks of
Dramidas in several places sfo^r: gwr ^FSFT; gfiret tftftrarf HRT;
sfoiTPf cFT ipft etc. ASoka, the great Buddhist Emperor speaks
of the Cola and Kerala-Putra as the southernmost parts of India.
The word Dravida or Dramida can linguistically be recognised as
the Sanskritised form of Tamil, i. e., Tamil >Tamila>DamiIa>
Dramila>Dravida>Dramida. Kumarila, the great Sanskrit scholar
of the 7th Century, speaks of Andhras : (^^STfaf^gr^^ Wft}
Dravidas as speaking the mleccha languages.

In the literature of the Sangam Age we find that the
Dravidian Country was divided into the North Dravidian and the
South Dravidian. The North Dravidian portion included the
Karnatic and Andhra regions and the South Dravidian part consti-
tuted the three regions Cera, Pantjya and Cola. This portion (i. e,
Southern Dravidian) was also called Tamilakam, which included
the above three southern kingdoms. In the Tamil grammar
Tolkappiam written before the first century B. C, it is mentioned
that Tamil is the spoken language of the country between Cape
Comorin and the Tirupati Hills : "Vada Venkatam Ten Kumari-
yayidai Tamizkuru Nallulakam."

Kannada and Telugu separated from the ancient Dravidian
much before Malayalam separated as a distinct language. In the
Sangam Age, ancient Tamil which was current in the Pandya
country round about Madura, was called Centamil; ancient
Tamil or Pure Tamil and the Tamil of the other two countries (i. e.
Cera and Cola) as Kotum Tamil, Mixed Tamil Cera was the

r^o a n tnTr f ^ C Untry n W Called Kerala and we have every
reason to beheve that this mixed form of Tamil was the common

( 156 )

( 157 )

language of the Cera country for a long time even after the
Christian Era.

When and at \\hat time Malayalam seperated out as a
distinct language from Tamil cannot be said decisively ; but almost
all scholars in this line such as Dr. T. A. Gopinatha Rao, U. V.
Swaminatha Iyer, M. Raghava lyengar, Messrs K. N. Shiv Raj
Pillay, Vayvapuri Pillay, Ullur S. Parmesehwara Iyer, A.R. Rajaraja
Varma etc., are agreed on this point that the present-day Malayalam
emerged out of what is called Mixed Tamil in the literature of the
Sangam Age.

The earliest specimen of written Malayalam is found in a few
copper-plate inscriptions belonging to the four centuries from about
885 A.D. to 132O A. IX The language of these inscriptions is a good
guide to the development of the Malayalam language. The oldest
copper-plate is assigned to 885 A.D. and pertains to a King of
Quilon making a grant of lands and other facilities to certain Jewish
settlers in Kerala. It begins as follows :

Aruliccaita sakfibdam fiyiruttu Orunurriyczupattu munnil
mal Cclifmin kolluni nanui ri\ irupiUli aramatu meta jiiayar
pattonpatu cenna vya/.a/.euyum mulavum aparapaksattu pancamiyum
sivanityayoguvum pcrrayinnudu Veruidu vazuaruluna..,z...ppettur
sri vira ilara iraya matyandavarma sirava,..etc.

This language is more akin to the Tamil of the Saivite and
Vais^avite saints \vhose songs aie available in Tamil.

The earliest literary work in Malayalam that has been
discovered so far is the poem called Rawacarita. The author of
this work is not known and its date is supposed to be the beginning
of the 1 3th Century. Its language is so closely related to Tamil
that, even today, scholars argue as to whether it is a Tamil work
or a Malayalam work.

The next work of importance that we have in Malayalam
is a prose translation of Kaufilyn's Artha-Svstra, Here also, there
is a large number of 'I ami! words and usages ; but the struggle to
cast oft the influence of Tamil is very pronounced as will be seen
from the following quotation :

Adhyuk-ar kao paivurum kalamarritu. Atuttingal varuvitu.
Anru vannu "kariukku kaMuvatum ceytu. Vyayam ceytu muijiya
dhanam vaippiccitum ceyvTtu. Mutalu celavu ezutiya kaijakku
pettiyiliUu ilaicciccakoncivaruvitu. Avarule kattumidattuninru
purattupokulC \fituUappkvntu.

This is a specimen of the technical language used in translation
and commentaries in the 13th Century.

8. Next we have got works like Attaprakciram and Krania-
dipiku which give certain rules and directions for the Cakyars for
the performance of Sanskrit plays called ^Kudiyattam: Here is an
innovation peculiar to Kerala in the stage-performance of Sanskrit
dramas. The dramas selected for this purpose are ail in Sanskrit
like the Subhadra-dhananjaya, Nagananda, Mattavilasa-prahasana,
altogether thirteen plays.

These Attaprakarams appear to have been written by different
hands in different ages and they also provide useful material for
studying the development of the language and the influence of
Sanskrit on it.

Next in chronological order come certain verses written in
the Manipravdla style, composed in Sanskrit metres. The word
Manipravala itself means admixture of jewel and pearl", meaning
thereby Sanskrit and the regional language. Vaisikatantra is one
such work containing about 200 verses. This is full of not only
Sanskrit words but a number of figures of speech according to the
Sanskrit rhetoricians. Here is a specimen taken at random.

Tarunyamavatu sule tarunljananam Marasl runic mazanilavatu
nityamalla Annarjitena Mutalkondu katakkavcndum Vardhakya-
menmatoruvan katalundumunpil.

Coming to the 14th Century, we find the three *Niranam'
poets vying with each other in their translations of the Mahabharata,
Ramayana, Bhfigavata and Bhagvad-Gitz. Any of these works will
show the increasing influence of Sanskrit in their language. There
is no dearth of long Sanskrit compounds such as ^

and whole this in Sanskrit

like

The only difference in these poets is their use of Tamil metres
instead of Sanskrit metres.

During the same period, i.e. the end of the 14th Century, we
have a number of stotras, songs, translations of Purarias and some
astrological and medical works. To illustrate the increasing
influence of Sanskrit one or two extracts are given below :

t

% % fonftn- TO: This

is a

description of the rise of the moon which is a common subject for
all poets. The prose translation of Brahtnarida Puriina begins thus,

.- Veda\}.- ' ' ' aruliccaila Brahmiinda puranattil
itajnan tanu/ax ' '.. , d.i,-i\ ik>< unnor..

The anonymous author states that he proposes to translate
milthe Brahmdnda Pur ana. This is very important as it
means that even by the 14ih Century Malayalam was still
dered a part of the iumil language.

An important litciar> \\ork based on the * Meghadutd 9 of
Olidasa is the L'i-' .-.'/ -"'<' ll is Divided, ju*t like Kalidasa's
inal into two parts onlaininj'- 136 and 101 verses, respectively.
verse at raiulom is INCII bclou as specimen of its language:-

One verse

fr?5r (vs^ g;o^T<>)
A similar -work \\liR-li i>, :ilxu atli ihuted to the same period is

the '

Next we lui\c tin ec C'umpii-,, 1111x1111-0 of poems with prose.
The subject mailer of tlu-c is n.-i taken or based on the Puraiias or
other works hut they dc.c.ihc the stories of certain noted women of
that age. They are : -I nniy:t.-cicaritam, Unyieeirutevlcantam.

These are the iorerunnei^ of the Campus in the Malayalam
literature" The verses tue in Sanskrit metres hut the prose pieces
are a particular type '' JViul.il-.i which has a musical cadence and
because of this more Sanskrit words and compounds are found in
prose than in the verses, e.f,. :

Tasmin Yismu\;mTw ilcso kasminnapi ca virajati menmel
alaksva'^.-i^.i-ii--:-" 5 .'.-" *PPt> ^ r '>'il knru vidusa lankevatura
rak5dara hhui-'avativa hhuiunp.a niscvya guptamanohara nandana-
manya kevalam.'uir- i>i pp : ---

The cnuriss.-iue of a ^.uun...'.^.-.! work called Ltlatilaka by the
end of the 14th Century showed that by that time a large number ot
works in the wi//v/i<7/,, style had begun to be written, thus neces-
rftating the codification ol' the ; .munar fur the same. This work
by an unknown author is unique and the mere fact that it is written
in Sanskrit is proof emmi-h to show the dependence of the Malay*-
lam language on Sanskrit lor its ilL-wlopnwnt. It is divided into
chapters or .7/></.v and consists of (1) rules in the sOtra-styte, () Vrtti
or short cxpla-i.ui,..i t,f the sfitras, and (iii) examples for these rules.
The first chapter defines what nuinirravala is and, incidentally, men-
tions the difference between Maiayalam and Tamil. The origin ot

( 160 )

the language and the chief characteristics of the case-endings are
explained in the 2nd chapter. The 3rd chapter deals with rules of
Sandki; Knvya Dosas, Marifpravala, Gunas, Sabdalankara and Artha-
lankaras form the subject matter of the next four chapters. The last
and the eighth chapter expounds Rasas. The author has largely
drawn upon standard authors and works such as Bhamaha, Dari-
<Jin, Vamana, Kavyaprakafa, and Dhvanyaloka for writing the Sutras
and the Vjtti both of which are in Sanskrit. The illustrations are all
in Malayalam and drawn from standard works current at that time.
most of which are, perhaps, now lost. The work reveals the author's
deep knowledge of Panini's Astndhyayi and its commentaries, the
Rasika and Rupdvatdra, as also his proficiency in the Prakrt, Tamil
and Canarese languages. He quotes from Kaiidasa, Harsa, Magha
and Anandavardhana among others* It is interesting to note that
the author has denounced the use of Sanskrit case-endings with
Malayalam nouns like Puptigiec etc., and Sanskrit verbal termina-
tions with Malayalam works. This clearly shows that such usages
were common during that period which was an earlier age. The
object of writer, but humurous criticism by a poet called Tholam
who is supposed to have ridiculed the users of such forms in the
following verse :

Man<Janti panthanivahak patibandhapetya
kakafct karanju maramepyurangayanti
Tanputtayanti takarafc karikoptaes.e
Minnaminuninivahasca minunayanti,

An epoch-making work assigned to the 15th Century is the
famous Krwa-Galha by Cheruseri Namputiri, It is a summary of
the 10th Skandha of Bhagavata and is written in ManipravnJa style
in Malayalam metres. Though the author states at the outset that he
is going to tell the story of Krsna in Bhasha (i. e. Malayalam) the
influence of Sanskrit usages and figures of speech can be noticed in
every line. In many Nair families in Malabar there are even today
old women who can repeat by heart the whole poem. There are
many imitations of the Krsna Gatha but none so popular.

The end of the 15th Century heralds a series of compositions
called Campus in mixed prose & verse, of which the Ramnyana
Carnpu is supposed to be .the first. This is followed by a Bhlrata

^^^^^T 9 ?'*'^ yra,Pnryuta-harana and a
host of others, all based on Puranic stories. This period has some-
times been named as the era of Campus.

consists of

( 161 )

Sawdaryalaharl and Mukitndamaln, on Vedanta Works like
Sankarabhasya and Tattvamasi, on music like Sangita Sttdhakara, on
grammer like Ritpavatara. Earlier and later commentaries on such
important works like Bhfiskartya and Hora in astrology, Tantrasam-
uachrya on temple architecture, Praisam, Asaucam on rituals.
A^nnga-hrdaya and Yoga-Sarmachctya in medicine indicate the
interest of the people of those days was not confined to liteiature
but extended to scientific and philosophical subjects.

All these and other important works now available in Malaya-
Jam before the end of the 15th Cantury show the remarkably
increasing influence of Sanskrit and the decreasing influence of
Tamil, it is about this time that a separate set of alphabets were
introduced which is being followed in the language even today. It
is but natural that when once Malayalam gave up its dependence
on Tamil it had to adhere to something for its support, both for
inspiration and material ; and Sanskrit provided it in no small
measure. Even today the basic foundation of any good Malayalam
scholar is a solid grounding in Sanskrit. Almost all the poets from
the 16th to the 19th Centuries have drawn upon Sanskrit literature
for enriching the Malayalam language and literature. The most
important name is that of Tunchath Ezhuthasan who is assigned to
the 17th Century. It is well known that Ezuthas*an derived his
inspiration from Sanskrit as all his works directly show. He is
rightly called the 'Father of Modern Malayalam Literature* and it
can safely be said that the language has not altered much from his
time. It is believed that he was the first to introduce into
Malayalam the Kilippattti style of singing based on some Tamil
metres. His works are all well known and fairly voluminous. The
absence of Tamil usages (except for stray instances) fully justifies
the conclusion thai he depended only on Sanskrit for the develop-
ment of the Mahiyalam language.

The next development in Malayalam literature, is the dance-
drama known as Kathakali, This has become so popular now-a-
days that it is appreciated even in foreign countries. Almost all the
KathakaU compositions arc based on Pur&nic stories or episodes
from the Mahabhamta and Ramaycwa and the PurSnas. They are
interspered with varscs and songs. This makes it necessary that
the author of a KathakaU must be a good musician too, besides
being a gifted poet, to make his work a success. The predominance
of Sanskrit in these is so much that there are whole verses and
passages written in complete Sanskrit. Even today, KathakaU is an
important adjunct to all temple-festivals in Malabar and there are
people who are not tired of seeing it through the whole night.

Here is a specimen of a benedictory verse sung at the beginning of
the Kathakali just like Nandi verses in Sanskrit Drama.

Kathakali was first introduced in Malayalam literature about
the end of the 17th Century, though some scholars may put it even

a little earlier,

Another writer who cannot be omitted in Malayalam litera-
ture and who has contributed to the development of the language
as much as EzuthaSsan is Kunjan Nambiar. He belonged to 18th
Century. He has written works in Sanskrit under the names of
Ramapa'iiivada. In Malayalam, he has written a sort of songs
called Tullal, under the name Kunjan Nambiar. In the latter
category he has written about 55 works, all of which except one are
based on the Puranas. The language of Kunjan Nambiar, even in
his Malayalam works, is highly influenced by Sanskrit. After
Ezuthassan and Kunjan Nambiar, there are a number of works
by various authors, on the Kilippattu and Tullal models, about 85%
of which are based on Puranic stories.

About the middle of the 19th century, prose novels under the

influence of English literature began to be written and the language

in the earliei ones, at least, is so full of Sanskrit that only a Sanskrit

scholar can understand them. Some of the earliest romances in the

language such as Martanda Varma, Ramaraja Bahadur, Akbar etc.

are clearly modelled on the Kadambarl of Buna in their style,

although not photographic copies. During all these years, a num-

ber of translations from Sanskrit and commentaries on philoso-

phical and technical works were being written and their number is

legion. The influence of Sanskrit was so dominant that by the

beginning of this Century a reaction took place and from the

second quarter, at least, of this Century Malayalam authors are

trying to use less and less of Sanskrit and also draw less and less

from the Puranas and other Sanskrit works for their materials.

Translations from other languages, especially Western literature,

in the spoken language of th$ ordinary man, is becoming more

common,

SANSKRIT INFLUENCE ON THE TAMIL LANGUAGE
AND LITERATURE

P. NILAKANTHA SARMA,

French Institute of Indology,
Pondicherry.

Languages in General

"Among the languages wo have known nowhere is to be found
a language so sweet as Tamil" said Subrahmanya Bharati, the great
modern poet of Tamil Nadu. But there is a Telugu proverb which
says that Telugu is honey and Tamil is a desert. Now one may ask
whether Tamil is sweeter than Telugu or Telugu is sweeter than Tamil.
This question is an extremely difficult one and it can never be answe-
red by anybody, Eveiy language in this world whether it be ancient
or modern., eastern or western, possesses an exclusive charm and has
got some special features which are quite different from those of others.
Speaking on rltis or styles in Sanskrit, Dan^n has said that there is a
vast difference in the sweetnesses of sugarcane, milk, jaggery and
others but to explain them correctly is impossible even for Sarasvati,
the Goddess of Learning. This statement can hold good even in res-
pect of languiiiics. Hence it is absolutely improper to consider one
particular hinj'imjic either sweeter than or superior to another one.
The people of Karnataka say that their tongue is musk, those of
Bengal that theirs is golden and so on. Virtually all these sayings have
no intrinsic value, coming as they are from an utmost passion for
one's own mother tongue. If however one persists in ascribing a
superiority to a particular language, it can be only due to lack of a
good knowledge of other languages,

Sanskrit

It has been admitted that Sanskrit is one of the most ancient
languages of the world. The language was once spoken by all. The
Vedas, the Rfimay:ina and Mahabharata were its products. But as
time went on, Pariini, Katyiyana and Patanjali wrote their works on
grammar and made it perfect and refined. Thus it got the name of

( 163 }

( 164 )

S^mskrta. By the rigorous enforcement of the rules of grammar the
language ceased to grow up further and became static. Hence only
the cultured classes spoke and wrote in that language and the ordinary
people spoke Prakrta which grew up as a side language and which
was only a crude form of Sanskrit. Though the general folk spoke
Prakrtayet every body understood Sanskrit and all topics of interest,
literature and arts, religion and philosophy, found in Sanskrit a
convenient mode of expression agreeable to all. There was no subject
of study which did not receive treatment in it. By and by Prakrta
gave rise to Apabhrarhsa and gradually there grew up afterwards the
regional languages Marathi, Hindi, Bengali and others. During
the classical period, like English under the British rule, Sanskrit
became the official and the common language of India and continued
to be so for several centuries afterwards. Even the Buddhists and
Jains who originally used Prakrta in their works turned subsequently
to use Sanskrit being fascinated by its charming nature.

At present Sanskrit is spoken of as a dead language. A langu-
age can be considered dead only if it ceases to excercise any influe-
nce on the people as well as on the languages of the land. Viewed
from this angle Sanskrit can never be considered dead. It continues
to live in this land by invigorating and enriching not only the various
languages in India, but also those in the far east and serves as the
sole link, for bringing together the different languages of India, thus
proving the unity and integrity of all the people in India. It is still
being used for religious and philosophical purposes.

Dravidian Languages and Tamil

That Sanskrit, the Divine language, is the mother of all Indian
languages is quite clear to any scholar of impartial views. Of course
it is wholly true in the matter of all North Indian languages. But
Tamil and other Dravidian languages, though they are very much
influenced by it have a relation fundamental and mutual amongst
themselves which is very much different from their connection with
Sanskrit, in spite of the fact that their relatedness to Sanskrit is ages
long and of no mean extent.

^ Among the Dravidian languages Malayalam is of recent origin,
its first hterary work dating from 5 or 6 centuries back. Telugu and
Kannada are much older, their first literary works dating respectively
from 10 and 15 centuries back. But Tamil is older than all of them,
its initial stages going as far back as several centuries before Christ.
For Valmiki in his Ramayana makes mention of Kapatapura and of
the kingdoms of the Pan4yas and the Colas. In spite of this fact,
lamil cannot be so ancient as Sanskrit. Because, even before the

time when the Ramayana was composed, and when the art of writing
was unknown to man, there existed in this land the great Vedas han-
ded down from generation to gereration, orally and hence called
'gruti*. There is nothing comparable to this in Tamil nor even
any work of the socalled Talaiccankam or Itaiccankam exists now.
Both these cankams themselves are mere tradition and have no
historic background.

Sanskrit influence in general

As no subject of study in arts or sciences was left untreated in
Sanskrit, even in subsequent times, when the regional languages began
to have their individual growth and development, people had a great
attraction and admiration for Sanskrit and being held under the spell
of its fascination, they thought it a mark of fashion and civilization
to utilise Sanskrit words and phrases in their speeches and words, just
as we mix English during our conversations and discussions nowadys.

Some people are of opinion that borrowing words from one
language into another is only a day to day occurrence and hence it
has no importance. This is not correct. Unless there is a close contact
with a particular language and with the people speaking it, borrowing
words from that language cannot take place. Truly speaking, such
brrowings are not at all a flaw to a language. On the other hand they
pave the way for its development by making the style, flexible, cons-
picuous and more agreeable. In later times, along with the renaissa-
nce of bhak ti movement, when religious philosophies of a diverse
nature got a new upsurge among the masses, even technical terms in
Sanskrit, coming in every branch of study got entry into all languages
and Tamil is no exception to this.

The chief factors of Sanskrit influence

Though from very early times up to the present day, orthodox
Hinduism of the Vedas has been an eternal factor in the Sanskrit
influence of Tamil, it has to be admitted that Buddhists and Jains had
a considerable part in the improvement and growth of Tamil not only
in the early period but also at the beginning of the middle ages. The
major old works in Tamil were their productions and they did not
hesitate to incorporate their dogmas and theories into them. All of
them being proficient in Sanskrit, they left no stone unturned in
imparting Sanskrit influence to Tamil. Anyway Tamil is surely
indebted to them and that too in no small measure.

In later times, Buddhism and Jainismhad to give way to Saivism
and Vaisnavism which had their renaissance from the songs of Tevaram
and Divyaprabandham of the Saivaite and Vaisnavaite saints. More-

over with various tdntnc cults and pur anas coming to prominence at
this time on one side and the great philosophers like Sankara,
Ramanuja and Madhva preaching their philosophical doctrines on the
other, Sanskrit influence in Tamil became all the more widespread and
it has continued to be so up to the present day.

Tamil lexicons

There are two lexicons in Tamil which are considered to be
pretty old. They are Czntar Tivakaram and Pinkala Nikantu. If
one happens to go through them, he will find that Sanskrit words
either in their original forms or changed and Tamilised forms accor-
ding to the rules laid down by Tolkappiyar, occupy a greater portion
of the texts. In their enumeration of 'ornaments of sense* and the
eight-fold angas of Yoga both of them follow Natyasastra and Patajnj-
ala Yogasufra respectively, not to speak of other minor items.

Now 'nikantu* is the Tamilised form of the Sanskrit word
'nighantu* or *nighanta*. Originally it was the name of a Vedic
glossary included by Yaska in his Nirukta. But subsequently it came
to mean any collection of words or vocabulary. A learned professor
of Tamil in his work called 'History of Tamil Lexicography* has tried
laboriously to give an etymological Tamil derivation to this word,
but proceeding from a faulty pronunciation of the word *nlntu,> as
*nikantu* which means 'being lengthened*. How a lengthened thing
or list can be a collection of words, he only knows. The reasons he
adduces are least convincing.

The antiquity of Tamil

Svaminatha DeSikar, in the 7th sutra of his Ilakkanakkottu,
while admitting the fact that the existing Tamil works are far beyond
enumeration, asks if among all of them there exists at least one sin*
gle work in taNittamiL, i. e., composed solely of indigenous words
and without the admixture of Sanskrit* It is true. But on that
account it cannot be said that such works never existed. It can be
seen from the following reasons that works in taNittamiL must heve
been in existence in the very remote past.

In Tolkappiyam II, 397, the author classifies words into four
kinds as iyafccol, tiricol, ticaiccol and vatacoL lyaRcol is indigenous
word and vatacol is Sanskrit word. By the force of iyaRcol having
been giving the first preference, it is quite possible to assert that in
the very early days of Tamil evolution, there ought to have been some
sort of literary works in taNittamiL, though the language itself might
have been primitive, crude and underdeveloped. But the development
of its literature must have had its origin only from the influence of
Sanskrit, and this development had taken place at a time long before

Tolkappiyar, Sanskrit words having been inseparably mixed up in
Tamil. As ilakklyttm or literature is necessarily a fore-runner to ilak-
kanam or grammar, Tolkappiyar must have had before him only such
works as had dcvelopcJ under the influence of Sanskrit and not
taNittamiL works. Otherwise what is the necessity for him to give
vatacol as the fourth class ? So, there can be no denial that Tamil is
very ancient but its ,L-v^ ipir.cii! took place under Sanskrit influence.

As the Sanskrit influence in Tolkclppiyam and FirukkuRal have
beed already treated in detail by scholars like Vaiyapuri Pilldi, Rama-
chandra DTksithar, Krishnaswami lyengar and others, they are not
dealt with here.

Sanskrit woids and expressions which are present only in a small
extent in early Tamil literature increase gradually and this forms one
of the main features in the growth of Tamil language and literature.
Accordingly we find that the percentage of Sanskrit words is greater
in KitRal than in the early Sangum works and Tolkappiyam.

Sangam works

In AkanaNuRit PitRanuNitRu and others, the occurrence of
words like yiipum (yiipa), avi (havis), fivuti (ahuti), turt (sthOita),
amarar famaru}* vet.ini (vedu), mutt! (tretagni) and tavam (tapas)
clearly shows that even Vedic Sanskrit did have some sort of influe-
nce in those iim.^s and that the orthodox Brahmins were mainly res-
ponsible for these words relating to the religion of the Vedas, Vedic
rites and rituals. Words relating to the ordinary social life, paritarn
(bhanda), ulakam (loku), pokam (bhoga), amiLtu (amrta) and
raantilam (mai.u.iula) and the like were also contributed by them.
Words like vaniiam C*mum, vali, cfmtu,, ilakkam, payam (prayojana),
Pact (prfn'I) and ueT (udk'T) and others were contributed by the Jains
through Prakrit. Words like akii, arm, aNNai, cutu, kamuku,
kauei and others were brought in by the Buddhists through Pali.

There is a woik called Acarakkdvai, probably the last one of
the Sangam anthologies. Its author was MuUiyar of Vankayattftr.
The work deals with the inles of conduct, customs and daily obser-
vances of the Hindus. The author himself avows in 'ciRappuppayiram*
that he has based his work on materials drawn from various dharma
S&stras or .WII/VM . Apastamba's C5|-hya and Dharma-sutras, Dharma-
S&tras of naud!-,l>Mii:i. Chiutama, Visnu and Vasistha, the Smrtis of
Mann, Yajfiavalkya, Para,4ara, Likhita and Harita, Samhitas of U^anas
and Visnu jpurafw, some having been literally translated.

Cllappatikuram ard Manimckalai

Both these are twin epics, the story of the latter being a conti-
nuation of that of the former. Both contain thirty cantos each, each

canto bearing the name of 'Katai' which is a Tamil form of the Sanskrit
word gatha. In Cilappatikaram* the whole of the third canto is based
on the NatyaSastra of Bharata. The mantras, punca^ara and astfks
ara are spoken of in canto 11, 128-132. A story from Pancatantra
is reproduced in canto 15, 54-74. The knowledge of i.s'ronorv.y and
astrology displayed in cantos 23 and 26 is noteworthy. Besides
containing numerous dogmas and doctrines of Buddhism, the duties
of people belonging to different castes, moral rules of diverse nature,
the theories and tenets of various religious sects and many other
kindred topics have found place in this work as a result of Sanskrit
influence.

In'Manimekalai, canto 27 deals withPramaruwada, Ajlvakavada,
Sankhyavada, Saivavada, Nikhandavuda, Bhutavada, Mantravada
Vedavada, Vaiseikavada and Vais$avavada. Canto 29 describes the
various aspects of anumana, hetvabhascts, drstantas of sacUiarmya and
vaidharmya nature and dystantabhasas, all of which pertain to Sanskrit
logic. It is said that this canto follows the Nyayapravesa of Dinnaga.

Nilakeci

This is a minor Tamil kavya, written by a Jain. It contains ten
sargas. It describes many doctrines of Jainism, In so doing it con-
tradicts the philosophies of the Buddhists, Sankhya and Vaiseikas
and also that of Vedavadins and Bhutavadins. In this work Sanskrit
influence can be seen, conspicuously, from beginning to end though
through the Jain philosophy. A well known commentary named
Samaya-divakara by Vamana Muni is noteworthy especially for its
innumerable quotations from Sanskrit.

This is another minor kavya in Tamil composed by Tolamo
Littevar, in the tenth century. Though in poetic diction and style,
it takes a high rank among Tamil kavyas, yet the subject-matter of
the work has been taken from the Sanskrit Mahapurarjti of the 9th
century.

Rhetoric works

Dai^iyalankaram is based on the Kavyadarsa of Durjdin. There
are also Tamil translations of Candraloka and Kuvalayananda by
recent authors.

The Purartas

Sanskrit influence was solely responsible for rendering in to
TamU almost a good number of the major and minor purSnas from
Sanskrit.* This gave riseohey/fo

in Sansk H t being
See Dr. V. Raghavan, ~ ----

reproduced in Tamil. All these gave a fillip to the bhakti cult which
attracted all people and hud a direct reaction on literary Tamil. The
Sanskritic diction of the Brahman leaders of thought was another
element in making the I:>:,iM:;iiis! richer and more attractive.

*'.'? :r r ^ -"' ;> "' aml
While ^T::.;'!.^.- -"i. :.*s.'.r, Cuntarar, Appar, Campantar and other
NaVaNmars were responsible for the resurrection of Saivism, the
ALvars shouldered the responsibility for the revival of Vaisnavism.
The Tiruvacakctfn, the 7't-vtlratns and the Divyaprabandham got an all
round inspiration ft om Sanskrit not only through words, but also
through literary and religious and philosophical concepts. This flamed
up the devotional movement umongs the masses towards individual
gods or the various froms of Siva and Vi$u, residing as presiding
deities in the different sacred temples of the land. Tiruvilaiyata-
Rpuranam and others translated from Ilalasyamahatmya and the like
have also their own share in the growth of the literary field in Tamil.
The Bh&ratam of PeruntcvuNar and the Ramayanam of Kampar bear
ample evidence to the indebtedness of Tamil literature to Sanskrit.

Arts and sciences

As in the entire field of the Indian languages, so even in Tamil,
excepting those works which arc of a strictly classical nature and
possess a purely literary value, all others concerning arts and sciences,
like astronomy, astrology, music, medicine etc, are based only on the
respective ancient treatises in Sanskrit. Even the Siddha system of
medicine prevalent in the Tamil county is but an offshoot of Ayurveda
following the works of Caraka, Susruta and others.

From the facts referred to above, it should be plain to any
unbiassed mind that contact with Sanskrit, directly or indirectly
through Prukrla, bus been the great factor in shaping the Tamil mmd
and infusing Within it a vigorous desire to emulate the Sanskrit
literature, though in the stream of Tamil literature, Hinduism 1S the
main flow and Jainism and Buddhism formed themselves as mere
tributaries at the b

Tamil and Sanskrit alphabets

There are 3O letters in Tamil alphabet, 12 vowels and 18 conso-
nants, exclusive of Ttytam' which is considered a cftrpcLuttu or a
letter which has a lean on others. This fiytam is the visarjamya and
upadhmZniya in Sanskrit, their nature being called ^ parasnta (or
leaning on others), in oka 5 of Pftini's &*&. Though the two

come respectively before the hard consonants of ka-varga and p
varga in Sanskrit, ayiam comes before all letters of va1!iNam_group
Tamil. Parasrita and CarpeLuttu are one and the same. Aytam
the tamilised form of the Sanskrit word asritam.

The vowel-system in Tamil with 12 does not have the Sanskr
r, r , 1 ; anusvara and visarga, and adds short e and o. The consc
nant-system of Tamil, does not have the 2nd, 3rd and 4th letters j
the five groups beginning with ka-varga ; Tamil does not have th
letters ia, sa, sa and ha and by adding another Ra in valliNau
another Na in melliNam and la and La in itaiyiNam. Though th
letter La seems to be indigenous to Tamil, it comes in places wher
the Sanskrit letters la, 4a and sa occur, as found in paLam for phala
in plLai for plda, in cikaLikai for sirsaka and such like,

Paninihas spoken of only 48 letters in Sanskrit with 15 voweli
and 33 consonants. But in mantra sastras, the letters are considered tc
be 51 with the addition of the vowel 1, and the consonants Ja and ka
and to be 50 without the consonant la. In verses 924, 945, 963, 96J
and 2698 of Tirumantiram, Tirumular speaks of the 50 and 51 Sanskrit
letters used in mantra sastras. But, in Pay>rakkutluRai of Tiruman-
tirakkaJtuRai (TiruvavatutuRai edition) and in Tirumular varalaRu
of Tirumantiram (KaLakam edn.) it is given that once upon a time
Tamil had 51 letters in its alphabet and in later times they were
reduced to 30. In verse 965 Tirumular says that all the Vedas and
the Agamas are in the form of 50 letters and that when one happens
to know the truth of them, then only five letters (which go to make
pancakara-mantra) remain. When saying this Tirumular means
only the Vedas and Agamas in Sanskrit. To say that Tirumtilar
spoke of only the 5 iletters in Tamil is absurd. On the other hand
it only proves that the letters of Tamil alphabet were drawn from
those of Sanskrit. Even the pancaksara given by him is only
namaccivaya or civaya namaft and not 'civaNukku vanakkam*.

The Tirumantiram of Tirumular

It is no exaggeration to say that the Sanskrit influence rose to
the highest degree in Tirumantiram. Whatever is said about Tiru-
mfclar, the author, by way of tradition, none can deny that he was a
vast ocean of Sanskrit learning. He speaks about the four Vedas,
the six Vedangas and the twenty-eight Agamas, with utmost regard,
Verses 62 and 63 say that he obtained from his Guru, Nandi, nine
among the 28 Agamas. In verses 73, 77 and 81. he says that he had
been ordained by his Guru to render the Agamas and the Vedas in
beautiful Tamil. The work contains a little above 3000 verses
divided into nine tantras.

Some of the nupo:i;:nt references from Sanskrit are given here-

under :

The very first verse in pfiyimm says that the Lord Siva, though
one and non-dual, has a dou hie nature. This equates with Brhadara-
nyakopanisad 1,4.3. 4h suh litavun asa" etc. which speaks of the Lord's
double nature, of being both Sakli and Siva, or female and male.

Inverse 20, Tirumulur say* that all objects in the world such
as thunders, lighinlri;-. hills, etc. are only his forms, which corres-
ponds with C/:*~:'^.: "."i..'*'''i.-i/ 2, 3, 1. "vrstau pancavidham
satnopasita* 1 etc.

Verse 35 stresses that Xm/" hainhhavana makes one omnipotent
following Sarvajnumitttu'cl^tuna which says that one can attain omni-
cient knowledge by the above hiulvctna.

Verse 4O showing tin; clear nature of the titinan as foieign and
separate from the inanimate matter, body, is only a restatement of
the doctrine "sailrasya na Ai".i..,i>.Mn mrtesu vyabhicaratali"

Verse 46 refers Siva as having the white complexion like the
Agamas in general.

Verse 47 speaks of those who have no thought of Him, will not
get any happiness at all, like a hawk sitting at the top of a palm tree
and thinking of nothing. This cannot but remind one of Brhadara-
iiyakopani$ad IV, 3, li> *laJ yathasmininikase syena etc'.

Verse 51 shows the amount of regard the author had for the
Vedas. He says "Leaving the Vedas there is 110 other work on
moralism. AH the laws of moiality are found in them. Savants
of yore attained emancipation only by studying the great Vedas,
leaving aside discussions of useless reasoning/*

Ven;e 55 considers the Yevi;mtas as inherent in the Vedas and
inseparable from them.

Verse 57 icicrs to the 66 holy souls who first of all heard the
28 Agamas which sprang foilh from the mouth of the upward face
of the Lord.

Verse 63 emimciaU's the nine Agamas received by Tirumular
from his guru Nandi, and names them as KHmika, Karana, Yfra,
Cintya, Vutulu, Vamala, Kalottura, Suprabhcda and Makuta.

Verse 67 mentions Patafijali and Vyaghrapada as his associates.

Verse 85 acclaims that the essential truth of Vedas is the
mantra puiieak>ura 1 ' which kindles the sensation of the soul and by
constant hold becomes self-evident*

Verse 93 refers to the existence of countless mantras in the
gg Veda.

Verse 106 speaks of the nine forms of Siva, shapeless 4, both
shaped and shapeless 1 and shaped 4.

V. 115. The eternal nature of the three-fold tattvas of Pati
Pasu and Paa bears resemblance to MfgendravYtti) Vidyapada si. 7
and Kirandgama Vidyapada 3, 1.7b-9a.

V. 118 refers to Panca Sadakhyas quoted in Vdtuldgama I, 30
^ j.

V. 125 and 126 say that the 36 iva-tattvas are the prime
factors of liberation.

V 135* The reversion of tanmatras and other elements to
their origin is corroborated by Sivatattvaratnakara IX, 3, 11-115

V. 137. That Brahmdnda or cosmic sphere has not the capacity
to be filled up by anvandas, only reiterates the *prthivyadicatustayot-
pattinaakrama' of Kanada.

V. 152. The mention of the nine gateways of the body is an
old siddhanta coining in the works on Vedanta (Veddntasiddhdntddasa
I, 214).

V. 154. The 96 tattvas spoken of here have a resemblance
with a quotation from Jnanasiddhi given in naNavaranavJlakkamum
patiyamum.

V. 156 compares well with 118th Sloka of adh. 314 of Vana-
parva Mahabhdrata 'ahanyahani bhutani* etc.
V. 165 refers to the seven hells.
V. 185 speaks of the 16 kalds, referred to in Prdsddasatslokl.

., . V ' 19 ^ . The three fires ^ nd the five fire-brands closely follow
Ajitagama, Knyapada pat. 20 Si. 40-50.

V. 194. The Lord's visibility to the internal eye alone and not
to the external compares well with expressions like 'antarmukhasama-
radhya bahirmukhasudurlabha* in Lalitusahasrannmastotra.

-.1, <7' 2 ^ 6 * T ^ e mention of the Eternal fire of life is in agreement
with tasyaivam viduso yajnasyatma' etc. in Ndrdyariopamsad, 80.

V. 222 reminds the production of Sivagni as found in Purvaka-
ra^agamma pat, 22.

V, 225 stresses the importance of nruppatam *tat tvam asi*.

V. 293 The body becoming golden by Siva's worship through
yoga implies the transformation of VicaraSarman as
quoted in Sivabhaktavildsa. ardsarman

V. 310 That even an illiterate can obtain Siva's grace reminds
of the episode of Netrarpaka or KannappanayaNar (Bhaktavildsa)

V* 336 mentions meditation in the six adharas.

Tantra II

V 339 Killing of the Demon Andhaka comes in Sivamaha-
- -Q 5^ 42 and 44-49. There is also a mention in the Ramayana,
Aranyakanda, sarga 30, si, 66.

V* 340. Burning the head of Daksa occurs in M. Bh. Santi-
parva, adh. 290 and Anususanaparva, adh. 235.

V 341. Cutting the head of Brahman is given in Skandapurana,
gankara Saiiihita, Diiksakanda, adh. 18 and 19.

V. 342. Slaying of Jalandhara comes in Si. ma. purana II, 5
adh. 24.

V. 343. The destruction of Tripuras is noted in M. Bh.
Karnaparva, adh. 27.

V. 344- Slaying of Gajasura is mentioned in adh. 15, Daka-
kanda, SankarasamhitTu Skandupurnna.

V. 345. Punishment meted out to Yama by iva on behalf of
Markaijdeya is narrated in Padmapurana VI adh. 236.

V. 346. The burning of Kama is mentioned in Valmiki
Ramayavci Balakunda, sarga 23.

V. 350. Siva crushing Rava^a's hands with his toe is described
in Veil. Ram. Vll sarga 16,

V. 351* The episode of Dandin or VicaraSarman is narrated
in Upamanyii Bhuktavilusa 1 adh. 44,

V. 371. The episode of Siva's wearing Vinu*s bones occurs
in Sk. Pur. S-iri. Satp> Upudesu kunda, adh. 67.

V. 381. The description of ParuparaN and Paraparai etc. is
in quite concordance with Yatnlagama I. 19-24.

V. 386 agrees with the sloka 'daksioa'd as T jat putram etc.' in
AcintyavisiisfidfikhyiU

V. 388 describing the appearance of air from akasa and that of
agni and others corresponds with Taittiriyopanifad II, 1.

V 391 The parts belonging to Brahman and Visnu in Siva-
linga arc in conformity with 41. 106-109, pat 9, PurvakZranagama.
V 398 The description of Vijnanakalas, Pialayak^las and
others is corroborated by Matan^gama jnanapada.

V. 457 refers to a^tapuri, a technical term in vedanta denotin;
the five suksma bhutas together with manali, buddhi and ahankara.
V. 469 refers to the well-known arisadvarga.

V. 509. That proper snana or ablution is only a pi:r : Scaiicr
of mind is a repetition snanan manomalatyagafc' coming under th<
Yaksaprasna in M. Bharata.

V. 519 reminds one of the Kiranagama sloka ^adlksitarcitam
lingam tyaktva bhlto mahegvarah*.

V. 520. Siva having a sixth face looking downward has a
parallel in Sk. Pur. Sambhavakanda adh. 25, si. 25-28.

Tantra III

V. 552. The description of yogangas follows Patanjalayoga*
sutra 2 9 29 and Yogatattvopani?at 24-25.

V. 557. The enumeration of ten niyamas is in accordance with
Sdndilyopanisat I, 2.

V. 558, 559, 560, 562 and 563 respectively correspond with I
3, 1 : I, 3, 3 : J, 3, 8 : I, 3, 5 and 6 : and I, 3, 2. Sand-up,

V. 567 fully agrees with Yogacudamanyupanisat 89-92.
V. 568. The matras of recaka, puraka and kumbhaka are in
perfect concord with those given in Yogatattvopanisat 41-42.
V. 569. is in parallel with Sand up. 1, 7, 17

V. 572. Making prana to center round navel in Kumbhaka
closely follows Sand. up. 6, 45.

V. 574. The description of the ten principal na<#s in the body
resembles Yogacutf. up. 18-20.

V. 580. follows Yogatikhopanisat I, 167-175 in the delineation
of the muladhara and other cakras.

V. 604 closely follows Sand. up. I, 45 and Tri&tkhtbr&hmano-
pani$at 110.

V. 606. Hearing of subtle sounds during meditation corres-
ponds with Nadabindupanisat 33-35 and Hamsopanisat .

V. 610. The rising up of 5 luminances from the 6 adharas
mostly follows Yogasikhopanisat 56-58.

V. 619. The union of bindu and nada in samadhi concords
with Yogaciid. up. 113.

V. 621. Tightening of bridle (mind) compares well with
Kafhopanisat I 9 3 , 8 and 9.

V. 622. The three knots or granthis are the same as given in
j^ I 72-75.

V 623. The -i i.>lc.U:* (five, referred to are in concord with

o..-!:^ X3-OS.

V. 627. The mystic square and triangle are parallel to Yogacud-
up. 7-10 and the nature of KundalinT to Yogakund. up. I, 7 and 8.

V. 642. SamhhavT miidra follows Gherandasamhita III, 59-62
and KhecarT mudrH, Dhyanabindu up. 79*83.

V. 653. The reference to ten pranfis and ten nadls has a parallel
in Yogaciul up* K>*26.

V. 654. The 22-1 mystic bhuvanas mentioned correspond with
Urgendra, Vi-lyH-V ''*- acihvaprakarana si. 1-176.

V* 659. The process of Viparltakarani meant here is dealt with
\nGhertujt.fa<*n:M'i'*~' 3, 28-31 and Yogatattva up. 122-125.

V. 662 The nine Sakts staying in the ad haras have a back-
ground in Kh'LZ*j~t"i-:n r kn-puda : 14, 24-25,

V. 697. The number of breathings in a day follows approxi-
mately Yogacnd up. 31 33

V. 702* The union of pifu.ui and Kundalini is spoken of in
Trisikhibralinutna ///> 55 to 6S and Sand. up. 1, 4.

V. 70S. The 1O ;ui!ifitas in the body and their deities are stated
in SiddhQntctstlriiYali* yogapuda si. 2 and 3,

V. 712. The union of Gangfi and Yamuna in meditation is
given in Ilttthayoptixnulipika 3, 109.

V. 730. Hearing of peculiar sounds in meditation is in
NQdabindu up. 28-33.

V. 73 K Aj ip;ivryitli7 is dealt with in Yogacutf. up. 31-34 and
Yogasikh oiHini^ttt 130-133.

V* 732. Pran'i and Apana attracting each other can be seen in
Yogacftf. up. 26-30.

V. 744. The 4 nit an 1 ilas in dvadasunta are same as those given
\nSiddhantastlravaH, yogupudu si. 6.

V. 745. Siva\s 9 !\>rrnti are quoted in Vatulagama \ 9 122-135.
V. 765. Akara and Ukura forming as Siva and Sakti concords
with Vatulagama 6, 5,

V. 769. The yogi \isuatising Brahman and others in the six
adharas is given in Yogasikhft up, I. 176-178.

V. 772. The benefits of the tongue reaching the top in medi-
tation comes in &/</. up* 1* 43,

V. 796. The 16 adharas referred to are given in Goraksapaddhati
1,13.

V, 799. The nature and benefits of the Khecari mudra are
spoken of in Dhyanabindu up. 79, 80.

V. 805. Pumping of prana into the soft palate comes in
Yogakund. up. II, 23 and 24.

V. 813 Kalas from Muladhara up to Ajna totalling 224 is
corroborated in Saundaryalaharl si. 14.

V. 817. Meditation centering sahasrara is spoken of in Yoga
cu$. up. 96.

V. 818. The description of U4diyana bandha appears in
Yogakund. up. 1. 87-88a Yogacud. up. 48 and 49, and Dhyanabindu
up. 75b-77a.

V. 820. The description of Mulabandha occurs in Yogasikha
104 and 105, Yogakund 63b-65, Yogacutf. 46 and 47, Yogatattva.
120b-121, and Dhyanabindu 74 and 75.

V. 821. The description of Jalandhara bandha comes in
Dhyanabindu 77b-79a, Yogatativa 118b-119a etc.

V. 845-850. Amarldharana or Amaroli is found in Yogatattva
126b-128 and in Goraksapaddhati I sataka under the section
Vajroli.

Tantra IV

V. 906. Utterance of Siva mantra in lip-murmur is found in
Mrgendragama, kri. pad a, pat. 4.

V. 955. The pancakara mantra comes in Rudraprasna in
Kr$nayajurveda*

V. 1307. The mantra of PancadaSaksari (kadividya) with its
three groups, beginning with the letters ka, ha and sa is described.

V. 1320. The mantra of Navaksarl is given as 'saurh aum
haum, am krim krom aim hrJm srlm\

The whole tantra is full of various sorts of pancaksara mantras
and cakras, in addition to Tripuracakra, Sambhavima'^ala cakra,
Navakarl cakra, BhuvaneSvarl cakra, BhairavJ cakra and others. On
the whole 22 cakras are described here with their modes of design
and manner of writing the bijakaras within them. In verses 924
to 927, in the delineation of Tiruvampalaccakkaram, Tirumufar
specially directs to write the 50 Sanskrit letters in the 25 squares

inside at the rate of 2 in each, and to write the 51st letter ksa in the
space below the squares.

Tan'.rai V to IX deal with all sorts of subjects connected with
Saiva siddhiinta p 1 ::' >-ophy. There is no topic left untreated.

Conclusion

The reconciliation of Tamil grammar with that of Sanskrit
attempted in I'iraco Liyani, Pirayokavivekam and Ilakkanakkottu by
their authors is another proof of how far Tamil grammar is indebted
to Sanskrit. Moreover CivaiinaNa Cuvaraikal, the author of
re/&v/< *"''' '"'"' has expressly stated that Tamil Learning
not be complete for those who have not learnt Sanskrit.

SOME ASPECTS OF THE INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT
ON TAMIL THOUGHT AND CULTURE

DR. G. SUNDARAMOORTHY

Madurai University

The aim of this paper is to assess the influence of Sanskrit on
Tamil thought and culture with special reference to the early period.
The study is mainly based on a comparative study of the Vedas
and the Epics and the Sangam literature and some of the important
aspects of the influence of Sanskrit on Tamil thought and culture
will be demonstrated in the following pages.

What is now known as Sangam literature 1 is the earliest extant
literature of the Tamils. It consists of anthologies of short lyrics
and longer poems. The lyrics are made into eight collections
known as Etfu-t-togai and the longer peoms are collected under the
name Pattup-Pattu. The eight collections are as follows-
(1) Narrrnai, (2) Kurundogai , (3) Aingurunuru, (4) Padirrup-
pattu, (5) Paripadal, (6) Kalittogai , (7) AhananQru and (8) Pura-
nanuru Of these the first three, the sixth and the seventh collections
treat of love-themes technically known as 'aharn', in its several
aspects. The fourth and the eighth have for the subjects non-love
themes, technically called 'puram', which includes heroism in war
liberality, just rule, praise of gods and of men. The fifth in the
sene S ,viz,Pan/p artakesofthe nature of
being m pr aise of gods and others in depiction of love.

details T about the Sangam literature "see

' P - Minaks Wsundaran, Annamalai University,

P' T f Tamti Lan ^ a ^ d Literature,
Priku, New Century Book House, Madras, 1956.

( 179 )

(5; MuI/aip-putlH, (6) Maduraik-kanjf, (7) Nedunelvadai,
(8) Kuiunjip-Pattu, (9) Pattinap-palai and (10) Malai-Padu-kadarn.
The poems in this collection mainly deal with the cult of gifts, the
theme of love in its various aspects and the description of
Nature.

Tolkdppiam which is the earliest available work on Tamil
grammar and poetics is also included in the Sangam literature,
The conclusions arrived at in this paper are mainly based on these
works.

A brief remark on the age of Sangam literature is necessary
and relevant for this paper. The age of Sangam literature has been
a matter of speculation and dispute among scholars. Many theories
and counter-theories have been put forward. These theories can
be grouped into three categories. (1) The Sangam age is to be
fixed between 1000 B.C. and 500 B.C. 3 (2) It is to be fixed between
300 B.C. and 1st or 2nd century A.D. 3 (3) It is to be fixed between
200 A.D. and 700 A.D. 1 Jn support of each of the above mentioned
theories many speculative and evidential arguments are made. A
detailed consideration of these arguments may be irrelevant and
redundant here. In the Sangam literature in many places evidences
are available to conclude that the people and the poets of Sangam
age were very familiar with the two Epics namely, the Ramayana
and the Mahabharatu.**

Although the Sangam age is post-epic it does not appear to
be correct to bring the Sangam age later than the 2nd century A.D.
Many evidences and arguments could adduced in support of this
view- For instance > this may be said 6 : The Pallavas of Kanchi
who were non-Tamils in their origin established their rule in Tamil

2. See S. Vaiyapuri pillai, History of Tamil Language and Litera-

ture^ pp. KMI .

3. Lectures on Puratiuniiru^ by M. Rajamanikkam, Saiva Siddhanta

Publishing House, Madras 1 , 1966 pp. 141-150.

4. Prof. VaiyapLiri Pillai advocates this view. This view is not
acceptable to Tamil scholars. The arguments adduced by Prof.
Pillai need careful consideration. See History of Tamil Language
and Literature, pp. 5-23.

5. Infra.

6. Cf. M. Rrjamunikkurn PHlai, The Lectures on Pur ananuru., pp.

138-140,

( 180 )

Nadu in the 3rd century A.D. 7 During this century the Pallaves
ruled the northern parts of Tamil Nadu, 8 The KaLibhras who were
also non-Tamil in origin and who were ruling the northern parts of
Tamil Nadu during the 3rd century A.I>. came to the southern
parts of Tamil Nadu to establish their k::^?o:~ as a result of the
Pallava occupation in the north of Tamil Nadu. The JCalabhras
ruled the southern parts of Tamil Nadu till the 6ih century A.D.
As the PaUavas and the Kalabhras were occupying the whole of
Tamil Nadu there was no scope for any other kings lo rule Tamil
Nadu from the 2nd century A.D. onwards. Some authoritative
literary records of the 7th century A. D. spcaL oi' the Sangam age
as a proud past history of Tamil Nadu/' The fc . :r -.- /,! -*j;j! limits
of Sangam Tamil Nadu extended to the Tirupati hills in the north
and to the districts of Kaiiyakumarl in the south. All the Sangam
kings who are mentioned to have ruled the Tamil country were
pure Tamils. Therefore it does not seem to be just Hied to relate
the political, historical and the geographical facts of the Sangam age
to the facts supplied by the history of Tamil Nadu from the 2nd
century A.D. to the 6th century A.D. The only possibility is to
place it before the 2nd century A.D. Some of the Sangani kings
have been proved to belong to the 2nd century A.D. 10 Hence,
the age of Sangam may be between 300 B.C. and 200 A.D. A brief
discussion on the age of Sangam has become necessary to speak of
the influence of the Vedic and Epic tradition on Tamil thought and
culture and to show the historical importance of the influence of
Sanskrit on Tamil.

The Sangani literature gives clear proofs to assess the influ-
ence of Sanskrit culture on the society of the Sangani age. In the
Sangam literature we get references to the division of society into
many castes. 11 But it cannot be ascertained whether the caste
division was based mainly on the basis of birth. From the refe-
rence to barbers, potters etc. it is difficult to conclude whether
a particular man undertook to become a barber etc. chiefly
because he was born in that caste or because he took to that
profession. Similarly many kings are referred to in the Sangam

7. R. Gopalan, Pallavas of Kane hi, Chapter 3.

8. M. Rajamanikkam Filial, History of Pallavas, Saiva Siddhanta
Publishing House, Madras 1 (Reprint 1952).

in o" T/ T " P " Minakshisun <3aran, History of Tamil Literature, p. 9.

10. S. Vaiyapun Pillai, History of Tgmll Language ami Literature,
p. 22.

1 1 . Lectures on Purananuru, p. 1 95.

literature bui it is iigain difficult to hold whether the Ksatriya caste
was existing. 'I ne S an gam evidence is inconclusive on the question
that birth \\as the only criterion to become a king.

As far as the Brahmins are concerned we are on definite
ground. Reference to Brahmins is frequent in the Sangam literature.
From a study of the refeienccs to the Brahmins it may be concluded
that the Brahmin c:^ic had already become an established thing.
This is \cry fnlcressing from the - :' \ ^/.J point of view.

The Brahmins were highly respected. 12 They had a separate
place whoie they !i\ed in each village 13 . There were many schools
in the cities which facilitated the Brahmins to study the Vedas and
to discuss the problems aiising from the study of the Vedas. 14
Their main duty was U> learn and teach the vedas, to do the sacri-
fices and to oiileiute in the sacrifices, and to give and accept gifts 15
Theath'ceo* the Brahmins even on secular matters was highly
respected. 1 '"' Respect Tor them, was mainly due to their learning,
moral and eihicu! perfections. Some of the Brahmins became
highly respected poets. Kapila was one among them. This poet
is greatly honoured partly because of his poetic genius and also
because of hi-, beint* a Brahmin. 17

An in t e res i i rig Tact to be noted here is this. Kapila the
Brahmin poet is said to l~e a meat-eater. 18 This is evidently due to
the sacrifices he performed.

r l he establishment of the Brahmin caste as an integral part of
the Tamil society pu%ed the way for introducing the religious
practices of the Vedas and of the Epics. It may be mentioned
here thul the Hrahm'ms were mainly responsible for the propa-
gation and maintenance of Sanskrit culture. This was true of the
Brahmins of the Sunburn age. 1 he Brahmins of the Sangam age
are always rcfeired to us engaged in Vedic sacrifices. 19 They had
at home the thiee famous Vedic fires namely the Ahavaniya,

12. Ihid* p.-:.

13. Lectures on 1\ :/*,y/'<7//, p. 130.

14. Ibid, p. 175.

15. Putttriiw-tiltu* 24.

16. Kalittoxuii 9.

17. Lectures on JWtupptittu* P* 23j

18. PuranfinfirUi 14.

19. Lectures on PattitppaUu* P*

Daksinagni and Gdrhapatya^ Constant reference to the perfor-
mance of Vedic sacrifices is found in the Sangam literature.

The performance of the Vedic sacrifices was not confined to
the Brahmin caste alone. Many rulers of the Sangam age are
described to have performed the sacrifices. There was a king called
Perunarkilli 21 who is credited with the performance of the Rajasuya
sacrifice. Another king named Mudukudumi Peruvaludi is said to
have performed many Vedic sacrifices. His attachment to the Vedic
sacrifices was so great that he was popularly known as 'Palyagasalai'
meaning 'He who has many sacrificial halls to his credit'. 22 It may
also he mentioned here that the Vedic sacrifices were not confined to
the members of the Brahmin and the ruling section. Even the
farmers 28 are said to have shown keen interest in the Vedic sacrifices.
These facts will amply testify the fact that the religious practices of
the Vedas and of the Epics got themselves deeply rooted in the
religion of the Sangam people. An interesting remark is necessary
here. It is generally thought that the advent of the Upanisads and
the teachings of the Buddha destroyed the high respect that the Vedic
sacrifices were held in. But what we observe in the Sangam land,
which is 2500 miles away from the original land of the Vedas, and
in the Sangam literature, which is to be assinged a period between
300 B. C. and 200 A. D., remarkable respect is shown to the
sacrifices.

The influence of Sanskrit culture is extended to the other
aspects of religious practices and beliefs of the Sangam age. Follo-
wing the Vedic and Epic traditions the Sangam people believed
that the South is meant for the worship of the dead. Ceremonies
meant for the departed were performed facing the South. The
habit of offering 'piiiuja 524 to the departed souls was not uncommon
during this age. The belief in the existence of Yamaloka was there.
Yama was the God of death.

Most of the poems of the Sangam literature are dedicated
to describing the love affair of the youth of those days. Love-
making was generally encouraged. But it must be noted that it
was prescribed that the love affairs should culminate in marriages
which were performed to a larger extent according to the Vedic
and Epic prescriptions. The practice of having Agni as the

20. Lectures on Purananuru, p. 197.

21. Ibid, p.m.

22. Ibid.

23. Patfinappalai, 200.

24. Puran&nuru, 234; 363.

marriage witness and the habit of going round the Agni and also
the custom of SaptapudI were in vogue. 25 Marriages and the
death-ceremonies are the real tests tor assessing one's originality of
culture. It is comparati\ely easy to influence the dress-customs, food
habits, etc., but to change the marriage and the death customs it is
very hard. From the influence of Sanskrit over the marriage and
the death habits of the Tamils the depth of the Sanskrit in fluence
may be judged.

The social scheme of the Tamils has given a prominent place
to the Vartmsrama dharma daring the Sangam age. Although love
making is encouraged of the youths, the young people are made
to remember the fact that love or Kama is not the only aim of
life. Love should lead to a regulated married life which will in its
turn lead to the Vanuprastha life and that will finally
end in the life of a Stinnyasin** Throughout the Sangam literature
indications are available to conclude that many people took to the
life of Vanaprasthu and Sannyasa. This proves the fact that the
Vaniasratna dharma was not a mere theory but had become a reality
in the Sangam age. It may be mentioned here that the Sannyasins
of the Sangam ago were spending their days not in the pursuit
of philosophy giving no room to religious rites, but they are mostly
described as being indulged in doing the Vedic sacrifices and the
homes?' 3 This is more in conformity with the Vedic society.

Another aspect of the influence of Sanskrit on the Sangam
literature is the fact that during the Sangam age the Sanskrit Epics,
the Ratnayana and the Mahabharata, were well known to the
Sangam people and the poets. There are many references in the
Ssngam poetry to the Kpies, the epic heroes, the epic incidents
and the epic way of life. What is more interesting is the fact that
many Sangam poets bore the names such as Kapila, VSlmlki,
Damodara and Acyuta. 1 his amply testifies the fact that the
Epic tradition had deeply penetrated into the Sangam. age.

The names Rama, a8 SIta, au Dharmaputra, 30 Bhanasena 31 and
Arjuna 32 are frequently mentioned. The Parjdavas were well
known as the famous Tive" and the Kauravas also were known.
It appears that the Sangam poets were familiar with the detailed

25. KaiitixuT* 104."

26. Lectures on Pufannnuru> p. 90.

27. Lectures on Pattuppatfu, p. 137.

28. Puran8$ufU, 378.

29. Ibid.

30. Ibid, 366.

31. Lectures on Pattuppalt^ P* 78.

32. Ibid; p. 119.

story of the Epics as narrated by Valmlki and Vyasa. For exam-
ple this may be quoted: A poet goes to a philanthropist with his
family. The philanthropist gives many ornaments to the poet
and his family. The poet's family-people do not know where and
how they should wear the ornaments. In their eagerness to wear
them they wear the ornaments at wrong places. 1 his reminds the
poet of the monkey which wore the ornaments of Situ at wrong
places. 33 This is a clear reference to the Raraayanu.

Here is an important reference in the Sangam literature. 34
Some of the incidents found in the Uttarukcinda of Valmlki Ratna-
ya"na are mentioned here. Jt may be mentioned here that the
Vttarakanda is generally believed to be a very late addition to the
Rzmayana. If it could be demonstrated that the Sangam poets
were familiar with the Uttarakanda of Valmlki Ranuiyana, then
many theories on the Uttarakanda may have to be revised.

Equally famous was the Mahabharata during the Sangam age.
It would not be wrong to assume that the Sangam poets were fami-
liar with the Mahabharata written by Vyasa. In addition to the
mention of the Epic heroes many stories forming part of the
Mahabharata of Vyasa are known to the Sangam poets. To
quote a few: 35 The churning of the ocean for AmrUu Visnu assu-
ming the role of Mohini to deceive the Asm as, Siva's part in
swallowing the poison. Also, the story of Garuda who went to the
Indraloka to bring Amrta in order to save his mother from slavery,
the incident which narrates how Visnu put an end to the pride of
Garu<Ja are mentioned. 36 The advent of the river Gariga to the
earth is also mentioned. 37

Here is an important piece of information : A Pandya king
requested a poet named Perundevanar to compose the Mahabharata
in Tamil. The poet did so and as a result of this the poet was
known as 'the poet who composed the Bharata?* r i his is corrobo-
rated by a copper-plate inscription of the 10th century AJDJ* 9 It
would not be 'wrong to conclude that the poet must have had the
Vyasa's Mahabharata as his model. Unfortunately the Tamil Bharata
composed by Perundevanar is not available to us. If that were

33. Lectures on Puransnuru. p, 108.

34. Kalittogai, 38.

35. Paripafal, 3 ; 34.

36. Ibid, 3 : 59.

37. Ibid, 9 : 4-8.

38. Lectures on Purananuru* p. 118.

39. Ibid.

available many theories regarding the Mahnbharata may have to be
changed.

We now uirr our iillcnlion to consider the influence of
Sanskrit on ihe conception of God in the Sangam age The fact
that all the gods who arc found mentioned in the Sangam literature
are Epic gods. 1 he Vedic deities are of course mentioned but it is
evident that the Snn^-mi poets are not influenced by the Vedic
literature in thi* re-aid. For :-. . , V Varuria' 1 * is remembered as
the God of ihe sci: and not as the glorious Varuna of the Rgveda.
Indra is referred to in some places but he loo is not the Vedic
India. 11

Although the Brahmins of the Sangam age are said to worship
the Sun and perform the StimfhyQvandana three times a day, 42 Sun-
worship docs not occupy a prominent place in the Sangam age.
The Vedic division-* of gods into Adityas,' 13 Vasus 41 and Rudras 45
are found here. The conception of tlevaloka etc. appears in the
Sangam literature \\ithout any change.

The worship of a goddess named Korravai' 16 was popular in
the Sangam age. She is considered to be the presiding deity of the
waste lands. She \\as worshipped more in an unrefined form.
From the Jv . -. - ", \ , of her in the Sangam literature it may be
concluded thai she uus an aspect of Uma and she could be equated
with Durga.

The worship of Siva 47 was also popular in the Sangam age.
The Cpic e- -jo.yi , of Shu is^ adopted in the Sangam literature.
The DisLsIn:^! f: -l''** 1 aspect of Siva and the ArdhanSrl 49 aspects are
also known lo Sangam works. Many heroic deeds of Siva such as
his heroism in binning the three cities etc. are frequently men-
tioned/"' 4 ' It is aisu possible that Siva had a special set of devotees 51 .

40. Lectures an /V/ ://v'.;// t '', p. 299.

41. Pari(iti<!tiL 19; 50-52!"

42* Lectures tt/i J'attu/wtiffit, p. 249.

43. Ptfi7/7i </<//, 3 : 6.

44. Ibid.

45. Ib'uL

46. Lectures on A//////v<7/tw, p. 201,

47. Invocatory song of Purananuru*

48. Puran3nfifU 9 198.

49. Tirumurugurfuppatjai* 153.

50. Ibid, 154.

51. Lectures on Pnrtiiiunurn, p. 267.

Another important God of the age was Karttikeya known a
Muruga. 52 Although Karttikeya was known by a different name i n
the Sangam age, all the puranic stones on the birth and other
deeds of Karttikeya are reproduced in the Sangam literature, as
found in the Mahdhharata. Muruga-worship was very popular at
that time. A whole poem named Tintmurugarruppacjai is dedicated
in praise of Muruga and in another poem, named Paripadal Muruea
occupies a significant position. One peculiar feature of Muruga-
worship in the Sangam age was that he had six hill-abodes in Tamil
Nadu where he showed his divine lllas. These places are still
famous as Muruga-sthalas in Tamil Nadu.

Another significant Sangam God is Visnu known as Tirumal. 53
In the Sangam descriptions of Visnu the Yedic and the Epic tradi-
tions are maintained. Of the important descriptions about Vinu
the description or the mention of Varaha 5 * and other incarnations
is of significance. Although it may not be said that the ten incar-
nations of Visnu are fully developed in the Sangam age, it may be
mentioned that some of the incarnations are recognised beyond
, doubt. Krsna and Balarama 55 are said to be Visnu's incarnations.
But Rama and Parasurama, although found mentioned fiequently, are
not explicitly stated as avatdras of Visnu. It is interesting to note
that Parasurama is described as having performed a sacrifice in a
place in Tamil Nadu 66 , ft is evident from this that when the
Sangam poetry was composed the legends of Parasurama were very
famous in Tamil Nadu so that the poet was inclined to connect
Parasurama with Tamil Nadu by saying that he performed a sacri-
fice in Tamil Nadu.

Another prominent aspect of Visriu-worship during the
Sangam age was the joint worship of Krsria and Balarama 67 . The
joint worship of Krsna-Balarama was famous in north India in the
1st century B.C. 68 . and it is interesting to note that in Tamil Nadu
too it was famous by the same period. This problem requires a
special study.

52. See Tintmurugnrruppagai.

53. See Paripatfal.

54. Second song of Paripadal.

55. Ibid.

56. Lectures on Ahanantiru, Saiva Siddhanta Publishing House
Madras 1, p. 79.

57. Fifteenth song of ParipafaL

risin
pp.

The influence ol Sansknt on Tamil thought and culture is
ri ended to the other holds such as Philosophy, Ethics, etc. But it
... b e remarked here that the Sangam poetry was not openly

optical and the ethics oi the Sangam poetry will have to be

./I ccnaratelv.

iiy

IjlllGuVJN"

tudied separately
tiidy

The following conclusions may be made at the end of this
,y:(l) The influence ol Sanskrit on Tamil thought and culture
very deep and integral even at the early period. (2) Sanskrit
uitiirc did not suffer any major change by passing through the
arious cultural traditions that lay in between Tamil Nadu and the
am land of Sanskrit culture. (3) The changes that affected
anskrit culture were mainly due to internal causes and no external
tore however powerful it may be, could change the essentials of

anskrit culture,

THE ROLE OF MAl^IPRAVALA IN THE PROPAGATION
OF SANSKRIT IN TAMILNADU

A. TlRA-% t.NG,.!)ATHAN, M.A,

D. G. Vaishnava College for Men, Madras

The name Manipravala:-

Accordtng to some the term Mampravlila 1 means an admixt-
ure of rubies and corals and denotes a mixture of Sanskrit and
Tamil. Rubies and corals appear similar from a distance but on a
close observation their individualities come to light. Similarly
though the language-mixture appears compact, their heterogenous
nature cannot escape the notice of the reader. Many people favour
a different meaning of the term, i. e. a mixture of pearls and Corals. 2
Their different colours naturally lend a rare charm to the mixture.
Probably Kalidasa 3 was the first poet to take a fancy to the mixture
of pearls and corals. The term Manipravala exclusively denotes an
impressive and judicious mixing of the Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) with
the Dravidian language Tamil, although the mixing of Sanskrit with
the other Dravidian languages like Telugu, Malayalam etc. is in
current use. The latter mixtures do not attract the attention of a
reader or a listener for there the blending of the languages is profuse
and become a part and parcel of the languages. In fact there is a
treatise on the grammar of Malayala Manipravalam name by
Lflatilaka.

1. Mani means both ruby and pearl; pravala means coraT '

2. Muthukkalalu miha narpavayangalalu mothukkhalanda
tamiya lapi Samskrtena Elthikkilum haralatcva baddhS buddhi
khu matkrtiriyam krtinam vibhusiu

3. Puspam pravalopahitam yadi syammuktaphalam va sphuta-

vidrumastham.

tato'nukuryad viSadasya tasya tainrosthaparyastarucessmi-

tasya,
KSJ,

( 188 )

( 189 )

In the Mtini-pravala stylo of poetry Adi-yamaka {Monai in. Tamil)
is given a greater importance und Sanskrit compounds and sometimes
Sanskrit verbal forms too are used. 1 It has been the pastime of the
pandits in Tamil Nadu of the last generation to compose Mani-
vravala poems in a lighter vein and exchange them in social gatheri-
ngs.

The impact of Sanskrit on Tamil must have been there long
before the celebrated Tamil grammar Tolkappiyam. This woik con-
tains certain rules for accommodating San ski it words. In the
section of Tamil literature called c Aham% the poems are grouped
under three heads. The middle group containing about a hundred
poems is titled *Manlniidalpavazham** (corals amidst pearls). The
commentator interprets the title as symbolic,, i. e. a composition
similar to corals and pearls, the poem and the meaning do not
coalesce. 3 The above title might have been responsible for the coining
of the term Mani-pravalam.

Date

In the Tamil literature of the Sangam period, Sanskrit words
were only to a small extent. But there are strong evidences to show
that there was a two-way traffic of ideas between the two ancient
languages, Sanskrit and Tamil.

Especially in the section called 'Ahain' in Tamil Literature where
the sentiment of Srrigara is portrayed in all its details, we find ideas
and situations similar to those in Sanskrit classics. A broader
division of Tamil literature under the four heads Dharma. Artha,
Kama and Moksa (Aram, Porul, Inbain and, Vddu) has also been in
existence to which fact the Sangam literature bears ample evidence.
Some commentators on the Sangam literature and Tamil critics

1. 'The story of Tamil Research*, A. V. Subramania Iyer, (Pp.
24-35), (Published by Amuda Nilayam Pvt. Ltd., Madras-18.)

2. Idaye Vadavezuthcithul viravial Indothugai nadoethumilla
manipravala Nattraivachollm Jdaye mudiyum padamudaitham
(vi.a soliyam).

3. Agananuril muthal nuru puttu Kalitriyanai mirai

Idai nuru pattu Manirnidai pavalam
Kadai nuru pattu mithilakavai
Manimidai pavalam Cheyyulum porulam

ovvamayal ithu uvamayar
pettra peyar.

Ondrodondru ovvatha eru mozikalihal iyandra intha nadayum
ippeyar petrathu 'Manipravalam' U. M. Gopalakrishnama-
Qharyar Sen, Tamil xi, pp. 485-95,

throw light on the above method of classification. 1 In Ettuttohai
and the five Mahakavyas in Tamil literature the influence of Sanskrit
is clear. So far the influence of Sanskrit on the Tamil thought
was unmanifest. Then came the Devotional Literature where the
influence of Sanskrit was considerable. Thereafter the physical
mixing of the two languages was easy.

The Jains who were known as 'Samanas' in the Tamil country
appear to have first handled the Manipravala style of writing. Side
by side with the propagation of their faith, the Jains contributed a
lot to the enrichment of Tamil literature. The Pallavas who ruled
South India for nearly two centuries from the sixth to the eight
century A.D. were patronising Sanskrit a great deal. Though many
of the Pallava rulers were Hindus, a few of them were either Jains or
supported Jainism. Upto the 7th Century A.D. Jainism was in
ascendancy. By this time Hindu metaphysical Thought became
settled through original Sanskrit works and Sanskrit commentaries.
The earlier Tamil Literature having been mostly secular except for
certain stray descriptions of gods and goddesses which also could
have been influenced by the religious thought in Sanskrit, it is but
natural that Sanskrit went to enrich the religion and philosophy of
the Tamils. The Jains whose contribution to Tamil Literature is
considerably large wrote a work called the Sripurana in the Manipr-
avala style. 2 This is also called Tiruppugazhpuranam. It contains 24
chapters, each chapter being called a purana. With an amount
of certainty we can say that the Jains were the earliest to use the
Ma$i-pravala. 3 Probably with the dwindling of Jainism in the South,

1. The Story of Tamil Research, A, V. Subramania Iyer, (Pp.
208-223).

2. Eppatriattakiya dharma thai aksepini vikepini samvedinl, pi.
sec theorigina aksepini enpathu bheda svasiddhanta madthinai
Pragisipperthakum vikepini enpathu parasiddhanta-durmata
vetittdrinkatki dflana nkalai prathipathiputakum samvedin
enpathu punyaphala ngalagiya abhyudayanireyas ngalai vyav-
arijl ppadagavum nirvedini enpadu sansar arira bhog a$ga}i
asarabhava thinai arivithala mugathinal vairagya thaippa$nu-
uadakum. Sri purana

Edited by Yenkatarajulu Naidu
Madras University

3. Matru orunal saddharmanuthana tatpara Nagi vidyadhara-
raja visapuspa mena rajyavibhava thinan veruthu svaputra 9
misaivitha rajya bhara thanagi paramanirvajiasadhana
m5gira jinadi nakshayinai prapi tha nan mahabala num

this mixed language ceased to be current except in Inscriptions
This was the case till the 10th or llth century A.D. Even during
the time of Azhwars and Nayanmars the use of Mani-pravala was as
such absent, though we are able to discern the impact of the Vedas
Upaniads, Puranas and the like on the Tamil Literature in general
and the Religious thought in particular. After 10th Century A D
we find the re-emergence rf Mani-pravala style of writing as evidenced
by the appearance of huge commentaries and esoterics in the Vais-
jiavite literature.

TirukkuragaippiiTin Pillun, a favourite disciple of Ramanuja-

carya, (llth-12th century A.D) is the first Vaisnavite author to write

a commentary on Tinivaimoli (one thousand and odd sacred hymns

by Nammalwar). This commentary containing 6,000 granthas and

planned after Vimu Parana is known as Arayirappadi. Within a

period of two or three centuries the Vaisnavite literature became

flooded with a number of commentaries and religious biographies

called Guruparamparus written in Mani-pravala style. 2 The Arayira-

praptarajyabhiseka thanakiyapin rupasaundarya-kala-guna-

vijfiana balaisvaryadi ka]al Nadorum abhivrddhi inaiadyanthu

sampurna-candru naippol samasta-jana ngatkam anandahetu

vagi vidySdharasftmrajya thinai anubarthanan. Ibid, p. 23.

1. Eppadi aihika man a aisvaryam alpa mumai asthira mumdie-
ruhthathakil svargadyaisvarya thai prapya mayapatrinalo ?
annii svargadyaisvarya vanchayale aihikavisayasangaparityaga-
purvaka maya enthriyargiilai Jayithu svargapraptivirodhigarlra
thai parithyajithunargalukum cmperumanai asrayi yatholil
antha svargadyaisvarya Inddyathu; tadasrayana ttale siddhi
thalum asthiram; athalal eppadi alpasthiratva bahuladukha-
tvanartha hctutvfidi anekadoadusita mana entha ai^varya thai
vittu Penyathiruradai kuividisium svasrita rai orunalum
orunilayclum kaividatha amperuman thiruvadigalil parama-
prapyarna ger patrungal enyirar. Arayirappadi-Tiruvainoghi

Edited and published by :
S. K. Krishnamachasias

2. Kizil thiruvaimoxiel avanudaya prariayitva-guna gunathai
anusandhi thupicherinar. Evarukhu keeypirandhu niravadhika-
prlti yanadhu cruvarudaya a^raya mum ayiumbnndun
padiyayitru, antha rasathai ariyaru paduthi sadmi pekkipaya
akalavai alpam ncgiya nindran esaran agayale avanidu
sadrsapadurti ngalatum sambandhipadartha ipgalarum
agoppada iivunagakhondu bhrami thuphitiparthu avanandri
khe oyinthal meclavusm mattathe novupattuchellukirathu
kvacidubramate vegat kvacidvibhramate balat kvacinmatta
ivabhuti kfintanvesanatatparab engirapadye.

ppadi 1 and Idu* quoted in the io-nnoios wi!! X-:u- :;nn>!j testimony tc
the felicity of expression oftiie authors in t'lix so- *ed ,i } !e of Saaskri
and Tamil. The author of /:v,/> -' .--'-"';. ' ' ' '' ^ j^v-locfm Piij ai
interpreted Ramdyana in Favour of S ? '- \s\\ h> commenting
on certain slpkas considered important by him. 1 hi', j.^ ;ne"tiir)
known as Tanisloki is a landmark in the hi .lory UrTvaisijavism,
These commentaries are addressed to render wh> possessec
adequate knowledge of both Sanskrit and Tamil. Thus the Sri-
vaishiiavites the elite as well as the lay public -mastered both the
languages and were rightly called MJhhuyavcdiindicar^^.- Even
now this title is prefixed to the names of learned Smaisruniics,

The situation was entirely different in the liekl or Saivism
The Saivite Acaryas did not give this i;i., -.!..- lo Sanskrit in theii
writings although many of them were masters of il. They assimila-
ted whatever Sanskrit offered and rendered c\eryihin& into pun
Tamil. Nevertheless commentators tike Si\r - . and Jnana-
prakasa handled Mani-pravala to a small extent. One -,. i^oitm
variation is worth noticing. The Manipravulu style of writing is
said to have been adopted by PerundeuinuT in his commentary or
the Mahabhnrata? His date is suggested as the middle Sangam
period-probably 1850 years ago 1 . In that case \\e mu:,t concede an
earlier date for the MLyipriivTiL style say 2nd century. Strangely
enough none of the Saivite Acaryas u:u-iiipiti! to \\riie commen-
taries on Tevaram and Tirumurais.

The Advent of Grantha Character:

As mentioned earlier the Jains utilised M,.i i ,J . ^ a!., medium to
their best advantage. Although they did not favour Sanskrit which

1. Evvagaye pasheya asarlri yagiya .Vi:\ ***[> - , / numantar-
dhanam chegthapin kamanudaya tytigasakti en mahanubhava
mkondudevajatika'um ascarya pathu pdvi-.^.a.-,. i: poyinthar,

(C\,in. of Perumdevanar)

2. Puratanagamavedagitapurarjarupa mt>yithu ven kiralanagiya
nadivukonda girlfa nodurai chciguvan viiatlhaiuulinisucarrfa
rai vendru muchi karathin malerathavaradluinar purindha
virama-ne nigar thanmian. Hhnrata by ViiliputQfar.

3. Important among them are : Onpadinuyirappadi by Nanjceyar,
Panmrayirappadi by Alagiamaoavala Jecyur, Impathunalyir*
ppadi by Periavachati pij/ai, J<ju or Muppathurtyirappadi b>
Vrdakkutiruveethi PiHai who recorded Hie di scourers of his
teacher Nampillai, Irayirappacfi Guntparumiwrvputbhwa by
Pmbazhagiyaperumal Jeevar. <All these works are printed,
The above commentaries are available in one volume).

4. Sentawtt, Vol. XJJ, Sec. XI. (Pp. 485-495).

( 193 )

Is the language of the Vedas and treatises on Rituals and naturally
preferred the use of the mass medium of the Prakrits, they should
have been at the end of their wits to popularise their religion in the
South where Sanskrit had gradually become prominent. They were
not able to convoy the complicated metaphysical thoughts in Tamil
In order to take their religion to the masses they devised the mixed
language a mixture of Sanskrit and Tamil and while doing so they
met with another obstacle, that of accommodating the Sanskrit
script (Brahmi pattern) alongside the Tamil Script (Vattezhuttu
pattern). Moreover there wore no symbols to represent the peculiar
Sanskrit sounds like Sa, Ja> Sa, Ha, etc. They had therefore no
alternative exco inventing a new script--the Grantha script. Altho-
ugh they invented the grant ha character and handled Manipravalam
as early as the fourth or the fifth century A.D. these were handled
by others only after KHh century. This script mixed physically well
with the Tamil script. In modern times, in order to achieve unifor-
mity and to avoid composing difficulties large volumes of Vaisnavite
literature were earlier printed in Telugu script introducing the letter.

The later history:

The Sanskrit language influenced not only the religious literat-
ure of the Tamils but the literary works also to a certain extent 1 .

Many Christian Missionaries like Fr. De Nobili who preached
Christianity in the South mastered Sanskrit and in order to convince
the local mass and to be in tune with the prevailing conditions, they
handled a volume of Sanskrit words. Even though they did not
resort to the Mttyl-praveihtni sJyle* yet their writings had a similar
flavour. The same is the case with the compositions of Saint
AruQagiri and Rumaltnga Svuml. Jt was a time when Sanskrit
words and phrases were freely u&ed alongside of Tamil and with
pride because such a combination of languages had a unique flour-
ish. In the field of Science, Sanskrit equivalents for Scientific terms
were used freely alongside commonplace Tamil words and both the
languages not only mixed easily but there was clarity as well because
many of the Sanskrit terms had become commonplace. The spread
of DevanagarT script drove away the Grantha script and along with
that the Sanskrit language too from Tamil Nadu. Although the
Devanagarl Script is accepted at national level, constitutionally and
by practice, DevanagarT Script has made patent the difference which
Grantha script had served to cover and has also added to the
difficulty of handling.* The Sanskrit scholars of the previous

*The Story of Tamil Research by A. V. Subramania Iyer,
(Pp. 224-225).

generation wrote only in Grantlia script. Many of them are even
today ignorant of the Devanagari script.

The Present Day

At present there is a strong move to 'purify 1 Tamil by giving a
go-by to all foreign words. We are not concerned with the reasons
behind this move but it is certain that it will affect the growth of the
Tamil language and result in its isolation from the rest of the Indian
languages. The famous commentary on Tirw&mii called Idu or
Muppattarayimppadi was recently recast in pure Tamil under the
auspices of the University of Madras, It is found that it helped
neither the Tamil public nor the Sanskrit scholars nor the religious-
minded people. It remains a literary curio. Similarly in the literary
field Tratapa Mudaliyar Caritram', the first Tamil Novel by
Vedanayakam Filial was also 'purified' by recasting it in pure Tamil
in this century. This was also criticised by some Tamil scholars and
critics. Rather than a National language, a National script would go
a longway in integrating the various language groups. This will also
incidentally help the propagation of Sanskrit. I have ventured to
show in this paper how Sanskrit played its full role in the enrichment
of its own as well as the native literature in Tamil Nadu through
the Manipravala style in composition and the Grantha script in
writing.

THE INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON TAMIL LANGUAGE
AND LITERATURE

SRI S. JAGADISAN, M.A.
Madurai University

The vocabulary and the grammatical pattern of a language
can be separated into two cafagorics --native elements which we can
take back to the earliest known stage of the language and borrowed
elements which were imported at some period from a different
language. Just as the native elements are subjected to phonological,
morphological and semantic changes* the borrowed elements also,
though subject to such type of changes, yet differ from them in the
mode of their cntiy into a language. This borrowing, whether
spontaneous or induced, is one of the important influences on
language. In using speech of a language, one of our aims is
adequate communication, To achieve this communication we
constantly modify our phonological and grammatical systems and
also our vocabulary to the speech of our associates.

It is clear that language is constantly changing. Linguists
explain two sets of factors for this change external influence and
internal process, Internal influence occurs when a foreign language
is imported to the people by conquest, political domination or
cultural impact.

Though Sanskrit is not spoken now, it still serves as the
medium for composing creative literature and writing learned or
religious works. Its impact and influence on other languages are,
indeed, to the greatest extent, Sanskrit served as the model for
the rest of India. An attempt is made here to explain its influence
on one of the earliest and most highly developed languages of the
Dravidian family, viz. Tamil.

"Through the predominant influence of the religion oMhe
Brahmaijas, the majority of the words expressive of their religious

( 195)

( 196 i)

ideas in modern Tamil is of Sanskrit origin, and though there are
equivalent Dravidian words which are equally appropriate and in
some instances more so, such words have gradually become obso-
lete, and are now confined to the poetical dialect. This is the real
and the only reason why Sanskrit derivations are so generally used
in Tamil in general and religious compositions in particular. I n
other Dravidian languages, whatever may be the nature of the
composition or subject matter treated, the amount of Sanskrit
employed is considerably larger than in Tamil and the use of it has
acquired more of the character of a necessity. This is in conse-
quence of the literature of, those languages having been chiefly
cultivated by Brahmins". (B. Caldwell)

Sanskrit has been considered as the nurse of the Tamil langu-
age (cevilittay). Vocabulary, subject-matter and literary traditions
are the three reasons given in support of the above statement.
It has been observed that Sanskrit words are introduced in the
Tamil language from very early times. While speaking about this,
Sri Swaminatha Desikar, author of a Tamil grammar entitled
'Ilakkanakkottu* has asserted the impossibility of the Tamil langu-
age without the Sanskrit elements. 1 Sri Sivajnana Swamigal,
another great Tamil scholar, has stated the difficulty of understand-
ing Tamil without the knowledge of Sanskrit.* Secondly, a good
number of literary works of Tamil language has their source from
the Sanskrit literary Compositions. 3 Tiruvalluvar's Tirukkural and
the R&mayana of Kambar, bear ample testimony to this. The great
commentator Parimelazahar while commenting on Tirukkural says :
'porut pSkupattinai aram, porul, inpamena va|anul vazakkupparri
yofutalan' and

'ararnavatu manu mutaliya ntilkalil vitittena ceytalum ozitalumara'.
Kamban while writing his Ramayana refers to Valmiki :
vankarum patam nankum
vakutta vnlmiki enpan...

Besides the subject-matter, Tamil language has set up the
literary tradition (Kavimarabu) in conformity with that of
Sanskrit. The desire of making Tamil equal to Sanskrit is deeply
rooted in the mind of the people of Tamilnad as is evident from
the Tamil statements

'ariyattoturaz taru tamizteivam*.
*iru moziyum nikarennu mitarkaiya mulateyo'.

1. Anriyun tamiznur kalavilai yavurrul onre yayinum tanittamiz-
unto.

2. Vatamozi Yunarntarkkanrit tamiaiyalpu vilankatu.

3. llakkanac cintanaikal, S. Vaivapuri PillaL r>. 2.

The indebtedness of Tamil to Sanskrit in explaining the
ma tical principles is great. The first grammar in Tamil was
osed by Agastyar called 'Akattiyam* and then 'Tolkappiam'
Tolkappiar. Two greatest grammarians of Tamil language
reclaim that Tnclra vyukarana and Panini's grammar are the source
books respectively for Tolkappiam and Akattiyam*

'Tolkappiyanar* in his Tolkappiam adapted not only the
Sanskrit grammatical terms and the arrangements, but also many
of the grammatical theories. For instance, his account of the
origin of speech-sounds and the function of case-suffixes is a close
reproduction of what is found in old Sanskrit grammar, though in
the treatment of compound and the initial and final sounds of
words, he appears to have made certain alternations and adapta-
tions to suit the requirements of Tamil language. On the other
hand the author of VirachoKyam and Prayokavivekam have imitated
Panini's grammar m declension, conjugation and word-formation
to the greatest extent. Vararuci's Karikds on Sanskrit compounds
are also incorporated by them.

Tolkappiyanar in the s&tra says that the air which starts from
navel comes out as different speech-sounds through the vocal

or g atis chest, neck, head, hard palate, teeth, tongue, lips and

nose and undergoing different modification therein. 2 It is more or
less the translation of the following Kdrikas of Panini Siksa :
atau sthanani varnanant urafr kaitfhab irak tatha/
jihvamalaftca dantasca nasikothau ca talu ca//

Here the *Jihvamula has been translated as *na' or tongue
while it actually means the root of the tongue.

The author of Ilakka&avilakkam improves the above-mentioned
sttra of Tolkappiar by adding that the sound has emanated from
Udana% which is made to rise by the wilt of persons. This clearly
shows that he j^Jnjus mind the KQrikas in Panini Sika~
T Vitai yukailtavun paninik kilalakkana menal

vatamo zikkurait tankiyan malayama munikkut

titamu rttiyam moxikkeii rakkiya tencol

and . .

vatamoziyaip pavinikku vakttaruli ytaykiijaiyat
totarputaiya tenmoziyai ulakamel^n tozut&ttu
kutamimikkit valiyuruttar kolle^up pakSr
2. talaiyinu mita^pnu neacinu nilai-p
pallu m-itazu navu mukkum
annamu m-ulappata enmurai nilaiyan.*.

atma DUdcmya .sar-.e.ynrlHSn mano yunkte vivaksaya/
manab kayagnim ahanti sa prerayati marutam//
Towards the end of the third section of the Eluttatikaram or the
theory of speech of sound Tolkappiar states that the theory of
speech sounds and modifications which sound undergoes within
the body may be learnt from the scriptures of the Brahmar>as and
that he bas dealt with only articulated speech sounds that came
out of mouth. Here it is evident that he refers to the four phases
of speech sounds, Para, Pasyantl, Madhyama and Vaikharl descri-
bed in Sanskrit grammar. Para, is that phase of the Sabda Brahman,
the undifferentiated primordial sound which is manifested at Mfll&
dhara or sacral plexes ; PaSyantl is that phase which is manifested
at the navel and which is cognisable to Yogins ; Madhyama, is that
phase which is manifested at the heart ; and Vaikharl, is that phase
which is manifested at the vocal organs as the ariiculatory sounds.
The four phases are clearly suggested by the following k which
Patanjali mentions in his Mahubhasya, first Ahnika :

catvari vakparimita padani
tani vidur brahmana ye manlsinul}/
guha trini nihita nengayanti
turlyam vaco manusya vadanti//

So it is very clear that the three Sutras of Toikappiar, 83, 102
and 103 reveal that Tolkappiyanar had studied Sanskrit Sik$a
Pratiiukhyas and grammar and had adopted in his work these points
which would suit Tamil language. 1 Again, the definition of a word
given by Pardni and Tolkappiar almost agree,
suptinantam padam/
Collenap patupa peyare vinaiyanru
ayirarji tenpa arintici nore

The author of 'NannuF another grammatical treatise in
Tamil while defining a Sfitra, clearly adapts the Sanskrit definition
of Sutra.

Cilvakai ezuttir palvakaip porulaic
cewa iiatiyir cerintinitu vilakkit
titpa nutpan cirantena cuttiram.
The Sanskrit definition.

alpaksaram asandigdham saravat visvatomukham/
astobham anavadyam ca sutram sCitravido vidul^//
is well known.

In the treatment of the vowels their quality and quantity,
the position of their occurrence in the initial and final position

1, History of Grammatical Theories P.S.S.Sastri, p.KX

in particular, the parallelism between tfie ancient
works of Sanskrit and Tamil are clearly noticed. In mentioning
the initial and the final vowels in words, Tolkappiyanar has proba-
bly followed Pratisnkkyas. The Rk Pratisakhya, the Sukla Yajufi
Prztisakhya and Atharva Pratisakya say that '!' (*j) cannot stand
as final. 1

In the treatment of the consonants also, particularly their
position in a word, Tolkappiyanar, it seems, has followed the
PrntU&khyas which give a list showing the sounds in Sanskrit that
can respectively stand as the initial and final members. Though
there are differences in the treatment, in majority of the cases, a
clear parallelism between the two languages is clearly noticed. To
cite an example for the difference Tamil allows all explosives except
't* and V after *y' while Sanskrit does not. On the other hand,
Tamil does not allow *y* after the stops, while Sanskrit allows
it. But both Sanskrit and Tamil agree in not allowing V to be
followed by *r" ; T to be followed by *r* and *u* to be followed by
k, c, t, t and p. The non-inclusion of the Tamil secondary
sound *Aytam* which appears in the middle of the word, either in
the vowel or in consonants, is perhaps on the model of the two
Sanskrit sounds *jihvamallya* and 'upadhmaniya* which have not
been classed either as vowels or as consonants by the Sanskrit
grammarian.

While dealing with I-tai-c-col, Tolkappiyanar had in his mind
Yaska's Nirukta* I-tai-c-chol, according to Tamil grammarians, has
no separate existance of its own; it is used along with nouns or
verbs, either as prefixes, suffixes or part of them, etc. In this case
it is clear that the I-Jai-c-chol in Tamil corresponds to Pratyayas
and nipntas in Sanskrit. The sentence 'itai-y-enappatuva peya-
roftum vinaiyotf um nafai-pefriyalum* has a parallel in f.k Pratisakhya
'Upasarga virhsatirarthavcakalji sahetarabhyam' (R.V.P.12.6). Here
sahetarabhyam has been translated by Tolkappiyanar as peyarottum
and vinaiyottum which will apply to all pratyayas and nipatas.

In addition, Tolkappianar, while giving a list of ijai-c col
with their meanings in itai-y-iyal may have had for his model the
first chapter of Nirukta where Yaska deals with Nipztas. To cite
an example, Tolkappiam, sutram 267, it is said words 'anfii', 'aAka'
are simply to make up the quantity of the verse.

1. Nmkarafc svareu (RVP 1.9)

Svar&Sca Ikaravarjam (SYVP 1.87)
swarafc padyah (AVP.IA)

antil anka-v-acainilai-k-kilavi
A parallel in Yaska's Nirukta

Athapi padapurana idamu tadu (Y.N, I. 5.4)
[Padapurana may be translated as 'acainilai-k-kilavi']

A close examination of the Uri-y-iyal a chapter which is
perhaps identical with the chapter dealing with 'Dhatus' in Sanskrit
grammar in Tolkappiam shows that Tolkappiyanar may have
had the second, third and fourth chapters of Yaska's Nirukta for
his model. The portion 'orucol palaporut kurimai tonrinum'
(though the same roots can have different meaning) has a parallel
in 'ekartham anekas~abdam ityetaduktam' (Y.N. 265.1). The
portion 'palacol oruporut kurimali tonrinum' (though different roots
are used in the same sense) has a parallel in c atha yanyanekarthani
eka-abdani tanyato anukramisyamab (Y.N. 266.2). The expression
'payilatavarrai* has a parallel in *anavagata~samskarans~ca nigaman'
(Y.N. 266.3). Again the expression "velippatu colle' has a parallel
in 'samvijnatani tani' in the sentence

tadyatra svarasamskarau samarthau
pradesikena gunena anvitau syatam
sanivijnatani tani (Y.N. 56.4)

Besides, the above-mentioned parallelism, Tolkappiyanar first
gives the roots which have the same meaning and then only roots
which have different meanings. In Nirukta too, Yaska gives a
list of words in the second and the third chapters that have the
same meaning, and in the fourth and fifth chapters list of those
words having different meanings.

Thus in conclusion, we can say that Tolkappiyanar had for
his model the PratiSakhyas in general and Rk Pratisakhya and
Taittiriya Pratisakhya in particular, for writing his Tolkappiam
chapters of I, II and III dealing with 'Ezuttatikaram' or speech
sound and for 'Itaiyiyal' and 'Uriyiyal' in 'Collatikaram' he had the
first four chapters of Yaska's Nirukta.

Having dealt with the influence of Sanskrit on Tamil language
and grammar, let us consider how far Sanskrit has influenced the
Tamil literature in general and the Tamil works during 'Sangam
Age* in particular.

The earliest available literary works in Tamil literature are the
Sangam classics, belonging to 2nd century B.C. or so. These are
anthologies of poems composed by several poets. Here too let me
confine myself to the impact and influence of the language on some
of the Sangam Classics like Akdnanuru, Purananaru, Pattup^u and

KalittogaL A close study of these Sangarn Classics of Tamil
literature will certainly reveal how the authors of the works made
use of Vedic passages here and there. In numerous references about
the performance of sacrifice, the fruition of the past deeds, salvation
rebirth, the fourfold human aspirations Dharma, Artha, Kama
and Moksa, reference to Brahmanas as twice-born Dvija
irupirappSlar etc. Besides, numerous Sanskrit words are also
found in these classics. To cite a few examples Yama Sakata
Vadhu, Pati, Kalupa, Nupura, Vajra, Kara, Nemi, Anjana, Yupa*
etc. These classics show how Sanskrit words and the subject-
matter of the Sanskrit works influenced the life and literature of
Tamil people generally.

Let us now consider the classics one by one : Pattu-p-paftu is
a group of ten poems by different authors. 'Thiru-muruku-arru-p-
patai' or guides to the abodes of Lord Muruga, one of the poems
included in the Fatiuppattu makes a clear reference to the Supreme
bliss and goal_mentioned in the Kathopanisad. (Chapter 3)

Yastu vijnanavan bhavati samanaskah sada Sucih/
Sa tu tatpadamapnoti yasmad bhuyo najayate//

tadvi$i>oh. paramam padam sa kastha s para gatifc

Cevati patarum cemmal ullamotu
Nalampuri kolkaip pulampurint turaiyum
Calavu-m nayantanai ayin...

Tirumurukarruppa<iai Lines 62-64.

A reference to Indra possessing thousand eyes and a performer
of hundred sacrifices and mounting the heavenly elephant is seen
in the following lines of the same text

Nunuppat tatukkiya Nattattu nujrupal

velvi murriya venru atukoyrttu

Irirantentia maruppin, elil natai

talperum tatakkai uyaruta yanai

eruttam etiya tirukkilar celvanum. Ibid^ lines 155-159

While explaining the manner in which Lord Muruga is to be
worshipped by the twice-born, clear mention about the three holy
fires Ahavanlya, Dakinatya and Garhapatya is made

Iru munraitiya iyalpinin valS au
iruvar cuttiya palveru tolku^i
ajunan kiratti ilamai nalliySntu
arinir kazippiya ara navil kolkai
munyuvakai kuritta muttte celvattu

polutarintu nuvala lbid.> Lines 177-182.

Here it has been mentioned that the Brahmanas are observing
the vow of 'Brahmacarya' for forty-eight years and propitiating the
three holy fires mentioned in the scriptures. The Dharma Siitra
says

Astacatvarimsad varsa^i Brahtnacari tamacaritavantah.

The performance of sacrifice and the reference to the sacri-
ficial post yupastambha is also found in another poem Perump-
psnaj-artippatai included in Pattitp&ttu

kelvi yan^anar arunkata nirutta
vslvit tunat tachi-i yavanar. 1

In the same poem there is a clear reference to the Mahabharata
war and the defeat of the Kauravas at the hand of the Pandavas

irairn patinmarum porutukalat taviyap-
peramarkatanta kotunei netunder
arac ceruvin aivar pola. 2

A reference to the story of the birth of Lord Subrahmanya as
mentioned in the Mahabharata is found in the same poem

aivarul oruvan ankai erpa
aruvar payanta aramar celva. 3

The Purananuru, collection of 400 verses, elaborately analysing
the background of Nature (i) terrain (tinai), hilly regions (Kuruiaci)
pastoral (mullai), plains (marutam), sea-shore (neital) and the
intervening waste lands (palai), (ii) the six reasons and (iii) the
six divisions of the day, 4 refers to the subject matters discussed in
the Vedas and the Upanisads.

A clear reference to rebirth and salvation is found in the
following lines

Atanal vuyarnta vettat tuyarnitici norkkuc
ceyvinai marunki neaita luiitenir
yoyya vulakattu nukarcciyun kutum
toyya vulakattu nukarcci yillenin. 5

The four-fold human aspirations Dharma, Artha, Kama
and Moksa have been re-classified by the Tamil ancient literature
into two, *Aham' and 'Puram*, the former dealing with 'Kama* and
the -latter dealing with *Artha', 'Dharma' and 'Moksa'. Like the

1 . Pemmpararruppatai Lines 3 1 5-3 1 6.

2. Ibid., Lines 415-417.

3. Tirumurukzrruppatai Lines 254-255*

4. An Anthology of Indian Literature Tamil, pp. 555-556.

5. Purananuru verse 214 Lines 649.

Puram* verses, *AhanV verses are also a collection of 400 verses
dealing with the subjective moods of love, Kama.

References to the stones of Sri Kfsna, destruction of the
demon Sura by Lord Muruga, and the story of Para^urama are
found mentioned here. Besides, the practice of marriage ceremony
of the Brahman as in which chaste women possessed of children are
asked to look at the bride at the time of the marriage and offer
their benedictions also finds a place here. Here it would be
appropriate to compare the Vedic text which runs thus
SumangalTriyam vadhurimam sameta pasyata/
Saubhagyamasyai datvayathastam viparetana//

Kalittokai another classic belonging to Sangam age,
containing 150 dramatic odes in a special metre (kali) and grouped
according to the five-fold classification of the country (thi^ai),
(Kuruiici, Mullai, Marxitam, Neital, Palai). Here a number of
references to the ancient stories of the Sanskrit origin is found.
For example, Lord Siva's burning the three puras Duryodhana's
effort in killing the Pandavas in the Wax Palace, the battle between
gurapadma a demon, and Lord Subrahmanya, Ravana's effort in
lifting of the mount Kailasa, Duryodhana's death at the hand of
Bhima by the latter striking on his thigh, Lord K r na>s encounter
with the two wrestlers sent by Kamsa, the account how Lord Siva
concealed the river Gaiiga on his matted hair etc. are mentioned.

The reference to the lifting of Kailas~a mountain, mentioned in
the Sanskrit epics and puranas, is found in the following lines,
imayavil vankiya irncatai yantanan
umaiyamarnt tuyar malaii runtananaka
aiyirutalayin arakkar koman
totippoli talakkaiyir kizpukuttammalai 1

A beautiful reference to the marriage customs of the
Brahma^r^peciaUy going round the sacred fire (Saptapadl) by
the bride and the bridegroom, as enjoined in the >astras
potaviz panippoykaip putu vatu talvitta
tatucuz tamarait tanimalarp pujancgrpu
katalkol vatuvainat kalingattul otunkiya
matarkei manekkin matantaitan tunax yaka
otutai yantanan erivalan ceyvan pol

Mention of Lord Siva as CandraSekhara and Lord Vi nu as
grinivasa in the folio wing Jines _ _ :

r. Kalittokai, 69.
2. Kaltttokai, 104.

Tirumaru marpanpol tiralcantra kariyum
mikkolir tazcatai mevarum pirainutal

mukkanna nuruvekol x

Reference to the past deeds and tridandi saiinyasin is found

taiiceyta

tolvinaip payanruyppat turakkamve tezunarp51. a
Mukkolko ! antanar mutumozhi ninaivarpol. 3

Bibliography

1. History of Linguistics Robins.

2. Historical Linguistics An Introduction,

W. P. Lehmann.

3. Language Bloomfield.

4. An Anthology of Indian Literature,

Edited by K. Santhanam.
5* History of Grammatical Theories in Tamil,

Dr. P. S. S. Sastri

6. MahabhaSya of Patanjali.

7. Yaska's Nirukta.

8. Comparative Dravidian B. Caldweli.

9. Ilakkanac Cintanaikal S. Vaiyapuri Piilai.

10. Tamil mozi Ilakkiya Varalnru

Dr. M. Rajamanikam.

11. Pattuppatfu.

12. Akananuru.

13. Purananuru.

14. KalittokaL

15. Tolkappia Sutras.

16. Kathopanisad.

1. Kalittokai, 104.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid, 126.

INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON THE THOUGHT
AND CULTURE OF TAMILNADU

DR. C. S. VENKATBSWARAN
Ret d. Professor of Sanskrit, Annamalai University

Tamil-nadu is that part of South India, formerly ruled over
by the Cera, Cola and Pandya kings, where Tamil language was
spoken. It is referred to as that stretch of land which extended
from Tirupati (Tiruvenkatam) in the north to Cape Comorin
(Kany a-kuman) in the south.

The language spoken in Tamil-nadu had an indigenous origin
and it developed an early literature covering a period of nearly ten
centuries from about 5th century B. C. to 5th century A. D. called
the period of the three Sangams, the earliest, the middle and the
last. The first Sangam period remains a dark chapter for the
literary historian ; but, some rays of light have been projected by
the author of Tolkappiyam of the middle Sangam period (circa 2.
century B. C) into this dark period ; for, in his grammatical woik
which is the sole representative of the middle period, he presupposes,
and rightly too, some ancient writers and critics in Tamil. He
must have based his grammatical rules on the usages current in the
literature that existed before him. The representative works of the
last Sangam period are contained in three collections of 10 Idylls
(Pattup-paffu), 8 anthologies (Etfut-tokai) and 18 ethical lyrics
cd^Patinenkllkunakku. During the Sangam period Tamil came
under the influence of Sanskrit, and in the subsequent periods, the
rich literature of Tamil became richer both in vocabulary and
thought, thanks to the beneficent influence of Sanskrit and the
catholicity in outlook of the Tamil poets. And this was inevitable too.
Language and literature can retain their indigenous nature
only so long as they remain isolated from external influence, by
accident or design. A language ceases to grow and progress when
it lives in isolation. Contact with Sanskrit language, literature and

( 205 )

( 206 )

thought and culture must have happened to indigenous Tamil some-
where about 5th century B. C. Tamil was receptive and did not
place a taboo on accepting words, ideas or expiessions. Words like
tapas, daivam, satyam, karma, bhakti and Jnana have a wider signi-
ficance and appeal than their translations in the different languages.
Some learned poets like Kapilar, Bana, Kasijahar and others
adopted Tamil-nadu and Tamil as their own and gave the benefit of
their prolific literary contribution to Tamil. No growing language
can afford to remain changeless in the realm of ideas continually
growing and changing.

The Tamil classics of the post-Sangam period after the 5th
century A.D. bear the stamp of Sanskrit influence both in voca-
bulary and thought; for, they were written by Tamil writers who
either knew Sanskrit or derived inspiration from the Sanskrit
classics. The influence of Sanskrit on Tamil became increasingly
pronounced in post-Sangam literature both under the rule of the
liberal Tamil kings and to a greater extent under the patronage of
the Pallava and other non-Tamil kings who were avowed patrons of
Sanskrit. A spirit of "Give and Take" and reconciliation became
the dominant feature in art, literature, religion and philosophy.

The Sangam classics reflect the spirit of preserving the purity
and genius of the Tamil language on the part of the writers to a
greater extent than the subsequent classics, Still they echo many
ideas and concepts alieady current in Vedic and in the early phase
of post- Vedic San&krit literature.

Among such ideas are those relating to the Veda, the Vedic
gods and sacrifices, the Upanisadic concept of Svarga, of the life
here and in the here-after and of the Law of Karma? the concept of
Moksa and the other Purusarthas, Dharma, Artha and Kama sub-
serving it, the concept of Apard Vidyd including the Vedungas as
distinct from Para Vidyd the knowledge par excellence pertaining to
the Aiman, the duties of the four professional divisions of society
called Varnas, the concept of the four stages or orders in man's
spiritual evolution called Asramas, the pivotal position of the stage
of the house-holder (Grhastha) and the institution of marriage relating
to it, the Epic and Puranic conception of the Trinity Brahma, Vinu
and Siva and of Durga and Skanda (Murukd) and stories depicting
their greatness.

In dealing with the influence of Sanskrit on the Thought and
Culture of Tamil-nad only a few representative works of the early
period in both the, literatures have been noticed here. The main
Sanskrit works cited are the $g-veda, the Taittirlya-samhitn of

( 207 )

the Gautama-dharma-sutra and Manu-smrtL
Similarly, the earliest works available belonging to the second and
third Sangam periods have also been taken up for comparison. The
earliest and the sole extant representative of the second Sangam
period is the celebrated Grammatical woik-Tolkappiyam. The
following works of the Pattu-ppattu collection of the last Sangam
period have been noticed (1) Tirumurukarru-p-patai (317 lines) of
Nakklrar, where the author prescribes for a person aspiring for
liberation, devout worship of Lord Muruka in the six places of
worship (Tiru-p-paran-kunram, Tiru-c-cir-alaivai (Tiruchendur),
Tiruvavi-nan-kuti, near Palani, Tiruv-erakam (in Malabar, popu-
larly identified with Svamimalai near Kumba-konam), Kunru-t-
tor-atal and Palamutir-colai). (2) Porunar rr ru-p patai ' (248 lines)
of Mutattama-k-kanniyar dealing with the fertility of the Cola
country in general and the greatness of the Cola king Karikal-peru-
valattan, in particular. (3) Mullai-p-pajtu (103 lines) of Nappu-
tanar dealing with the love-lorn life of a heroine when her hero-
husband has gone on a military campaign. (4) Maturai-k-kancT
(782 lines) of Mankuti-marutanar dedicated to the Pa^tdya king
Nedunchezhiyan to whom the path of salvation is prescribed
and describing the glory of his predecessor and of the city of
Maturai. (5) From the Eftu-t-tokai collection the following works
have been noticed (1) and (2) Narrinai and Kuruntokaf, each being
a collection of 400 lyric verses dealing with the topic of love
composed by many poets like Avvaiyar, Kapilar and Panar. (3)
Patirru~p-pattu or the tenfold Ten containing 10 poems often odes
each by a particular poet describing a particular Cera king and
setting forth the customs of the Cera country and the greatness of
its rulers. The work bears distinct marks of Sanskrit influence,
(4) Paripatal (70 verses, with but 26 now available in print), dealing
with the greatness of Maturai city and Vaikai river, the birth of
Skanda-Muruka and with some Vedic customs prevalent at the
time. (5) Kali-t-tokai (150 verses) in the Kali- metre except for the
significant invocatory verse and dealing with the five thinais forming
the back-ground for love (Palai* Kurinci, Marutam, Mulai and
Neytal) and with many moral maxims and marriage customs current
in those days. (6) Akananuru (400 verses^ by several poets dealing
with the tiyais and other topics pertaining to Akam, the subjective
mind and (7) Purananiiru (400 lyric -verses) by many poets dealing
with Pr#m-life in general especially war and the affairs of State
and all activities of human society not comprised in Akam or pure
love. It is a veritable mirror which reflects the felicity of Sangam
Tamil. Works cited from the third collection called Patinert-kil-
kanakku are (1) The celebrated Tiru- k kural of Tiruvalluva^

( 208 )

1,330 couplets in the Kural metre, (2) Trikatukam (100 verses) of
Nallatanar, each verse embodying a group of three ideas and
(3) Icnrakkovai (100 verses), prescribing the ideal conduct of people
with others in general and with elders and kings, in particular.

Of the works mentioned above, the Tolkdppiyam and the
Tirukkural serve as two great lamp-posts shedding light on rules
relating to ideal liteiature and ideal life respectively.

Of the three broad divisions of Tamil literature, lyal (poetry),
Hal (Music) and Nntakam (Drama), the first, lyal consists of
works dealing with grammar and general features of the language
and definition called Ilakkaqam corresponding to Laksana in
Sanskrit and literary works illustrative of the definitions formulated
in the former called Ilakkiyam corresponding to Laksya in Sanskrit.
The Tolkdppiyam is the oldest extant sole representative of the
former and consists of about 1,600 aphorisms called Sutras and
three chapters called Adhikaras (Atikdrams). This division is in
consonance with the time-honoured division followed by the earlier
Sutrakdras in Sanskrit. The Sutra-form had already been adopted
by Panini in his grammar, (Vyakarana), Gautama in Nydya, Kanada
in Vaisesika, Jaimini in Purva-mimnmsd, Badarayana (Vyasa) in
Uttara-mimumsd (Vedanta), Patanjali in Yoga, Kapila in Samkhya,
They call the sections consisting of Sutras as Adhyaya, Adhikara,
Adhikarana, etc. The first adhikara of Tolkdppiyam deals with
letters or sounds in 480 sutras like the earlier Siksds in Sanskrit
and is called Eluttatikdram. The second one deals with words
(Sabda) like Vyakararia and Nirukta in Sanskrit and is called Col-
ati karam (in 465 sutras). The third deals with matter relating to
Art and Literature corresponding to the works on Chandas (Yappu)
Rasa (Akam), Alamkara (Ani) and well-known verbal expressions
(Vktis) called Porul-atikaram. (665 sutras). The author in
Collatiknram (9 : 1) refers to four kinds of words used in verses
and mentions words of the north (Va$a-c-col). Hence Sanskrit
and Prakrt words ought to have been current in the Tamil before
his time.

The Tiru-k-kural is the most outstanding extant literary work
of the Sangam period dealing with a universal code of morals
applicable to all times and climes. It propounds an ideal monarchy
with ideal house-holders and citizens and true ascetics all enjoying
the best things of the world and attaining divine bliss. The work
is systematically planned with subject-wise divisions as in the
Sastraic literature in Sanskrit and contains 1,330 verses in the Kural
metre and is divided into 133 Adhikaras (atikdrams), each of 10
verses. There are three broad sections dealing, in the main, with

the three Purusarthas-ends of human life (1) Dharma (Aram),
(2) Artha (Porul) and (3> Kama (Kdmam). A separate section for
Moksa (Vldu) the fourth Purumnha is not devoted by the poet
because, following the other Sanskrit tradition, ascetic life is
included in Dharma as Niortli Dharma.

Section I Arat-tu-p-pal consists of 380 verses in 38 decads
(Atikarams) divided into four topics (1) Introductory (Payiram)
in 40 verses dealing with God, Rain, Ascetics and Virtue. (2) Life
of a Grhastha house-holder (Tllaram) in 200 verses. (3) The life of
an ideal Sannyasin (Tuyavaram) in 130 verses and (4) Destiny (Ul)
in 10 verses.

Section II (Porut-pai) consists of 700 verses divided into
three topics (1) Ideal sovereign and administration (Arasu) in
250 verses. (2) Ministers and other officers of State (Anga) in 320
verses and (3) Other matters like high birth, culture etc., necessary
for an ideal citizen (Ozhipu) in 130 verses.

Section III (Kama-t-tu-p-pal) in 250 verses is divided into
two topics (1) The Gandharva form of marriage (Kajavu) of true
lovers leading to an ideal wedded life in 70 verses and (2) The
sacramental form of marriage with the approval of the parents and
according to the prescribed rites (Karpu) in 180 verses.

Tiruvalluvar is quite familiar with Sanskrit and must have
been influenced by the pre-Kural Sanskrit classics like the Vedas
and the Dharma-sutras Where the Purtdnrthas had been already
dealt with. His language is simple, direct and original in accord
with the epigramatic style. He uses only such Sanskrit words as
had become part and parcel of the Tamil language. Guna, Dana,
Daivam, Karma, Asa, Karanam, Kama, Kama, Mana, Anga^am,
Garia, Aya and Kulam belong to this category. Some words are
slightly changed to suit the genius of Tamil with an addition of a
vowel or softening of a consonant. The Tamil forms ofLoka,
Phalam, Tapas, Ksana, Amrtam, Papi, Havis, Rupam, Bhuta.
Amatya and Gothi used by the author are instances m ^pomt The
first Kural itself presents three words of Sanskrit on ?^Akara,
Adi-Bhagavan and Loka, which had naturally gone into Tamil
either difectly fiom Sanskrit or through their Prakrt forms, thanks
tothemerary contributions of Buddhist and Jama Tamil writers.
The author uses Sanskrit words but sparingly and in cases of need
only without materially affecting the sound-system of Jamil or
drastically changing the sounds of Sanskrit

eenius The work of M*/a$#ar in 400 verses and the

T Jah* writer in 400 verses follow the Virukkural both m the subject-

matter and method of treatment.

The Sangam poets acknowledge their knowledge of the Veda
and its greatness. They refer to the Vedas as Sruti (Kelvi) the
unwritten wisdom learnt by hearing {Ezhutd-k-kar-p-pu)^ as eternal
(Mayn-vaymoli) and as the old sacred scripture of the Brahman
inculcating dharma (Mutu-mozh Arampuriyarumarai). The Vedic
gods Indra (Ventari) and Varuna are considered to be the presiding
deity of Marutam and Neytal, the Vedic-cum-Puranic gods Visnu
(Mayori) and Skanda (Ceylon) as the presiding deities of Mullai and
Kurinci by Tolkappiyanar. The Vedic concept of propitiating the
gods through sacrifices is referred to in Patirru-p-pattu (21, 70, 74),
and the chanting of mantras in Tirumurukarnt-p-patai (94-6) and in
Kati-t-tokai (36). Kings and chieftains performed sacrifices
according to Vedic injunctions constructing Yajna-salas. Purananuru
refers to many sacrifices performed. The learned Brahrnana called
Kauniyam, born of a high family, performed many prescribed sacrifice
(166). Mutu-k-kutumi-p-peruvazhuti performed many of them (15) a
fact which is referred to in Maturai-k-kanci also (759-863). Karikar-
p-peruvalattan performed the Garuda-cayana sacrifice (22). Perunar
k-killi performed rajasuya and Nalankilli many other sacrifices
(363, 400). Patirru-p-pattu refers to many sacrifices performed by
the king Celva-k-katunkovazhiyatan. The Akannnuru and Purann-
miru refer to the Pandyas as descendants of the K.uru dynasty of
kings. Similarly the Colas are also supposed to belong to the line
of the munificent king Sibi as mentioned in Purananuru (39, 43).
Thus, being Ksatriyas, they were entitled to perform sacrifices.

The Upaniadic concept of Svarga and its denizens, of the
Life here and to the hereafter and the Law of Karma and trans-
migration are also dealt with in the Sangam works. Svarga is
referred to as the World of the gods (Devar-Ulakatri), the exalted
world (Uyar-nilai-ulakani) the world of the higher beings (Meldr-
ttlakani) and as the world of the great (Cirantor ulakam) in
Purannnuru, Patirru-p-pattu, Maturai-k-kanci and ParipataL It is
also called Nakam. Its denizens are the gods referred to as the
shining (Kur. 1073), unwinking (Imaiyar 906), immortal (Amarar
121) denizens of heaven (Vanori Vana-t-tavar. 346; 86). Their food
is nectar and the offerings (Avi-Havis) made by men in sacrifices.
They are 33 in number, 12 Adityas, 2 Agvins, 8 Vasus and 11
Rudras (Paripntal,*). Indra is the lord of Svarga (Kur. 25), called as
Purandara (Parip. 5, 56) and as the performer of a hundred
sacrifices. The Purananuru states that the fruit of what a person
does here is reaped in the life hereafter (134) and the fruits of good
deeds are enjoyed in heaven (174) and the painful fruits of bad
deeds suffered in Hell (Ntray*-*). It also prescribes doing good
deeds without any desire for the results as in the Glta (134, 182).

The concept o I Tnrarga (Dhanna, Artha and KSrna ) and of
the fourth Puruyartto (Moksa) are briefly dealt . with in the
Upanisads and DIiarnK-satra, and elaboratel y in the Mahsbharata '
they are lucidly dealt with m Tiru-k-kural, Nnla&ySr, Palamoli and
similar works of the Sungam period.

The Mimdakopanisad refers to two types of Vidyu which are to
be known Para (the superior) and Aparn (the secondary). The
Apard type includes the four Vedas and the six Angas namely
Siksn (Phonetics), Kalpa (Directory for the Vedic rituals), Vynkarana
(Grammar), Nirukta (Etymology), Chandas (Prosody) and Jyotisa
(Astronomy). The Para Vidya is that by which the Imperishable
Atman is realised. (Tatra apara rgvedo yajurvedati samavedo 'tharva-
vedah siksa kaipo vyakaranam niruktam chando jyotiamiti. Atha
pars yaya tadaksaram adhigamyate/ Muntf. I : 5). The Purannnuru
refers to the four Vedas and the six Angas (166). Following the
line of the Brahma-siitras which declare that all the Vedas, etc., have
come from the Supreme Brahman, the Purananuru states that they
have come from the Supreme Siva. . Tintmuruk&nu-p-palai (179-182)
says that the twice-boi n mastered the four Vedas and six Angas in
48 years (Arunankiratti...). Puranunufu says (2, 18-21) that the
truth of the Vedas does not change like the natural sweetness of
milk. The invocatory verse in Kali-t-tokai refers to Siva as the
teacher of the Brahmans versed in the Vedas and the six Vedangas.
The verse translated runs thus :

The Brahmans versed in angas six
Were taught by Thee in Vedas rare ;
The Braids concealed the clear Ganges,
Thy Fire did spread to Tripura *.
And words fall back from Thee, and Thou
Transcendeth all thoughts of human kind.

The division of Society into four professional classes called
Varrias based on the aptitude and obligation of its members is
referred to in the later phase of the Vedic period and in the Dharma-
tastras (Gaut. Dh. Sutra II-l-l, 7, 16, 50, 57, 62). Tolknppiyam
(Marapu. 71, 72, 78, 81 & Purat. 16) refers to the duties of the four
Vargas, Brahmaria (Parppanar), Ksatriya (Arasar), VaUya (Vanikar).
and Sudra (Vciaiar). Here and in Kural the six duties of the
Brahman a Adhyayanam (learning the Veda) Adhyapanam (teaching
the Veda), Yajanam (performing Sacrifices) Yajanarn (officiating at
the sacrijaces), Danam (giving gifts), and Pratigraha (accepting .gifts)
are referred to. These are .referred teas "Otal, Otuvittal, Viftal,
Vetpittal, Ital, and Er^aL The. scheme of the Iframas consisting of
graded stages 'in life is meant for wan's, gradual spiritual evolution

while fulfilling his duties from the material plane. The first stage is
that of the Brahmacarin (the student of the Veda called Brahma)
the second that of the Grhastha (House-holder), the third that of
the anchorue called Vunaprastha or Vaikhanasa* and the fourth is
that of the renouncer called Satiny asin, Bhiksu, Muni, Yati and
ParivrUt or Parivrajaka. These are dealt with in the Dharma-Sutras
ofApastamba (II-9-21), Gautama (1-3-3), and Vasistha (VIM-2)
and in Manu-smrti. The Sannyasin and his characteristic kindness
are referred to in Tolkappiyam (Purat. 17). The Mullai-p-pafiu
(37-38) refers to his orange robe and Tridanda. The Kural (41)
says that he should be honoured and protected by the Grhastha.
Narrinai (141) says that the Vanaprastha wore matted locks,
performed penance on hills and was kind to all. {Kural 280). The
normal period of study for each Veda was 12 years for the
Brahmacarin and his appearnce with the Yajnopavlta, &ikh& (Tuft of
hair), Mekhala (girdle) and the Danda (stick) and the Kamangalu
(pitcher) dealt with in the T>harma-sutras are referred to in Kapilar's
Ainkurunuru (202), in Tirumurukafrup-palai (179, 184) and Kufuntokai
(156). The Grhastha (house-holder) holds a pivotal and essential
position in the scheme of Asramas. The Taittirlya Samhitd (6,3,10)
and other works declare that a Brahmana is born with three debts
first to the sages (Rsis) which he pays by Vedic study, next to the
gods which he pays through offerings in the fire and thirdly to
the ancestor which he pays by begetting progeny. This idea is
referred to in Trika^ukam (34). The debt to the gods is referred to
in PurananuTU (2) and Perumpnyarru-p-patai (315-316) and the debt
to the departed Pitrs in Pufan&uru (9). The greatness and essential
nature of the Gfhastha's Asrama are referred to in Gautama-dharma-
sutra (1-3-3), Manu-sm T ti (VI, 87, 89, 90) also M.S. III. 70, 77 and
Mahabhnrata in many places. This is referred to in Tirukural also.
Five great sacrifices or forms of worship (Panca-mahd-yajnas) are
enjoined in the daily duties of a house-holder. They are (1)
Brahmayajna (Reciting Brahma, namely the Veda), (2) Pitr-yajna
(Propitiating worship of ancestors through offering of water),
(3) Daiva-yajna (Giving offerings in the sacred fires), (4) Bhuta-yajna
(by offering particles of food to ants and other creatures of the
lower order) and (5) Nr-yajna or Manu$ya-yajna (by entertaining
honoured guests, like Sannyasins and others). The Vedic concept
of offering obliations in the fire and of performing sacrifices for
propitiating the gods are referred to in Purananiiru, Pattina-p-pvlai
(200), Patfrru-p-pattu (21,70,74) Kali-t-tokai (36, 119) and Tim-
murukarru-p-patai (94-6). The Gautama-dharma-sutra (1-5-13, 33)
says that a house-holder should first feed guests, children, ailing
persons, pregnant women, daughters and sisters, old people and

the inferior (Junior) ones. The Acara-k-kovai (17) expresses
tactically the same idea and further says, as in Vidura-niti of
\fahnbhnrata that food, water, resting place, mat and sweet words
should be offered to the ordinary guest at the house.

The Dharma-sutras prescribe that a grhastha should get a
uitable wife and in that connection the different types of marriage
are mentioned. Vivaha (marriage) is a fundamental time-honoured
social institution. The Dharma-sutras and Smrtis refer to eight
types of marriage (Gaut. Dft. sutra, 1-4, 4-11, Manu._ S. 111-21;
Yd] S. I, 58-61). They are Brahma, Prdjapatya Ara, Daiva,
Gandharva A sura, Raksasa and Paisaca. In refined society the first
four are recommended as in conformity with dharma (Gaut. Dh.,
Catvaro dharmyah prathamalj), the middle two, Gandharva and
Asura are just permitted; and the last two, Rakasa and PaiSaca,
tabooed. The author of Tolkappiyam refers to these in the sections
dealing with Karpu and Kalavu and is of opinion that the first four
belong to the Perunttyai variety, Gandharva to Kalavu and the las*
three to the Kaikkilai type. The marriage sanctified in the presence
of fire and approved by the parents and relatives of the couple is
accepted as the norm to be followed. The words Udvaha, taking the
girl out of the parent's home, Vivaha, taking the girl in a special
way for a particular purpose for making her one's life-long partner,
Partyaya or. Parinayanam going round the fire in pradaktfna,
Upayama bringing near or making one's own and Pani-graharia,
taking the hand of the girl indicate the totality of the several acts
that go to make up the ceremony of marriage. The newly wedded
couple going round the fire in pradak&na, the taking of seven steps
together (sapta-padi) and the blessings offered on the bride by
auspicious mothers dealt with in the Dharma-Ustra find expression
in the Sangam classics like Kali-t-tokai (69 going round the fire),
Perunarattu-p-patai (\66-gvin% seven steps together) and Akananuru
(86-blessings conferred by four auspicious mothers). Tolkappiyar
(Karpu 3) states that the marriage in the presence of fire as witness
usually followed by the first three Varrjas was followed by the fourth
Kar^a called Velalar in later times. Vivaha is \ T ^^ C ^^
referred to in detail in the Taittinya sarhhita-Vll-2-W Aitareya
BrQhmana (27-5) and Tanfra-maha-brahmaria (VII-10-1). It is quite
clear that this aspect of Vedic culture was in vogue in Tamil-nadu
during the Sangam period and even before.

The conception of the One Supreme Being, Brahman assuming
three different Powers with forms for discharging its three Cerent
functions of creation, protection and destruction ^ hinted m the
Vedas and VedQnta sutras (Janmadyasya yataW and graphically

described in the Epics and Puranas. The Vedic gods, Prajapati,
Visnu and Rudra are developed into the concept of the Trinity-
Brahma, Visnu and Siva. Stories are told to describe their great-
ness, especially with that of Visnu through the many avataras
ascribed to him for protecting the world when it is in distress. The
stories of the goddess Durga and gods like Skanda (Muruka) are
also narrated. It is interesting to note that Balarama, elder brother
of Krsna, considered to be one of the ten Avatars of Visnu is worship-
ped as a god and given a higher position in the Tamil classics than
in the Sanskrit classics. The dramatist Bhasa consider Balarama as
a god to be worshipped. The Sangarn works describe Brahma as
born in the beginning (Kalittokai 2), from the lotus m Visnu's navel
(Perumpati : 402-4), with four faces (Tirumiinik 164-65), the swan
being his VQhana*

Vinu (Tirumal) is considered to be the presiding deity of
Mullai land, wielding the conch and the wheel (Sank ha and Cakra)
in his two hands and as bearing LaksmI on his chest (Mullai-p-pafal,
1-3), as blue in complexion (Purananuru 174), with lotus-eyes
(Paripafal 15, 49), clad in a yellow robe (Paripdlal, 13, 1-2), wearing
a garland on his chest (Paripatal, 8), Garuda as his banner
(Purandn. 56, 6 ; Parip. 13,4) with Sravana as his star (Maturaiksnci
591), as having humbled King Bali by measuring the three worlds
in his three strides (Kali-t-tokai, 124-1), as the killer of the demon
Kei (Kalit-tokai 103, 53-55) and as having killed Iliranyakasipu
for the sake of his devoted son Prahlada. (Paripdtal, 4, 12-21). The
Jkg-veda mentions the three strides of Visnu (RV. 1. 155. 2) and the
other stories are seen in the Rdmayana> Mahabharata and the
Purayas. Siva bears the Ganges in his matted locks (Kalittokai 38, 1)
and the moon on his forehead (Puranftn. 91, 5). He is three-eyed
(Pufanfin. 6, Kalittokai, 2, 4) carries an axe in his hand (Akandnun
220, 5). The bull (Pungava) is his Vahana (Paripatal 8, 2) and he
became Nilaka^tha (bluenecked) by drinking the poison which
remained in his throat (Malaimatu, 83). These ideas are already
found in the Ramayana (Uttara. 1, 16-32 ; 43-7) and Mahabharata
(Adi. 18, 26 ; Amisasana 207). Further, the Ardra is said to be his
star (Kalittokai 150, 20), is seated beneath the Va\a tree (Akandnuru
151) with Uma as - his spouse (Tirumuruk. 151, 4 ; Maturai~k-kanci
453-55). He is the creator of the five elements and the destroyer of
the world in time (ParipataL 5, 13 ; Kalittokai. 103, 15). He made
Ravana cry by pressing the Kailasa down when the latter tried to
raise the, mountain on which the Lord was seated with Uma
(Kalittokai, 38). The Tripura-daha by Lord Siva already narrated
in the Sanskrit classics like Mahabharata (Karna Parvan. Chs. 24;

25, 27, 30, etc.,) is described in Purananuru (55 ; 58), Paripatal ( 5
22-26) and (Kalittokai 1 ; 2.). The asura called Avurian residing in
an impregnable fortress, persecuted the gods and they sought Lord
Siva's protection which was granted. Then the Earth became the
chariot, the four Vedas, the four horses, Brahma, the charioteer
Visiiu, the arrow, Mount Meru, the bow, Vasukl, the bow-string'
and with their help Siva destroyed the three cities with a single
arrow and defeated the demon. Durga and Muruka (Skanda) are
invoked for victory in battle. Yudhisthira in Virata Parva and
Arjuna in Bhisma Parvan of Mahnbharata invoke the blessings of
Durga for future victory. Netunaivatai of Pattu-p-pattu (188 lines)
by Nakklrar describes Nedunchezhiyan's wife as worshipping Durga
called Korravai for the victory and safe return of her husband from
battle. The Sanskrit classics Ramayaria and Mahabharata deal with
the birth and exploits of Skanda. The Paripnfal also deals with the
same subject. Tolkappiyam (Akat 5) speaks of Skanda (Murka,
Ceyon) as the presiding deity of Kurinci land. The Pariputal (5, 14*
18, 26-50), Tirwnurukarru-p-patai (260), Akananum (59), Puramntiru
(23) deal with the birth of Skanda (Muruka) and his "exploits
including the killing of Taraka andSura Padmasura.

The rich vocabulary of Tamil was made richer in course of
time by the adoption and adaptation of Sanskrit words along with
the ideas in the Technical Sciences and Philosophy. In the post-
Sangam period many Sanskrit classics were adapted or translated
in Tamil with suitable changes to suit the new environments and
customs of the times. Thus the Kambarnmnyanam of Kampar, the
Bh&ratam of Villiputtur-alvar, the Kandapurartarn of Kacciyappasi-
vScariar, are based on the Sanskrit originals. Konkuvel's Perunkatai
is an adaptation from the Brhatkatha of Gu$a<lhya. The K$atracu-
damani in Sanskrit is believed to be the source of Jivaka-cintamani
by a Jain writer.

Sanskrit literature was developed with the cooperative endea-
vours of all the people of India since it served as a common medium
of expressing higher thought which could reach all the parts of the
country. The contribution of the great religious Acaryas and great
poets of South India including Tamilnadu after mastering that
language and making it their own is quite substantial like the
contribution of Sanskrit scholars and poets who mastered TamiJ,
made it their own and contributed richly to the development of
Tamil literature. The Sangam poets like Kapilar, KaSyapar, Panar
and probably Tolkappiyar too belong to that class of writers.

O *- u^L

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INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON ORIYAN THOUGHT
AND CULTURE

SRI. CHINTAMANI MISRA SARMA, PURI

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INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON TAMIL LANGUAGE
AND LITERATURE

PROFESSOR N. SUBRAHMANIAM M.A., PH.D.

Madurai University

Among the Aryan languages in India the oldest and the most
important is Sanskrit. Among Dravidian languages in India the
most ancient and the one endowed with the richest literature is
Tamil. The influence of Sanskirt on Tamil is too obvious to be
missed, and has been evident from very ancient times and persistent
In the Tamil Sangam literature the influence of Sanskrit is clear
but the autonomy of Tamil is equally manifest. From the period
of the devotional literature downwards, Sanskritic thought patterns,
religious ideas, epic norms, multiple figures of speech etc. make
increasing impact on Tamil language and literature. The translation
of Sanskrit epics into Tamil is a direct area of impact. But
creation of local myths on the Sanskritic model, elaboration of
Tamil grammatical principles to accommodate Sanskrit construction
and the tradition of myth-making and relating it to sacred centres
and the creation of Sthala Puranas are the consequence of Sanskrit
influence. Rationalisation of ancient Tamil grammatical principles to
create a background of Sanskritic influence as was attempted by
rhetoricians and grammarians like Buddhamitra a by-product of
Sanskritic influence; i.e., it is an influence not on the grammar but on
the grammarians. The most notable example of this type is Senava-
raiyar, commentator on the Tolkappiam. More ancient examples like
the influence of Kautilya and Vatsyayana on Tiruvalluvar are
well known. But Tamil more than any other language in India has
maintained its autonomy in spite of considerable absorption of
Sanskritic norms. The chief areas of this autonomy are the
alphabet, the Aham literature, and the fourfold metrical form in
prosody, and later elaboration of figures of speech. The spread and
common acceptance of Sanskritic mythology however resulted in

( 226 )

very considerable and basic changes in the diurnal life of the people,
not excluding nomenclature, so that literature which is ultimately
reflection of life got profoundly influenced by Sanskrit.

It is in the nature of languages to influence and be influenced
by other languages. In a multilingual country like India the mutual
influence among the languages is a perpetual process leading to
enrichment of all linguistic groups. This process commenced as
early as Vedic Sanskrit. With the spread of the Aryan language
and culture along the length and breadth of Bharatavarsa Sanskrit
terminology representing the Aryan culture at its core must have
found its way into native languages.

On a conservative estimate it would be reasonable to suppose
that Sanskrit language and their spokesman, the Brahmin, and other
speakers of various Prakrits spread from Aryavarta to the south
about the 4th cent. B.C.

Then it was that Panini and classical Sanskrit began to
influence the various linguistic groups in India; and Tamil which is
spoken by the people of the extreme south of the peninsula was
last and perhaps the least influenced by Sanskrit. The settlement of
Jaina and Buddhist monks and Brahminical teachers in the southern
districts was followed by the introduction of religio-philosophical
terminology relevant to these sects into Tamil language. The
Brahminical Pravara and Ootra system accompanied the migration
of Brahmin families to the south and many early princely grants
and endowments were made to Brahmins of particular 'Gotras like
the Bharadvaja, the Kauridinya etc. Of course, Bharadvaja became in
Tamil Barataya and Kauiiidinya became Kauriiya. The Putrakamesti
and the Rajasuya were the more popular among the numerous
sacrifices that the early Tamils learned to perform and naturally the
technical terminology appropriate to Vedic sacrifices found its way
into Tamil language. In the administrative system of the early
Tamils it is surprising that while the king was Mannan, Vendan etc.
all Tamil words there is no Tamil word to represent Minister. He
was a Mantri or Amaichar ( Amatya ). There was perhaps
no word even for Sabha which became Aval in Tamil. Sanskrit
mythology and puranic lore was well known to them. A Perunde-
vanar (a partially Tamilised form of Mahadeva) translated the
Mahzbharata into Tamil even in the Sangam days. The story of
the Ramayana and Sri Krsna's juvenile pranks were also known to
them. The Paripadal for instance has an advanced account of
Vai^ava, Saiva and Kaumara traditions. The Tirumuruganupa^ai
mentions mantric worship of Muruga by a Brahmin priest. The

introduction of mantric worship of indigenous village gods introduced
bv a Chera prince Ilamcherai Irumporai finds mention in the
Padirrupattu. The Tolkdppiam reputed as the earliest extant Tamil
work,* reveals Sanskritic influence in many ways. Though it is not
necessary to agree entirely with Senavaraiyar of the middle ages or
P.A. Subrahmania Sastri of modern times in regard to Sanskritic
origins for Tamil grammatical principles it would be difficult to go
the whole hog with Nachchinarkiniar and say that words like
Kalam, and Ulagam have nothing to do with Kfila and Loka of
Sanskrit. In regard to figures of speech, though Tolkappiam does
not know all the nuances of Kavyndarsa the very caption Uvama
lyal takes from the word Upamana and for simile which is supposed
to be the mother of all figures of speech there is no other word in
Tamil. If to this we add Tolkappiar's knowledge of the fourfold
community system of Andanar, Arasar, Vaisya and Vclala closely
corresponding to the system of Caturvarna and his knowledge of
the eightfold system of marriage of which the Gundharva is equated
with Aham (Anbin Aindinai), then one has an idea of the influence
of Sanskrit even in the ealriest stratum of Tamil language and litera-
ture. Of course it is not surprising that this influence is brought
about by Tolkappiar who is a Kavya, i.e., descended from the Kavi
gotra (Kavi is the name of Sukra who was a Brahmin) and so was
himself a Brahmin. But of course the greatest example of triple in-
fluence of Sanskrit on Tamil literature is the KuraL The Aram, Porul,
Inborn, Vl4u classification is the same as the Dharma* Artha, Kama,
Moksa and Manu, Kautilya and Vatsyayana take care of Aram, Porul,
and Inbam respectively. This is not to say that Valluvar translated
any of the Sanskrit originals or entirely agreed with any one of them.
But the influence is unmistakable. Uyirachcham is surely related to
the Upadha: the punarcci-pirivu classification is synonymous with
Sambhoga and Vipralambha classification in Sanskrit. With the
advent of the Bhakti-&%e roughly about AJX 600 Sanskrit influence
became pronounced and popular. The secularity of the Sangam
age disappeared, no more to return. A deep religious concern
marks the post-Sangam literature. More than 90% of the literature
produced between 600800 A.D. was directly or indirectly connected
with the religion of one denomination or another. The Tevaram
and the other Saiva Tirumurais, the Nalayiram, the Chintamani, the
philosophical texts like Sivajnmabodham, Ramnmijanurruntadi, the
Periya Puranam and the numerous other Stalapuranas, Kallatfam,
the mystic songs of Tirumular, Pattinattu Pillai and later of Tayuma-
navarand Ramalingar, the pretty poems of a religious naturelike
the Pillaitamil, Kovai, Kalambagam, Ula etc. and above all works like
the Tiruppugal account for a high percentage of devotional literature

in the eiitrire Tamil literature. This religious enthusiasm which in
the days of the Alwars and Nayanmars bordered on fanaticism is
a clear departure from the Sangam style of a non-partisan attitude
to religion which might be either tolerance or indifference. The
later style is clearly the product of deep Sanskritic influence. Even
the nomenclature of persons and institutions bore on their face
undoubted influence of Sanskrit. In the Sangam days the poets
and wisemeii bore Sanskrit names like Gautama, Dharmaputra etc.
But kings, chieftains, ministers, generals etc. bore clearly Tamil
names. But from 600 A.D. downwards at the latest and from the
Kalabhra invasion downwards, poets as well as princes assumed
Sanskrit names. In this connection it would be interesting to
contrast a name like Verpahradakkai Peruvirarkilli (Sangam age
2nd cent. A.D,) with names like Narasiinhavarman, Paracakra-
Kolahala, Jatavarman KulaSekhara etc. of later times. Even Sanskrit
names were Tamilised suitably and adopted in the Sangam age
like Kovalan for Gopalan, Uruttiran for Rudran or directly adopted
from Prakrit like Kannan. But in later usage, direct adoption in
Tamil without alteration of the original, became common. But it
is noteworthy that many literary names preferred the Tamil form
like Kambar, Sekkilar, Ottakuttar, Nachchinarkiniar, PeraSiriyar,
Uraiasiriyar etc. while words partially Tamil and partially Sanskrit
like Tiruttakkadevar, Senavaraiyar, Perundevanar were not objected
to Buddhamitra, Neminatha, Pavanandi, Amitasagarar etc. were
names conditioned by the author's religion. In the case of the
philosophers, religious leaders and saints both varieties are common.
The same person bears both forms of the same name like Navuk-
karaSar and Vaglsa whereas Sambandar, Sundarar and Manikkava-
chakar bear Sanskritic appellations. Among the Vaishnavite saints
verv few bear Sanskrit names and the tradition persists after the
10th cent, also among the commentators like Periavachchan Pillai.
But Ramanuja himself along with VedantadeSikar wrote profusely
in Sanskrit and bore a Sanskrit name. Thus it would be seen that
SaS^eof Swricrit was rather indifferent frontally but very
extensive and deep indirectly. Da*din, author of the Tamil Alankara
work adopted the name of his Sanskrit counterpart of the 7th cent.
Sandln the author of Kuvyadarsa and introduced the multiple
foSfs of figures of speech into Tamil through his f*\ k *^
Mranalankaram which came later, further improved on this along
Sanskritic lines.

poets like Bharavi author of the Kirntarjunlyam, writing

H out.

Sanskrit became the language for philosophical discussion and
exposition, gankara^and Ratnanuja preferred that medium while
the author of the Sivajnanahodham, though entitling his work in
Sanskrit, preferred to write in Tamil.

Tamil composition in prose as well as in verse came to be
influenced heavily by Sanskrit after the 9th cent i.e., when the age
of the Alvars and Nayanmars had come to an end. But the age of
the editors of religious texts, and the commentators had started-
Nambiasdarnambi and the commentators on Sivajnanabodham on
the one hand Nadamunigal and the commentators on the Nalayiram
on the other. The Vaishnavite commentators evidently following
the traditions of Jaina work like Mapurdnam and Sripuranam
commenced writing a mixed style, part Sanskrit and part Tamil
with substantives and verbs in Sanskrit mostly and case endings
and sentence structures in Tamil. They called it the Manipravala
style. This style was not adopted by the Saivites. These were
stages in the evolution of prose style in Tamil under Sanskritic influ-
ence as the difference between the commentary on the Iraiyanar
Ahapporul and that on Tiruvdymoli by Periavachchanpillai will
show. The commentaries on the purely literary works however
avoided Sanskritic expression as far as possible and that tradition
changed only recently i.e., when under the influence of European
languages simple prose, easily understood, was deemed better than
obscure expressions and constructions and the use of archaic terms

In poetry too the influence of Sanskrit vocabulary is unmis-
takable. The Bhakti-literature permits itself of a higher percentage
of Sanskrit words in tbe composition of devotional hymns. But
progressively percentage of Sanskrit words in Tamil devotional
compositions increases steeply as can be seen by comparing the
Tirumurugarrupadai and the Paripa<Jal with the Tevaram and the
Tiruvaymoli and these latter with the compositions of Pattinattar
and then those with the Tiruppugal of Arunagiri. Tayumanavar
continued Anmagiri's tradition. Epic writers generally followed the
mpIeofTfruttakkadovarm format, style, diction and imagery.
This is true of Sekk.lar and Kambar but Villiputturar, the author of
the condensed Mahabharata? employed Sanskrit words and phrases
freely and took for granted in his readers an intimate knowledge
r f COUrSe *"** com P os ^ Sanskrit

, , c o av

was

in Tamil of The Sanskrit Mahakavya
Salabharata by Agastya Panama of the 13th century A.D.

part of the Tamil country in the 9th cent.), Ramanuja, Vedanta-
deika, Appayadiksita, Govinda Dlksita and many others of equal
eminence could be cited as contributors to the corpus of Sanskrit
literature. The pervasive influence of Sanskrit therefore resulted
not only in the refashioning of Tamil diction and style but in the
creation of purely Sanskritic works as well. The Nigan<Jus in
Tamil followed the Amara and other Kosas and Nighanfus in
Sanskrit; very early i.e., about 1,400 years ago morals and diadatic
preachings culled from Sanskritic dharmasastras are found reflected
in works like the Acharakkovi in Tamil.

The question of Tamil indebtedness to Sanskrit basically has
agitated the minds of the commentators of grammatical works and
has yielded different answers. Nachchinarkiniar and Senavaraiyar
commenting on the Tolkappiam have tended to hold variant views on
the autonomy of Tamil grammatical structure and principle, the
former affirming full autonomy and the latter heavily qualifying it.
Tolkappiar himself knew that Sanskrit was a force to be reckoned
with, language and literature ultimately influencing the way of life
of the people. So he had a chapter on Vadarnoliakkam (the modes
of accommodating Sanskrit words) and he distinguished between
Vadas"ol (Sanskrit words written in Tamil script and appropriately
Tamil ised) and Aryam (Sanskrit word in Sanskrit script). Pavan-
andi of a later age was more flexible and provided elaborate rules
for Sanskrit construction in Tamil. The field of prosody absorbs
viruttam meter which became popular soon; the field of figures of
speech and rhetoric absorbed all the forms contemplated in
Kavyadarsa and even more; the field of Orthography remaining
somewhat rigid, like Rama having to be written Irdma, etymology
and syntax becoming slightly more flexible with Sanskritic Sandhis
becoming more common. The Buddhist and Jaina rhetoricians
and grammarians who had a near monopoly of writing Tamil
grammatical texts and commentaries from the 10th to 15th cent,
vide NeminUtham, Yapparunkalam, Yapperunkala, Karikai* VTrasoliyam,
Nannul introduced changes of a far reaching nature into Tamil
language. The author of the Virasoliyam consciously introduced
Sanskritic structure and rationalised Tamil grammatical principles
from the Sanskrit angle. This attitude was energetically pursued
by IganadeSikar, author of Ilakkariakottu and Subrahmania Diksitar,
author of the Prayoga Vivekam and in roodern times by P.S. Subrah-
mania Sastri who extensively wrote on Tamil indebtedness to
Sanskrit in the field of grammar. Ail these will not mean that
either these rationalisers or their opponents are correct. A reaction
to excessive democratisation of style and hybridisation of diction

in modern limes lo the

of purism,,

As an adjunct

about the i cent A,D, the construction of temples became
important social activity; and religious architecture
and worship patterns came in for much thought and
literature was a consequence, This was written in Sanskrit or a
Tamil or in a mixture of both in varying proportions written *
in Najari, Tamil or Grantha script, The Grantha
innovated to,accomjnodate Sanskrit al

NOTES ON THE INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT
LITERARY FORMS ON ORIYA LITERATURE

DR. D. P. PATTANAYAK.

Director, Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore

Sanskrit in ancient India was the cultural gold currency,
against which the general worth of literatures in the regional
languages was measured. The early phase of the developmental
history of all the Indo-Aryan languages present the same
phenomena.

The early phase of literary activity is one of transcreation of
the epics and the scriptural literature. The various Puranas, Gltas
Samhitas, besides the Sarala, Mahabharata, Dandi Ramayana and
the Bhagavata in Oriya bear testimony to the omnipresence of
Sanskritic form and metamorphosed content. Even the earliest
popular songs Koili and cautisa which continued to flourish
until the end of the 18th Century can be traced to Sanskrit
influence.

The 17th and the 18th centuries saw the evolution of a type
of Oriya literature which claimed recoguition as being in no way
inferior in excellence to the Sanskrit literature.

Upendra and other Oriya writers were well versed in the
tradition of Sanskrit. They took the Sanskrit Kavya model and
created unparalleled literary masterpieces based on the traditional
culture of Orissa.

The dawn of modernity in Oriya literature was with the advent
of Radhanath Ray (1848-1908). Although there is V***
western influence during this period Sanskrit continued to prov^e
stimulus to writers of this period in selecting as well as depicting
specific themes. Sanskrit for the modern writer m search of an

( 233 )

identity is a bright star in the distant horizon from which h -
at best eager to draw sustenance in relating hi s ; '*
present with the tradition. ^

Oriya language through ages has been indebted to Sansk V
style, content, mode, taste, syntax, metre, diction and other '"
ponents. Sanskrit opened up the vast cultural treasure of an ' '
India to the Oriya poets, who freely drew upon its generous bo "
to enrich indigenous literature. The large bulk of tatsama I
tadbhava vocabulary connot be understood without reference!
Sanskrit. The contributions of Oriya scholars to Sanskrit liter
ture and scholarship is a subject of special discourse. But schola'
ship in Sanskrit and creativity in Oriyu had gone hand in y
for almost seven hundred years whether it is for purpose of brio
ing the language closer to Sanskrit or establish it on its owna%
from Sanskrit.

THE ORIYA CITRA BHAGAVAT

DR, B. MOHANTY
Utkal University, Orissa

The Sanskrit as well as the Oriya Bhagavta Purana are very
popular religious scriptures of Orissa. In most of the Hindu villa-
ges of Orissa "Bhagavat Ghar" is a sacred institution where palm-
leaf manuscripts of Jagannath Das's Oriya Bhagavata (16th C.A.D.)
are worshipped in the form of Vasudeva or Visrui. Jagannath
Das translated the Sanskrit Bhagavata Purana into Oriya when Sri
Chaitanya was residing at Puri (1509-10 A.D.) and this Oriya
Bhagavata Purana, led to the spread of Vaishnavism in Orissa.

Apart from the Oriya Bhagavata Purana, rightly called the
Bible of the Oriyas, the Skt. Bhagavata Puraria, was also in vogue.
During my research tour to different interior parts of Orissa for
survey and collection of palm-leaf manuscripts I accidentally dis-
covered some portions of the Bhagavata Purana consisting of 105
pages. The size of the manuscript is 10" X 10" and the material
is hand-made polished paper. The date of the manuscript goes
back to the 18th Century A.D. Each page of the manuscript is
illuminated with multicoloured paintings on the different episodes
of the Bhagavata. Studying the style of the painting I came to the
conclusion that the art of the paintings in this Bhagavata Purana
ms. is of the later Moghul school. The script of the ms. is bold
Devanagarl. The importance of this rare and valuable ms. lies
in the excellence of these colourful paintings which require further
siudy, research and lastly their publication.

( 235 )

INFLUENCE OF SANSKRIT ON THE RAJASTHANI
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

DR. R. c, DWIVEDI

Professor & Head of the Department of Sanskrit
University of Udaipur, Udaipur]

Early Indo- Aryan, Middle In do- Aryan and Modern Indo-
Aryan : these are the three stages in the development of the Indo
Aryan language, the first always remaining the linguistic and
litrary source of the latter two. Rajasthani is no exception to the
rule. It was around llth century A.D. onward that from the
ApabhramSa 1 developed a number of dialects in the region compris-
ing whole of modern Rajasthan, parts of Malwa, Saurastra, Sindh
and Panjab. Important amongst these dialects are : (1) Marwari 2

1. Prdkrtacandrikd lists twenty-seven varieties of ApabhramSa ;

: \
n

Grierson in his Linguistic Survey of India identifies Nagara
ApabhrarhSa as the source of the language of Rajasthan,
S. K. Chatterjee prefers to call it Sauratra ApabhrarhSa
(Vide Rdjasthvrii Bha& 9 Udaipur, 1949, p. 65) while K. M.
Munshi calls it Gurjarl Apabhraiftsa.

2. Mewari spoken in Udaipur division is considered a sub-
dialect of MarwarL It is spoken in Jodhpur, Bikaner, Sirohi,
South-west parts of Ajmer-Merwara, in some parts of
Kishangarh and Palanpur, Shekhavati, Sindh and in southern
parts of Panjab,

( 236 )

f ; f Dhfindbfidi (smV H) Malvji ^ Mevati* and

its liters y content abounding m the vorks of Sdinta like
Did a ifa mflucnLCK.1 by Bnj Bha^a.

4 Cunisnt mainly in Mab*a but spoken in part* of Mewar also.
Bes'de^ Maiwai J and Dhflndliadl, Marathi has also mftuencej
it

r* maw ISTCT *r TtVw i Ibid, 156

- ' Ibid. 157

vas recognised as a

portion of their vocabulary and the whole of their inflectional
system being derived from this source. Whatever may be the
opinions held as to the subsequent influences which they under*
went, no doubt can fairly be cast on this fundamental
proposition." 8

The vocabulary of early Rajasthani 9 contains a comparatively
small percentage of Tatsama words (say 20%)whereas the percentage
of Tadbhava words derived from Sanskrit (either through the
process of Prak^t or directly) and of Desaja words is extremely
large. The words of Persian and of other non-Aryan source are
also in small number. In view of the large percentage of Tadbhava
and Desaja words, a thorough study of the Rajasthani language in
all its developments will prove amply rewarding. An examination
of the three thousand words occurring in the Kanavajja Samaya of
the Prthvi Raja Rdso reveals 10 that the percentage of Tatsamavisifa
is 16 and that the Persian words constitute a very small fragment
as they are only fifty. Among the Tatsama words occurring in the
above text the following be noted :

f *FTT, sfjf^T, sr^^T, srar, srar, *n=*fN|[,
snr, sr*, srw, sr^ftrcr, rnicr, msngr, 5nra%, ^fr,

8. A comparative Grammar of the modern Aryan Languages of
India, John Beanies. Chapter I, p. 2, Munshi Ram Manohar
Lai, New Delhi, 1970.

9. Speaking about the percentage of Sanskrit, Prakrta and
Apabhramsa words on the one hand and the words of Arabic
and Persian origin on the other in the Dirigal literature as
whole Motilal Menaria has observed :

Hindi and other modern Indian languages have definitely
larger percentage of Arabic and Persian words and less of
Tatsama words than Rajasthani.

^ftcft^TT'ST

10. See p. 148, Prthvi Rzja Rdso Ki Bhas& by Manvar Singh,
Sarasvati Press, Benaras, 1956. Vipin Behari Trivedi has
listed 450 words in his edition of the text "Chandavardai Aur
Unka Kavya"> pp. 313-346. Considering the size of the text
this number is very small,

(Fort),

and

An analysis of the nature of Tadbhava words in the Prthvi
will require a comprehensive discussion on the Rajasthani
language pi oper, its phonology, formation of nouns and verbs in
it etc., which is not very pertinent for our purpose here. The poet
of the Prthvi Raja Rasa suffers from a pathetic desire to introduce
Sanskrit in his work. He fails miserably in writing any verse
correctly in Sanskrit. Nevertheless, a number of stanzas are found
here which are full of some kind of corrupted Sanskrit. The
Sanskrit was employed perhaps to demonstrate knowledge of the
language of the learned and thus to earn recognition of the Pandits.
Some examples of this may be found interesting and will even-
tually illustrate how early literature in Indo-Aryan languages \
imitated, though very poorly, the form of Sanskrit. What they
wrote was semblance or imitation of Sanskrit and never Sanskrit.
In the Kanavajja Samaya there are eight chandas in this corrupted
Sanskrit. They are :

Kavya : Verse Nos. 20.95, 141.

ataka : 14O.

Arya: 147.

Sloka : 179, 188.194.

The Kavya (Verse No. 20) is as follows :
5T^ 3f?^r sp*re?rr ^Rw?*
cf ^cst ^^TTW^T^^ cj

The Arya is as given below :

i%^fcf;

Verse No. 147
The loka is :

Verse No. 188

Another Sloka is :

3rr*r TO^TI^R: 1 1

Verse No. 194

In Trotaka also e m' is used to give the semblance of Sanskrit
as in Trotaka Nos. 21-31 :

STTST

for srfirTTsf |f^r *TT?T fefesrr^r i
Verse No. 28

Similarly again in Trotaka Nos. 203-211, 282-298 V '
employed to symbolise Sanskritism. Gatha (see verse No. m
Naraca (see verse No. 248) also at times employed the 'm' trick'
The following Gatha is interesting as it embodies with necessary
modification and simile an oft-quoted Sanskrit saying :
and reads like Sanskrit :

Verse No. 273

The above examples of uses of corrupted Sanskrit in
Raja-rasa demonstrate the unavoidable impact of Sanskrit S
overRajasthani. There is a popular saying that * PRT tf

? etS f early Uterature in Rasthfln seemed to
dictum to maintain their propular prestige as poets

bl "

,

^ languages > ^ch invariably included Sanskrit

' "" ^ Unchall -^ d way over the claims

" "" f '"'

f the P rtaat Characteristics of Rajasthani is the

use

It was observed earlier that the percentage of Tatsama words
in the Prthvi Raja Raso is very small (about 20%). Thh increased
in later works of Rajasthani, particularly from the 1 6th century
A. D. onwards. The Belt Krisana RukminT Ri (1580 A. D.) by
Prthvi Raj Rathora bears testimony to this. To illustrate :

; 3ft*T

Sanskrit words such as Aruna, Abhirama, Kanja, Nayana,
Griva, Pataiiga* Dhanus* are abundantly used in the Dingal Litera-
ture of centuries that followed. The most brilliant poet of Dingal
in the 19th Century, Suryamal Misrana had freely mixed Sanskrit
in his historical poem, the Vamsabhdskara. It may also be noted
in passing that in Rajasthani works, dealing with Sastraic subjects
(Prosody, rhetorics, astrology, Darsana etc.) and in translations or
adaptations or in works based on Sanskrit literature (for example,
Ramayana and Mahdbharatd) the percentage was still higher. How-
ever, the Rajasthani works in prose had always a higher percentage
of Tadbhava words, even words of Persian origin, such as ^<a tor,
srrarsr, ^rmcr, ^r*rrar, 5*t*r, ^Fto, sssr, <*TC*TFT, *r^ft etc. were freely
used. So much about the impact of Sanskrit on the vocabulary of
Rajasthani. Now we pass on to its structural and inflectional
elements.

Sanskrit is synthetical or inflectional. Hindi like English and
many other modern Indian languages, is analytical. 11 In a synthe-
tical languages particles are not separable. They are incorporated
into the words which they modify by varying the terminal syllable
or syllables. In an analytical language particles are not even
recognisable as constituent elements of the word with which they
are incorporated and new auxiliary words have to be brought in to
i express the necessary modification of sense. 12 " Rajasthani, unlike

11. From synthetical to analytical is a natural stage of linguistic
growth and one need not import the question of Dravidian
influence over analytical Indo- Aryan languages like Hindi,
Gujarati, Sindhi' Panjabi, Bengali, and Oriya as John Beames
has rightly pointed out. Reference as under 12.

12. Vide Introduction Vol. I, Ch. I in "A comparative Grammar
of the Modern Aryan languages of India." by John Beames,
Munshi Ram Manoharlal, New Delhi, Reprint 1970.

Hindi, preserves both the inflectional and analytical forms. *
illustrate.

1. Nominative Singular, Masculine (by termination in e) :

*rre TT

2. Nominative singular, masculine (by termination in simple
stem) :

(1) ^t^ft fsrfsTTTST (Kanavajja Sarnaya, 3362)

(2)

(3)

(4)

3. Nominative singular masculine (by termination in *u*)

(1) ^1^^ ( ^?f^^^ <u TT^T 336.6)

(2) <rwt ?rr^r ^n=^

4. Nominative plural masculine (by termination in a)

5, Nominative plural masculine (by termination in ^f

6. Nominative singular feminine (formed by termination in
T and e a*) :

(1) nftr (2)

7. Nominative plural feminine (by termination in srf )
( 1 )
(2)

The accusative singular of masculine is formed by either
termination in simple stem or in <u* or in V. For example :

13. It is clear from the above examples that Nominative
singular of Masculine is formed by termination in (i) u
(n) <? (iii) Simple stem, and of feminine by termination
in (i) and <*rf\ The Nominative plural of masculine is
formed by termination *rr and feminine by <*rf\

( 2 )
( 3 )

The accusative plural masculine and feminine is formed by
?lf and Eft 1 *- For example :

(2)

The accusative singular feminine is formed by termination c i*
and e a*. For example : spsrrfr and STT^r.

The instrumental singular masculine asid feminine is formed
by *i' and *e' and plural (both masculine and feminine) by *e* and
'An'. 15 For example :

(1) sf>7re^5r fe*?<?r?T ^RIT
( 2 ) ^ frRc?fcrcrT isz (
3

The dative is formed by V 6 Nu' and srf in singular and by
only 5TT in plural. For example :

( l ) spsr? ^ TRT ^>T5T^ff ^ftf ^V ^artf i

(2) i*rt ^^r 5^ g^rf, ^fcr f^TT^f ^t^r i (*ft$^fteft)

Ablative is formed by 9; and ^ff. For example :

(1) ?TT^ ff^f^T^r ^rra ?r ^PT ^Tq^ft i

(2) f%f ^ ^m HFflr *ym (%f^)

(3) cfT^r fetOT mf^^fr (m^i^)

Genitive is formed by WW[ ^ a nd ^- lfl For Example:

ll In the Prthvi Raja Rasa -Hi' is used for the accusative. As in

98-4)

15 For plural <na> is often used here which is perhaps the short
form for *CFTW S in Sanskrit. Examples.

3, ,

16 The Genitive is also found without any ending. In such
?he Tatpurusa compound may also be suspected.

ases

TT
(2)
3

Locative singular is formed by <t and plural additionally
by $ft. For example :

(1)

(2)

For vocation either a simple uninflected stem is used or
ir and ^ are prefixed to the stem.

From the above examples two facts stand out. Rajasthani,

maintains, like Sanskrit, synthetical forms and secondly, its particles

inseparable from the sterns are a few and many of these are

employed in different cases. Thus V particles can be used in all

' cases of singular masculine. In plural generally ^rt or srf is used.

Another important feature is the use of the uninflected stems in

a number of cases like instrumental, dative, genitive and the locative.

Side by side with synthetical forms Rajasthani developed analytical

"forms under the influence of the Apabhrarhsa. In Rajasthani two

or more post-propositions are found for different cases except the

nominative and the vocative which have none. 17

It is clear from the above that the Rajasthani language has in
its declension of nouns a great variety, namely :

17. Post-propositions are as under :

(1) Accusative :

(2) Instrumental

(3) Dative :

(4) Ablative

*nr, *?!% fa", 5 37,

(5) Genitive TT, ft, ^, ^T, <sft,

(6) Locative : ^'^TT, Tf^J, irf, *TTW?T,

(1) Uniflectional i. e. where simple stem is usbil without
ending. We have in Sanskrit such un characterised imaginative
neuters to the stems in H and in nominative feminines ending in
<a' (Rama) and those in T of the *DevF class. The locative without
ending (which is the oldest form in Sanskrit) appears in n stems
(for example, Ahan, Sirsan, Murdhan) and in the Vrddhi forms of
the e i' and c u' stems.

(2) Inflectional form has been treated at length and it has
been pointed out how Rajasthani, unlike Hindi and some other
modern Indian languages, is similar in this respect with Sanskrit.

(3) Analytical form of the Rajasthani brings it closer to Hindi
and other modern Indian languages of India and marks the impact
of the Apabhrarhsa.

Other important linguistics peculiarities of Rajasthani marking
the influence of Sanskrit may now be rioted briefly :

(1) In Dingal both dental and cerebral T is found, while
dental T is common to Classical Sanskrit and other modern Indian
languages ; cerebral T is found in Vedic Sanskrit, Marathi, Gujarati,
and Lahandi, Sindi and Oriya only. There are a number of words
ending with cerebral T where if T were pronounced dentally, it
will change its meaning. 18 For example :

1. Mali, Gardner ; Mali, Financial

2. Mahal, Woman ; Mahala, Palace

3. Cancala, horse ; Cancala, fickle.

(2) In Vedic Sanskrit accent or stress on a particular syllable
determines the meaning of a Word, in Rajasthani stress on a
particular syllable or lack of it changes the meaning. For example :

Nara Woman, Lion

Kada Height, When

Maur Coin, back

Pira Pain, Bride's parental home.

(3) Although palatal s does not exist in Rajasthani and it is
always represented by dental S in its script but in P ronun ^ n
both are distinguished. Thus Sastra in writing is read as Sastra
Caturdasa as Jaturdasa. This was clearly to maintain correct
pronunciation of the Tatsama and Tadbhava Sanskrit *.^* Tatsama
larly cerebral V is generally pronounced as * Kha V^nr example
Sanskrit words the cerebral pronunciation is respected For example,
Posa, I$adha and Bhisma. ^__

18. In old Rajasthani Script cerebral T was written ***
However it was always pronounced as cerebral as in tmru
wherellso there is no separate character for cerebral.

(4) Independent changes into ri, for example Rsi i n R a j as .
thani becomes Risi but m words with conjoined syllables, generally
Tatsamas, the has been retained as in Snifti and Vrta.

(5) Words of Sanskrit origin changed into Tadbhavas, by
various devices, as illustrated in the following examples :

(by changing r into ra or its position)
(n)

(by replacing e by he ; 5 by ch and v# by nui)

(iii) ^"^> ^t^*
(by replacing au by 7/)

(iv) ^nrt[K> ^TRR, 5f^^> ??rT

(by adding *Ha* and r^)

(v) ?TRW> ^^r

(by adding a vowel in the beginning)

i) 3ftenJr> sffcFT, TTT t ^> ^TR
changing words of N-stem into na)

(vii)

(vi)
(by

(6) For tadbhava indeclinables the following words of Rajas-
thani may be listed :

(7) In old Rajasthani, which was influenced to a large extent
by Gujarati, there were three genders as in Sanskrit. But later on

neuters have been included in masculines as in Hindi, Punjabi and
Hindi.

(8) Agreement of the adjectives with their substantive is
found both in Sanskrit and DingaL

(9) A simple future derived from the synthetical tense in
Sanskrit exists in Rajasthani. For example : VTW*, *K&, vwrf,

. JTOft and wf It is the Sanskrit future Isya as in karifvami
is retained by Rajasthani through karissnmi in Prakyta

Side by side with karissati we get in Prakrta ^f^t and thus in
Chand, simple future t forms are found as in Tulasi :

Rajasthani has an interesting variety of metres. Doha, Kavitta,
Chhapaya, Nisam, Jhulana, Kuntfaliya, Davavaita, Vacanika. Jhamal,
Be-akkhari *md Gita 9 and more particularly Doha (perhaps from
Dodhaka or Dogdhaka in Sanskrit) Kavitta and Git a, are mostly
favoured by the Rajasthani poets. 20 A number of varieties of the
Dingala metres were named in Sanskrit such as Vidyadhar, Laksmi-
jhara Sdranga, Modaka, Nnraca, Ardha-Narnca, Car cart Amrtadh-
vani. Amongst Sanskrit metres freely used in Rajasthani are
Upendravajra, Bhujanga-prayata, Tar ala- nay an a, Muktadama. Trotaka,
Camara, Sardulavikri&ta, Gitikn, HarigiUka, (L e. Hariglta in Sans-
krit) Chappaya, (Asfapadi in Sanskrit), Vacanika and Paddhan
(Padhari in Rajasthani). Use of a great number of Sanskrit metres
in Rajasthani underlines their close relationship.

Employment of the Alamkaras is sine qua nan of literary
language Alamkaras of Sanskrit are not only discussed and illus-
trated in Rajasthani Rhetoric but are freely used in literature
Sven below is the list of important alamkaras employed with or

19. In Rajasthani simple future is also found by use of la, as in

(1)

(2)

20. A number of metrical works in Rajasthani were written. The

most important amongst them are listed below :

(1) cM*!* ^T^, (2) wnwrrftmr O)
ntenfr (4) ^rc^r**r*r (5) f&r^* (6)

Number of many poetical works in Rajasthani are named
after the metres that they use. For example :

without any effort in important works of Dingal. 21
Sanskrit Alankaras in the Veil Krisana Rukmdni Ri :

(1) Anuprasa-13 ; Yamaka-10 ; Slesa-9 ; Vakrokti-7 ; Citra-L

(2) Rupaka-58 ; Utpreksa-44 ; Upama-37 ; Svabhavokti-16 ;
DIpaka-10 ; Apahnuti-10 ; Yathasamkhya-9 ; VyaghataV;
Parikara-8 ; Ullekha-7 ; Virodhabhasa, Sarhdeha, Udatts|
Samasokti, Atisayokti (each six times) Hetu-5 ; Samuccaya-5 ;
Vibhavana-4 ; Vyatireka-4 ; Pratipa-4 : Nidarsana, Kavyartha'
patti, Atyukti, Bhrantiman, Parikaraiikura, Paryaya (each
three times) ; Drstanta, Sara, Paryayokti, Ekavali, Mllita,
anyonya, Yisesa, Anumana, and Pramana (each twice) and
ViSesokti, Tulyayogita, Adhika, Udaharana, Sahokti, Prahar-
sana and Suksma (each once only).

Dhavalapacm of Bankidas

Each 'Doha or Soratha has one or more Alamkfiras. However
only 14 arthalarnka!ras are used. Besides Hetu and Vicitra, each
occurring eight times, Sama occurs four times and Aksepa three
times. Each of Aprastuta-prasamsa, Samuccaya, Vidhi and Udatta
are employed twice only. The remaining alarhkaras, Adhika, Anan-
vaya, Sambhava, Nirukti, Visada and Vinokti occur only once.

In another work of his, the Mtimanjarl, Bankidas has used
twelve arthdlankaras including Drstanta, Parinama, Upama, Krama
and Vyaghnta (which are not found on the Dhavalpaclsl). The best
poet of Rajasthani even in using alankaras of Sabda and Artha is
Suryamala Misana. In his Virasatasai, Sabddlankaras (besides
Vayanasagai alankara of Rajasthani) include Chekanuprdsa, Vjrttya-
nuprasa, Srutyanuprasa, Anty&nuprasa, Latanuprasa> and Yamaka.
The Arthalankaras used in this Virasatasai include Upamd, Utpreka>
Rupaka, Parikarankura, Kdvyalinga, Apahmtti, Dipaka, Atisayokti,
Atyukti (a kind of Uddtta), Anumana, Vtbhdvand, Drstdnta, Svabhfr
vokti, Rupakdttiayokti, Parydyokti, Anyokti, Asangati, Samdsokti,
Samdeha, Bhrdntimdn, Vyatireka, Visesokti, Vydjastuti, Nidarfana,

21. Vaina Sagain (or harmonious relationship of the syllables)
is exclusively Rajasthani alankura. It has a bewildering variety
and is most frequently used by all the poets* It may not
be Anuprasa or any of its variety, found in Sanskrit but
there can be no doubt that it evolved under great impact and
extensive use of the Anuprasa and other Citrdlankdras in
Sanskrit. Figures after the Alankara indicate the frequency
of the alankara.

* Adhika, Uclatta and Praharsana. Besides onomatopoeia,
personification and euphemism are also used in Virasatasai?^

The poet of the Dhola Maru Rn Doha, having 41 alankaras,
is very fond of using alarikaras based on similitude. Thus Upama
is used 109 times, Rupaka and Utprreka 37 and 32 times
respectively.

Rajasthani Literature has been enriched by all important
sections of society. Caranas take the lion's share and their contri-
bution is the largest. Jamas are next to Caranas only and their
contribution to Rajasthani may not be excellent but is very
important, 23 to study the evolution of the Rajasthani language

22. Some illustrations of the alankaras from the Virasatasai :
Upama : Rupaka :

*r ^tsft *?*** ^

Kavyalinga :

279 u

Apahnuti : Atisayokti (with Utprekd)

fine

ft ST3TS II 164

^TT

3T3T f? U 34 It
Sandeha Vibhavana :

* tfrcr i 174 i ftr ^rrtr ^ wit i 174

ft^ro*

23. The list of Jain writers is very large. They ***
Sanskrit and Rajasthani literature to a very great extent. Some
of the Tainas like Jina-vallabha Suri, Jinaprabhasuri, Samaya-
sundira, Dharmavardhana, JfianasSra wrote m Sansknt and
Rajasthani with equal felicity.

from its earliest beginning to the modern times. Kings contributed
to the Rajasthani in no small measure. The Krisna Rukmirtf ft
Beli by king Prithvi Raj is an outstanding work of Rajasthani
literature. Amongst the Brahmins the names of Narapati Nalh,
celebrated poet of Bisaladeva Raso, Srldhara Vyas who composed
Rand Mala, Chand and Saptasatichand, of Padmanabha who is
famous for Kanhana De Prabandha and of Vyas Bhanda the poet of
Hammirayana, deserve special mention. A kayastha poet, Ganapati
composed (Samvat 1554) the Kamakandala Prabandha, a love-poem
containing 2500 Dohas. Another Kayastha versified in Rajasthani
the Bhagavata and the Gits (available in the collection of Manus-
cripts of Agarachanda Nahata) A Muslim poet, named, Dhadhi
Badara wrote ^/ravawa, Jana, a Muslim poet of great repute is
credited with the authorship of seventy-five works, many of which
are in Rajasthani and deal with Srngara. He was well-versed in
Arabic; Persian, Sanskrit and Rajasthani.

The most important class of literature is by Caranas
and Bhatas which is in Dingal and is predominantly poetry of
bravery abounding in Vlra Rasa. 24 This constitutes the largest
part of Rajasthani literature. The Carana poetry is found in the
form of Prabandha 25 (which includes certain characteristics of a
Mahakavya in Sanskrit), Glta and in the form of other chandas
such as Chappaya, Doha, Savaiya, Kavitta. The Prabandha form is
borrowed from Sanskrit. However, Prabandhas called Visara
eulogising valiant deeds and the poetry of bravery or vlrakavya are
specially and almost exclusively developed in Rajasthani. The
erotic and devotional Prabandhas are to a large extent based on
either the BMgavata or the Ramayana. Rltikavyas. such as, Hwi
Pingala, Prabandha Lakhapata Pingala, Raghunatha Rtipaka
Gitaro, described elements of prosody and rhetoric of Sanskrit
The Glta in Rajasthani is the type of Kha^dakavya like

24. Some caranas have composed secular love-poems and still
others have translated the Rzmayana and Mahabharata and
other Sanskrit works.

25. The number of Prabandhas is very large, the more important

"* ^ n,?f r A adaiSS Prtkvl Rdja Rns ; WiKift*

ft? i A ' a) f PfthVi RSja on the ibdi
of the Bhagavata).

26. Glta is a type of khancjakavya. The best example of this
dass are kallola's Dhoto Mara R& Doha (Composed in 1473
05M4AD) 1 WW ^ (1563A ' D -)'

Ueghaduta, defined by Visvanatha as :
(Sahityadarpana).

Rajasthani literature by Jainas deals mainly with Jaina religion,
culture and tiles of both religions and secular character. As*
mentioned already the contribution of the Jainas to Rajasthani
literature has been uninterrupted from its very beginning and
though it may not have produced excellent literary treasure,
its importance for the study of the Rajasthani language cannot
be undermined. Many Jainas wrote both in Sanskrit and Rajasthani
and it is but natural therefore that Sanskrit literature created by
the Jainas influenced their Rajasthani literature both in content and
style.

A number of sects of Saints existed in the liberal soil of
Rajasthan. Their literature generally ponders over God, Self, Maya,
ephemeral nature of the world, identity or intimacy of self with the
supreme Self, life of Saints, Hatha Yoga, glory of guru, word, Om,
lover of all human beings and instructions for leading meritoriously
good life. In the immense literature of the saints of various sects, such
as, Natha, Laladasi, Ramasanethi, Cara^tadasi, Dadupanthi, we
breath the atmosphere created by devotional, Tatitric and religious
literature in Sanskrit.

An important form of literature preserved in Rajasthani is
known as Vacanika, for example, Acaladasa Khici Ri Vacanikn (15th
century), Rao Ratan Mahesadasota Ri Vacanika (18th century),
Khiriya Jagga and Mataji Ri Vacanika (18th Century) by Jayacanda
a Jaina Saint. In this class of Rajasthani literature prose is mixed
with verses making it the Campu of Sanskrit. We have no such
form developed in Hindi. Bata, a word derived from Varta in
Sanskrit, is a form of prose-literature in Rajasthani. However,
Bdta by H>hola Maru and Sadayavatsa are also found in both verse
and prose, giving a Campu form as to the Vacanika. Intimate,
informed and respectable relationship between Sanskrit and
Rajasthani is attested to by the fact that more than one Sanskrit
Jika is found on the Beli Krishna Rukmini RT (1581 A.D.) of Prthvi
Raja, which is a poem based on the tenth Skandha of the
Bhagavata. Impact of Sanskrit over Rajasthani is underlined by
the fact that all the important works in Sanskrit, more particularly
the Rdrnfiyana, Mahnbhnrata, Gita, Bhagavata (or parts of it,
especially the tenth skandha) Puranas, dramas, tales, poems, and
Sastraic works etc. have been and continue to be translated or
adapted or used as source by a number of poets of the past and

the present in both prose and verse in Rajasthani. List of such
works is too long to be presented here and cm be briefly illustrated
by mentioning :

1. Works based on the Rarndyana, Mahabharata and Bhngavata.

TT ^T,

by

TT<*T f ^^^TffnR of feft^TCT (on the 10th Skandha of th e
Bhagavata)

2. Po*ms 9 Dramas and tales of Sanskrit in Rajasthani :

by iTfKT^Tfu^rr, ws

1797),

(1918), q "
ft srrar,

by ^fWcrRr^f 1720-37) sr^^rqfsft^ ^TT^TT by
^^, ?rnf

3. Purana, Tantra, Vedanta, etc.

(isoe), ^PC

(1878) rK|uidV^rFB > ( 18th Century) by %5TSRtJr qf^FWY,

(in Verse) by

by f^rfir^ (translation of ^ftWRcT in Verse)

by TC^eutf (1866), tiESrf^T by

by TOUR*,

t

4. Jyotisa, Music, Ayurveda.

(based on the
i

27. All figures within brackets signify date of the manuscripts in*
Samvat, deposited with the Rajasthan Pracyavidya Pratisthana.

5. On Prosody., Rhetorics and Dramaturgy,

^snr^rff by ^g^^jft, ^^^r^^^r by ^nsr (1866),
by *TO3ra > i%5, KSTSHST by fsr^w, s^^i^rniNrfepPT by f seR^fa,
pftr^fafa" by ^T*rf%, g?3*rrc x^T^ft by gf^nrers*, f<rn*r-
by ^T^TTST, ^frFmsrsrsr^r by sfTntera, f%*rvr^?ter by
and a number of other works by

Jainas developed various forms of comments on Sanskrit, such
as Balavabodha, Tavba and the number of such works is very large. 28

What has been given above is simply a casual illustrative list
of Rajastbani ( Dingal and Pingal ) works taken down at
random from the catalogue of Sanskrit and Rajasthani manuscripts
deposited in the Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Jodhpur.
In many cases the names of writers are unknown and even the dates
of the manuscripts are not traceable.

Sanskrit contributed words, contents, forms and style to
Rajasthani, which in its turn inspired the poets of Rajasthan to
write Sanskrit works eulogising bravery, chivalry and culture of
Rajasthan. These works in Sanskiit have at times the same atmos-
phere as found in the popular speech. 3t was but natural because
a poet who wrote both in Sanskrit and Rajasthani could not split
himself emotionally. The result is that we have a number of small
and big poems in Sanskrit eulogising Hindi kings of Rajasthan
and not surrendering literary results of their talents to the Dillisvara
as the king amongst Pandits Panditaraja Jagannatha did

Rajasthani

Particularly Dingala) is known primarily for its carana hteratuie
glorifying the deeds of the brave kings. Sanskrit poets also gave a
number of Sanskrit Kavyas and Mahakavyas like the following :
(dates within brackets are in Vikram era unless otherwise specified)
*nr*^1665,*faPRrf%* W*TS* (1685)

Like Rajasthani Sanskrit also used words of local
origin, such as :

, 5f3?fl, sfoft, ^R, feftfou,

(as found in the WKlfo of TT^? "%&, a work of
V.S.)

It is not only that the poets like Valmlki, Vyasa, Kalidasa
Bhavabhuti of distant past inspired the Rajasthani literature butii
fact contemporary poets of Sanskrit and Rajasthani sang together
the chorus of Rajput chivalry and displayed loyalty to their fe
and'love and admiration for the history and culture of Rajasthan

SANSKRIT AND SINHALESE LITERATURE

PROF. O. H. DB A. WIJESEKERA,
University of Ceylon, Peradaniaya

While it cannot be denied that Ceylon in its long history of
twenty-five centuries has maintained itself as a separate political
and economic entity, in literary and cultural matters it has largely
been dependent on India. Its religion is Theravada Buddhism,
which originated on the sub-continent, and was subsequently intro-
duced to the island in the time of Asoka, and its secular arts and
science's too came from the same source, at least in the early period.
For instance, as Professor Paranavitana points out. 1 "The archi-
tecture of the Anuradhapura period preserved, in its essentials, the
forms which the Sinhalese brought with them when they originally
1 settled in this Island, or were introduced with Buddhism as a result
of the missionary activities of Asoka. There was natural develop-
ment in certain of its aspects and refinement of certain features,
but no extraneous influences profoundly modified the inherited
forms in such manner as to obscure their origins." The same is
true of the fine arts, poetics and belies lettres, as well as of technical
and scientific subjects like astronomy (including astrology) and
medicine. Since language is the most explicit vehicle of culture, a
study of its influence on any other literature is bound to reflect the
degree of the latter's indebtedness to the original culture. This is
exactly what we find in the case of Sanskrit and Sinhalese literature.
Although the hey-day of Sanskrit learning in Ceylon falls in
the Polonnaruva period [starting about the llth century, yet the
influence of Sanskrit on the life and thought of the Sinhalese people
must be considered to stretch back to several centuries before the
Christian era. The Polonnaruva period only marked the culmina-
tion of a proeess that had gone on throughout the previous history

of the island. ___

1. In his article on the "Art and Architecture of Ceylon" in a
monograph published by Arts Council of Ceylon and re-
published in the Ceylon Historical Journal, Vol. IV, pp. 69 n.

( 255 )

In fact, it is a safe presumption to think that some at least of
the first Aiyan colonizers of Ceylon must have been Brahmins or
at least bearers of Brahmin civilization. In his Early History O f
Buddhism in Ceylon, (p. 44), Dr. Adikaram has stated : "'There were
Brahmanas who came along with Vijaya to Ceylon. Upatissa was
one of them. He founded the village Upatissaguma which was for
some time the capital of Ceylon. The same Brahmana held the
post of chaplain (pitrohita) to King Vijaya." The famous chronicle
of Ceylon, the Mahavamsa (x. 20), says that Prince Pandukabhaya
born about 423 B. C., was sent for higher studies and instructions
in regal polity to Parujula, a brahmin well versed in the Vedas, and
that the son of Pandula, Candra, became chaplain to the King
(x. 79). The appointment of Brahmins to the office of purohita
continued for several centuries and while the Buddhist Sangha
played the part of spiritual guides to the rulers it was the Brahmins
that advised them on secular or temporal matters.

That the Sinhalese monarchs gave ample patronage to Brahma-
is conclusively proved at least for the Polonnaruva period.
The Mahavamsa (Ixii. 31-33) states that King Vikramabahu It who
ascended the throne in 1116 A. D had such Brahmanic rites as the
Homa sacrifice performed by his Purohita and other brahmins well-
versed in the Veda and Vedangas, while at the same time having
Buddhist ceremonies like Parittas (Sinhalese pirit) conducted on
suitable occasions. It is of great significance in this connexion to
find it mentioned in an inscription of the twelfth century that King
Nissanl-a Malla established an alms-house called * Brahmaoa-ja/fra'
especially to provide accommodation and alms to the Brahi .ins. 2
No more striking instance of the prevalence of Brahmin institutions
at least among the royalty and the upper straf im of Sinhalese
society can be adduced than the one found in the Kandavurusirita
which describes the daily routine of King Parakramabahu II (1211-
1214). According to this text the monarch, who was a zealous
Buddhist, arose from bed in the early hours of the morning and sat
m the padmasana posture on bed practising Buddhist meditation.
Then his Purohita would come with kusa grass in hand and a conch
filled with holy water and recite Vedic mantras and perform propitia-
tory rites for averting evil influences. Much more evidence can be
adduced from epigraphy and literature to prove that Brahmin
institutions had gained a foothold in the land of the Sinhalese from
early times.* However, the influx of Brahmanism was not always

2. Epigraphia Zeylanica, Vol. 2, p 168

3. For further evidence see Pafmasara, ' Sanskrit Literature Extant
Among The Sinhalese, pp. 1 1 ff.

t>v peaceful penetration History shows that this happened more
by way of violent incursions starting as early as the third century
B C. with the inroads made by the two Tamil chieftains Sena and
Guttika who established a rule at Anuradhapura for about 20
years. 4 Later came the invasions by the Cholians and the Pandyans.
Undoubtedly every such invasion from the sub-continent must have
given a sudden impetus to the spread of Indian culture in
Ceylon.

Another factor that helped the promotion of Sanskrit learning
in ancient Ceylon was the introduction of Mahayana Buddhism
into the curriculum of the Abhayagiri Monastery at Anuradhapura
soon after the beginning of the Christian era. As Professor
Paranavitana has clearly shown, Mahayanism or Vaitulya-vada
as it was known in Ceylon evolved in India from about the first
century AD., and every phase of this development was followed by
a parallel in Ceylon. 6 Although the more orthodox monks of the
Mahavihara at Anuradhapura opposed the spread of Mahayanism,
the rival monks of the Abhayagirivihara took to the study of the
later Buddhist sectarian texts with great interest. The Vaitulya-
Pitaka also called the Vaitulya-Sutras and sometimes Vaipulya-
Sutras' no doubt referred to the canon of the Mahayanists which
contained the largely extended sutras such as the 'Mahavaipulya-
Sutra** In spite of the the violent opposition of the Mahavihara
orthodoxy, it would be surprising if this more popular form of

Buddhism had not made considerable headway among the people of
Ceylon and thereby helped the diffusion of Sanskrit language and
literature in the island.

The above facts indicate that from the earliest period of

Sinhalese history there must have been an elite given to the .culfr

vation of Sauskiit learning. The surmise is stiengthened by the

existence of several important literary works

-

Ibhayagiri monks,' we have a tradition m ancient Ceylon of

"4."seelheUmversity^fCeylon History of Ceylon, VoLI.Pt.l.
pp. 42 f .

5. Article 'Mahayanism in Ceylon' in .the Ceylon Journal of
Science, Sec. O, Vol. II.

6. See Pafifiasara, op cit. pp. 34 if-

noteworthy Sanskrit compositions. The earliest extant work is the
' Snrarthasangraha, a medical treatise, attributed by the Mahavamsa
(xxxvii. 108-111, 145) to King Buddhadasa who ascended the throne
'in 338 A. D. But the most celebrated literary work by a Sinhalese
author is the famous Janakiharana attributed by Ceylon tradition
to King Kumaradasa (508-516 A. D.) who was supposed to have
been a friend of Kalidasa. This tradition, however, never gained
full acceptance by literary historians and the question of authorship
^remained unsettled. But recently new light has been thrown on
the' problem by the discovery of manuscripts of the complete poem
in Malabar. Four stanzas at the end of the poem establish that
'the author of the Jariakiharana was certainly one Kumaradasa but
not a King, although the data prove that he was a member of the
royal family. His father's name given as Manita has been indenti-
fied by Professor Paranavitana 7 with Mana mentioned in the
Culavamsa (xliv, v. 123) as the Yuvaraja in the reign of Aggabodhi
III (629-639). Thus Kumaradasa must have lived in the 7th century,
arid this date tallies with the one inferred by Keith (Sanskrit Litera-
ture, p. 119) on evidence of style and language in comparison with
those of Kalidasa, etc.

*. r .."'.

3 > As has been noted above, it is with the Polonnaruva period
that we come to the heyday of Sanskrit learning in Ceylon.
^However, there is reason to surmise that many of the Sanskrit
compositions by > the celebrated scholars and poets of this period
have been lost during the centuries of neglect that followed it. Most
of the Buddhist Elders of this period famous as Pali authors also
'tried their hand at original Sanskrit compositions. The doyen of
'classical scholars during this period, Mahakassapa of Udumbaragiri
vihara, was an expert in Sanskrit grammar and wrote a treatise
called the Balnvabodhana on the lines of the Candra-Vyakarana.
-His learned and famous pupil Sariputta wrote a flkz on the Cnndm-
Vynkarana entitled the Pancikulankara, but this work is probably
4ost for ever. There is also a still unpublished exegetical work of
; Candra School composed in Ceylon, namely the Lmarthadlpa

f the Elder Buddhanaga. It is said there
was written by one Gunakara, who according

-- ryed ln the T ' k3 > was a Buddhist with Maha-
tendencies, since the original contained a salutation to

University of Ceylon History of. Ceylon, pp. 393-4.

The Sanskrit works of this period, however, do not deal only
w ith grammatical and exegetical matters. Available data would
confirm the view that the poetical activities of Santkrit writers on
the main land of India had their repercussions on the Sanskrit
authors in Ceylon. Considering the fact that in India the Sataka
poems had come into vogue about the seventh and eight centuries
of the Christian era, with the appearance of the works of Mayura,
Amaru and Bhartrhari, it is easy to understand how the Sanskrit
writers of Ceylon were inspired, three or four centuries later, to
compose poems a la mode these Indian models. The first and fore-
most among the Ceylon 'Centuries' is undoubtedly the Anuruddha-
Sataka, an eulogy of the Buddha, which as its name implies, was
the work of the Elder Anuruddha. The poem compares favourably
with the Sanskrit works of Indian origin. It is characterized by
lucidity of expression, evenness of sound, and beauty of sense,
showing that the author was consciously attempting a work in the
Vaidarbha style of Indian masters of the kavya.

Another poem of this type, probably composed in the Polon-
naruva period, is Namast.a-$ataka, stanzas in praise of the 108
epithets of the Master. Its authorship is unknown. The work is
inferior to the Anuruddha-Sataka in poetical merit, and smaller in
volume In the temple-monasteries even to this day it is read as a
beginner for Sanskrit students. Finally, it remains to mention a
Sanskrit poem of a somewhat different nature, the Buddhagadya,
again by an unknown author who too most probably belonged to
the Polonnaruva period. The work is simpler in character and the
versification shows some slight resemblance to the celebrated Gita-
govinda of Jayadeva by virtue of the consecutive use of the vocative
case in each succeeding stanza. Even if the Sanskrit works of this
era by Ceylon authors are numerically not on a par with the
corresponding Pali compositions, the literary excellence of the few
that have come down to us is sufficient to warrant the assumption
that Sanskrit scholarship of the Polonnaruva period must have been
as great as the one in Pali. Towards the end of this period we
have a technical treatise oa astrology, the yf^^^ ***!
Yen. Anomadassi, who, "''f***^
the time of King Parakramabahu II (1236-1271). It is an
work in 2618 Sanskrit stanzas which purport to J^
of all authoritatives treatise on astrology, such as those f by
mihira, Bhojaraja and Parana who are actual^ J^^^d
work Along with Buddhadasa's summary of Medical Knowledge,
Svrtrth asa* g raka, referredo^bo^^

- - - " '

.
8. See PannasSra, op ctt. pp. 218 f.

deep knowledge of Sanskrit technical literature and indicates td
what an extent Sanskrit had influenced the life and thought of the
Sinhalese at that time. Such influence, particularly in the political
and social spheres, may be judged from the statement in the
Mahavamsa that Parakramabahu, the Great was well versed in the
Indian works on polity such as that of Kautalya. The same
authority states that Parakramabahu II was trained in the
ordinances of Manu. It is also mentioned that King Vijayabahul
encouraged learned men from the sub-continent to come and settle
down in Ceylon, and these scholars were, undoubtedly, great
Sanskritists. It may be mentioned also that ICing Parakramabahu
1(1153-1186) is recorded in the Mahavamsa (ixxiii. 82) as having
inaugurated a centre for music and dancing called the Sarasvatt-
Marujapa where in all probability, Indian musical theory formed
the technical basis for these arts. 9 Thus the influence of Sanskrit
on all aspects of the life and thought of the Sinhalese, at least in
the ancient period, is an undeniable fact.

The most striking influence of Sanskrit, however, is on the
Sinhalese language and literary styles and forms. The influx of
Sanskrit words into the Sinhalese vocabulary is already seen in the
early inscriptions. An inscription 10 of the first century of the
Christian era commences with the benedictory word "Siddham"
which is purely Sanskrit, and gradually more and more Sanskrit
terms and expressions came to be employed. So great was the
effect of such usage on the vocabulary that in course of time the
whole character of the Sinhalese language came to be transformed.
Even before the Polonnaruva period during which Sanskrit became
the dominant factor in linguistic form and structure the old Sinhalese
or Elu had undergone such transformation that the language of a
text like the Dampiyn-Atuva Ga^apadaya composed in the ninth
century is best described as c mixed Sinhalese' (misra Sinhald) in
contrast to the Prakritic idiom of Elu. 11 As it has been pointed
out 12 in the Katik&vata or 'Ordinance for the Sangha' out of the
first 69 words only 21 are pure Sinhalese, the rest being all Sanskrit
in form and significance. This trend has gained momentum with
the passage of time and today in the idiom of the educated Sinhalese,
both written and spoken, the Sanskrit element is the most notice-
able. This influx of Sanskrit terms and expressions into the
language of the Sinhalese naturally led to the innovation of new

9. See Introduction to the Gltasikaka by M. G. " Peter aT (1933).

10. Epigraphia Zeylanica, Vol. Ill, p. 154.

11. See Pafinasara, op. cit. pp. 242 fT.

12. See Miss S. Saparamadu, The Ceylon HistoricalJournal, Vol.
IV, p. 100, citing the work of E>r. Anaada Guruge.

literary styles and forms which came to stay as an irreversible
characteristic.

The repercussions of such influences on the poetical and other
literary works in Sinhalese could well be imagined. Three famous
epic works in Sinhalese, the Sasada, Muvedevda and Kavsilumina,
all probably of the thirteenth century, are in form and style just
parallels of the similar works of Kalidasa, Magha, Bharavi and
other Indian authors. They were bound by the same canons of
poetics and use the same poetical devices of sound and sense. Of
course, their themes are derived from the Jataka stories and their
hero, as may be expected from Buddhist authors, is the Bodhisattva
or Buddha in one of his previous lives. In general structure and
salient features these poems are genuine Mahdknvyas. Another class
of Sinhalese poems composed from about the sixteenth or seventeenth
century are the sandesa or 'message poems*. They were undoubtedly
inspired by the duta-kavyas of Sanskrit literature beginning with
Kalidasa's famous Meghaduta. The secular outlook of these poems
contrasting with the exclusive by religious character of the earlier
mentioned works gave ample scope to the Sinhalese poets for
descriptions of nature, contemporary life and eminent personalities
of Ceylon history. Two of the earliest poems of this class, namely,
Tisara-Sandesa and the Mayura-Sandefa by their structure and
characteristics of expression show to what extent they are indebted
to the Sanskrit models. The mastery of Sanskrit poetics by
Sinhalese writers is clearly demonstrated by the Siyabaslakara
attributed by some authorities 13 to King Sena IV, who came to the
throne in 954 A. D. It is the earliest extant work on poetics in
Sinhalese and is almost an exact replica of the KdvyadarSa of
Dandin. The author refers to an Elder of the Abhayagiri Vihara
who had composed an earlier work on Sinhalese prosody, thus
furnishing some indirect evidence that poetics had been studied in
Ceylon for a long time before the Siyabaslakara. Similar influence
of Sanskrit learning on the study of Sinhalese grammar is clearly
attested by the Sidatsangara of Anomadassi who is said to have
lived in the reign of Parakramabahu II in the twelfth century. As
the late Ven. Panftasara has shown 14 the work closely follows the
grammatical principles laid down by Indian authorities such as the
Sarasvata, the Katantra and the Siddhantakaumudi.

In addition to such influence of Sanskrit on the sciences of
poetics and grammar of the Sinhalese there is considerable evidence
for its influence on their more material, technical and scientific
pursuits. How their knowledge of Sanskrit promoted the medical

13. See University of Ceylon History of Ceylon, p. 395,

14. See PanTmsara, op, cit^ pp. 253 flf,

astronomical and astrological activities of the Sinhalese has been
referred to above. As some scholars have pointed out the ancient
Buddhist statues and paintings of Ceylon show marked similarities
to those in India in point of technical peculiarities. The Sariput-
nya, a Sanskrit treatise on statuary, was very popular in Ceylon
and there is no doubt that here too the Sinhalese continued the
technical traditions of India as in architecture. Similarly in irrigation
and other agricultural activities, the Sinhalese in the early period
developed their skills on the basis of theoretical knowledge derived
from the mainland. It has been surmised that there were in Ceylon
even Sanskrit treatise dealing with the technique of tank-building.

From the above considerations, it can be seen that from the
earliest beginnings the civilization of the Sinhalese was primarily
indebted to Sanskrit both as a linguistic medium and as the vehicle
of one of its parent cultures that inspired it in its secular aspects
while its spiritual trend derived mainly from Theravada Buddhism'
Thus it is by no means an exaggeration to say that Ceylon, at least
in its material culture, was part of Greater India during the major
part of its long history.

15. Ibid., p. 264,

SANSKRIT AS A LINK LANGUAGE

PROF. JEAN FILLIOZAT,
Paris & Pondicherry

Sanskrit has long been and still is considered by many

cholars as a sacred and a literary language essentially belonging

to the Brahmanical class. That is true but not enough to charac-

rise the whole of its function in the Indian society and to explain

its strong and wide influence on foreign languages and even on

m odern and colloquial languages of India herself.

If Sanskrit, as a means * of expression, had been confined to
orthodox literary circles, how aie we to understand the fact that
it was propagated throughout the Asian mainland and beyond the
Las up to China and Japan by the Buddhists, who admitted
Brahmins among them, but not as such, and were in majority non~
Brahmins ?

On another side, Saivism and Vaishnavism in South-East Asia
are generally considered as propagated by Brahmins Sanskrit

nrviUramadharma which these Brahmins'ought to respect.
' Our Purpose

( 263 )

afresh the facts in a general survey of the actual use of the San
among the peoples of India and of the foreign countries which h ^
been in long and close intercourses with India. ave

First, we must recall that we have no evidence about th
of Vedic and Brahmanical Sanskrit for lay and general purpc^ ^
the antiquity. When we get from the Greek records dating T *
the 4th century B. C. Indian names or words they already an m
in SansKrit intermixed with Prakrit forms. For example p]^J
putra^ appears in Greek as Palibothra where Pali proves the d
appearance of the intervocalic /a, b the sonorisation of
intervocalic pa which are common Prakrit features, and wh
thra is Sanskrit in spite of the aspiration added in the Gre'k
form. The famous name Sandrakottos in Greek corresponds to
Prakrit Candiragutta as well as to the Sanskrit Candragupta
Even in Vedic hymns, Prakrit words or features have been traced
out. In any case, the first epigraphical documents available to us
the ASoka's inscriptions in the 3rd century B. C. are in Prakrit
with various peculiarities following the various geographical location
of these inscriptions. Sanskrit is seen gradually replacing Prakrit
in the Indian inscriptions in the course of the subsequent centuries
and in Indo-China, since the oldest inscription so far known the
famous Vocanh inscription found in the Champa country* the
language is Sanskrit, even literary Sanskrit, not Prakrit * No
Prakrit inscription has been found in South-East Asia All are in
Sanskrit or in local languages written in Sanskrit characters more or
less differentiated in the course of time. Middle-Indian language.
are represented by the Pali alone after it has been introduced from
Ceylon and popularised as the language of the Theravada Buddhism
in Indo-China.

This fact of the exclusive importation of Sanskrit in South-
Eas .Asm is chronologically in accordance both with the data of
the Chinese records locating in the first centuries A. D the besin

H fV tr0n ! IndianimpaCt n Sou th-Ea S t Asia and with the
of the predommance of Sanskrit epigraphy in India

S the Ca * in f WC observe ** India the use of the so-called

r

mixture of Sanskrit

= wmcn oeiong to the centuries around the beginning

of aka or Christian eras or to the very first centuries of these

eras. But I cannot agree with the explanation given by Prof.

Edgerton of the use of such an Hybrid Sanskrit. He thought the

older Buddhist tradition was entirely in Middle-Indian languages

and that is very likely as we have no evidence at all of any

Buddhistic literature in Sanskrit before the appearance of Sanskrit

in the Hybrid texts. But he thought also a sanskritisation of the

literary Buddhist tradition was attempted by the Buddhist authors

in order to enhance by the use of the Sanskrit the prestige of their

Scriptures. This hypothesis, in my opinion, cannot be accepted.

For the sake of prestige it would have been very easy to write or

re-write the Buddhist texts in pure grammatical Sanskrit, as it has

been done later. Sanskrit, at that time, was taught for centuries

in schools. If it was not a colloquial tongue like the various kinds

of Prakrits, it was a strongly living language among educated

peoples. And even if we think it was used only in Brahmanical

circles and families, there was no difficulty to introduce it directly

in its correct form in the Buddhistic circles, as many fully educated

Brahmins had turned Buddhist since the very beginning of the

Buddha's predication. If the gain of prestige had been the sole

aim of the so-called sanskritisation, this aim would have been

missed. How could a barbarous mixture of Sanskrit and Prakrit

have seemed prestigious in a country where pure Sanskrit was so

largely cultivated and was ready to conquer new literary circles

throughout the whole of Eastern Asia ?

The reason for the temporary use of mixture of Sanskrit and
Prakrit, both in epigraphy and Buddhist literature, must be traced
elsewhere.

We have to consider the general linguistic situation of India
in the time of the Buddhist expansion and of the development of
contacts and intercourses with foreigners of the mainland of Asia
and, through the seas, of West and East. Prakrits were
developing more and more differences from each other in the various
countries of the subcontinent. Pali and Ardhamagadhi had already
fixed forms, grammatically and literary. Prakrits were also
confronted with Dravidiar* languages. Tamilians, though fully
aware in their literary circles of the Sanskrit culture, not only
preserved their mother tongue but also fixed it in their own
grammar and literature. Some among them were Buddhists and
used Pali. One of them, around 400 A.D., Buddhadatta, born at
Uraiyur in the Cola country and living at Kaveripattinam, was^a
Pali author and one of the great commentatois of the Pali
Scriptures.

Facing such a diversity of languages, a common means of
expression became a need. In a period of intense activity O f
Buddhist propaganda and of expansion of what has been later
termed as Hindu religions, a link language was necessary. N one
was available except Sanskrit. Regional languages, either Indo-
Aryan or Dravidian, either colloquial or literary, were unfit to be
adopted everywhere. Sanskrit alone, even if it was the mother
tongue of a limited number of groups or families, and in spite of
its much sophisticated shape, was regularly taught everywhere in
traditional schools. Brahmins attached to Vedic lore and followers
of Vainavism, Saivism, etc. may have used in their respective
regions, Indo- Aryan or Dravidian, their regional tongues, but they
had only Sanskrit in common. The French Archaeological
Delegation in Afghanistan has just unearthed, in North Afghanistan
at Ai-Khanum, in an old Greek settlement, some coins of
Agathokles, belonging to the 2nd century B.C. and bearing an
Indian deity on each side, clearly Balarama Haluyudha and probably
Vasudeva, the legends of the coins being in Greek and Prakrit. This
Prakrit was evidently the ordinary language of the country. Never-
theless, the literature of All India, thanks to which we know these
deities, is primarily in classical Sanskrit or very lately in various
Indian languages, developed later and resting upon the Sanskrit
tradition. Only in Tamil, which often preserves side by side with
Sanskrit old data in its old literature, Halayudha is referred to
(Paripatal 1,5), but for Tamil scholars only. Really, Sanskrit was
the only link language from Afghanistan to Kanyakumart
between the Indian communities. So, the post- Vedic religions were
able to compose directly their Scriptures in Sanskrit.

But the case is different with the Buddhist teachings which
Jiave been first given in regional Prakrit languages and to everybody,
eVen to uneducated peoples. For the practical preaching to such
-peoples no link language was necessary. Monks were obliged, like
now in all the Buddhist countries, to use the ordinary local
language. But the Buddhist scholars for their own instruction and
foi discussions with pilgrims and visiting scholars belonging to
various countries needed a link language. Sanskrit again was the
-only available one. But the Holy Scriptures being in Prakrit and
the grammatical teaching of Sanskrit having been at first useless
for their study, as long as a regular Sanskrit teaching has not been
organized in the communities, the trend towards its use could not
immediately lead to proficiency. So the Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit
represented a step to the final passage from the regional or sectarian
Prakrits to the all Indian classical Sanskrit. There >yas not an

incomplete sanskritisation for gaming an unreachable prestige, but
a trend to adopt for the sake of wider communications the only
language common, if not to everybody, at least to every country
of India.

That was also convenient for foreigners. We know through
the testimony of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Yi-tsing in the 7th
century Sanskrit schools had been established abroad, as he learnt
Sanskrit at Palembang in Sumatra on the way from. China to India.
Instead of being obliged to learn many languages when travelling
in India, the foreigners had just to get some acquaintance with the
classical Sanskrit. Yi-tsing himself never got mastery in Sanskrit
and no doubt the Sanskrit of the foreigners and even of many
Indian people was not always correct and rich, but it was sufficient
for ordinary purposes and to undertake the reading of books. In
any case there was no alternative link language.

So Sanskrit has played in India and around India the same
r6le that Latin in old Europe or Persian for a time in India, and
above all, English today, played.

In Gandhara and in Central, Asia, in the region of Niya, in
the Kroraina kingdom, Prakrit languages have been used in the
first centuries of Saka or Christian eras. That was at the beginning
of the propagation of the Buddhism or of some elements of the
Indian culture. But, in the same period, Sanskrit manuscripts weie
also brought to Central Asia from India, or were written in Sans-
krit in Central Asia itself. Later, only Sanskrit texts appear to have
been preserved side by side with national texts in Central Asia, in
Tibet, in China, in Korea, in Japan. The propagation of the Indian
culture in those countries has been done mainly through Sanskrit
and through translations from Sanskrit as soon as the classical
Sanskrit became in India the actual link language. Only few texts
have been translated from Pali into Chinese or Tibetan. But the
great works composed in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit have been
included in the bulk of translated texts in Chinese and Tibetan
(and from Tibetan into Mongolian) because they were canonical
Scriptures.

Later minor works, chiefly songs in apabhramsa, have also
been included in the Tibetan translations of Buddhist texts. These
apabhrama texts, like the dohas of Kanha and Saraha, several
caryapadas and some stanzas quoted in Tantras like Cangamaharo-
$ava tantra are ordinarily considered as representing a form of old
Bengali But they have been composed by various authors of

Northern and Eastern India from Kashmir to Orissa and seem
rather to correspond to a stage of apabhramsa just prior to the
development of the modern languages of the North like Hindi and
Bengali.

In spite of the fact that in continental Asia the Indian influence
has been essentially a result of the Buddhist missionary spirit,
non-Buddhist Sanskrit texts, had also been introduced. We have
recovered from Central Asia several Ayurvedic texts, also a magical
fragmentary text, partly in Sanskrit, partly in Kuchean language,
written in the 7th or 8th century A. D. Some specific similarities
between practices of Chinese Taoism and Indian Yoga imply com-
munications which were independent from Buddhism. Moreover
pure Sanskrit literature has also been brought beyond the
mountains. There is a Tibetan translation of Panini included in
the Tanjur together with Chandoratnakara, Dandin's Kavyadarsa
Kalidasa's Meghaduta and many others.

Some inscriptions in Sanskrit have been found in Southern
China as well as in Tibet, Mongolia, etc. They are written in
Siddhamatfk a characters but they are not original compositions.
They are Buddhist formulas like those which are kept with the
same writing in the Chinese and Japanese translations of Buddhist
works, except in Tibet where they are written, in Tibetan characters.
But this Siddhamatrka writing coming from Northern India has
been widely propagated, chiefly in the 8th and 9th centuries,
throughout the Buddhist world upto Java (KLalasan inscription), and
even in countries where other writings of Indian origin were already
in use and even in Non-Buddhist inscriptions like those in Southern
India at Kancipuram (Kailasanatha temple) and in Cambodia
(digraphic inscriptions of Yaovarman).

Though the propagation of Sanskrit has been very large
throughout the continent of Asia, its influence and its adaptation
in South-East Asia has been much greater. There, it has not merely
been imported and translated : it has flourished.

More than one thousand Sanskrit inscriptions, often very
long and in kavya style, have been found in Campa, Cambodia and
Indonesia, from the 3rd till the 13th century. They give a clear
evidence of the high level of Indian culture in those countries. The
question comes immediately : by whom and for whom have such
inscriptions been composed.

First, we must observe they could not have been inscribed for
the sake of the ordinary peoples. They are mainly charters of dona-
tions and religious foundations beginning with elaborate invocations

V *~^

tfce gods and with prasastis of the kings. Even in India such a

kind of inscriptions cannot be expected to be read by everybody.

They cannot be understood but by literary men fully acquainted

with the Vyakarana and the Alamkdrasdstra. They are not composed

for general information but in order to sanction officially grants

and dedications and to create for the kings what Kalhana in his

R&jatarangini termed as a yasahsarira, i.e. a "body of glory". This

practice was quite famous in India not only according to the

Rajatarangirii\^ut also according to other traditions. The kings are

equalled to gods and even to major deities not only in the Sanskrit

tradition but also in the ancient Tamil Sangam literature. A

Pai?L4y atl king, for example, is described as ruling not only from

the Himalayas upto Kanyakumarl but also on the Goloka in the sky.

That means that the king was considered not in his limited capacity

of human ruler but also as a representative of the God lord of the

world. The inscriptions and even the texts written in praise of

the kings in Sanskrit literature also refer, not always to the real

situation, but to an idealized one. For example, according to the

literary tradition, Vidyanatha, the poet of Prataparudra of Warangal,

in the 13th century, at a time when his patron was taken as prisoner

by Muslims still celebrated him as a great monarch, saying he was

considering not what had happened but what should be the right

situation.

If inscriptions composed with such a purpose in kavya style
in Cambodia, Campa or Java did not have any direct influence on
the peoples of the countries, they were often completed by an asso-
ciate text in the regional language, giving a translation or at least
an idea of the contents of the Sanskrit text and supplying all the
particulars of the donation, giving, for exemple, precise lists of
furniture or servants ordered to be given to a temple.

These highly literary Sanskrit texts are precious testimonies
of the full assimilation and establishment of the Sanskrit culture in
South-East Asia and, as we shall see later, they have not been with-
out indirect influence on the ordinary peoples, even quite unedu-
cated. In any cases, they have been composed exclusively by

literary men.

According to Chinese sources concerning the first centuries
of Christian era, one Kauijxjinya had conquered a kingdom in
South-East Asia in the second century A.D. This is corroborated
by later Sanskrit inscriptions from Indochina. This Kaundinya
had been educated in Dhanurveda by Asvatthaman (or some teacher
bearing this name or claiming to belong ot the Dro^a- Asvatthaman

In aoy cases those having true Bi ah nuns, among ancestors have
piacttcaJly been termed as Brahmins especial!} if they kept the

than birth m any family,

It is atso well known that Siva and Buddha religions wilh
Sander* teats hive been picked till today m Bah Island where

the name for "religion", is Agamai it is so in Java and in the modern
Indonesian language. Unfortunately, in those countries if Sanskrit
manuscripts are preserved the> are no more used or even under-
stood. Sanskrit there is now a dead language. But there is a strong
evidence, during the long centuries of the use of literary Sanskrit
in the inscriptions, Sanskrit was not confined to literal y circles
and had echoes in the colloquial and ordinary languages. Other^
wise, we cannot explain how the popular languages of Campa, Cam-
bodia, Burma, Thailand, Laos. Malaysia and Indonesia have incorpo-
rated many Sanskrit words. We have just to refer to the great work
of Prof. J. Gonda on Sanskrit in Indonesia. Even in Madagascar, as
Mrs. Thierry has pointed out, Sanskrit words have been borrowed
probably through Java rather than directly, according to the
opinion of the late L.C. Damais. The large boirowing of Sanskrit
words does not imply Sanskrit was popular throughout these
countries. But it is evident that it was the only link language
of Indians from various parts of India, was used as the common
language of official documents in different countries of South-East
Asia ; aad as a real language of prestige in literature, it had a
strong impact on the local languages and cultures.

We may localise in time the duration of its influence ; it was
from the centuries of the beginning of Saka era (Saka era is the
most common era in the ancient inscriptions throughout the South
East-Asia) till the development of the Pali in the Indo-Chinese
peninsula aad the Muslim influence in Indonesia, from the 13th
and 14th centuries upwards. In India itself, we observe all along
this period, and also later, the formation of the modern Indian
languages.

Those Indian languages, either Indo- Aryan and deriving from
Ancient-Indian, through Middle-Indian, or even if theywere
Dravidian, have also included a lot of Sanskrit words. It is clear
that it is so because Sanskrit was a common link language iu India,
it was present and widely cultivated everywhere, although not used
or understood by everybody. Indo-Aryan vernaculars may well in
some cases, be considered as sanskritised apabhramsas , Kanna<Ja,
Telugu, Malayalam have also been much sanskritised in the same
period. Tamil too, but in its oldest texts corresponding to the
time of predominance of various Prakrits, it has borrowed much
from Prakrits. Its large sanskritisation begins in the time when
Hybrid Buddhist Sanskrit and epigraphy gave place to Classical
Sanskrit and it continued all along the centuries of lexical Sanskrit-

jsation of both the lido-Aryan languages of India and of the langu-
f South-East Asia,

Really Sanskrit has not been con toed throughout the history

lo a closed literary class, It has been raised by the Brahmanical

' . , l ; 1 - : " t "* ' A "" 1 Li * '* u i also been expanded to all

. . , st Asia and so has been the

luv ^"t""

uujiuin of the cultural unity of All India and of the Indian
cultural expansion outside India,

SANSKRIT ACROSS THE HIMALAYAS

NlRMAL C. SlNHA

Director, Tibet House, New Delhi.

It is a common place of Oriental studies that India has shared
the heritage of Sanskrit with other countries. On purely philological
considerations the ancient-most Sanskrit is the matrix of the
speeches of more than half of mankind through ancient and modem
times. On deeper pUlos iphical considerations Sanskrit is reputed
to have made profound impact on foreign mind, Mieccha or
Yavana. The response to Vedanta or Kalidasa of distant foreigner
from Plato and Plotinus to Schopenhauer and William Jones
has so much exercised the imagination of our scholars that
the role of Sanskrit in the cultural milieu of our neighbours is often
overlooked. Countries across the Himalayas happened to be most
important acquisitions of Sanskrit abroad and yet more than the
Trans-Himalayan highlands other lands interest Indian Sanskritists,
This is despite the fact that India produced two pioneers in
the field, namely, Sarat Chandra Das and Rahul Sankrityayana,
I have no claim to be a Sanskrit scholar. It is only as a student
of history, specializing in the survivals of Indian culture abroad,
that I venture to present the contribution of Tibet and Mongolia
to Sanskrit through the ages. The story of Indian Panditas and
their Bhota collaborators is an edifying chapter in the history of
Asia.

The history of Asia is a sort of triangular complex composed
of Iranic, Sanskritic and Sinic traditions. Much of Asian history
is the product of permutation and combination of the three. In
Northern Buddhist terms, history is a process of flux and there is
no set pattern in history except the Dharma; and strange are the
ways of the Dharma. The encounter between Sanskrit and other
traditions had thus no fixed norm in history. It is now well known

C 274 )

( 275 )

that in the confines of Indie sub-continent Sanskrit yielded, in
different ways, to Irano-Persian and Sino-Mongoloid encroach-
ments while in the highlands of Trans-Himalayas Sanskrit most
successfully encountered Jranic and Sinic traditions, both in ling-
uistic form and literary expression.

Yet the Sanskrit which accomplished this Digvijaya, from
Kashmir to Kokonor or from Bangala to Baikala, had no title to
high caste; this Sanskrit hardly conformed to the grammar or finesse
of what is called Vedic or Classical form. Buddha Sakyamuni is
known to have spoken the dialects of the diverse regions. In short
Buddha did not preach in "perfected and refined form" which
happened to be the . - . : ' - * ^ " * '- * -* the Ksatriya. So
Sanskrit, Vedic or ,:.-,,, ; < ' -. ' - : - "for the profit of
the many, for the bliss of the many and out of compassion For
the world". Yet Sanskrit and nothing but Sanskrit was found
worthy and capable of expessing or expounding the Perfected
Wisdom or Transcendental Learning. Thus the texts of Prajnapnra-
mita and the commentaries and dissertations of the saints and
fiura anu ^_ _ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^ ^ 980-1054) happened to

'.,,".. .. anical and Hindu scholars described as
bad or impure Sanskrit. Recently, some western scholars have

:

Buddhism outside India, particularly m Tibet and Mongolia.

II

r,

i n jjt,o ciaVvflmuni na-u vi*i"^ *~~ *

VaranasI, where Buddha baicyamu ^^ ^^ ^ withered away

In trans-Himalayan legend ^acr ^ dthe Master s b ody, speech
in Varfmas 7 Hrs<=r^ert in
and mind*' - - ; "?-*

( 276 )

Lhasa in welcoming Sanskrit was no doubt sheltering the language
of the Land of Enlightenment and Bod-skad (Tibetan) as the
medium of the Dharma became as sacred as Sanskrit. The layout
content and presentation of Tibetan canon and all later works
down to the last days of Lamaism have been such that a Nepali
Vajracarya proud of his country having been the refuge of Sanskrit
learning has no hesitation to describe Bod-skad (Tibetan) as Lhasa
Sanskrit. By the label Lhasa Sanskrit a Nepali Buddhist would not
merely imply that the Tibetan script is derived from Sanskrit source
but also acclaim that Tibetan literature preserves the treasures of
Sanskrit literature. Much of the original are lost to the world today
while most of the remnants in Sanskrit the world owes to the care
and zeal of Nepali scholars during the centuries when Sanskrit
learning in the Land of Enlightenment was in shade. Western
sholarship would testify further that the monastic universities in
Tibet and Mongolia not merely preserved the treasures of Sanskrit
but also developed the Sanskrit traditions in their seats. Thus
Logic and Metaphysics, Medicine and Chemistry from India
flourished in Sakya, Tashilhunpo, Drepung, Derge, Kumbum and
Urga.

Why the legendary author of Tibetan alphabet, Thomi
Sambhota, did not seek inspiration for a script from the great
neighbouring country in the east, has puzzled many Sinologists
today. As the medium of expression in the Celestial Empire, the
Chinese script had a sanctity of its own. Mastery of the ideograph
was a hall-rnark of academic and bureaucratic power inside the
Middle Kingdom while beyond the outermost frontiers of the Middle
Kingdom the ideograph was a symbol of culture. A barbarian
speaking the Celestial language was a lesser barbarian and if a
barbarian could read and write the script his access to power and
privilege in the Celestical court was ensured. Besides dissemination
of Chinese language and Chinese script beyond the Han frontiers
was a fundamental principle of imperial statecraft throughout
history. Thus the Manchu, the Mongol and even |he Turki
(Uighur) had to accept Chinese language and script for varying
periods to varying degrees and the vertical form was adopted in
1 ! An American Sinologist has there-

at v^uiiucu iae nueian escape from Chinese language and script
as an inexplicable phenomenon. The truth of the matter is that
the Tibetan speech is not as near the Han as many Sinologists
presume. If the term Mongofoid is used in a wide sense both
Tibetan and Chinese languages are Mongoloid languages. Tibetan
is also a tonal speech like Chinese but Tibetan is not so predomi-
nantly monosyllabic as Chinese. Even if there are affinities, as

( 277 )

presumed by some Sinologists, an ideograph established in one
language is not necessarily adequate for the imagery and idiom of
another. While linguistics and morphology conceal the secrets of
failure of Chinese ideograph in Tibet, Tibetans have their own
explanation for the success of Sanskrit Aksara. Sixteen years ago
in Tashilhunpo and Drepung I made enquiries as to why the
pjctograph was found unsuitable for tran-cr:rt!vMi o r Tibetan speech
and how did Thomi Sambhota ;rui hu colleagues adjudicate the
claims of different Indo-Iranian and Mediterranean scripts. I had
in mind that the Brahml script was possibly an import from the
west of Saptasindhu and that in the first half of the seventh century
Kharosthi and several other scripts were prevalent in the regions
west and northwest of Tibet. The answer of the Tibetan scholars
was, however, as simple as the Tibetan mind. I was told that
there was no need to adjudicate the merits of different phonetic
scripts kaown to Thomi and his friends. The need for a script had
arisen out of the need for translating Buddhist texts in Tibetan
language. It was thus "a good act" or "a natural process", inter-
dependent on the other processes ofDharma as in Pratityasamutp&da.
.'.-.'" * - - * - ~ . < . . from where

i , - .".-, .''.'< . . th the Svara

Vyanjana of Sanskrit or the horizontal Rupa from left to right.
The Tibetan book, though made of paper, did not follow the format
of Chinese scroll but adopted the palm-leaf format of India. An
honorific designation for a Tibetan loose-leaf book is Poti derived
from Sanskrit Punthi/Pustika* Indie or Sanskritic sentiments for
books and learning have influenced Tibetan mind ever since.

To start with, the invention of alphabet was treated as a
divine gift as in Sanskrit tradition; Brahml was reputed to have
come from the mouth of BrahmS. It is not certain whether Thomi
Sambhota, the formulator of Tibetan alphabet, devised his set of
thirty letters from the archaic Nagarl (Ranjana/Lantsha) or from
Kashmiri (SaradS) characters. What is certain and indisputable,
both among Tibetan believers and modern scholars, is that the
Tibetan alphabet was of Brahmi origin. It is curious that while
the words Brahmi and NSgarl were obsolete in many Indian
vernaculars by the beginning of the nineteenth century, these words
were current among the Lamas and other learned people all over
the Tibetan-speaking world, A Sanskrit-Tibetan Thesaurus of 1771
from Kham enters the word BrShmi with its Tibetan equivalent as
the first item under the head "speech". This was undoubtedly
following the ancient Sanskrit tradition. For instance, the .Lalita-
vistaralist of sixty-four kinds of writting begins with Brahmi. it is
relevant to point out that in India the term Brahm! was a re-

( 278 )

discovery towards the middle of the nineteenth century, thanks to
archaeologists and epigraphists. In Tibet terms like Aksara, abda t
Vak or Varya came to be sanctified exactly as jn India and each
term was most meticulously translated to convey the different
meaning under different contexts. The veneration for Ak$ara as
in traditional India was fully reflected in Tibet in handling of books
as if they were icons. I was surprised to notice such usage m Tibet
in 1955-56. A Tibetan book, even if it be on a mundane matter,
cannot be left on the floor or cast away like an old pair of shoes.
The Imperishable Object., as the Sacred Letter or Aksara* is the
heart of the matter. Much later in Sikkim I had another experience.
A sign board warning the visitors to take off their shoes while
entering the temple was fixed right on the floor. The sign-board
was intended mainly for the foreigners and the trilingual inscription :
Tibetan, Hindi & English, was my responsibility. On protest
against the written word being on the floor I had proposed that
the Tibetan inscription could be erased and the signboard left as
it was. An ordinary man, who was not a monk or priest, protes-
ted +*r* TS T -~ - v t V : -~ *V itrix was more sacred than even
the s, - . be raised a few inches from the

floor but still today no Tibetan or Sikkimese would keep his shoes
near that trilingual inscription. The Tibetan veneration for Nagarl
as the kin of Brahmi should be an enlightenment to several Indian
scholars who, having read Sanskrit in the Western seats of Occi-
dental learning, champion transcription of Sanskrit works in Roman
and would discard Nagari as internationally less honourable than
Roman. I am not a linguist nor by any means am good in reading
scripts obsolete in our country today. But for me the most impor-
tant evidence of Indian culture in Sikkim, Tibet and even the
Baikal has been the most ubiquitous presence of the Six Mvstic
Syllables OM - MA - NI - PAD , ME . HUM on rocks and boulders
*Hfru and temples, pray-wheels and altars; and 1 had not the least
doubt on my first sight of Six Mystic Syllables that the Tibetan
Akjcara was a Rapa of Sanskrit Akfara ^oeian

Sarasvatiin RgVeda and later literature needs no presentation^

Ezrre ^-j?irt sf^lFH

Br^an.., o, H tad , dclty ^ ta ,,,,' J^,, *

( 279 )

Mahayana pantheon and therefore in Northern Buddhist countries
like Tibet and Mongolia. While other Hindu deities like Brahma,
Indra or Ganesa were incorporated into Mahayana pantheon
simply as accessory deities aiding and serving Buddha Sakyamuni
or other Buddhas and while even some Hindu deities were depicted
under the feet of a Buddha or held in utmost ridicule, Saras vatl was
admitted as a goddess on her own right. The Mahayana veneration
for Sarasvati progressed across the Himalayas, and as Yang-chen
in Tibet and Mongolia, Sarasvati is the deity for scholars and
laymen alike irrespective of any sectarian considerations. The Tibetan
literature from Thomi Sambhota down to the twentieth century
abounds with utterances and remarks about the significance and
sanctity of Sabda Brahman.

Ill

The translation of the Buddhist canon from Sanskrit into
Tibetan has been universally admitted as the most scientific and
yet lucid ever before the present day UNESCO programme. The
national endeavour in Bod-yul (Tibet) running through four centu-
ries may be best described in esoteric diction as the union of PrajfiS
(Wisdom) of India and Updyakausala (Ingenuity) of Tibet. Infinite
wealth and refinement of Sanskrit had to come to terms with the
originality and independence of Tibetan. Western scholars who
have mastered Iranic, Sanskritic and Sinic languages have not
discovered any affinities between Tibetan and any of these groups.
Basil Gould and Hugh Richardson speaking, reading and writing
Tibetan almost like the Bod-pa (Tibetan) wrote in 1943 that
"Tibetan is widely separated in vocabulary, grammar and mode of
thought from any language with which the learner i s expected to be
familiar", r^rlljr ; !c:^\ icJ UL^UM of languages, Denison Ross,
had admitte-.i isc *: m, ils.'.ig:-. ^ fo 1 : that his mastery of Russian
was complementary to his mastery of Tibetan and vice versa.
Knowledge of Sanskrit, which Denison Ross and Hugh Richardson
had acquired before beginning Tibetan, did not determine the
proficiency of such eminent Tibetologists.

To obtain the exact meaning of Sanskrit words and phrases
Thomi Sambhota and his successors had first resorted to a servile
imitation of Sanskrit layout and style and ignored the claims of
Tibetan syntax. This resulted in monstrous compositions which
misrepresented the potentialities of Sanskrit and denied the genius
of Tibetan language. These translations were later on considerably
revised or altogether replaced; a few servive in the manuscripts
discovered from the Caves of Thousand Buddhas and other sites

( 280 )

in the north and north-webl of Tibet. Tn the later or revised
translations imagery and idiom of Sanskrit underwent welcome
Tibetanization along with honourable acceptance of native idiom
imagery.

No effort was spared to probe into the etymology of a Sabda
or to unravel the aphorisms of Vynkarana. Panini and later
Sarasvata Vynkarana were studied with the same zeal as in the fols
in India. Thus while each word of the original was rendered into
its exact appropriate in Tibetan, the Tibetan syntax was complied
with. For every translation there would be one (or two) Indian
scholar knowing Tibetan and one (or two) Tibetan scholar knowing
Sanskrit. For support to translators, compilation of grammars and
lexicons was slso taken in hand. For widely used or commonplace
terms like Buddha, Dharma or Sangha uniform sets of equivalents
were fixed by a central council of translators. The result of the
translations from the time of Tliomi (c. 650) till the propagation
by Atisa(c. 1050) were later incorporated into two encyclopaedic
ca'lecrior.a. cai'.cd Kanfur ^and Tanjur. Kanjur stands for Buddh-
aiccana and "Janjur lor Sdsira. Thus Abhidharma, Prajftnparamitn
and Vlnaya, the treatises of Nagarjuna, Asanga and Dinnaga or the
\i:ov. Mi 1 '.";!*" 1 .. i:r:* f^r T** 1 ." "R?-.' are all enshrined in these
C.M..J: * i". " ! 1 .. :.'. ! > .! = - ' - : idiomatic translation many
of the Buddhist Sanskrit works would have been lost forever. I need
not recite the great Mahayana works recovered by Brian Hodgson
and Rahula Sankrityayana or refer to the Gilgit Manuscripts
read by Nalinaksha Dutt. I would however remind that
Nagarjuna's Suhfllekha or Dinnaga's Pramanasamuccaya are yet to
be discovered.

Through such scientific translations and regular exchanges
with Nepali and Indian scholars, imagery and idiom of Sanskrit
became a part and parcel of Tibetan literature and later, when
Mongols embraced the Dharma, of Mongol literature. This impact
is noticed most in the art of dialectics, science of poetics, and
historiography. Buddhist logic with Indian art of polemics and
Indian logician's mannerisms flourished in refuge in Sakya, Drepung
and Urga. For nodels of rhetoric and prosody, men of letters in
T:VC! p-i:1 \ f ,v"l' invariably referred back to Kavyadarfa and
si:i: : : ^ V:* 'r\ n I'll::. Dialectics or poetics were, however, not
much developed in Tibet before the advent of Dharma; therefore
such Indie elements in Tibetan literaiure were more in the nature of
innovations than revolutions. For a true revolution in Tibetan
literature one has to notice the historiographica! writings in Tibet.
In the beginning, that is, before Sanskrit made its impact, the annals
and chronicles of Tibet were inspired by the Chinese tradition of

( 281 )

Shin-chi (the Record of the Scnb = the Record of a Historian). The
Chinese method of record-keeping meant a meticulous -regard for
events and their dates. The Indian tradition of historical writings,
as will be accepted by this distinguished grathering of Sanskritists*
was indifferent to mundane happenings and their chronological
sequence. TU ? r* nj-n-- , ,. wa& evcntually

the victory : -.,,.,_ Men of letters>

including historical scholars, submitted to the Indian school of
history. The Tibetan nomenclature for records, Yig-tshang, yielded
to a new form Chon-jung (Chos-hbyung) or the Growth of Religion.
As the new nomenclature suggests the content of chronicles, that is
the subject-matter of history was now the Dharma, its origin in
India and its growth in the Trans-Himalayas. The Dharma was
eternal and everything else was transitory; therefore the story of
Dharma was history par- excellence. The ideal history was no longer
the Records (Yig-tshang) or the Line of Kings (Rgyal-rabs) but the
Dharmakahini (Chos-hbyung). The lives and thoughts of the saints
and scholars, the doctrinal debates and the construction of temples
and monasteries were now the stuff for the historiographer. Even
then a strong sense for historical sequence and a high regard for
firm chronology continued to characterize the chronicles of Tibet.
It cannot be denied that Tibetan historical writings contained much
useful data for history of the neighbouring countries. Taranatha's
'History of Buddhism' abounds with legends and myths but provides
some unimpeachable evidence where Indian literary sources are
silent.

A measure of Sanskrit impact on Tibetan and Mongol
languages is provided by the wide currency of loan-words from
Sanskrit. While a most fuithful and yet perfect translation of the
entire corpus of Sanskrit vocabulary was achieved and even many
proper names like ASoka and VaiSali were rendered into Tibetan,
for academic as well as sentimental grounds the Sanskrit forms of
certain words were preferred. Thus while Buddha, Dharma and
Sangha or Veda and Vijnnna were always expressed in Tibetan
forms, terms like Guru and, Muni or Sakyamuni and Panini have
been used in the original form down to our times. Not that
good Tibetan equivalents could not be coined but that such
coinage could not satisfactorily convey the full context of the
term. It will be interesting to give a few examples of Sanskrit
loan-words : Om, Mani, Padma, VSranasI, NalandS, Taksagila.
Some Sanskrit words underwent sea-change in spelling and pronun-
ciation. Five such loan-words common to Tibetan and Mongol
would be - Arya, Dharma Pa?(Jita, Ratna, Vajra. In Mongol there

( 282 )

was a greater zeal to have as many Sanskrit words as possible f or
the Mongol translators rightly found that in the relay of Dharma
from Sanskrit to Mongol via Tibetan the original context would be
more obscure. A thirteenth century Mongol version of Lalitavistara
is conspicuously punctuated with Sanskrit words. I cull here some
as per transcription of Professor Nicholas Poppe with regular
Sanskrit form in brackets. Duvaja (Dhvaja), Laksa (Laksmaija)
Bodi (Bodhi), Dibangkara (Dlparp kara), Hrdini (Ratna), Arsi (^
Diyan (Dhyana), Esrua (ISvara), Kadali (Kackili), Tusid (Tu$ita)',
Manggal (Mangala), Sarati (Sarathi), Vmai (Vinaya), YaSodari
(YaSodhara), Sidi (Siddhi), Darm-zicari (Dharmacan), Kumuda
(Kumuda), Vcir 0* ; :,- : .\ \:..,..:.; -V .- --.-, ."./, . ,. : _.. ; .
Sarvaartasidi (San:!:;" -:*;. : . ..%".* % ." ,.- -. ,' . . - v .:: . ".- .
(Us.lsa), Arata Kalmi (Arada Kalama), Badir (.Patra), Badmi
(Padma), Samadi (Samadhi), Maqamayi (Mahamuya), Siramani
(rama^a), Vayiduri (Vaidurya), Gunamati (Gunamaii), Ratnagarci
(Ratnagarbha), Ridi (Rddhi). It is not necessary to extend the list
of Sanskrit words in the Trans-Himalayas. I need however record
my most pleasant experience in the Baikals regions to hear the
Burial Mongols uttering the words like Adisa (Atisa), Bandita
(Pan4ita) and Erteni (Ratna) without any efforts in their prayers in
Mongol and their talks in Russian.

If I tell a LSma (Mongol or Tibetan) that modern researches
have proved that there are substantial non-Aryan elements ia
Sanskrit vocabulary and that such words as Candana, Da^wja,
Paijijita and Bilva are pobably of Dravidian stock the Lama would
retort that whatever is Sanskrit is Arya. If I argue further I may
offend the Trans-Himalayan believer be he a monk or a layman,
a scholar or a muleteer. I had on several occasions told Lama$
that in modern Indian opinion Buddha Sakyamuni would be traced
to Tibeto-Mongoloid stock and not Indo-Aryan. Far from pleasing
the Lamas my statement was a sort of blasphemy which pained them
considerably. To a Northern Buddhist all moral and spiritual
values are from AryabhQmi (Phags-yul in Tibetan) and Buddha

[ Acknowledgement : My own on-the-spot observations as
well as the works of pioneers in the study of Trans-Himalayas
provide data for this paper* All necessary references will be found
in V. Bhattacharya : Bholaprakasa (Calcutta 1939); N. Dutt : Gflgtt
Manuscripts I (Srinagar 1939); N.Dutt (ed) : Prajna (Gangtok 1961);
and F. W. Thomas : "Brahmi Script in Central Asian Sanskrit
Manuscripts" in Asiatica festschrift Friedrich Welter (Leipzig 1954).

( 283 )

In a, recent paper entitled "Study of Sanskrit Grammar in Tibet"
Mb ofTibetokgy, Vol. VII No. 2) B. Ghosh nanates the
history of Sanskrit grammar in Tibet down to the nineteenth
cen tury. Regarding Tibetan (and Mongol) sentiments on Buddha's
nationality vide N. C. Sinha : Greater Mia ; Fact, Fiction & Fetish

D**vi v *

r, 1971) and "Indie elements in Tibetan culture" in jKon
Vol. 49, No. 1. For an authoritative statement of
Tibetan sentiments about Tibet's indebtedness to Sanskrit vide the
palai Lama's address to the Buddha Jayanti Symposium on
November 29, 1956, in Shakabpa ; Tibet (New Haven 1967),
Appendix.]

SANSKRIT AND THE 1NDO-T1BETAN LANGUAGES

DR. K. K. Roy

Calcutta

The Indo-Tibetan people occupy territory to the north-east of
India and south of Tibet, which is politically known as Bhutan,
Sikkim and parts of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Through the
ages it has evolved its own pattern of existence. Sparse population,
rugged terrain and poor communications have been the lot of these
nv.v">*r ,';,' 1" j :""" ? ".^r- u r< v ~n to first exist in this part of the
vv/M. ".i 1 ; I 1 .*-, -" the Lcpchas, or as they prefer to
call themselves fhe "Rong-pa", the Bhutius, the Tsongs, the
1 .11 -I . p-. 'V ? f r -=! s *!-? Kv~*epas, the Khengs, the Wangs
: ,; iv , sj\_; ' -i ,-: s ;.':: ,v. > . \. all over the region including
the Mirasaktens who are closely related to the Monpas of the
Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh. No single or common linguis-
tic or ethnological basis can be made in the case of these people;
suffice it to say that their languages are all derived from the
Tibeto-Sanskrit group and that most of these tribes, if not all, are
Buddhists or Lamaists which is a form of Mahayana Buddhism.

Prior to the advent of Buddhism in this region, the people had
taken to a form of nature worship, variously referred toasPon
(also spelt Bon) or Shamanism. It was a curious mixture of
witchcraft and sorcery with the worship of spirits and ghosts. In
or about 640 A.D. Songtsen Gampo was ruling Tibet. This King
had a Nepalese queen who was locally regarded as an incarnation
of the Buddhist saviouress, Tara, the goddess of Knowledge. This
made the Tibetan ruler deeply interested in Buddhism and in order
to fulfil his Queen's wishes, he sent one of his trusted ministers,
Thonmi Sambhata, as an envoy to India to know more about
Buddhism and bring all holy scriptures to Tibet. Thonmi Sambhata
duly came to India in the same year and seriously applied himself
to the study of Sanskrit which in turn led him to the study of
Buddhist religious scriptures. In all he was in India for seven years

( 284 )

during which he visited ail the principal places of Buddhist interest
&ich made a deep and a lasting impression on him.

When Thonmi Sambhata went back to Tibet by way of

.adakh, he was asked by King Songtsen Gampo to make an

jlphabet of the Tibetan language since prior to this period, Tibet

aad no written language. My findings show that the Tibetan

alphabet as devised by Thonmi Sambhata is completely and

thoroughly based on Sanskrit alphabet, as was then written in

Kashmir. This alphabet has undoubtedly undergone some changes

jn later period, but it can still be deciphered by those knowing the

Sanskrit alphabet as was then being written in Kashmir. The

Tibetan language was thus only reduced to writing in the seventh

century and its entire alphabet was based on Sanskrit alphabet.

True enough, Tibetan words were derived from a variety of

languages such as the Shina languages of the Dardic sub-family,

the Bodhi language of the Buddhist Ladakh, Chinese and Burmese

VJ.. ;:- JV :^:-^ -,--? T; ::,-.' V : .y i. .- . , :- : .- ,. -phabet

*.::: :.-'.... -; S; - . ' ! ...,.;,:;. * - w , , ../,, , .'words

in the Tibetan language which are derived from Sanskrit. It is

small wonder because at that time Sanskrit as a vehicle of Buddhism

had gone right up and into Chinese Turkestan in Central Asia.

About the year A.D. 742 when Buddhism was fast declining
in India, Guru Padma Sambhava, the Lotus-Born and also subse-
quently known as Guru Rimpoche brought Buddhism to what is
known as the Indo-Tibetan region* This was almost a hundred
years after Thonmi Sambhata came back with holy Buddhist
scriptures in Sanskrit to Tibet, Padma Sambhava was a teacher of
mysticism at the Nalanda University and was well versed in
Tantricism, an amalgam of Buddhism with primitive belief and
nature worship then current in certain parts of Indki and Nepal,
He travelled on foot all <r , TT ' <=" " * " ' r A . : , ' '
Pradesh for nearly five ye , , , w - " k _

disputing with local chieftains and high priests of Shamanism,
composing soul-stirring hymns to Buddha in local dialects, training
several local disciples and establishing mani-lakhangs that even
to-day remain active and alive. He set in motion all over the Indo-
Tibetan region a tidal wave of spirituality, which even after the
passage of more than 1200 years is on i'- ,v JT;- : "f; -n.irr 1 *. His
another abiding contribution is that he ;*r *. vj-.i :,i:*i -'. :il Indo-
Tibetan tribal languages with such a rich wealth of Sanskrit words
that even a casual probe in these dialects is enough to convince
c , " *..- " . x * * A -- J ^ on these languages at that time,
j BI -..(,..< , ; said to have vanquished all the

( 286 )

demons of the Shamanistic school of thought and through conver
sion established the first community of the lamas in 747. A.D.

During this sojourn in these regions, the Guru's fame as a
mystic and a teacher spread naturally into Tibet also. He was soon
sought after by the then Tibetan King, Thiarong Detsan, \vho had
inherited from his forbears a strong leaning towards Buddhism
Thisrong Detsan was the son of a Chinese Princess and was known
to be more interested in the Chinese style of Buddhism rather than
Indian. When Guru Rimpoche reached the Tibetan capital, he was
pleasantly surprised to find another notable Indian scholar of th
times. He was none other than Santaraksita with his disciple
Kamalastla. All these three Indian Buddhist teachers gradually won
over King Thisrong Detsan to the Indian merit of Buddhism
Systematic translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit to
Tibetan were undertaken by these three Buddhist scholars and their
growing number of disciples. Teachers to teach Buddhism were
imported from India and the first monastery was established by Guru
Rimpoche in 747 A.D at Samye in Tibet. This monastery still
stands and is built on the style of Indian viharas. Buddhism, as
then established by Guru Rimpoche in Tibet and in the Indo-Tibetan
region is a superb mixture of MahaySna Buddhism with local mytho-
logy, mysticism and magic. The relics of Pon as well as Tantric
practices in regard to Prannya?na 9 Asanas and Mantras were essential
ingredients. These are clearly Sanskrit terms describing certain
postures and positions for meditation, recitation and incantation of
prayers 01 sacred texts.

On his return from Tibet to Bhutan and Sikkim in A.D 750.
Guru Rimpoche set about translating sacred Buddhist texts from
Sanskrit in the local Indo-Tibetan tribal languages. The translations
had to be oral and teaching was only from word of mouth because
none of the Indo-Tibetans had any written language at the time. They
only used to speak different kinds of patois which can be said to he
a mixture of Tibetan and Sanskrit with no clear line of demarcation.
As I have tried to show, the Tibetan alphabet itself was then only a

'' ' ; ' ' in no way be compared to

-Sanskrit which was far more advanced. Guru Rimpoche and his
disciples were more tuned to Sanskrit than to Tibetan which is
probably the only reason for his attempt to enlarge the Indo-Tibetan
languages with Sanskrit words and phrases. This period according
to Fr. Cacella, a Jesuit traveller in 1627, was the height ofproto-
historic contacts between Sanskrit and Tibetan in these regions. Fr.
further traces the earliest stages of Indo-Tibetan language

and has shown a morphology consisting of prefixes and suffixes. By
the time the written form of these languages became fixed around
the seventeenth century, the prefixes and suffixes of Sanskrit origin
were tending to disappear and were replaced by Sanskrit features of
tone accompanied by simpler forms with complex consonant clusters.
This development was uneven in various dialects; in some the
clusters tended to remain; in others the tonal system developed.
The evolution of the script of this group of languages is a matter of
greater controversy in as much as a definite history of these lang-
uages is still in the making.

During the period, seventh to seventeenth century, it is without
doubt that Sanskrit developed as a larguage of administration in
this region. The records of the reign of two famous Kings of the
era, Khikharathoid, the ruler of Khempajonj in Kurtoi and
Naguchhi, King of Sindhu, both of whom flourished duiing the late
eighth and early ninth century in these parts bear testimony to this
fact. Even upto the time of Phuntshog Namgyal in A.D. 1642
administrative records were in Sanskrit, though Fr. Cacella does
record the fact that signs of Sanskrit having undergone some
linguistic mutation were visible then.

Another evidence of the impact of Sanskrit in this region can
be seen by the fiist Sanskritized Buddhist scriptures inscribed at
Takphu, literally a rock-cave (associated with Guru Rirapoche).
Tongsa, Punakha, Taksang Dzong and numerous mani-lakkangs
which are even to-day to be found in several villages in Bhutan,
Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. These mani-lakhangs are somewhat
akin to the present-day gompas and they minister to the religious
needs of the local villagers. Each of these inscriptions contains
correct ^vV^.s -V. : * "T-, J = md most of these words have found
their w,-y : i . ::i ' j "I v:* :' dialects either in their original or
varied forms.

The traditional arts and crafts as also architecture of the
people of these parts, especially in the construction of dzongs, fort
monasteries and residential buildings clearly reflect early Indian
influence when Sanskrit was widely prevalent in use all over the sub-
continent. This has been interpreted by historians as a continuation
of medieval Buddhist art and language of the Pala Kings who ruled
a part of North India from 750 to 1150 A.D. An examination of
the later period shows that Tibetan and Chinese influence over tradi-
tional arts and crafts was predominant.

It is thus clear that Sanskrit, both in its pure and hybridised
form, has through the centuries freely given of its own rich heritage

.

01

11 T ( . 4 - T*1 , ^ . - 1 .-.,.,. j.1. ^ . I . ' f

' : reducing theflo w

.

01 '' ' v "'' ' ' ' ' '-'- is a later deveU
ment around the end of the seventeenth century. Sanskrit is ' \
held to be the repository of all essential knowledge in these / '
where even nr-^rr^t T-.-:*:-';^ are being discovered 68 ?
multiplicity o'.--. ' i 1 -.-..:. a: .... ::,., are really local or dialJ-S
variants of a few prominent dynamic and hard core languages k
as Dzongkha, but the common features in the local scrints
extensively Sanskrit-based that we can, with a few exceptio
quite easily from one language to another. Most Indo i?'
languages lack literary and scientific vocabulary It is her nT
Sanskrit can once again play its role of a mother language Aft
its revival in India, as is being done now, it can with local scnW
Indo-Tibetan tongues, continue its role of give and take ah J
elements of value and beauty in the local language and literature
as to readily equip these languases for their proper role for A
future upliftment of the people of this region.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. TV P " - .

-. Account of an Embassy to the Court of the Teshu Lam
Tibet by Capt. Samuel Turner (1800).

3. Ancient Geography by Cunningham.

4. History of India by M. Elphinstone (Cowell's Notes)

5. Report on Bhutan by R.T). TV.,\.,; O ,-* ; ;,, '"

6. Indo- Aryans by %.*&..: ..',.i M'.-i.^j!^." 1 ''

7. 5X2^i and Bhutan by J. Claude White 0909)

8. The Religion of Tibet by Sir Charles Bell (1931)

AN OLD TIBETAN VERSION OF THE

J. W. DE JONG,

National University of Australia,
Canberra.

In 1929 F.W. Thomas announced the discovery of a Tibetan
version of the Ramayana story among the manuscripts brought back
from Tun-huang by Sir Aurei Stein in the beginning of this
century. 1 A few years later Marcelle Lalou described two other
manuscripts, which also contain fragments of the story of Rama
and Slta. a In his article Thomas gave a summary of three of his
manuscripts and translated most of the verses. One of the Paris
manuscripts has been edited and translated by J. K. Balbir in 1963. 3
In a volume, published last year in memory of Marcelle Lalou, f
have contributed an edition and translation of the second of the
Paris manuscripts. 4 In view of the importance of this Tibetan
version, a complete edition and translation of all six manuscripts is
highly desirable. For some time I have been working on this project
which will comprise an introduction, an edition of the six fragments,
a translation, notes and a glossary. It is not an easy task to
translate these fragments which are written in pre-classical Tibetan.
Especially the verses are often difficult to understand. However,
the greater part of the texts can be translated without too many
difficulties. I hope that even a provisional translation will be of
interest to scholars, concerned with the history of the RamSyana-
recensions.

None of the six manuscripts contains a date. Some of the
manuscripts, found in Tun-huang, have been brought there from
central Tibet, but probably most of them have been written by local
scribes. Many Tibetan texts are written on the verso of Chinese
manuscripts. These texts must have been written in Tun-huang
during the Tibetan occupation which lasted from 787 (according to
Demieville 5 ) or 782 (according to Fujieda') to 848. Two of the
Tibetan texts in the India Office (MSS A and D) are written on the

( 289 )

( 290 )

verso of Chinese texts. It is therefore not too rash to assume that,
probably, all six manuscripts, which are closely related to each
other, were written during the Tibetan occupation of Tun-huang.
The story of Rama and SIta was known also in Central Tibet. The
famous Sanskrit- Tibetan terminological dictionary, the Mahavyut-
patti, which was compiled in the beginning of the ninth century 7
contains an entry : Sitaharanarn, lib. rol-med phrogs-pa (no. 7629).
SitSharanam probably is the title of a work known to the compilers
of the Mahavyutpatti. Sarat Chandra Das refers for this work to
the biography of Atisa, the famous Indian scholar who arrived in
Western Tibet in 1042 and died near Lhasa in 1054. 8 According to
Das the full title is : "The story of the ravishment of SIta and of
the killing of the yaksa A-a-pa" (rol rned-ma phrogs-pa dan gnod-
sbyin a-sa-pa bsad-pd'i gtam-rgyud). The word which 1 translate
as "story** (gtam-rgyudy is used to render Sanskrit dkhyana (cf.
Mahavyutpatti no. 7128). The Tibetan version of the Ramayana,
found in the Tun-huang manuscripts, is written in prose, inters-
persed with verses. Perhaps the "Story of the ravishment of SIta
and of the killing of the yaksa A-sa-pa" was also written in this
style. However, this story is not identical with the one found
in Tun-huang. The Tun-huang version does not mention a
yaksa A-sa-pa. One of the six manuscripts contains a title of
which only the words king Ramana (rgyal-po Ra-ma-na) have been
preserved. Jn any case, there is no doubt that versions of the
Ramayana story were known about 800 A.D. both in Central Tibet
and m the North-East. In the Mahavyutpatti STta is rendered in
Tibetan by Rol-rned-ma 'Found in the furrow 1 . This has not been
noticed by Das who reconstructs the Sanskrit name as Lllavatl. In
the Tun-huang version of the Ramayana it is told that SIta was
enclosed in a copper vessel and committed to the waters. She was
found by an Indian peasant, while he was channelling water in a
furrow of his field. For this reason he gave her the name
Rol-rned-ma. It is clear from this story that Rol-rned-ma renders
Sanskrit SIta. Nevertheless, Thomas, probably misguided by Das,
indicates as Sanskrit name Lllavatl. 9 This error has been perpe^
tuated in later publications dealing with the Tibetan Ramayana
There can be no doubt that the author of the Tibetan version knew
the meaning of the word Sita. In this version Sanskrit names are
sometimes transcribed, sometimes translated. When king
DaSaratha is first mentioned, the author adds a Tibetan translation
Ten chariots" (tifi-rta bcu-pd). These examples show clearly that

this Tibetan version must be closely related to an unknown Indian
original.

All six manuscripts are incomplete. However, by piecing the
fragments together it is possible to reconstruct an almost complete

( 291 )

text. Thomas has designated the four manuscripts in the India
Office Libzary with the letters A, B, C and D Marcelle L^ou
has accordingly given the letters E and F to the two Paris
manuscripts.*- Manuscript A contains 440 lines, manuscript E 276
lines and the four others between 41 and 99 lines. Thomas already
indicated that manuscript D is probably an earlier part of
manuscript A. Closer examination of these two manuscripts and a
comparison with the other manuscripts shows that D contains a
part of the story immediately preceding that given in A. The first
few lines of D are missing. The complete manuscript must have
contained almost 500 lines of which 491 have been preserved. Two
other manuscripts C and F are closely related to manuscript A.
The four manuscripts A, D, C and F thus represent one recension :
recension I. The other two manuscripts B and E are almost
identical, the main difference between the two consisting in the fact
that the text of B has been expanded by a few additions between
the lines. This recension, which I call recension II, is more concise
than version I, as appears already from the fact that the 276 lines
of E correspond to about 340 lines of the manuscripts D and A.
However, recension II contains one episode which is missing from
recension I.

Before discussing a few points of the Tun-huang RImayana
story it is necessary to give a summary. In this summary, which is
divided into 46 sections, the main differences between the two
versions have been indicated. Variant forms of the names which
occur in the manuscripts have been added in parentheses.

SUMMARY of An old Tibetan Version of the Ramayava.
/. Description of the country of Lankapura, situated on an

island in the ocean. Dl-9, E 2-7, B 1-5.

//. The king of the demons, YagSakoric (Yagsakore), reigns over
the three worlds and cannot be overcome by gods or men.
The gods decide to ask Visravas and Sridevi to bear a son
who will be capable of defeating him. D 9-16, E 8-16, B 6-14.
///. The gods address their request to Visravas and Srldevl. By
means of a smile a son is born. He kills all demons but
spares the infant Main: -.--'. - -,*-'- lpan ta,

Malyapa'da), the son of' ' : ' -. t 15-21.

/K. A brahman, Ratana, tells Malhyapanta about the killing of
the demons. In order to seek revenge he devotes himself to
the service of a divine rsi; Svapasina (Bisurasena), the son of
p 24-33, E 23-32, B 21-30,

( 292 )

V Malhyapanta offers his daughter Meke&ena 'Mekns.r.a,

" Megasina) to him. D 24-33, E 32-43, B 21-30.
VI. Svapasina accepts Mekesena. D 43-51, A 1-2, E 43-51,

B 42-48.

VII. Three sons are born to Mekesena : Dasagrlva, Udpakana
(Ampakarna) and Cirisana (Birmasa). Brahmfi gives ten
heads to DaSagrlva. Malhyapanta asks them to go to
Lankapura. They promise to do so. A 2-9 E 51-59, B 48-56.
VIII. The three sons (devaputras) ohtain power over the gods from
Mahadeva. They defeat the gods and kill both gods and men
in Lankapura. E 59-67, B 56-63.

(a) Malhyapanta offers a banquet. The devaputras promise
to avenge him. A 9-16, C 1-5.

(b) Malhyapanta tells them about his father Yagsakore and
asks them again to avenge him. They promise to do so.
A 16-22, C 5-8.

(c) They are unable to defeat the gods and ask Brahma for
three miraculous powers : (1) that everybody at whom
they shoot an arrow shall die; (2) immortality; (3) power
over the three worlds. Brahma refuses. A 22.30, C 8-15.

(d) The devaputras ask Mahadeva for his miraculous power.
Although DaSagrlva cuts off one of his heads and offers
it, Mahadeva does not grant their request. His wife,
Upade (Umade), offers her own miraculous power which
they reject. She curses them and prophesies that they
will be destroyed by a woman. A 30-41, C 15-23.

(?) Mahadeva's minister, Prahasti (Prahaste), offers his
miraculous power which they reject. He prophesies that
they will be destroyed by a monkey. A 41-47, C 23-30.

(/) The goddess of speech transforms herself into the tip
of the tongue of the devaputras and modifies their
requests. They obtain the following powers : (1) power
over the gods; (2) the death of any being that is struck
by the first arrow shot; (3) immortality as long as the
horse-head of Dasagrlva has not been cut ofT.
They defeat the gods, kill the gods and the men in
Lankapura. A 47-56, C 30-41. End of C.
IX. Dasagrlva goes to Visnu who lives in the North, in the Ocean

of Milk, but is unable even to attack him. E 67-80, B 63-77.

Episode missing in A and C.
Jf. The gods deliberate what to do against DasugrTva and the

demons. Mahadeva declares himself unable to assist them

but advises them to ask Vigrtu for help. Vi$iju incarnates

himself as Ramana, the son of Dasaratha, and his son appears
on earth as LagSana. In order to bring about Dasagrlva's
ruin, a goddess enters into the womb of his wife. E 80-92,
B 77-89.

(a) The gods deliberate. As the demons cannot be defeated
by the gods, the gods cause a being capable of destroying
the demons, to be born as the daughter of DaSagrlva,
A 56-60.

(&) The king of Jambudvlpa, DaSaratha, prays to five hundred
Arhats on Mount Kailasa for a son. They give him a
flower for the chief queen. The chief queen gives one
half to the junior queen. The son of the junior queen ,
Raman a, is born three days before the son of the chief
queen, LagSana. A 65-73.

XL Birth of the daughter of Dasagrlva. Readers of signs predict
that she shall cause the ruin of her father and the demons.
She is placed in a copper box and committed to the waters.
An Indian peasant finds her and gives her the name
Rol-rned-ma 'Found in the furrow*. A 60-65, E 92-95,
B 89-92.

XIT. King Dasaratha is wounded in a battle between the gods and
" " ' * * . appoint as successor.

... 'is appointed. King

Dasaratha dies. A 73-83, E 104-111.

XIII. LagSana offers the reign over the four dvipas to Ramana who
refuses. Lagsana places one of the shoes of Ramana on the
throne and acts as minister. A 83-90, Fa 1-4, E 111-116.

XIV Rol-rned-ma grows up. The peasants search for a suitable

" husband. They find Ramana. A 90-96, Fa 4-9, E 116-119.
XV. The peasants praise the beauty of Rol-rned-ma. 24 verses in
A 96-109, Fa 10-19; 12 in E 119-126.

XVI "R ' ' !" ' '^ H l* 1 "- r an(i gives her the name of queen Sita.
' K.rii", ; !vj<r.> .'::?. A 106-109, Fa 19-20, E 126-128.

XVII A minister of YagSakore, Marutse, prevents 500 brahmans
from obtaining a Siddhi. Ramana throws a finger-ring at
Marutse and injures one of his eyes. The brahmans obtain
their siddhi and give Ramana a blessing : all those who will
die by his arrows will be reborn as gods. A 109-119.

XVIII. Daugava's sister, Purpala (Phurpala) falls in love with
Ramana. Ramana, who loves Sita very much, rejects her.
A 119-130, E 128-136.

XIX. Purpala advises her brother DaSagrlva to steal Slta. His
minister. Marutse, tries in vain to dissuade him. A 131 14n
E 136-143. " U>

XX* Marutse transforms himself into a deer. Slta asks Raman
to capture the deer for her. Marutse interposes a storm
between Ramana and Slta. Raman a shoots the deer, who
exclaims: "Pity, O Lags an a". Slta begs Lagsana to 'go to
the assistance of his brother. A 140-J52, E 143-155.

XXI. At first Lagsana refuses to leave Slta but, eventually, he gives
in to her and leaves, uttering this curse : fc< If in my mind there
is no deceit, may you, husband and wife, feel hatred for each
other one time 1" Slta regrets having persuaded Ramana to
go after the deer. A 153-162, E 155-167.

XXII. Dasagrlva appears before Slta in the form of an elephant then
in the form of a horse but Slta refuses to mount him. Af rai d
to be burned by touching Slta, he carries her away along with
a plot of ground. Ramana and Lagsana return and search
everywhere for Slta. A 162-171, Fb 1-3, E 167-176.

XXIII. They come upon a stream of black water and discover that it
flows from the eyes, mouth and nose of Sugnva, the youneer
son of the king of monkeys. He explains that his elder
brother, Balin, has injured him. Sugrlva advises them to ask
three monkeys who had fled to a mountain for information
about S5ta. A 171-182, Fb 3-14, E 176-183.

XXIV. The monkeys tell Ramana that a man with ten beads (the
first of which is a horse-head) has carried away STtS Ramana
makes a pact with Sugrlva, promising to make him king if he
helps him to find Slta. A 182-190, Fb 14-23 E 1 83-193

. Sugrlva fights with Balin. Ramana is unable to distinguish

^a^-"^. ^ ^ "- f "<* The
A 190-198, F1 - . from further fighting.

XXVI. A mirror is attached to Sugrlva's tail, The wife of Balia tries

M " ni

sent
A 20818, E22i8 glVeS w " * - "tter for hor.

( 295 )

/. The monkeys arc very thirsty. Following two ducks they
enter a cavern. They discover the residence of gTsug-rgyal
sgeg-mo, the daughter of SrJdevi. The goddess tells them to
close their- eyes. When they awaken, they are on a large beach
in front of a black mountain, which proves to be a black bird
with burned wings. He tells them that he is Pada', the elder
son of Agajaya (Agajana), king of eagles. Pada* had entered
into a contest with his younger brother Sampada' for the
kingdom. They both flew away from the mountain.
Sampada^s wing was in danger of being burnt by the sun.
Pada' came to his assistance and thus lost the contest and the
kingdom. Pada' tells them that SIta was ravished by
Dasagriva, His father, an old friend of Dasaratha, snatched
SIta from DaSagriva. DasagrTva threw a lump of red-hot iron
at him. Agajaya ate it and, his heart burnt, he died.
DasagrTva took SIta away. A 218-238, E 218-222 (E omits
the visit to the cave.).

XXIX. Hanumanta leaps to Lanka, leaving the two other monkeys
behind. He finds Sita in a castle with nine walls without
gates. He gives her the letter and the ring. A 238-246,
E 222-229,

XXX, SIta reads Raman a' s letter, 20 verses. A 246-256, E 229-240,

XXX T. Hanumanta uproots the trees in the park and kills the
demons sent to capture him. The eldest son of DaSagriva
tries to capture him with a magic noose made of sun-beams.
The gods of the magical power order Hanumanta to enter the
noose. Hanumanta asks as favour to be killed in the same
way as his father was killed. The demons wrap his tail in
cloth, dip it in butter and set it on fire. Hanumanta burns
the castle of the demons and many demons die. A 256-272,
E 240-253,

XXX/A Hanumanta returns to Sita who gives him a letter for
Raman a. Hanumanta goes and gives the letter to Rarnana
who reads it. A 272-286, E 253-267.

XXX///. The monkeys and the men set out for Lanka. The monkeys
Maku and Damsi (Dan'du) quarrel while constructing a bridge.
Ramana reconciles them. They arrive in Lanka. DaSagriva's
younger brother, Ampakarna (Udpakarna) advises his brother
to flee. DaSagrlva does not listen to him and Ampakarna
joins Ramana. A 286-301, E 267-275.

XXX/K. Kumbhakarna had formerly obtained the boon of eternal
sleep. Dasagriva and the others try to wake him up by pouring
liquid in his ear and by making a thousand elephants trample

( 296 )

his bdoy. They finally succeed by beating one hundred thousand
great drums. Kumbha karna swallows the men and the monkeys,
but Ramana and Hanumanta escape. Kumbhakarna falls
asleep again. A 301308.

XXXV. At the advice of Ampakarna, Hanumanta is sent to fetch a
herb Amrtasamjlva on mount Kailasa, He returns with the
entire mountain which is replaced again. All men and monkeys
are revived. A 308 3 1 1 .

XXXVI. Battle with Dasagrlva. His younger brother, Birinasa, flees.
Lagsana is killed. Dasagrlva makes himself invisible. Ramana
defies him to show the toe of his foot. Ramana cuts off his
horse-head and Dasagrlva dies, killing the demons in his fall
A 31 1323.

XXXVII. Ramana climbs through the window of the castle and
liberates SIta. He revives Lagsana. SugrTva and Ramana
return to their respective countries. A 323 327.

XXXVIII. Hanumanta is appointed minister of Sugrlva. They invite
Ramana, LagSana and SIta and organise banquets. Later
Sugriva dies and the reign is offered to Hanumanta. A 328-333,

XXXIX. Hanumanta first refuses but finally accepts. A 333-340,
XL. Hanumanta forgets to send letters and presents to Ramana.

Ramana sends him a message. Hanumanta repents and they
become friends as before. A 340-352.

XLI. King Benbala revolts and before setting out to fight him
Ramana leaves SIta and his son in the care of SOOrsis on
mount Malayan a. SIta goes for a walk and leaves her son
with the rsis, but he follows her. When the rs.is realise that he
is missing, they create another son> made of Kusa grass. SIta
returns with Lava and adopts Kusa. Ramana returns after
having reduced Benbala to subjection. A 352-368.

XT IT. "R-.: . ir *w * .. i s ; ^ ^ - t ' between the Licchavi Vimala
' 11) -. i , : ,i ,= .. :. He accuses her of adultery
She says that Sita lived for a hundred years with Das*agriva
but that nevertheless Ramana loves her. She asks him whether
he knows the nature of women. Ramana wants to find out
from her about the nature of women and arranges a meeting
with her. A 368386.

XLIII. The Licchavi Vimala's wife explains the nature of women to

Ramana. A 386392.
XLIV. Ramana is convinced that SIta slept with the demon and

rejects her. SIta goes away together with Lava and KuSa,

A 392409.

( 297 )

XLV. Raman a invites Hanumanta who is surprised not to see Slta
Ramana tells him about the words of the wife of the Licchav;
and his rejection of Slta. A 410422.

XLVI. Hanumanta explains that Dagagrlva was unable to approach
Slta. Ramana is convinced and sends for Slta and his two
sons. They hold a feast for Hanumanta who returns to his
own Kingdom. Ramana, Slta and their two sons live happily
in the palace 'Old Earth' (sa-rnin). A 422-440.
It is undoubtedly not necessary to indicate in which respects
this story differs from Valmiki's Ramayana. However, it is perhaps
useful to compare briefly the Tibetan story with the two Rama-
stories, which have been preserved in Chinese Buddhist text, and
with the Khotanese version.

The Tibetan version of the Ramayana does not show any
Buddhist influence unhke the earlier of the two Chinese Rama-
stories 'the Story without Names' which was first translated into
French by Edouard Huber and, later, by Edouard Chavannes. 13 At
the end of one of the Tibetan manuscripts the scribe has added the
words : "Hommage to Sakyamuni, the Tathagata, the Arhat, the
Samyaksambuddha'% but this is only of importance with relation to
the beliefs held by the scribe. Both in the Chinese version and in
the Khotanes Rama text 14 the story is told in the form of a Jataka
but both texts are written entirely in prose. The Tibetan text
contains many verses, more than 250 in recension I. The relation
between verse and prose is not the same as in Pali Jataka in which
both prose and verse relate the same story. In the Tibetan version
the story is told in prose. The verses contain the words spoken
on different occasions, and also the texts of the letters from Ramana
to Slta and from Slta to Ramana. The prosody of these verses is
much more complicated than that which is found in other ancient
Tibetan texts from Tun-huang. 15 It seems probable that the text of
the verses follows closely an Indian original. For the history of
the Tibetan Rama-story and for the Ivl'o .. -JjrMf"; 1 '"; rf "In-
verses, which are often difficult to .. ^i-.-'.J, i \-^.:if :,j -*>
useful to find in Indian Ramayana recensions verses which resemble
those found in the Tibetan story. As yet, only one close parallel
has been, pointed out by Balbir. 18 In Valmiki's Ram&yatia Laksmana
reminds Sugriva of his promise to come to the assistance of Rama.
Laksmarjia pronounces the following verse :

na sa samkucitafi pantha yena v&li hato gatafyj
samaye iiftha sttgriva mn vatipatham anvagafy. (IV.30.81).
This verse is reproduced almost with the same words in both Tibetan
recensions. The difference between the two resides in the qualifica-

( 298 )

tions of the path which is said to be na samkucitab in Sanskrit
According to recension I the path is 'not good 1 and according t n
recension It 'not wide\ However, a third variant of this verse i s
found surprisingly enough, in a folio of a Tibetan translation of the
Satasahasrika-prajnaparamfta from Tun-huang. 17 This folio contains
the end of a fascicle (Tib. bam-po} followed by the same verse. l n
this case, the path is said to be "not narrow* which is much closer
to the Sanskrit than the two other variants. The fact that this
verse has been copied by the scribe of this Prajnnparamita manuscript
shows that it must have been well-known at that time. It is of
course impossible to know whether this verse was part of the Indian
original of the Tibetan version of the Ramayana or has been incor-
porated into it from another source.

It is possible that the study of the Tibetan manuscripts from
Tun-huang and of ancient Tibetan literature may result in the dis-
covery of other quotations from or references to the story of Rama,
A comparison of the Tibetan Rama-story with ihe two Chinese
versions of the Rama-story, the one just mentioned, and the
Dasaratha-story, translated by Sylvam Lovi and Edouard
Chavarmes 18 and with the Khotanese version, shows that there is
no direct relation between these four stories However, a few points
are worth noting. In Valmlki's Ramayana, Rama and Laksmana,
when searching for Sita, find Jatayus who tells them what has
happened. Jatayus advises Rama to allay himself with the monkey-
king Sugriva. In the Tibetan story Rarnana and LagSana do not
find Jatayus but they come upon a stream of black water flowing
from the eyes, mouth and nose of Sugriva. In the Chinese 'Story
without names' it is told that the king after discovering the absence
of his wife, searches for her and comes upon a mountain-stream
which he follows to its source. There he sees a huge monkey.
Several points of agreement between the Tibetan and Khotanese
stories have already been pointed out by H.W. Bailey. Jean Przyluski
and Camille Bulcke. 10 To these one can add the mention of the herb
amrta-samjiva in both stories. In the Khotanese version, following
the advice of JIvaka the physician, the monkey Nan^a is sent to the
Himavant mountain to fetch the herb a mrta-samjlva?* In the Tibetan
version, following the advice of Ampakaroa. the brother of DaSagriva,
Hanumnata is sent to mount Kail as a to fetch the herba mrta-samjlva.
Bailey and Bulcke have already drawn attention to the fact that
both the Khotanese and the Tibetan version mention Das*agrlva's
toe. According to the first, to quote Bailey's translation : "They
looked to his (Das*agriva*s) horoscope, t6 Where is his vital point ?"
They saw that it was on the toe of his right foot. They said to him
"If you are a hero to behold, stretch out to us the toe of your right

( 299 )

foot." He stretched out his foot. Rama shot him with an arrow
jw fell at the blow upon the earth." 21 Jn the Tibetan story Dasagriva
m akes himself invisible and Rama defies him to show the toe of his
foot. As has been told before in the story, Dasagriva is immortal
as long as his first head, the head of a horse, is not struck. When
Rama sees the toe of his foot, he is able to calculate the place of his
horse-head and with an arrow he cuts it off. Dasagriva then loses
''* ! - * ' '-"^ ""*"" -X -"v . . army of demons.
- : ...-*:::-_ " . / : - not the toe of his
foot but his horse-head. 22 It is obvious that this version has
combined diffeient themes : the toe of the right foot, the horse-head
as vital point and finally the invisibility of DaSagrlva which reminds
us of the invisibility of Indrajit In Valmiki's Rnmayana. The Indian
original of the Tibetan version seems to have taken elements from
Valmiki's Rdmayana and to have combined them with stories taken
from other Rdmayana recensions. Also the fact, mentioned before,
that Sita is given the name of 'Found in. the furrow* points in the
same direction. Fn the Tibetan story Sita is the daughter of
Dasagriva, she is enclosed in a box and committed to the waters. In
all these details, which are found also in other RamSyana recensions,
the story is quite difierent from Valmlki's Ramdyarta. However, the
finding of Sita in a field and her name remind us again of the
classical version. A parallel occurs in the Vasudevahindi, Here
Sit is also the daughter of Dasagriva and enclosed in a box.
However* the box is not committed to the waters but put before a
plough in the park of king Janaka in Mithila. 21 *

Some interesting parallels to the Tibetan story can be found
in the Malay version which has been studied by Stutterheim and
Zieseniss, 24 In Valmlki's Rdmayana Rama kills Ravana by shooting
an arrow in his heart, but in the Malay version Ravana is killed by
a shot in a little head behind his right ear. The Dutch missionary
Abraham Roger, in his book published in 1651, relates a South-
Indian version of the Rnmayana in which Laksmana kills Ravana by
shooting an arrow into his donkey-head which arises above his
other heads. 35 It would be interesting to know whether, in any
Indian recension, the horse-head is mentioned instead of the donkey-
head. Another striking parallel to be found in the Malay version
relates to the capture of Hanumat, In the Tibetan story
Hanumanta is rer^in^ed K y * t1n e gods of the magical power' to be
caught in a noo-.-. 1 ..-. 1 i/ .1:'. "Your life is not at stake. Let
yourself be caught by the noose. Hanumanta requests the demons
as a favour to be killed in the same way as his father. He tells
them that the tail of his father was wrapped in a thousand pieces
of cloth, then put into ten thousand ounces of butter-oil and lit.

( 300 )

one of the most fascinating topics for future icseatk The critical
edmon of the Mmayana which is, neanng completion, will be of

sdiolar is able to know all the languages m which the Raiti&yana
has been transmitted For this reason h is absolutely necessary
that translations should be published Another desideratum ffae

-J-1-^y-.i-Kl nf f n f-\f*.rtnn" * i-.J _j^i 1 , a.f , "__ -*--

( 301 )

a pd m many countries, has pfaycd such a great part m the
imagins^ 1011 ^ raa-nkind.

NOTES

1. F W. Thomas 'A Rnmiyana S cor y m Tibetan from Chinese
Tmteatan, fnduin StitJiet in Honor of Charles Xackwell Larman
(C ambndge. Mass , 1929), pp 193-212

2, Marcel le Lalou, L'histoirc de Rama en lib*.' tain Jtmrnal
asictique, 1936, pp 560-562.

3 Jf K Balbir, L'histoire de Kama en iib'tam d aptJs des textes de
Totten-hoaatig Edition du texte et tra<luctioii annotee Pans,
19t>3 For my review see Indo-liamun Journal^ IX, 1966 pp
227-235

1 ,.. , ^ <rr r -- . * 1 1,, , -

5 Paul DemKiMlIe, Le concile de Lhasa (Par is , 1952), pp 176-177

6 Fujiecia Akira, The Tufihwn$ Manuscripts. A General Descrip-
tion Part H.Kjoto, 1969, p 22

< ' *

'
i . t !

ISi.

30:

14, H.W, Bailey, 'Rama\ BSOS, X, J94G, pp. 365-376, -
SQAS,\]94l,rp 559-098

15. Cf R.A Stem, Ltt civilisation ub mv, Pans, 1292, p. 212
16 Cf.JK. Balbir op cit.. p* 33

19

20 Cf, H,W Bdjlej, op f , pp. 570 and 594

21. HW Bailey open, p. 57U

22 This hai not been made cleai by Bulcke, cf op^it p, 5S5.

23. Atm&nandJam Granth Ratnam$a> Nos, 80-81, Bhdvnagar, 193(K

31, p 241
24 WiUera Smtterheum Jtfnto-Lcgenden ttnd Rama- Reliefs fe

25. Cf Stutterhftim, op cit.> p. 99.

26 Cf, Zwseniss, op cit , pp 63 and i53

27 Cf, Camille Bulcke, of.cn. p. 520.

SANSKRIT AND MONGOL LANGUAGE
AND LITERATURE

PROF PENTTI AALTO
Helsinki

( '03 )

f 304 }
-^ -T, , i,.ii, d

Many import,iiit loan words* aeeru to have com* through
Tokhan&n, c g,

Mo. binwad 'alms, almsgrvlng' Uig. pmwat . ToVfe, pm
Sanskr.

Mo matar^-madfur *sea-monbter' : Uig, madar . Tokh
motor , Satiskr Ma&ara,

Mo sattawaki "caravan leader 1 Utg. JOT^HU^ : Tokh

sznha\She Sansjkr siirthuv&ha,
Mo garag~-graq 'planet, demon' - Uig. ^raw . Tokh, jrnwfc Sanskr.

Mo aswwfiffrf-full ordination of a monk' : Uig. ? : Tokh,
Khot. vaysambnta Sanskr. upasatnpads,

Mo z/ 'poetry, poem, verse 1 . Uig. /ofc - Tokb A dfj-rifc^B JWL -
SansLr

( 305 )

Mo* Karkasundi (or Krakasundi ?) *a previous Buddha' : Uig. ? :

Tokh. Krakasundi : Sanskr. Krakucchcmda,
Mo. abi$ig 'inauguration' ; Uig. ab&ik : Tokh. abhisek : Sanskr.

abhiseka,
Mo. yag^as^- yagcis : Uig. yak (has been connected with Middle

Indie yakkha) : Tokh. yak as : Sanskr. yaksa,
Mo. ag$abad 'commandment; precept* : Uig. Zaxsapat I Tokh.

siksapat : Sogd. cxg'^5 : Sanskr. Siksapada,

modern Mo. mixa-bod (according to Vladimircov understood as mixa
'flesh' and boda 'matter'), old literary Mongolian maqamud^
maqabud 'element, matter' : Uig. maxabut : Tokh. mahabhut :
Sanskr mah&bhuta,

Mo. n<? 'miracle, magic' : Uig. ?: Tokh - rfl&HW : Sanskr ^
there also occurs in Mongolian a word ids 'sorcery connected
by Ramstedt with the above Sanskrit word. If, howevr, this
latter word really is of Indian origin it must obviously go back
to a MIA form like Pali iddhi which perhaps also occurs in the
Mahavastu. Another loan word which might be based on a
Prakrit form is Mo. Saman 'ascetic, mendicant : Tokh. samarn I
Sanskr. foam this word was further ^^^^^^^
Tungus languages and became at last an inte
word shaman 'exorcist, medicine man.
Vladimircov Mo. Sabi 'novice, adherent, subject '
is through a Chinese intermediary sha-mi borrowed fro ^J<^
L> 'novice': Sanskr. Iramanera. The femmine of sramana
is a loan from Sogdian and fitted with a Sogctan
, in Uisurian and in Mongolian : Mo. ^

Mo. w5/r : Uig. w&r : Sogd. ^yr^
Mo. bertegtin 'unenlightened person ^

Sanskr. pfthagjana 'ordinary man , 5*55^ : Sanskr

-u , TTiff c&dlK ijugvA. v v

Mo. Sadig^tedig 'biograpny *"&

jntaka, , . rj i tindcm : Sogd.

&ndan~&mdan 'sandal wood, s. tree . uig.

t, Sanskr. candana 9

( 306 )

nMo. invan : Uig. nirwan : Sogd. nyrpn : Sanskr. nirvaria,
Mo. Wibasi^BibaSi : Uig. Wipasi : Sogd. $yp>$y : Sanskr.
'SL former Buddha'.

Mo. biraman (modern Khalkha byarman) : Uig. braman~barman :

Sogd. prmn~pr*m } n : Khotanese Saka brammana : Sanskr.

brahmana.

Some words were perhaps borrowed through Khotanese :
Mo. SaS/n 'faith, doctrine'; Uig. sazan sasin : Khot. &asara :

Sanskr. Sasana,
Mo. arlan 'nectar, elixir' : Uig. rasayan : Khot. raysapana : Sanskr

rasnyana.

Under the reign of the Mongol Emperor Temur Qljeitii (1294-
1307 A.D.) chos sku'od zer or chos kyi'od zer was invited to the
>\ -, V. j.- .-r 1 ---: ^.- tV," i- ,\r^-ieror Q..:*. TC'/v; ^ '" i--i-
,:-.: '. '^^ - -, ,-- =- A.D, ,-,- ' - -.-,-
texts beginning with the Pancaraksd. We know the name of this
scholar only in Tibetan, but it seems probable that he was of Uigur
origin. It is in any case known that he made his translations from
Sanskrit originals using Uigur translations as an aid. There is a
very clear correspondence in the wording between his translations
and the Sanskrit text. This congruity seems now and then permit
us to check the Sanskrit text. E.g. Pancaraksa 2 fol. 20 r occurs
prasadamya which is translated by Edgerton 'cheering, gracious,
plea'sing'. He criticizes as "not happy" the meaning given in the
Pali Text Society Dictionary pasadaniya 'inspiring confidence, giving
faith' : the Mongol rendering unen susuldekui yosutu speaks in favour
of the latter explanation.

I quote below a passage from the beginning of the first of the
Paricaraksa-texts :

evam maya srutam ekasmin eyin kemen minu sonosursann-

samaye Bhagavan Rajagrhe ingen Saytur il a j u tegus nog&gsen

viharati sma/Grdhraktite parvate burqan rajagriqa balyasunu-

daksine parsve buddhagocare gadarigud ayula-yin emiineji

ratnavrkse prabhase vanasande eteged burqan-u yajar asuru

mahata bhikgusamghena sardham sayin QJekui metu erdin modu-

ardhatrayodasabhir bhiksuSatairi// tu oidu" mingyan qoyar jayun

tad yatha/ayusmata ca Sariputrena tabin ayay-qa tegimlig-ud-un

/.. Mahamaudgalyayanena/... yeke quwarayud-luya nigen-e

Mahakasyapena/...Gayakasya- biikiln-i// eyin uqaydaqui/amin

pena/...Nad!kayapena/ . Uru- qabiyatu saributari kiged/...

maqamodgalwani/...maqa kaSibi/

( 307 )

nyena/... Mahakatyayanena/
...Vakulena/.-.Vaspena/...

...gaya kaibi/-"nandi (?) kaibi/
.urubila kaibi/...anjata

l w
Kosthilena/...VagIsena/...A^vajita/ koodani/...nandiki/...maqa kata-

...Subhutina/...Suvahuna/...
Aniruddhena/...Revatena/...
Nan dike 11 a/... Anandena/ evam
pramukhair ardhatrayodasabhir
bhiksusatais (?) tasmin^ ca samaye
Bhagavan sabhiksusamgho
Magadhena rajn'Ajatasatruna
VaidehTputrena satkrlo gurukrto
manitah pujito 'rcito yacayitas
civarapincjapatasayanasanaglana-
pratyayabhaisajyapariskaraiti//

tena khalu pun ah samayena Vai-
salyani mahanagaryam mahan
bhumi. calo 7 bhud abhrakutaiji ca
pradur. bhutam/ mahati cakala-
vataanir mahanieghas ca
samutthito devo garjati gu4aguda-
yati vidyutas ca niScaranti/
daadias cakullbhutas tamo
'ndhakarain ca pradurbhutam/
naksatra^i ca na bhasante/
candrasuryau na prabjiavato na
tapato na virocato na ca prabha-
svarau bhavatab//

yani/,. bakuli/.../
...basbi/...kostali/
.. wagisai/ aua3i/...subti/
...subaqu/ anirudi/
...iriwaii/...

an an da kiged/edeger terigiiten
mingyan qoyar jayun tabin ayay-
qa tegimlig-iid-iige qamtu biiliigei/
tere 6ay-tur wayidiqi qatun-u kobe-
gtin magada ulus-un ejen ajatasa-
turu qayan ilajutegus nogiSigsen
burqan kiged ayay-qa tegimlig-iid-
iin quwary-ud-i degel qubfc'es
bin wad idegen or on debiisker
ebecin-diir keregleku emkiged/
kereg jaray-ud-iyar ergiin
kundiilen takin tabiylan btiliige//
tere 6ay-tur basa yajar ber yeke-
deko d6liiged/eguled ber yekede
Sirulju 5ay busu-yin kei qui
boluyad yeke miindur kiged yeke
qura beroro^u tngri ber kiinggeri-
sun dongyuduyad yal gilbeigen
dekiljeju/ biiglide arban jugtiir
yeke kimuray bolju qab qara yeke
qara ngyui boluyad/ odud ber
lilii ujegden naran saran ber
gerelkiii gilbekiii ge yikeulktii
gegen duHyan iigei bolbai/tende5e
wayisali balyasun-dur . . -
kyi' od zer is the , "Twelve > Deeds

that :

An original work by Chos

of Buddha" Curiously enough the colophon states
author had written it in Tibetan and
lated, into Mongolian. It is also

great number of Sanskrit loan words. knlSntlsyri .

ably near that of the Lalitavistara, cf e.g. LV 'p. Wl J* f

( 308 )

lation" we are able to check the text of the LaHtavistara edited by
Lefmann, e.g. LV p. 208, 13 we should obviously read karmak$etra
(ruhairi) = jayagan-u tariyan : Lefmann has ksetra alone among his
variants. On the other hand there seems to be a certain depen-
dence on a work with the same name written by Bu ston.

Chos kyi *od zer's Pancaraksa-translation quoted above and

referred to as A in the following, was later revised by the Sakya

monk Ses rab sen ge under Togan Temur (1333-1367 A.D.) A

draft of this translation was again revised by the redactors of the

Mongol Kanjur and included in the canon (this edition is referred

to as B below). In the latter half of the eighteenth century Ses rah

sen ge's translation was again revised and printed separately (the

draft C below). The redactors of the Mongol Kanjur who worked

under Ligdan-Khan in 1628-29 and those who finally carried out

the editing and printing under K'ang hsi in 1718-20 followed in

their revision the principles laid down in the Tibetan hand-book

Sgra sbyor composed for the "Great Revision" of the Tibetan

canonical texts and included in the Tanjur. This meant i.a. that

Sanskrit technical terms and even proper names were rendered in

^translation" based on their real or "popular" etymology. Later

editors often tried to restore at least the most important terms and

names which in their translated renderings some time were quite

unintelligible. In order to illustrate the development in translation

methods I quote in the following some verses out of the Yaksa

catalogue in the second text of the Pancaraksa :

1. Krakucchandab PafaUputre, Sthunayam (Msc. London Sthalnydm)
cAparajitafi

A batalibutar ulus-tur kirakudandi sutul ulus-tur abaraciti
B Sagabir (?) ulus-a or6ilang-i ebdegdi (:Tib. *khor ba jig
*cercle break') busud-a iilli ilagdagdi (:Tib, gzan gyis mi
thub 'other-by not vanquishable*) kaban-a (Tib. ka ba
'pillar* and na Tib. Locative ?)

C batalibutar ulus-tur or&lang-i ebdegci busud-ta iilli ilagda-
gdi kaban-a

2. Sailo Bhadrapure yaksa, UttarayUm ca Manavah

A badirabur ulus-tur saili yaksa manawi yaksa utari ulus-tur
B qour dggugcl k6lti (:Tib. brag 'rock'?) sayin balgasun-a

(Tib. gron khyer bzan 'town happy*) boke-yin (or boge-

jm) kobegtin (Tib. Sid kyi bu) inu umar-a jug-tur (Tib.

'byan phyogs 'northern direction') ele
C sayin balgasun-a sine (?) yaksa boke-yin (or boge-yin)

Kobegxin inu umara Jug-tut ele

3. Vajrapdni Rajagrhe Grdhrakute krtalayafy

A raagraq balgasun-dur weir barigci gadarigud agula-dur
ordn jasagsaii

B gar-tagan wcirtu (:Tib. lag na rdo rje 'hand-in diamond)
qagan-u qarsi-dur ('palace*, a Tokhariaii loan word) qajir
sibagun-u agula-dur (:Tib. bya rgod phun po 'vulture
peak") ayu 1

C gar-tagan wcir-tu qagan-u qarsi-dur gadarigud agula-dur
ayu 1

4. trisk?tvd cdnuparyeti sagarnntam vasumdharam

A dalai-yin kijagar torug delekei-yi gurban-tatogurin cidagcl

B dalai-yin kijagar-un Jagur-a-tu gajar-a .(-Tib. rgya mcho'i

mtha* yi bar gyi sar 'ocean's end's interval's country')

gurban-daki odun iiileduyu 2

C dalai-yin kijagar-un }agura-tu gajar-a gurban-ta daki odun

iiilediipu 1
4a. mahnbalo mahntejali dasayojanavikramab?

A yeke kuciitu yeke cSogtu arban bere-dtir kiirtele darugci

B yeke kudiitu gajar-a (has the translator read mahabale ?)

yeke jog jali-tu arban beres-i tegsi darugCi
C yeke-kudutu bolugad yeke cog jali-tu arban beres-i teyin

bilged darugci
5. Garudo Vipule yak$as, Citraguptafy Sthitimukhe

A wibul agula-dur garudi yaksa sititamug agula-dur itiragubti

B delgeregsen (:Tib. rghyas pa *wide% cf. London msc. Vipu-

lo) 4 qour oggiig^i ogtargui-dur nisiig6i (Tib. mkha' Idin

*sky soaring 9 ) ber eldeb yabudal-tan (suggests an original

1. Only A renders kftalayab literally, as does also the Tibetan
translation : bya rgod phun por gnas byas pa ;

Mongol ayu 6 is* looks rather concise.

2. According to Levi, Journal Asiatique 1915 p. 31, the Tibetan
translation suggests an original antarayati instead of anuparyeti.
The latter reading is, however, clearly supported by the old
Mongol translation A.

3. L,vi I.e. seems to believe the reading fatayojanavikrama
of the London msc. to be the original one, but even the
Paris msc. D has dasa-, and all the translations go back to
daSa-.

4. To be read delgeregsen-e, or has the original had 'Vipulo like
the London msc. ?

like 'citragati' ''citragamana ?) oron-u qagalga-da (:Tib.
gnas sgo 'place gate")

C delegeregsen qour oggugci ogtargui-dur nisugci ber eldeb
nigugsan (:Tib. sna chogs sbed pa 'various hidden") oron-u
qagalgan-a

In his edition of three Mongol translations of the Vajracchedi-
kaprajnnpnrmita Prof. Poppe states (p. 6) : "One should also keep
in his mind that the Mongolian versions are verbatim translations
from Tibetan'*. It seems to me, however, that the oldest version
which in its language shows many features characteristic of
Mongolian of the fourteenth century, is remarkably near the
Sanskrit original. In fact, all the translations of this work seem
to be based on a Sanskrit original somewhat differing from the
preserved draft. According to the colophon the Mongol trans-
lation was made from "the language of the gods". During the
great revision preceding the edition of the canon, e.g. the term
arhat, Mo. arqat was "translated" on the basis of a Sanskrit
popular etymology as dayin-i darugsan corresponding to Tib. dgra
bom pa 'one that has vanquished the enemy' : the oldest Mongol
Vajracchedika shows (15 b) dayin-i darugsan arqad ku bolbai bi
rendering Sanskrit maya-arhattvam praptam. We possess fragments
of the Vajracchedika in Khotanese too, and it seems probable that
there has been an Uigur translation of this work. In order to
show the parallelism of the Sanskrit and Mongol texts I quote the
beginning and end of the story :

evain maya Srutam ekasmin eyin kemen minu sonosuysan

samaye/Bhagavaii Sravastyaip nigen Saytur/ ilaju tegiis nogSi-

viharati sma Jeta vane' natha- gsen burqan sirawasti-daki did

pin4adasya-alrame mahata bhiksu- kobegiin-u deSeglig anaata

sainghena sardham ardhatrayo- bindadi-yin qotola-yi bayasqaqui

aSabhir bhikusataib sambahulais" sangram-dur ayay-qa tegimlig-iid-

ca bodhisattvair mahasattvaifr/ iir mingyan qojar 3ayun tabin a.t.

atha khalu Bhagavan purvahna- yekes quwaray-ud kiged/ asuru

kala-samaye nivasya patraclvaram olan bodmstw maqastw-nar-luy-a

adaya Sravastim mahanagarirn qamtu sayun biiliige//

pi^<Jaya praviksat/. tendeCe i.t.n. Ude manayar-yin

cSaytur samtabs kiged karsa degei-i
beyedegen emtisiiged badir ayay-

atha khalu Bhagavan gravastim a-yi beriju burur/ sirawastayin

mahanagarim pi^cjaya caritva ye ke balyasun-dur binwadtur

kfta-bhaktakytyati pa^cad-bhakta- ajirabai/ tende5e i.t.n. s. y. b.

pi^dopata-pratikrantaU patra. binwad-an tulada ajiraju btirun/

civararn pratisamya padau
praksalya n>asldat prajnapta
eva-asane paryahkam abhujya
rjuni kayam pranidhaya pratimu-
khini smrtim upasthapya/ atha
khalu sambahula bhikavo yena
Bhagavams tenopasamkraman
upasamkramya Bhagavatafr
padau irobhir abhivaiidya
Bhagavantarn trispradaksimkrtyai-
kante nyasidan//

tena khalu punah samayena-
ayusman Subhutis tasyam eva
parisadi samnipatito' bhat
samnisannali/ atha khalu ayusman
Subhutir utthaya-asanad eka-
ainsam uttarasangam kytva
daksinain janu-marwjalam
pythivyaip pratithapya yena
Bhagavams tena-anjaliip
prai>amya Bhagavantam etad
avocat//

binwad idegen-i ideriin/ idegen-u
iiile-yi iiiledcu/ qoyitu idegen-u
binwad-i tebcigsen-u tula/ badir
ayay-a kiged/karsa degel-iyeii
talbiju/ kol-iyen ugiyayad beled-
ugsen debisker-tur jabilaju beye-
ben siduryu jalayad/ duradqu-yi
ilete ayulju sayubai//

tendece olan ayay-qa tegimlig-ud
i.t.n. qamiy-a blikli tendefyoriyad
odCu/ i.t.n. kol-dlir teriguber-
iyen morgugal i.t.n. liurban-ta
toyoriju nigen 3ugtiir bayibai//
basa tere cay-tur amin qabiy-a-tu
subuti terekii nokod-tur diyulju
sayun biiliige// tendede a.q.s.
oron-a5ayan bosSu degedii degel-
iyen nigen moriindegen qumbiju
barayun ebiidug-iyer-iyeyajar-tur
sogodiiged i.t.n. qamiy-a biikii
tere 3^g~tu r bokoyin alayaban
qamtudqaju biirun i.t.ii. eyin
kemen ocibei.

In these passages cases occur in which a Sanskrit word has
been rendered in Mongolian with a binomial, e.g. pntra : badir
ayag-a, civara : karSa degeL These represent a very common
feature in the Mongol translations. E.g. the expression putracivaram
addya is in general rendered like * 'having put on the karSa samdab
clothes and taken the badir bowl", and kosa 'treasure' by ed tawar
'property possession*. We meet this type in Tokharian and Uigur
too. But comparable turns can be found already in Indian
languages, e.g. in Pali. fc ln some cases we have very authoritative
parallels : c mind, sentiment* can in Mongolian b? expressed by a
bi-nomial sedkil ^iriiken : Uig. kdngiil saqint, Tokh. arint pvltsZk,
Vedic Sanskrit hfdn manatt correspond to this.

At least since the fifteenth century Mongolian literary life as
well as the language were dominated by Tibetan influence. A
number of Sanskrit loan words seem to have come into Mongolian
through Tibetan, e.g.
Mo- badmaraga *ruby' : Tib. pad ma rm ga : Sanskr. padmraaga,

Mo. baiduri^biiduriy-a : Tib. bai du rya : Sanskr. vaidnrya <lapis

lazuli',

Mo. bajar : Tib. ba ^ar^baj ra : Sanskr. vajra,

Mo. madumadi 'Mohammed', Tib. ma dhu ma ti : Sanskr. madhumati,
Mo. mahi "buffalo : Tib. ma he : Sanskr. vnahi$a 9
Mo. udbala 'lotus' : Tib. ut pa la : Sanskr. utpala,
Mo. udumbar 'fig tree* : Tib. u dum ba ra 'a giant lotus (in tales) 4 :

Sanskr udumbara 'fig tree', etc.

In some cases such loans seem to reflect Middle Iiidic forms, cf. e.g.
Mo. amindiwa : Tib. a ma de ba : Apabhr. ajnidewa : Sanskr.
Amitabha, Mo. neule 'mongoose' : Tib. He* u le : MI neula :
Sanskr. nakula, etc.

The old Mongolian translations of Buddhist texts were revised
with the aid of the Tibetan canonical texts on which all new
translations from Sanskrit were exclusively based. Soon after the
edition of the Kanjur referred to above the Tanjur was translated
and published under K'ien lung (1741-49 A.D.) Among the Tanjur
works we also meet a translation of Kalidasa's Meghaduta- The
Tibetan translation of it is metrical while the Mongolian is in
prose. The latter was perhaps meant only as an aid when reading
the Tibetan text. It seems, however, that the translators into
Mongolian have had a Sanskrit commentary at their disposal.
E.g. Id taru, Tib. Ijon sin is exactly specified as kalbarawaras modu
kalpavrksa-taru. The peculiar forms (even kalbavrS, in Oirat
Mongolian galburgusri) of this word in Mongolian are perhaps due
to an intermediary language. The abnormal forms of many loans
like maqarari&a (Uig. maqarac, Sogd. wyV'5, Sanskr. maharajd) might
be originally pure misreadings (cf. however Tokh. A land 'royal*,
B luntsa 'Queen'); Naganjuna from Nagnrjuna, Sibarag from sravaka,
ubadini from upadhyaya etc. might even depend on clerical errors.
Mo. bisman for Sanskrit Vaisravana might go back to a Prakrit form
like Ardha-Magadhi Vesamana, Pali Vessavana (cf. above).

A special problem in translating from Sanskrit into a language
like Mongolian were the verbal prefixes. To render them the
Mongol translators had to use adverbs, e.g. Mo. dagan (Converbum
modale of daga- 'to follow') stands for Sanskrit anu-; asuru 'very
much' for v/-, ati-i ile~iledte 'obviously* for abhi-; magad 'surely,
really' for nir- and vi~; magu 'bad, evil* for apa- 9 dur-\ masi 'very*
for ati- 9 pra-; vz-; neng Very' for ati-\ ogugata 'completely* for part-;
teyin^teyin bilged 'thus* for vz-, e.g. teyin ilgal "thus distinction*'
'grammatical case* : Sanskr. Vibhaktii qamug-a 'everywhere' for
part-; qotala 'id.* for part-, a-; quran^quriyan (Converbum modale

( 313 ;

of qura-^- >quriya- 'to gather*) for sam- 9 e.g. quran uiledkili "gathering
doing" : Sanskr. samskara\ unen~uneker 'truly* for sam- samyak-
pra-. The nominal prefix su- is rendered by saytn 'good' and its*
derivatives sayibar^sayitur* sometimes also by asuru. The use of
these adverbs seems in general to follow very consistent patterns, at
least in the context of a given translator's work.

When the Mongolian literary tradition begins in 1240 A.E>.
with the Secret History we meet fully developed poetical perfor-
mance certainly based on an oral folklore tradition still living today.
Historical prose is also clear and fluent as shown by the above
quotations from Buddhist works. What was obviously difficult to
express was the Buddhist philosophy, as can be seen e.g. in the
main part of the Mongol Vajracchedika. The philosophical trans-
lations introduced several important Sanskrit loan words into
Mongolian. In Vajr. the translation of Sanskrit prthivirajas with
baramanu= Sanskrit, paramanu 'atom* is interesting, in the later
draft we have tovosun 'dust'; Sanskrit, adhicitta higher thought* is
rendered adicid sedkil y in the later draft bisirel sedkil, etc. Likewise
a new meaning was given to many Mongolian words. It is not
clear how far such "translation loans" could be understood without
knowledge of their Sanskrit models. So e.g. Mo. ilbe^yilbe
'shrewdness* was given the sense mdyd 'illusion*, Mo. oron 'place,
locality, site* was used to render Sanskrit dhntu 'plane of existence'
(also Mo. tob), visaya 'sphere, range', kgetra in Bttddhaketra 9
dlaya 'basis, base*, sth&na 'point, matter, subject*, bhumi 'stage,
state*; Mo. iindiisun 'root' renders e.g. Sanskrit, paramparn 'tradi-
tion*, hetu 'cause*, mula 'base, root*, tantra 'mystical treatise*,
samtana 'mentality*; Mo. sedkil referred to above also renders e.g.
Sanskrit abhiprdya 'difference', citta 'thought, consciousness*, manas
'mind, intellect*, cintd 'thought, reflection', vijndna 'knowledge',
etc.

A sphere in which the influence of Sanskrit has been most
important is astronomy and astrology. We do not know the Indian
sources of the (n on -canonical) "Manual of Mongol Astrology and
Divination** so named by the editors Mostaert and Cleaves but
we can see that it is built on Sanskrit terminology, e.g. the names
of all of the 28 nagSadar (^naksatrd) are directly borrowed from
Sanskrit. There is, however, an interesting case among them, viz.
the No. 14 su$ag which probably reflects an original su&khd corres-
ponding to the Sanskrit name vidkhd\ this constellation is explained
as ''guarding the treasures'*. The details of the tradition as well as
of the Sanskrit terminology are to be investigated more thoroughly.

( 314 ;

The vast majority of Sanskrit works reached Mongolia i n
translations carried out or at least revised on the basis of Tibetan
translations. As a reeult it is not easy to know whether the achieve-
ments of Indian science were already known in Mongolia before the
Tibetan influence set in. In several cases, however, we are in
possession of Sanskrit works found in East-Turkestan or of old
translations into the local languages there. In these cases, especially,
it seems probable that the contents were known in Mongolia early
enough. E.g. the so-called Bower-Manuscript, discovered in 1890,
contains a metrical Sanskrit text Navamtakam. It consists of three
medical treatises, two treatises on divination and two on magic.
The latter two are parts of the Mahamayurividyarajni, one of the
Pancaraksa texts referred to above. We know that just text has this
been very popular among the Mongols. Remains of medical texts
of Indian origin written in Turkestanese languages Uigurian
included clearly show the influence of Sanskrit in this science
too.

The very popular Mongolian medical work Rasiyan-u jiriiken
naiman keSigutii niguca ubadis-un uiidiisuii bears the Sanskrit title
'Amita-hrdaya-asta-anga-gxihya-upadesa-tantra'. Here *rasiyan' is a
borrowing from the Sanskrit *rasayana' while 'ubadis' of course
derives from 'upadesa*. The Sanskrit original seems to have been lost,
but it derived probably from the Astangahrdayasamhitd by Vagbhata.
This famous physician is said to have been a Buddhist which may
be an additional explanation for his great popularity in the Buddkist
countries outside India. We meet his work under the title 'Astankar'
even in Arab translation. Vagbhata's Amrtd was translated into
Tibetan under Khri sron sde'u bdan (728-786 A.D.) and is generally
known as the Rgyud bzi, in its Mongol translation as E>6rben
iindusim.

In the Suvarriaprdbhasa there also occurs a list of medical
substances, the Mongol names of which we thus can compare with
their Sanskrit, Uigur and Tibetan equivalents. The preserved
Uigur translation of this work is based on the Chinese version by
I-tsing. The translators have tried to rendei the names both in
Sanskrit and in Uigur. The Mongol versions also translate some
names but in most cases use a Sanskrit loan word :
Mo. Sbrika~isburakin : Sanskr. sprkka (Trigonella corniculata),
Mo. Szr/Sa : Sanskr. sirifa (Acacia Seeressa),
Mo. indiraqasta : Sanskr, indrahasta (Mandragora ?),
Mo. Siravista : Sanskr. frivestaka (gum of Pinus Longifolia),
Mo. agaru. Uig. agaru : Sanskr. agaru (Amyris agallocha = Comtni-

phora A.)*

V ~

MO. cindan : Uig. candcma : Sanskr. candana (Sandal),

Ma. tagara : Sanskr. tagara (Tabernaemontana coronaria),

Mo. gurgtim : Uig. gurgurn : Sanskr. kunkuma (Ciocus sativus),

Mo. naldan (?) : Sanskr. nalada (Naradostachys Jatamansi),

Mo. tolotana : Sanskr. sarocana (Tabasheer),

Mo. sungsumair (?) : Uig. suksumur : Sanskr. suksmaila (Elettaria
cardamomun),

Mo. samuta : Uig. samata (?) : Sanskr. jammita (?),

Mo. usira : Uig. usir-a : Sanskr. usira (Andropogon muricatus =

= A. squarrosus),

Mo. silaki : Sanskr. sallakl (Boswellia thurifera=B. serrata),
Mo. yabuni (?) : Sanskr. yabham(f) : ^vaf(Canim copticum),
Mo. nagakesar : Uig. nagakesar-a : Sanskr. nagakesara (Mesua

Roxburghii=M. ferrea),
Mo. kosti (?) : Uig. kusta (?) : Sanskr. kustha (Aplotaxis auriculata

= Saussurea hypoleuca).

The medicine shall be prepared pusyanaksatrena : Mo. bus
odm-u ediir Uig. bus yoldus-qa, '

We can see that in all fields of the literature the Mongol
culture was deeply influenced by Indian achievements. By adopting
Sanskrit cultural words and scientific terms and by adopting
Mongolian expressions to render the ideas conveyed by Sanskrit
texts, the Mongolian language thus grew more and more capable
of expressing the sophisticated scientific and metaphysical thinking

of the time.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CENTRAL ASIAN MANUSCRIPT
FINDS FOR SANSKRIT PHILOLOGY

PROF. HEINZ BECHERT
University of Goettingen, Federal Republic of Germany

By reason of climate, manuscripts survive in India only for a
limited space of time. Thus, during the greater period of 19th
century works of Sanskrit literature were known to Sanskrit
scholars only from comparatively recent manuscripts. The Central
Asian manuscript finds, therefore, meant a break-through for
Sanskrit philology in many respects. From the publication of the
"Bower manuscript" from Eastern Turkestan by A.F.R. Hoernle
in 1891 onwards, there was a new dimension of Sanskrit philology,
A large amount of manuscript material was collected from different
parts of Eastern Turkestan (Sinkiang) by English, French, Russian,
German, Swedish, Finnish, Japanese and Chinese expeditions since
1890.

Most of these manuscript remains were rather fragmentary,
but there were fragments belonging to most branches of Sanskrit
literature, the fully documented history of which thereby can be
traced back several centuries earlier. In spite of the fragmentary
character of the finds the study of this material yielded results of
utmost Importance. Let me quote a few examples. There are the
f ragmc*ns of early dramas in the collection of manuscript finds
discovered by the German "Turfan expeditions" and edited by
Heinrich Lueders in 1911. (Cf. Heinrich Lueders, Bruchstuecke
buddhistischer Dramen, Berlin, 1911). These manuscript fragments
written on palm leaves provide us with specimens of forms of the
Prakrit dialects found in Sanskrit plays which are several centuries
older than those which were known before. Even the existence of
this early Buddhist dramatical literature was unknown so far. Only
of one of these plays the name was found in the manuscript
remains, viz. the Sariputraprakarana of As*vaghos.a. These manus-
cript remains were written in North-western India and belong to

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( 317 )

the Kuana period, thus belonging to the earliest extant manuscript
remains in an Indian script. Not less important was the discovery
of early manuscripts written in Kharosthi script from Eastern
Turkestan which, however, are in a Prakrit dialect of North-
western India called Gandhiiri and not in Sanskrit. Therefore,
these finds shall not be discussed here.

No other branch of Sanskrit studies was more influenced by
these discoveries than the study of Buddhist Sanskrit literature.
YiT.:t ? 4.i. P fi^<; ^f s^ A"^ Stein's expeditions (1900-01 and 1906-
j -. . ".' : ".-.'. to the knowledge of Mahayana litera-
ture, the literature of the influential Sarvastivada school of early
Buddhism forms the main contents of the finds of the four German
expeditions to Central Asia called "Turfan expeditions** (1902-03,
1904-05, 1905-07, and 1913-14). These texts were edited by a
number of German scholars, particularly Heinrich Lueders, Ernst
Waldschmidt, and their disciples and co-workers. The editions
prepared by these scholars are based on a comparative study of
the various recensions of Buddhist scriptures with the help of the
Pali, Tibetan, and Chinese parallel versions.

Recently, some comprehensive works on these manuscripts
have been undertaken. E. Waldschmidt (together with W. Clawiter
and L. Sander) is preparing a detailed descriptive catalogue of the
Sanskrit manuscripts from, the Turfan collection, three volumes of
which are already published (Sanskrithandschriften aus den Turf an-
fwden, by Ernst Waldschmidt, vol. 1-3, Wiesbaden, 1965-1971,
published in the series "Verzeichnis der orientalischen Handschriften
in Deutschland", part. lo). L. Sander contributed a palaeographical
study of these ancient manuscripts (falaeographisches zu den
Sanskrithandschriften der Berliner Turfansammlung, Wiesbaden,
1968). A comprehensive dictionary of the Sanskrit Buddhist litera-
ture from these finds is being prepared as a research project of the
Academy of Sciences in Goettingen.

It is not possible to provide an .:,>,-": (3 *ri"c*- c p t??e
texts in a short paper. Therefore, as an o\. ! ,". ^ '*-
of the material available from the Central Asian finds, I shall
mention here those texts belonging to the canonical scriptures of
Buddhism, of which greater parts became known from these finds
for the first time. These texts were either known only from
Chinese or Tibetan translations before or they were completely
unknown.

From the Vinayapitaka, we have large parts of the Bhiksu-
pratimoksa of the Sarvastivadin (to be edited by H. Haertel) a frag-
ment of* the PrZtimoksa of the Dharmaguptakas (identified and

( 318 )

edited by Waldschmidt, Sanskrithandschriften, foe. cit., no. 656),
parts of the Bhiksunipratimoksa (edited by E. Waldschmidt, Bruchs-*
tuecke des Bhiksitm-Pratimoksa, Leipzig, 1926), Karmavacanz manus-
cripts of Sarvaslivada and of Mulasarvastivada school (edited by
H. Haertel, Karmavacana, Berlin 1956), sizeable portions of the
Vinayavibhanga (edited by V. Rosen, Der Vinayavibhanga zw
Bhiksuprntimoksa der Sarv&stivndins, Berlin, 1959) and some other
small fragments. From the Sutrapitaka, a large number of texts is
represented in the Turfan collection. Mahaparinirvanasatra (with
Mahasudarfanasutra), Catusparisatsfttra and Mahdvadanasutra were
edited by E. Waldschmidt (Das Mahaparinirvanasutra, 3 vols.,
Berlin 1950-51 ; Das Catusparisatsutra, 3 vols., Berlin, 1952-62 ;
Das Mahavadanasutra, 2 vols., Berlin 1953-56) and evaluated for
the knowledge of the biography of the Buddha (cf. E. Waldschmidt,
Die Ueberlieferung vom Lebensende des Buddha* 2 vols., Goettingen
1944-48; 'Vergleichende Analyse des Catusparisatsutra/ Festschrift
W. Schubring, Hamburg, 1951, pp. 82-122). Numerous texts from
Samyuktagama in the Turfan manuscripts were identified (cf. the
relevant contributions collected in E. Waldschmidt, Von Ceylon bis
Turfan, Gottmgen, 1967 ; Ch. Tnpathi, Fiinfundzwanzig Sutras des
Nid&nasamyukta, Berlin, 1962) Dasottarasiitra and Sangitisittm are
important sources for the knowledge of the dogmatics of early
Buddhism (see Dogmatise fie Begriffsreihen im aelteren Buddhismw>
vol. 1 by Kusum Mittal, Berlin, 1957 ; vol. la by D. Schlingloff;
1958 ; vol. 2 in two parts by V. Stache-Rosen, 1968). There is a
number of other sutra texts extant in manuscript remains in the
Turfan collection, a number of which was also edited, but cannot
be mentioned here. Complete information can be found in
Waldschmidt's above-mentioned descriptive catalogue.

Special reference should be made to the texts belonging to
Ksudrakagama, the collection of "minor works'" in the Tripitdka.
F. Bernhard has edited the complete Udnnavarga which was one
of the most popular texts of Sanskrit Buddhism (F. Bernhard,
Udanavarga, 2 vols., Goettingen, 1968) which can be attributed to
Sarvastivada and, in a slightly different recension, to Muiasarvasti-
vada school (see L. Schmithausen, Zu den Rezensionen des Udnna-
vargafr, Wiener Zeitschrift fuer die Kunde Suedasiens 14, 1970, pp,
47-124), The present author has published Sthariragntha fragments
which are parallels to Theragatha of Pali canon as well as Anava-
taptagatha which correspond to Apadana in the Pali tradition (H.
Bechert, Bruchstuecke buddhistischer Verssammlungen, Berlin, 1961).
There are also Arthavargiyayani Siitr&rii (corresponding with the
similarly named section of Suttanipdta), Prctnvaduna and VimanU-
vadffrw which will be edited. Of the Abhidharma literature, frag*

( 319 )

ments of Fancavastuka and its Vibhasn were edited by J. Imanishi
(Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschrften in Goettingen, 1969,
no . 1). Though not belonging to the Tripitaka itself, the manual
of meditation extant in a birch bark manuscript from the Turfan
collection must be mentioned here (D. Schlingloff, Bin buddhistisches
Yogalehrbuch, 2 vols., Berlin 1964-66).

This is a very incomplete report of canonical Buddhist texts
from the Turfan collection. The collections in London, Paris etc.
contain other Buddhist texts of equal importance. It must be
recalled here that also a number of important non-Buddhist
Sanskrit works, particularly Sastra texts (Sanskrit grammar, metrics,
medicine, astrology etc.) were found m Central Asian manuscripts.

The importance of these finds can be exemplified in many
ways. I .*-" '. ,' * . '" " "the study of Saddhanna-

pwidarlk , . is Sutra which is one of the

most famous sacred books of mankind is available in Sanskrit
manuscripts written in Nepal, in a Tibetan and in three Chinese
translation . Parts of two manuscripts are traceable in the manus-
cripts discovered in Gilgit. It is, however, beyond doubt that the
text found in the Gilgit manuscripts is very similar to that of the
Nepalese manuscripts as well as the texts underlying the Tibetan
and Kumarajlva's Chinese translation. But there is a large number
of Central Asian manuscript remains of the Saddharmapungarika.
A.F.R. Hoernle published first notices of these manuscripts already
in 1906 (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1906, pp. 695-698)
and a number of fragments were described and edited by various
scholars (see the bibliographical survey in Akira Yuyama, *A Biblio-
graphy of the Sanskrit Texts of the Saddharmapun<Jarikasutra",
Canberra 1970, pp. 20-34). The editor of the first printed Sans-
krit text of the Sutra, H. Kern, has used parts of eight different
manuscripts from Central Asia in the N.F. Petrovsky collection
which is now in the Leningrad Branch of the USSR Academy of
Sciences after he had established the text from Nepalese manus-
cripts. (See Saddliarmapundarika, edited by H. Kern and Bunyiu
Nanjio, St. Petersbourg 1912, Additional note). Kern has only
given an unsystematical and casual selection of readings from these
manuscripts neglecting all rules of philological work. Thus, Kern's
edition which is based on the tradition of Nepalese manuscripts
but also includes readings from Central Asian manuscripts some-
times even without any notice in the critical apparatus is not at
all a piece of critical scientific work. Unfortunately, all later
editors of the text (U. Wogihara and C. Tshuchida, 1934-35 :
p u tt, 1953, and P. I*. Vaidya, 1960) did not substan-

( 320 )

tially improve the text as established by Kern and Narjio, They
have not altered the method adopted by Kern and did not make
use of the Central Asian material (apart from printing some trans-
cripts made by N. D. Mironov in Dutt's edition in form of foot-
notes).

The present author has been able to trace nine leaves of a
Saddharmapundarika manuscript in the collection of Central Asian
manuscripts belonging to the West German State Library in
Marburg forming a part of the "Turfan Collection". It was possible
to identify these leaves as parts of the same manuscript of which
the main portion exists in the already mentioned Petrovsky collec-
tion of the Saddha^rnapundanka texts. Some notes about this
collection have recently been published by G.M. Bongard-Levin and
E.N. Tyomkin (in Jazyki Indii, Pakistana i Cejlona, Moscow, 1968,
pp, 439-451, and in Lido-Iranian Journal 8, 1964/5, pp. 268-274),
Furthermore, four leaves in the India Office Library which have
been edited by H. Lueders (in A.F.R. Hoernle, Manuscript Remains
of Buddhist Literature found in Eastern Turkestan, Oxford, 1916, pp.
144-152), and some small fragments in the British Museum as well
as some leaves which had been in the collection of Count Otani, can
be identified as belonging to this one and the same calligraphic
manuscript of the Sutra which was written by Central Asian Buddhist
whose mother tongue had been Khotanese which is a middle^
Iranian language. The textual gap in one of the leaves edited by
Lueders can be explained as a consequence of a misplacement of
certain leaves in the manuscript copied by the scribe of the manu-
script.

The portion of the text available in the "Marburg fragments"
contains the StupasaipdarSana section forming the end of the
eleventh chapter and the Devadattaparivarta which is a separate
chapter in this Central Asian manuscript (as well as in the Chinese
translation), but is included in. the eleventh chapter in the other
version. In addition, the corresponding part of a Gilgit manuscript
is also published (see W. Baruch, Beitraege sum Saddharmapwtfari-
kasutra, Leiden, 1938). Finally, the Devadattaparivarta is altogether
absent from another Central Asian manuscript called "Farbad-
Beg manuscript'* which was discovered by Sir Aurel Stein and
edited by L. de la Vallee Poussin (see Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Society J911, pp. 1063-1079). Thus, this part of the text is parti-
cularly useful for the study of its history.

I shall sum up here the results of the detailed studies which
were published by the Academy of Sciences in Goettingen (H.

( 321 )

Becherf, Ueber die "Marburger Fragmente" des Saddharmapungarika,
Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Gosttingen 1972,
no. 1).

The manuscripts of Saddtiannapitridanka discovered in Central
Asia were copied there from Indian manuscripts without any
major change in the textual tradition. Therefore, the study of
these texts provides us with information on the history of the text
in India. We can trace two versions of the SQtra in these manus-
cripts, an earlier and a later one which, however, show only minor
differences. The above-mentioned calligraphic manuscript of
which parts are kept in various collections (Petrovsky collection,
Turfan collection, Hoernle Manbuscripts in India Office Library,
British Museum Ms. or. 9613, Otani collection) belongs to the
younger of these two versions. The so-called Central Asian tradi-
tion of the text is also represented by the earliest Chinese transla-
tion made by Dharmaraksa in 286 A,D,

The text found in the Central Asian manuscripts shows very
essential differences from the one handed down in Nepalese and
Gilgit manuscripts. There can be no doubt that this recension of
the Nepalese and Gilgit manuscripts (represented also in Kumara-
jtva's translation of 406 A D. and in the Tibetan translation) is
definitely a more recent form of the text. It seems to have origina-
ted ii the 4th century A.D. This ^ext is the work of a redactor
who consciously remodelled and modernized the text of the Sutra
according to the taste of his time. It was precisely this revised
text which became generally adopted in the Buddhist world.

Therefore, the task which should be taken up by Sanskrit
philology offers itself in a two-fold manner : firstly, lo establish the
earlier form of the SaddharmapungarTka as represented by the Central
\,;-, r -p,.---, i-v^ ^?c-=s this was the original text of the Lotus
v ,,'."- \ ,- '=-. I'- ! \t of the later "classical" version must be
re-edited by replacing those readings which were inserted from
Central Asian manuscripts by the editors adopting the true readings
of this tradition for all passages,

It is not possible to establish an "original text" by an clectical
method i e bv selecting readings from both versions as scholars

wrong and leads to a falsified text which has never existed m the
Buddhist tradition.

Thus, we must confess that Sanskrit philology has Completely
failed so far to establish critical and reliable editions of Saddharmu-

( 322 )

ik The Lotus Sutra is one of the greatest contribute
which India has made to the religious literature of the world, As
Sanskrit scholars, we are challenged by this failure of Sanskrit
philology to prepare adequate editions of the Lotus Sutra. %
possess now the knowledge about the history of the text which is
needed to meet this challenge, but the task is too a big one for a
,' ' ' ' ' '' '' scholars concerned is
, ' , , , is no better place for

; ' : important work than

the first International Sanskrit Conference.

STUDIES IN THE ASOKA INSCRIPTIONS
PALAEOGRAPHY AND CENTRAL ASIAN MSS.

PROF. KLAUS LUDWIG JANERT
(University of Cologne, Germany)

It is well known that the oldest Indian manuscript fragments,
discovered in Central Asia, were edited by Lueders in 1911 with
his famous monograph, Bruchstuecke buddhistiscker Dramen
(Koeinglich Preussische Turfan-Expeditionen, Kleinere Sanskrit-
Texte 1.1911, Berlin), Besides the transcriptions and facsimiles of the
palm-leaf fragments Lueders' book contains also several special
studies concerning the metres occuring in the texts, the dialects
spoken by the different acting figures and the presumable contents
of the dramas, the third of which was, according to a colophon,
the Sariputraprakarana of Asvaghosa (cf Lueders, Philologica Indica
1940, pp. 190fT.). On palaeographical grounds the manuscript
fragments can be dated as written during the Kushana period, i.e.
during the first centuries A.D.

But it is not only that those manuscript fragments are interes-
ting with regard to their most important contents or their script.
There are, moreover, some seemingly insignificant details which
deserve our interest from the palaeographical point of view : As
already observed by Lueders (Bruchstuecke, p. 10), the text within
the otherwise continuous lines of writing is often segmented, and
that in two different ways, (L) by "dashes" and (2.) by spaces.

Comparable with our quotation mark, o "dash" usually is
written after the nomination of acting figures (such as the Vidfyaka,
the Gan ika etc.) before and after their direct speech, and at places
where prose and verse meet.

Spaces within the lines of these manuscripts, however, occur
in completely different situations. Lueders could show (Bruchstuecke ,
p. 10) that a space signifies in prose the end of a sentence (A), or

( 323 )

( 324 )

in verses the end of apada or quarter (B), i.e. such spaces in wnting
are found at places where, in later manuscripts, one would expect
adanda, [This space is not given e.g, for A in fragment 10b3 after
bbruhi; for lObl srtcna, 50b3 jayaniano, 4V4 grhani, 15VI u^e.
14b3 jadarena, 65a2 tathayam, 47a2 paran, 27a4 ppradvesarn.]

Further Lueders pointed out that, moreover, spaces in writing
often separate single words and groups of words, and that this
way of writing is known already from some of the inscriptions of
Asoka. With this last-mentioned observation, Lueders calls attention
to certain graphical facts of his manuscript fragments written
during the Kushana period which have on outwardly equal
appearance with graphical data of some Asokan Inscriptions written
about four centuries earlier.

But we need not leave it at that. Af.cr a thorough study of
the principles of spacing within the lines of wnting in Asoka-
Inschriften", 1972), we are today in a position to contribute to the
problem of spaces in the manuscript fragments edited by Lueders.

However, before we are able to compare the graphical pheno-
menon of those manuscript fragments with the relevant graphical
data of our oldest epigraphs, it is necessary to state that the Eastern
Asokan Inscriptions show two completely di ilbrenl systems of
spacing* the difference of which may be estimated to a certain extent
if, for example, we bear in mind the spacing of texts according to
padapatfia, or to samhitapStha.

The first system of spacing i b known from the Asokan
Inscription of Kalsi, line 1-27, and the Separate Pillar Ldict Topra
VII, whereas in most of the other A.vokan Pillar I-dicts (Araraj,
Nandangarh, Rampurva, Mirath, Topra I- VI, Rummindei, Nigali
Sagar) the second system of spacing can he studied, both serving
tr \--\-*:.-** ".-.. * -hically, i.e. speech-breaks or pauses

i -'-., .v- *.. .- / , . down during recitations following

two different principles of spacing (cf. Adyar Library Bulletin 32,
1968, p. 515).

SpaCing accordin S to the first system (Kalsi 1-27 and SepTop
VII) shows that there were pauses atter every word of two or more
syllables which one always combined, according to circumstances,
with foregoing or following monosyllables, proclitics or enclitics
into a unspaced sequence.

As already mentioned, this system of spacing is found in Kalsi
only m lines 1-27 written by the first scribe, whereas there are no
distinct spaces m line 28-39 of Kalsi East Face showing the more or

( 325 )

less careless work of a second scribe. But also in the master copy
used by this second scribe of Kalsi East Face, the words seem to
have been separated according to the same rule. This is testified
especially by line 36 where quite regularly a danda instead of a space
serves for segmenting the text :

(dha)mmak(a)m(a)ta 11 dhammanusathi=ca II deva(!iam)piyasa j|
[D.] (se) atm anusay(e) 11 de(vanam)piya(Js}a) h vijin(i)t[u] ||
kahgyani ll [E,]av(X) jitam=hi II vijinamane 1! e = tata j] v(a)
dham=^va || malane=va [| apavahe = (va) 11 jana&a H (s)e = badh
[*am*] II vedani(y)amu(t)e ll gul(u)mute^=c[a] 11 d(ev)anaip[pi]-
yasal!^[F.] iya(m)=pi=cu il tato ll galumat(.a)tale H d(e)vana
(m)piya(su)

[For sentence D compare Thommen, Wortstelhmg, PhiLDiss.
Goettingcn 1903, p. 36, 42; one could expect a daiida after athu]
Dandas of the same type and mostly in the same positions are
sometimes written also in some other lines (cf. 29; 33-35; 39) of
the inaccurate and careless second hand of Kalsi East Face, only
not with the regularity of line 36; sometimes the dandas are put even
at obviously wrong places (cf. 35J.

Now, if we compare this system of segmenting the text with
the system of spaces in our manuscript fragments of dramas studied
by Lueders, the fundamental difference of the two systems is
obvious : short complexes of words or many separated words here
against long complexes of words or rarely separated words there.

Jt remains for us to compare the data of the other Asokan
Pillar Edicts containing imperial proclamations with the fragments
of dramas written about 400 years later.

As demonstrated by me already (cf. Adyar Library
Bulletin 32 1968; Janert, Abstaencte 1972, etc.), the scribes
in writing down the texts of the above-given ^"^f^S
(SepTop VII excluded) marked by their spaces within tbe othrewise
continuous lines owriting (I.) the rhythmical pauses as well as (H.)
the syntactical or grammatical pauses they have bear d

between two words loosely in apposition.

Even if we take into consideration tl*

the

( 326 )

to make out certain principles of spacing which, as we shall see, in
some respects are equal to those of the Asokan Pillar Edicts
(SepTop VII excluded); cf. 6, 11 above.

As observed already by Lueders (cf. 2 above), in his manus-
cript fragments usually there is a space after every syntactically
independent syntagma, i.e. after om (fragment 3,Vorderseite 2), after
initial siddham (3V1), after a principal or a subordinate clause, after
a vocative, e.g. : voyasya gaccha=t (13, bl), Magadhavati
atitiksnalj=khalv==ayarn = damn4ah~(8,R.3). (bhava)ti na=tava =
vyakaranasya = kalah (8,V.2), hahgho=KomucIagandha dekkha=
tava(4,R.l), - /: ,* r/..~ *. >~ ':, ' 1 ;: : :i " .V *' Jl ""--,-;

units un spaced).

Short sentences often are written as one complex of words, and
that also at places without consonant combinations, e.g. : [para]
sparayattam=idan=dvandvam= iti yatra = hi buddhir= avalisthate
tatra=dhrtilj=-stha[*n*]am = laL haie yatra=co==dhrtir adhiyate
tatra = buddhir=vistiryyate (1,V,3), icchami = puppha, = yeva (30,
b3), idani=kathanci=ussasati (30., al).

Contrary to the rules of spacing in the afore-mentioned
As"okan Pillar Edicts, there cccur also longer sentences unspaced
(sometimes even in spite of the presence of a negative particle), e.g. :
bhavanivarttakesu = klesesu=na - kincid asti pprahatavyam yasya
= nityam = an'tyarp va na kincid asti =- boddhuvyam (1,V,1), or
1.V.2 (Dhrti).

Even other than such sententious formuhitions sometimes are
written without a space, e.g. : tasmmn-^ uparadhc kan=dandam
= anutisthami (8^.3)^ dassanampi = nn;^=imassa = dunabha[m]
(4,V.3).

On the other hand there are distinct spaces in sentences spoken
in Sanskrit as well as in Prakrit, e.g p : kva- punar--- idanlm = sa=
purusavigraho=dharmatL samprati = viharati 1, R.I), susnigdha
samprati-=pakt(i)Jj (13,a4), upade&o edissa- bambhanajanassa=
anuggahako-bb[oti] (14,V.2) ? yuktam^evam^hi^kurvvato moksa
syad= (12, b2), avikkhittena=hidayena aclamso dharayitavva
(8, R.1).

Other spaces seem to be inserted first of all from the gramma-
tical or syntactical point of view, i.e. after the predicate followed by
the rest of the sentence, or where in a sentence a space is followed
by a negative particle, e.g. : gatasi Somadattassa- vas*urakulara
(13, a3), na-samlpasesv=an[a]stha durasthe[su] (29,a3), vtmm-
hannantu putt[a-ca] n[a]tt[i]ka ca (8.R.4), anjalim- pi-karaya-

( 3Z7 )

mafia na^jivanti -(10,a2), Somadattena na=blnittam4hti c

00,4"

All these observations suggest that probably also the spaces
occurring within the lines of the manuscript fragments of dramas
written in the Kushana period, graphically represent speech-breaks
oi pauses in the spoken chain of words, But, I think, it is a comple-
tely different question whether in this respect we have to assume a
direct scribal tradition from the time of Asoka to the time of the

Kushanas.

THE LEXICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL IMPACT
OF SANSKRIT ON MODERN INDONESIAN

PROF. DR. HARRY SPITZBARDT
Jena, G.D.R.

1
Phonological Aspects

The continuous intake of socially, culturally, scientifically,
and economically important loan words as well as ever newly
coined internationalisms into the system of a modern national
language is of . . 'i * ' >' r -': '* ' ' 1>1 " .-'language planning
in general and , ' ;uages in particular.

As has been shown by recent developments in African and Asian
countries, the choice and subsequent modernization process of
national languages especially in the^e areas of the world reveal a
great complex of various theoretical and practical aspects. Once
the selection of the national or official language to be has been made
out of several languages or dialects of each country, there is the
problem of standardisation of the chosen official communication
system. This problem of standardization and we may add
communicative optimization of a given natural language is
closely connected with a steady improvement and accomplishment
of its vocabulary, the creation oi specified systems of terminology
in the field of science, technology, economics, education, etc*

As everybody knows, the cultural and linguistic history of
European countries has been greatly influenced by classical Greek
and Latin. The borrowing from these ancient pools of lexical and
word-formation elements continues to serve the whole intellectual
world with over new and well-defined, internationally accepted and
standardized scientific and technical terms.

A similar role is played by Sanskrit in the national language
of the Indonesian Republic, the Bahasa Indonesia. In many respects

( 328 )

( 329 )

the growth and structure of Modern Indonesian may be compared,
from its developmental point of view, with the history of English!
The Roman, Scandinavian, and French invasions to England are
in their cultural and linguistic effects a certain resemblance to the
Indian, Islamic, Portuguese, Dutch and Japanese invasions to the
Indonesian archipelago. The consequence for the Indonesians in
our present time may be seen in a diverse bulk of loan words,
including loan formations, mainly from Sanskrit, Arabic, Dutch,
and English, not only in the local dialects, but also in that basic
interinsular vernacular that has been developed from the original
Malay language and officially come to be received as the unitary
hngua franca, and been given the name of "Bahasa Indonesia".
In his contribution to the Conference on "The Modernization of
Languages in Asia", held in Kuala Lumpur in September 1967,
the Indonesian novelist and philologist Sultan Takdir Alisjahbana
made it clear that there is a passionate rivalry on the lexical field
between Sanskrit, Arabic, Graeco-Latin and local languages and
dialects in the standardization and modernization of the Indonesian
language. In Sukarno's time there was even a noticeable tendency
to screen off intruding anglo-americanisms by lesorting to anciant
borrowings or newly patterned forms from Sanskrit, using
"pramugari" for "stewardess", and "pra-sedjarah" (a Sanskrit-
Arabic hybrid) for ** prehistory", 6fc wartawan" for "journalist",
"wisatawan" for "tourist", "swasraja" for "self-service",
"dwibahasa" for "bilingual". Of late "konamatru" has been
introduced in mathematics and engineering as a substitute for
"goniometry"". Moreover, it should be noted from the socio-
linguistic point of view that the general trend to apply high-flaunting
Sanskritisms in Modern Indonesian has at the same time a signifi-
cant bearing on style in its social frame. In many cases the
preference of a Sanskrit loan word or neologism to a simple-
sounding vernacular word is meant to show that the speaker is an
intellectual, educated person, saying "pria" and ^wanita" instead
of Malay is laki-laki" and "perempuan" for masculine or feminine or
te boy" and "girl" respectively.

On the whole, there is a growing tendency to use Sanskritisms
in the national language of Indonesia, whose very designation,
"bahasa", has been derived from Sanskrit "bhSsa" - "language'^.
The fact that we have two forms in Indonesian bisyllabic **basa"
and trisyllabic "bahasa" was of a certain difficulty for our
computer experiments concerning an automatic phoneme trans-
formation Sanskrit-Indonesian, where a number of hitherto
disregarded or unknown phonematic irregularities could be
discovered and analyzed.

( 330 )

Phonematic correlations between the two !r-ig^ac cs under
consideration have been drafted iuluU'vcly and empirically by
J. Gonda in his book Sanskrit in Indonesia" (Nagpur, 1952), j n
H. Kahler's "Grammatik der Bahasa Indonesia" (Wiesbaden, 1956),
and by G. Kahlo with his chapter on the sound changes of Sanskrit
loan words in Malay contained in his booklet "Indonesische
Forschungen o__^,_?,, vr ^,," n cipz i g> 1941) Their
inventories of / l .. rules between Sanskrit

and Indonesian are far from being exhaustive and carry a certain
amount of mistakes with them. In the case of the Indonesian
homonym es bisa", for example, we have to take into account two
, ".:'.-* --.- .." *' Jl from tho native tongue and
; . . - ..- . : s . . V, (he other leading straight

back to Sanskrit "visa", which is "'poison" Up. Latin "virus").
That is why we decided to use quadruples consisting of a Sanskrit
word, its Indonesian counter-part and their respective German
meanings, each as one entry in our input format tor the purpose of
data processing. The German equivalents may serve as semantic
markers in further investigations. A regular howler is Mohammad
Zain's wilful explanation of Indonesian ^balaP "house, building"
from Sanskrit "valaya" = "bracelet, circle, enclosure". We always
have one reliable method at our disposal, by winch to prove that a
given item is of Sanskrit origin or not. This is the Polynesian
matching test, because Sanskrit did not spread into the Pacific
beyond the Philippines. Thus, if we find for our Indonesian word
"balai" the form "bale" in Javanese, and "fale^ in Sumoun, as well
as "whale*' in Maori, all expressing the same meaning, we may be
absolutely sure that we have not to deal with a Sunskritism. The
same author's identification of the Indonesian word ''meditasi" =
"meditation" as of Sanskrit origin should not be considered as a
howler, but as a mere joke,

Our automatic phoneme transformation through Sanskrit-
Indonesian word-matching yielded the following results :

From the given list of quadruples as described above we
obtained

A complete set of transformation rules from Sanskrit phonemes
to Indonesian phonemes

Alphabetically arranged word lists for each type of transfor-
mations

A series of tables, recording both the absolute and relative
frequencies of the occurrence of the particular trans for mation
types.

C 331 )

Our basic idea was a man-machine interplay, where man
feeds the machine an empirically or otherwise gained initial set of
transformation rules and the machine, as it were, is recursively
"learning" more and more rules by which the whole batch of
Sanskrit-Indonesian word-couples is filtered. There will always
remain a residual amount of words not corresponding to the given
rules from the inventory. Taking this fact into consideration, we
formulated an algorithmic strategy, the main operations of which
are :

(A) Successively increasing the inventory of phonematic transfor-
mation rules

'(B) At the same time, successively reducing the list of residual word
quadruples.

The algorithm turned out to be slightly susceptible toward
such case, where the Sanskrit-Indonesian word-couples showed
different lengths. This happens, when the Indonesian syllabic glide
vowel /Q/ (spelled as an (< e") is inserted between consonant + /r/,
e.g. Sanskrit "istri" "wife" -> Indonesian * isteri" = "wife",
or when an aspirated consonant in Sanskrit either looses its
aspiration in Indonesian or is transformed by insertion of a
phoneme /a/ into a full syllable, such as in Indonesian "bahagia"
corresponding to Sanskrit "bhagya" "fortune", whereas in the
case of Sanskrit "bhasa" we have, as already mentioned above, two
corresponding forms in Indonesian, viz. '"basa" or "bahasa'".
Likewise, the Sanskrit suffix "ya" becomes either *'ja" or simply fc i*'
in Indonesian.

Apart from these cases, a great number of philologically
interesting irregularities due to reduction, contraction, and syllable-
formation, have been revealed through our automatic transfor-
mation, and, furthermore, have been formulated as regularized
correspondences between the two languages. In this respect,
hitherto unnoticed cases of nasalization in Indonesian words,
especially before dental consonants, are of particular interest to
orientalists.

Besides this catalogue of phoneme correlations we tried to
gain descriptive and numerical data for a phonomorphological
typology of the two languages by means of a statistical contrastive
analysis. These inquiries resulted in a table of the most frequent
morpheme types in both languages as well as art index showing
the degree of consonant clustering, which as was to be expected
turned out to be significantly higher in Sanskrit than in
Indonesian.

( 332 )

As Sanskrit has come to be known tih a l .ar.^" t ^c relativ
rich in consonants and Indonesian rather poor, just us the who/
Malayo-Polynesian family, the difference between th e extent of
consonant clustering in Sn-^k -it r*~ . J ^ V T - -. * / at ^ Q

time be regarded as an c^.x<,Vo- .>: ^ ^ ., : , Ldaptibility'tf
foreign structures into the phonomorphological system of the
Bahasa Indonesia.

As has been proved by the phonemic transformation rules in
the first part of our phonological investigation and by the quantita-
tive contrastive analysis in ihe second part, words of Sanskrit origin
or pattern are easily and skilfully assimilated to ~ u ~rr -_ ; ^o logical
standards of the Indonesian language and not witiiout a certain
natural elegance and gracefulness incorporated into the analytic-
agglutinative system of its grammar.

Trying to overcome the difficulties of Sanskrit spelling, we
used a machine code developed by Bart van Nooicn at the American
Institute of Indian Studies from the Deccan College of Poona,
India.

In order to illustrate the dei ivation of phonematic transfor-
mation rules the following examples may bo mentioned :

Phoneme Transformation by Computer

Sanskrit Input Format English Meaning Indonesian Engish Meaning
agama AA/G/A/M/A LEARNING A,C'A/M/A RELIGION
visa V/I/.S/A POISON B/J/S/A POISON

daSa D/A/Z/A TEN D/^/S/A TEN

bhumi BH/UU/M/II EARTH B/U/M/I EARTH

kusuma K/U/S/U/M/A FLOWER K/IVS/U.M/A FLOWER

Transformation Rules

Al

"I "| ~ j w-ij r^/jsi./^

M etc.

A ) A l \ u ] ^j BH) r\r* c\

>-+A j.->I J->u ,S>-^S >-*B D G K

AAj nj UUJ Sj Vj

n

Lexicological Aspects

As has been shown in our contribution on "Sanskrit Loan
Words in the Bahasa Indonesia' % published in -The Journal of
Oriental Research" Vol. XXXVJ, 1970, by the KL-ppuswam! Sastn
Research Institute at Mylapore, Madras, a tentative semantic

( 333 )

grouping of Sanskrit words in the Bahasa Indonesia displays the
following lields of application :

Religion and Philosophy

Scholarship, Science, "Numbers

Abstract Words

Man, and Parts of the Body

Family Relations

Official Appointments and Titles

Literary Terms and Notions

Natural Phenomena and Geographical Expressions

Animals and Plants

Metals, Minerals , and other Materials

Notions of Time

Buildings and Institutions

Trade and Business.

In addition to the main stock of lexical items from both, the
nominal and verbal complex, there is a group of function- words
(prepositions, adverbs, pronouns, and conjunctions) and prefixal
as well as suffixal elements to be used in word formation, all of
them equally derived from Sanskrit, There is a considerable number
of undoubted Sanskritisms unrecognized and consequently not
registered as such in Indonesian dictionaries, such as th.e "Kamus
Moderen Bahasa Indonesia (Djakarta, 1954), by Sutan Mohammad
Zain, or the Indonesian-German dictionary by Otto Karow and Irene
Hilgers-Hebse, published in. Wiesbaden, 1962. These two German
orientalists, in fact, must have failed to know a Sanskritism when
they saw one, otherwise they would have designated such evident
items as "bahasa" = "language", "bakti"="devotion", "bisa" =
"poison", *muka"- <fc face'% "pr as an gka" - "prejudice", "sardjana"
= ie scholar'% "tjita""idea" (from the Sanskrit Past Participle
*'citta"* < *thought"), and a great many others as genuine Sans-
kritisms.

After statistically checking different dictionaries as to their
content in Sanskritisms we arrived at the following results :

Karow and Hilgers Hesse booked 545 Sanskritisms among

19070 dictionary entries, which is 2.9% as compared to 8.7%

Arabisms.
- Sutan Mohammad Zain records 565 Sanskritisms from a total

of 13182 entries, which is 4.3% as compared to 8.4,

Arabisms.

Already from these numerical data we can infer a general agreement
with regard to Arabisms and a considerable uncertainty when it

( 334 )

comes to Sanskritisms. Our own file of Sanskrit loan words in
the Indonesian language, collected by hand in the traditional way
from novels, scientific and technical publications, magazines and
newspapers, private letters, together with those specimens found-
if designated in the dictionaries, amounts up to altogether 760
items, i.e. both borrowings and new formations with the help of
Sanskrit implements. It is to be expected that the actual number
of the Sanskrit share in Indonesian word usage is much higher
because our collection increases from day to day. As from our 760
Sanskrit words about 100 are still more or less doubtful in view of
the shortcomings mentioned above, the need for an exact and
complete solution of the problem becomes obvious. In order to

routine techniques of computer systems, seems to be inevitable. A
given Indonesian word should, in accordance with a system of
phonological transformation rules be converted into its initially
quite fictitious Sanskrit counterpart, a process which after a
suggestion made by Hans Karlgren might duly be called a "trans-
lation into quasi-Sanskrit". The fictitious Sanskrit word, produced
in this way, will then be looked up in the Sanskrit dictionary for a
match, if successful, it will be stripped off its fictitious character
and be turned into a genuine Sanskritism, if there is no match, the
next Indonesian word has to be converted.

As may easily be guessed, the first step in the entire lexico-
logical research scheme has to be an automatic phonems trans-
formation Sanskrit Indonesian, yielding the fundamental inventory
of phonemic correlation rules between the two languages.

Yet another preliminary procedure to facilitate the dictionary
comparison will be an automatic root analysis of current Indonesian
text materials, because only root morphemes are to be finally
matched so that the Sanskritisms among them can be selected by
machine routines. Moreaver, an automatic root analysis has to be
regarded as indispensable for the preparation of dictionaries,
thesauri, and word-frequency lists, which may then be subjected to
various procedures of natural language data processing, and be
further exploited in automatic documentation systems, as for
instance in key word-in -context (KWIC) indexing, or in mechanized
information retrieval with indexing, content analysis, abstracting,
and to some degree at least for purposes of machine translation
of telegraphic abstracts, again first and foremost in the field of
information and documentation. Furthermore, it will become
feasible, after all, to state the relative frequencies of Sanskrit words

( 335 )

to actual usage of the Bahasa Indonesia covering all provinces of
life, i.e. from newspapers, wireless broadcasting and television,
frofli publications of any kind, political speeches, university lectures,
bazaar slang, and so forth.

Trying to explain this by way of an example, let us take as
input for our automatic text analysis on any medium-size computer
just one sentence from the speech held by Sukarno on the occasion
of the national ceremonies for the 19th anniversary of the Day of
proclamation on 17th August 1964. Incidentally, Sukarno's name
is derived from a Sanskrit Bahuvrihi-compound "su-karna" meaning
as much as "being provided with a nice ear", just as Suharto's goes
straight back to ^su-artha", which had the meaning of "showing
nice endeavour, good property'".

Sukarno said in his speech :

"Karcna itulah maka pada permulaan pidato ini saja bitjara
tentang pengalaman dimasa Jang lampau, dan djurusan untuk masa
jang akan datang".

In English : "For this reason at the beginning of this speech
I will talk about the experience drawn from the past and our tasks

for the future."

The output in the form of a string of root words after the
procedure of automatic root analysis looks like this :

KAREN A ITU MAKA PADA MULA PIDATO INI SAJA
BITJ^RA TENTAKO ALAM MASA JANG LAMPAU DAN
DJURUS UNTUK MASA JANG AKAN DATANG.

an USL of the ct*t in Sauskritisms an
scanning of this small piece of text ^
words of Sanskrit origin or pattern \

sentence are Sanskrit isms.

Ill
Morphological Aspects

pronouns," conjunctions, demonstrate in ajai
the process o ' _" .s.'--:.! 1 : ' ' ~r^"- ' '

( 336 )

of the Bahasa Indonesia up to the final stage of their grammatical!
zation into pure function words. The following examples maybe
mentioned :

"bahwa" -=- "that" (introducing subordinate clauses) from Sanskrit

"bhava" =- "manner of acting, state of mind or body 1 *
**atau, atawa" "or" from Sanskrit "athava"" ~- "or"
"antara" "between" from Sanskrit "antaru" -- "between"
"karena" = "as, because" 11 from Sanskrit "karana 11 = "reason

cause"

"tatkala" - "when 11

"sementara" "meanwhile" from Sanskrit "samuntara" = "mean-
while"

"sarwa" or "serba" = "all, entire" from Sanskrit "sarva" = " a ^>
"puma" = "complete" from Sanskrit "ptirna" - "complete"

Among prefixes or quasi-prefixal elements In compound
structures may be mentioned :

"antar" = "inter-", as e.g, in "antar-pulau" = -- **interinsular"
"maha" == "great". Prefixal "maha has become one of the most
active word-forming morphemes in Modern Indonesian. We
have discovered more than 20 specimens of word -formation
with c 'maha-". Among them there arc ^maharadja" - "great
king", Su mahadjaja" "great victory", "mahadjana" "person
of high rank", "mahaduta" -, ta *embassador", "mahaguru"
= "professor", "mahamenteri " - vt high oOicial". ct mahamulia"
= "Excellency", <fc maharupa" - ht of grand shape or kind",
(fi Mahasiswa/-i" = "student". For ^God", as pertaining to any
theistic religion including Catholicism, Protestantism, and
Islam, the words "Mahadewa, Mahakuasa" 6fc AIraighty", or
"Mahasempurna" -- ' 4 He who alone is entirely perfect"'are
in common use. Moreover, "maha" can be used in the func-
tion of an intensive adverb like "very, extremely, exceedingly"
Examples are: "mahabaik" - "very good", "mahapenting"
-= "very important", "mahabesar" - "very great", all of them
written in one word or with a hyphen, giving the feeling as if
"maha" has to be considered as the first element in a
compound.

"eka-, dwi-, tri- f tjatur-, pantja- etc." - "mono-, bi-, tri-. tetra-,
penta-, etc." Expressing the simple, double, threefold, fourfold,
fivefold, etc. meaning of the semantic content signalled by the
second element in the compound. In other words, we have
Sanskrit numbers in quasi-prefixal use : e.g. "dwiwarna" -
Jin two colours", "dwibahasa" - "bilingual*:, "triwulan" -
+ " a ? ntu y". "tritunggal" - "unity of three" (referring
to the Trinity of Brahma, Visnu, and Siva), "tjaturtunggal"-

( 337 )

"unity of local government consisting of four powers or forces *
civil force, military force, the police, and jurisdiction 'VPant-
jaindera"--''the five senses". The famous "Pantjasila" and
modernisms such as "Dwi-Dharma" and "Tjatur-Karya",
which can also be written in the form of compound words,
have played an important role in politics. The "Pantjasila",
as propagated by the Indonesian Government after the Revo-
lution of 1945, comprise the following five principles of
statesmanship :
Belief in One Almighty God (Ketuhanan Jang Maha Esa)

National Consciousness and Democracy (Kebangsaan)

The ^ : ' i . "/: T ": '.:.. . '. -i *.

nusiaan)

Social Justice and Common Welfare (Keadilan dan Kema-

kmuran Sosial).

Meantime the new government of the Indonesian Republic
liave contributed some new principles for political and eoconomic
orientation, yet also decorated with Sanskrit labels. In 1966
General Soeharto issued a political-economic emergency pro-
gramme which was summarized under the brief codification "Dwi-
Dharma" and "Tjatur-Karya", both of which, terms are Sanskrit
in every syllable. **Dwi Dharma" are the two basic preconditions
for any further development of the Indonesian Republic, viz.
political and economic stabilisation, whereas " Tjatur-Karya"
explicitly state the four necessary practical actions that had to be
taken without any delay : to provide a livelihood for every citizen,
to prepare general elections by 1968, to carry on a free and active
foreign policy, and to continue the fight against imperialism and
colonialism.

The word "Dwiwarna" together with the honorific article
"Sang", i.e. "Sang Dwiwarna"-* 4 The Two-Coloured" is used as a
euphemism for the national flag of the Indonesian Republic, exhi-
biting the two colours -red and white.

^self, own" e.g. in *<swasta" = "individual, private",
"swasraja" - "self-service", "swatantra" - "autonomy",
"~ "before, pre-". This element has grown to be another
,.. ,^4 . ^ : ,.^ -,.,-fi^ +^ f~.m is/nrris in analogy to internationalisms
,, "prae-" as in "praehistoria",

or English "prehistory", German "Vorgeschichte'% Indo-
nesian "pra-sedjarah". The word "pra-sedjarah" is a hybrid
formation whose first element stems from Sanskrit and the
second from Arabic. Other examples with pra- are :

"prasaran" - "pre-advice'% iw pr^mugari" "stewardess",
"prakarsa" ~ "initiative", "prasa ngka" ' "prejudice'* and
many others.

"air (Sanskrit "sarva'% e.g. "serbaguna" -"multi-
purpose", "serbapikir" --= "mentalism" (again a Sanskrit-
Arabic hybrid).

"purba" = "ancient" (Sanskrit ik purva), as e.g. in -'->i.rbaka:a'*
"ancient time".

* 'par i'* = Serving as an intensifying element, e.g. b *panpurna"
"very full", "paribahaja"-- -""great danger 1 ". The Sanskrit,
and with, it also the general lndo-1-uropean meaning of
"around, about" (cp. Greek "peri-" Russian * pere-", etc.) has
been retained in "pariwarta" -"all-round report' 1 , and espe-
^.i. 11 - ' "; :"? -V'==r "tourism", whereas ^tourist" is
-.--,..-,. , .-. without the prefixed element "pari-".

"su** = "good, nice", corresponding to Greek "cu-"^ as in * ; eu-
anggelion"== "Gospel, literally good news", cp. also words
like "euphemism" or "eulogy" in English. Innumerable
proper names, such as "'Sukarno, Suharto, Suhadio, Suma-
dirana, Sutjipto, Sudarsono, etc. etc. are formed with the
help of this morpheme which has remained active from ancient
Javanese up to the modern times. Oi her wise it occurs in
formations like "susastera" - "bclietristic".

As productive suffixes may be mentioned :

**-wan/-wati" = Expressing the faculties acquired for a given activity
or profession, such as in "wartawan"- ^journalist", "wisa-
tawan" = "tourist", "tjendekiawan" ^scholar" (cp. "sard-
jana"). The feminine gender is formed by "-watP respec-
tively.

"-man" = is of similar meaning as "-wan", e.g. **seniman"=-
"artist'% its feminine counterpart being "seniwati'\ however.

t -bakti" = "service", e.g. "darma-bakti" -"duly", <-kcrdjabakti"-
"working-service", "pramubakti" =^- "hotel servant".

**-ta" = In Sanskrit the ending "-la" serves to form Past Partici-
ples from verbal roots, which may be n o mi n ali/ed into subs-
tantives, mostly of an abstract character. In the Bahasa
Indonesia the suffix "-ta" is used in analogy to internationa-
lisms ending in "-tas'% derived from Latin (e.g. -'facultas",
"universitas"), in "-ty" as in English ("capacity, quality"), or
in "-tat" as in the German language ("FakultaU Quantitat")-
Indonesian examples are : "kap as It a" "capacity", "legalita"

( 339 )

- ^legality", kwahta" - "quality", "kwantita" -"quantity",
-'fasilitiT' -- ^facility", "fakulta" -"faculty*', "universita" =
^university". For the two latter, though, the original Latin
forms "fakultas" and "'universitaV are more frequent. Thus,
we see that the suffix form "-ta" may have arisen from a con-
tamination between Latin. (e -tas" and Sanskrit "-ta".

Every lexical item adopted from Sanskrit is easily and elegan-
tly incorpoarated into the agglutinative mechanism of Indonesian
morphology. Thus, e.g. active verbs are given the prefix "me-"
with concomitant prenasalization and elimination of the voiceless
consonants /p/, /t/, /k/, and /s/. In accordance with this phono-
morphological rule a verb fc *lo like" is derived from the root "suka":
*'menjukai'\ It has attained the prefix "me-*% palal prenasali-
zation /nj/, and the suffix "-i", which denotes orientation of action
towards an unmoved object. From the root ^pudja" the verb
"memudja" "to adore, love, honour" is formed, from "kata" =
"word" the active verb "mengataken" =- "to say" with suffix "-kan"
denoting, as a rule, orientation of action towards a moved object.
Abstract nouns are generated by embedment of the lexical, basic
root into the affixal frame "ke . an". Thus from "sastera" =
"books, philology" we form "susastera" = "beautiful books,
belletristic", and then by attaching both prefix "ke-" and suffix
"-an'% we obtain "kesusasteraan", which stands for '"literature* .

The analytical agglutinative character of the Malayo-
Polynesian languages may be considered as the structural reason
for the absence of any formal distinction of gender in the
Bahasa Indonesia. As has already been emphasized in our
introductory remarks, the modern Bahasa Indonesia is in its
historical growth and structure more or less comparable to English,
conspicuously so after the Normanno-French invasion into the
British Isles or after the exportation and transplantation of the
English language across the ocean to the American continent. Thus,
the influence exerted e.g. by the French language upon the lexical
structure of English with all its consequences as to anincreased rich-
ness in synonyms, the enhancement of possibilities of word-formations
and derivation, the occurrence of hybrid formations, greater varieties
of style, connotative multiplicity etc., is, on the other hand, reflected
through the role played by Sanskrit and Arabic ia the Bahasa
Indonesia. And much in the same way as English has adopted a
few plural endings from Greek and Latin that have remained
entirely unproductive within the whole language system (e.g.
-phenomena, algae, fungi", etc.) and some of v/hich are even used
for tfce .singular number, because their original plural form and

( 340 )

function are no longer to be Felt by the English speakers (e.g. "visa,
data'", etc.), so, likewise, in the national language of Indonesia we
may hit upon petrified and hence grammatically v.r. productive
plural forms taken over from Arabic (such as "saladin, hadirin"),
which, like their Latin and Greek equivalents in English, are no
longer looked upon as true plural forms and consequently, are not
seldom provided with the systematically and paradigTnatically
prescriptive plural marker "para" (originally - fit ;x:opLe. mass,
crowd") in front of them. This is what we understand by the
technical term "lexicalization". There is a similar case of adoption
of formal means of gender discrimination between masculine nouns
in * : -a" and feminine ones **-i" borrowed from Sanskrit, but equally
unproductive within the whole system of the Indonesian language.
In other words, these few cases should be treated as nothing else
but an occasional retention of morphological differentiation markers
that have not become paradigmatic. Such Indonesian instances
as e.g.

"dewa dewi"' === "god goddess"

"mahasiswa mahasiswi"' ^ "boy-student girl-student"

"putera puteri" ~ "son daughter""

"saudara saudari" =- "brother sister" 9

have to be treated as part of the vocabulary and not of grammar.
They have been lexicalized. This is a logical postulate, even though
we might mention some rare example of analogy where the gender
criterion is used with nouns of Malay origin as in the case of
< 6 pemuda-pemudi" <= "boy - girl"" or ^p^nibLtjn-pcmlmtji" -
"reader, masculine and feminine respectively"". The latter, by the
way,^ is an interesting example of etymologically hybrid nature:
"batja" "to read" goes back to Sanskrit fcC vac"" "speak" or
"vaca" "speech", whereas the prefix "pe " is typically Malay
to indicate the actor of the verbal expression represented by the
root or basis, the feminine suffix i", after all, is again made use
of in accordance with the Sanskrit pattern. In how far the morpho-
logical neutralization of the " a/ i" differentiation in Indonesian
has actually advanced, may be illustrated by such examples where
the originally masculine form in " a" may express both masculine
and feminine gender. This is particularly the case in words of a
generalizing meaning such as

"mahasiswa".- "student" (both masc. and fern.)
"saudara" - "comrade" (both masc t and fern.)
etc.

This neutralizing process may also be illustrated by numerous
examples from any other language cf. the Russian words 'kollega*
"colleague" and "tovarisS" -= "mate, fellow, comrade", both of
which imply masculine as well as feminine gender in one and the
same word-form.

From a general linguistic point of view, embracing all aspects
of language development the phonomorphological phenomena, the
semantic dynamics, the syntactical conditions the processes of
lexicalization as in the cases of non-paradigmatic plural endings
on the one hand, and of grammaticalization as illustrated in the
process of semantic generalization of the words "saudara" and
"saudari" up to their iinal desemantization into mere pronouns on
the other, are of paramount interest for the documentation of
extra-linguistically conditioned effects of intraiinguistic activities.
On its long way of gradual loss in semantic content until finally
gaining the function of a personal pronoun of the second and third
person, the word "saudara", and respectively its feminine counter-
part "saudarr% exhibits a complete chain built up by the following
semantic links : from "brother or sister" to "intimate friend" to
"mate" to "formal friend" to "fellow" to "comrade" (as an
equivalent to Russian "tovariS6") to "colleague" (in the general
sense of the word) to '*M.r. and Mrs. or Miss" (as a manner of
addressing other persons) and finally to the personal pronoun of
the second person corresponding to English "you", or German "du,
ihr, Sie". In postposition, as any other personal pronoun of the
Bahasa Indonesia, "saudara/saudari" may be used in the function
of a possessive pi onoun : e.g. "rumah saudara" "your house",
"suami saudari" == < your husband". Occasionally the words
"saudara" and "saudari" can also stand for the personal pronoun
of the third person singular. As to plural formation in the
pronominal sphere, the usual structural rules have to be applied, as
there are

word-repetition : "saudara-saudara"
"saudari-saudari"

adding of "semua", or "sekalian", both of which

meaning "all" : "saudara/ saudari semua" ) ^ < you a n\
"saudara/saudari sekalian** j

Indonesian "saudara/saudari" is derived from Sanskrit
"sodara" (m.)/ "sodari" (f.) * "full bi other /sister by kinship**.
As further Sanskrit forms of the same lexical item under considera-
tion may be met with :
adj. usage of "sodara", e.g. ace. sg. "sodaram bhrataram"

= "the full brother" (as an object), where in the attribute the
proper basic meaning of "Verr :., ^ from one and the sa
womb" is inherent. e

adj. derivation "sodarya" --- "'brotherly, sisterly"

the latter substantivized : "sodarya (m.) /sodarya (f.)^^* tf s d
sodari" as mentioned above. a '

in addition to these, in compounds : "sodarusneha"" or "sod
sneha" - "love among brother and sister also used symbolical^*"
cf. Sakuntala Act IV, line 5 (p.47 in the edition by Cappeler) '
"avaimi te tasyam sodara-sneham" ^l know your sisterly J
to him". In Boehtlingk's edition of "Sakuntala" the /of of tlT
form "sodarya'* has been changed into the diphthong /au/ : -
saudarya-sneharrT\

subst. "saudaryam/ (n.) with Vrddhi /o, - au' *'brotherl
resp. sisterly relation", as occurring in the texts of "JShagavata-
Purana'* and *Dasakumaracarita\

In a line with "mant, - vant, in" expressing something
like "having, being provided with", also the suffix -* y a * ^
"belonging to" may be considered as a deri\ational morpheme, used
in Sanskrit to form adjectives from noun^. or, more generally
speaking : nominal stems from nominal stem.-. Of paramount inerest
is, in this connection, the treatment I\L-U to the ancient forms
"sodara" and "sodarya" in Panmi's suiras, which have to be
considered, in terms of modern linguisiics, as the curliest documenta-
tion of programmed teaching by means of K^icaUy arranged sets of
rules and metalinguistic symbols. In this respect Leonard Bloom-
field is scientifically justified calling the Sanskrit - -i..,-. of Panini
as k< one of the greatest monuments of human ;/>;..:!i. -P^-'\ Thus
we too, felt justified throwing a glimpse into I>arjii\s sGtras, using
the annotated edition by Otto Bochtlingk, Leipzig, 1KS7.
Panini, Sutra 4,4,105 : "sabhaya yah"

Stating that the suffix "ya"is to be added to "sabha", resulting

m the form "sabhya'* - "being in community with^ . Panini, Sutra4.4.

108 : samanodara sayita codattali^ Denoting the meaning of ya"

expressing -having lain, rested" after -samanodara-. the /o/ in this

case bearing the accent, e.g. "samanodaryo bhruta' ~ "fuU

Y ?'^ The /? S t partici P le "Sayita-, mcanisg - having rested or

slept , is derived from the root form "si" and, us a noun, determines

the place, where somebody -has been lying-. Phonrlooically, there

ts asandhi of "samana" + "udara" > "samanodara- "

P ** in - ip Sfl r ra 4A1 9 : Mfiod radyaV Which says that in this
same meaning of -has been lying- as shown in rule 4,4 108 --ya"

( 343 )

ma y be added to the' word "sodara", e.g. "sodaryo bhrata" =
"brother by kinship or biological relation".

In a later section, Panini describes a powerful algorithm for
what in modern structural linguistics would be called "substitution
technique". So, for instance, Sutras 6,3, 84 till 89 are dealing with
the substitutien of "samana" by monosyllabic fcc sa" = "equal,
identical, same, together, common, joint" (cp. the same meaning of
the word "same" in English, "zusammen" in German, and "sama"
in Indonesian), as it occurred in rules 4,4,108 and 109 just men-
tioned above. Embedded, now, within the total substitution algorihm
Panini formulates a clever alternative rule for using either "samana"
or "sa" according to Sutra 6,3,88 : "vibhasodare", where he says
that in the case of prefixation before "udara" = "belly, cavity,
womb'% provided with the suffix "-ya*% substitution of "samana" by
"sa" is not obligatory, or, in other words, both forms are admitted :
c samanodarya" and "sodorya". This is an interesting example of
a so-called ''Not Only But Also" rule as it is known to modern
mathematical logic.

The sandhi rule for "vibhasa" -h "udara" -> "vibhasodara* 1 * is
given in Panini 6,1,87. The feminine noun ''vibhasa"* means
"arbitrary decision, alternative, free choice". The ending *"e* of
"vibhasodare" denotes the locative case singular and the existence
of ec -ya" is to be inferred from the aforegoing sutras. Thus Sutra
6,3,88 may literally be rendered into English by the following
prescription : ^Alternative is possible in case of 'udara* ".

In quoting these few rules from Panini^s programmed Sanskrit
grammar, we have, at the same time, extracted the two basic ele-
ments "sa" n and "udara" as they are necessary for an etymological
understanding of our two Indonesian words "saudara" and
"saudari"*. Taken together, the Indian preconditions for the
Indonesian word-couple "saudara/saudari" can best of all be
explained by referring to a confirmation of the phonomorphological
facts, as kindly informed by the Principal of the Shri Lai Bahadur
Shastri Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapitha in Delhi, Dr. Mandan
Mishra. He says that the Indonesian and Malay form "saudara"
does not occur in Sanskrit, where we find "sodara" with fof exclu-
sively, both in adjectival and substantival usage. As far as the
opinion of Indian scholars goes, there is no explanation for the
occurance of the phoneme /au/ in the Bahasa Indonesia. No
tendency of a shift from "so-" to "sau-" may be traced in modern
Hindi either. Moreover, Mandan Mishra makes it clear that in
Sanskrit and Hindi the proper form for the feminine gender of the
masculine counterpart "sodara" out to be "sodara" with a long

( 344 )

ending vowel /a/ instead of "sodart" with long final /!/. In other
words, the latter is to be explained by way of analogy to all the
other feminine nouns of the "i"-class. But, nevertheless, the general
rule for feminine derivation from "akaranta-words, i.e. words
ending in "-a", postulates the suffix "-a\ This may be seen from
examples like "kanya" (m.)- "the samllest one" and "kanya" (f.)
=s"girr, or e -"rama" (m.)=- cw the dark one" and -rama" (f.) = "the
dark lady", who, incidentally reminds one of Shakespeare's famous
lady love to whom he addressed his charming sonnets. The form
"rSxnI'% also of feminnie gender, however, has quite another meaning,
viz. "night".

The modern Indonesian word kfi saudara", and its feminine
counterpart "saudari" respectively, has the basic meaning of
"brother (or sister), mate, fellow, comrade". Other meanings have
been touched upon already. Originally, Sanskrit '"sodara" from
sa"+"udara' pointed to the fact that brothers and/or sisters are
stemming from "one and the same maternal womb". Owing to
the amalgamation of these etymological elements expressing
'togetherness.' and "uterus" into one sandhi-ibrm ""sodara ', which
phonomorphological phenomenon the American linguist Paul L.
Garvin in his book 'On Linguistic Method" (The Hague, 1964, p. 25\
very adequately described as a "'rnorpheniL overlap" where the
phoneme produced by the sandhi acquires an ambi morphemic
character, prevented the Indonesian borrowers of the word from
realizing and comprehending the original semantic kernel of the
compound. Thus, when the necessity should arise in communica-
tion to make it clear that not just "fellow, or male"., but rather
"brother or sister by true kinship" is to be meant by the word
"sauc'ara" or "saudari", the Indonesian speaker feels compelled to
regenerate or recharge the loan word by a lexical manipulation
that might linguistically be called something like a *"rescmantization
process". The resemantization is brought about by introducing
Malay word "kandung" which has the same meaning as Sanskrit
'udara'% viz. "womb, or uterus": "Saudara k and ung"- "full
brother". There is another form, '"saudara sckandung", where the
prefixed element "-se", though exactly corresponding to the gram-
matical meaning of Sanskrit "sa-", is not at ail ctymologically
identical with the latter. Indonesian "se-" is a reduced form of
the numeral "satu"=* "one" and, when used as a prefix, serves in
the function to express comparison of equal degree as the syntac-
tical construction "sama dengan", meaning literally vv together with,
along with, being of the same degree as". In this construction,
of course, the grammatical function word '"sania" is another case
of borrowing from Sanskrit.

( 345 )

For reasons of curiosity, in our etymological and phonomor-
phological analysis, we have to demonstrate a typical mistake that
once occurred to the Indonesian philologist and lexicographer
Sutan Mohammad Zain when trying to explain the etymology of
the word "saudara" as used in the Bahasa Indonesia. In his
"Kamus Modern Bahasa Indonesia", == Modern Dictionary of
Indonesian, Djakarta, 1954), he says about the historical
development of our word ; "terdjadi dari sa-{-udara"=^ "originated
from * c sa" (together) plus "udara" (air, atmosphere, sky), and
then he goes on explaining : "bernapaskan udara Jang sama
dalam kandung ibu : adik, kakak ; tetapi sekarang artinja
bertambah luas dengan teman, sahabat". In English: "To breathe
the same air or having breathed the same air within the mother's
womb : younger or elder brother or sister ; nowadays, however, in
a broadened sense referring to mate or friend". The process of
pronominalization, i.e. of gradually grammaticalizing the words
"saudara" and "saudari" into a personal pronoun, has not been
mentioned at all. And, although Muhammad Zain quite correctly
registers in his Indonesian dictionary the word "udara" with its
meaning "air., atmosphere, sky" as a Sanskritism and, contrary
to the prefix "se-** mentioned before, the compository element
"sa-" has also undoubtedly been taken over from Sanskrit, he feels
inclined to consider the morphemic amalgamation "saudara" as
peculiarly and virtually Indonesian and by no means derived from
Sanskrit.

A lexico-grammatical analysis of the usage of "saudara/saudari" in
the Bahasa Indonesia reveals the fact that from the lexical field of
application in the sense of * 'friend, comrade, Mr, Mrs. or Miss"
as a semi-grammaticalized lexeme in the function of addressing
another person, the fully grammaticalized pronoun of the second
or third person has developed. From linguistic processes of this
kind, to which may easily be added further examples, certain
interactions between semantic changes and functional shiftings,
between lexicon and grammar, or, more commonly speaking, among
form, meaning, and function, may be concluded.

Summarizing our lexicological and morphological findings, we
arrive at the following conclusion : For South-East Asia Sanskrit
plays a similar role as ancient Creek and Latin do for Europe. It
is to be considered as a rich source of root morphemes, prefixes,
and suffixes, as well as morphological patterns for word formation
in the developmen of national languages. Not only prepositions*
adverbs, pronouns, and conjunctions, but also certain grammatical
features, types of compounding and a great number of active pre
and suffixes have been collected to prove their incorporation into
the agglutinative mechanism of Indonesian morphology.

( 346 )

From these !:Vu..XV findings a constant process of gramma
ticalization of Sanskrit words within the system of Bahasa Indonesia
maybe inferred. The conclusion is drawn that the influenced
Sanskrit on the development of the national language of Modern
Indonesia shows an increasing tendency in the present time. This
general trend is most conspicuous in the field oPj^^'cgv, including
word-formation, less effective in grammatical morphology, since the
Bahasa Indonesia is a predominantly r.^ly.'X-a! language, and
almost negligible in the syn lactic sphere.

References

Beskrovnyj, V. M. : <O roll Sanskrita v razvitii novoindoarijskich
literaturnych jazykov.* In : Sovremennyjc literturnyje jazyki
stran azii (Collected Papers). Moskva 1965, p. 62ff.

Gonda, J. : Sanskrit in Indonesia. Nagpur 1952.

Kahler, H. : Grammatik der Bahasa Indonesia. Wiesbaden 1956.

Kahlo, G. : Indonesische : : -;-- j!^-r-:CJ! Spr'K'hbetrachiunaen
Abschnitt 3, Die !>.' . .\ . ,. ^ bei Sanskritlehnwortern
im Malayischen. Leipzig 1941.

Karow, O. and !T : h.; '!.- * J. : /m/om' t \ivc/i-/}entschcs Wbrterbuch
Wiesbaden 1962.

Soebadio, Nj.H. ; -Penggunaan baJuisa Sanskcrta dalam pemben-
tukan istilah baru' (The Use of Sanskrit in the Formation of
Modern Terminology). In : Madjalah limti-Ilmu Sastera
Indonesia No. 1, 1963, p. 47ir.

Spitzbardt, H. : 'Sanskrit Loan Words in the Bahasa Indonesia.'
In: The Journal of Oriental Research (M\ hi pore, Madras)
Vol. XXXVI, 1970, p. 291T.

Staal, J.F. : 'Sanskrit and Sanskritizalion\ 3n : The Journal of
Asian Studie$,VoL XXII, No- 3, 1963, p. 2611V.

Wirjosuparto, S. : ''Sanskrit in Modern Indonesia*. In : United Asia,
International Magazine of Afro-Asian Affairs No. 4, Bombay
1966, p. 165ff.

Zain, St. M. : Kamus Modern Bahasa Indonesia f Modern Indonesian
Dictionary). Djakarta, 1954.

SANSKRIT WORDS IN THE THAI LANGUAGE

M. L. CHIRAYU NAVA WONGS

Professor of Thai Language and

Head of the Thai Department,

Chulalongkorn University,

Bangkok, Thailand

This paper is an attempt at discussing the main points in the
adaptation and the role of Sanskrit words in the standard or official
Thai language.

The Thai language belongs to a type of language called
Isolating Language, that is, each word in the language is free to
enter into the construction of sentences without any modification
as to case, gender, number, mood, or tense. Thai words are usually
monosyllabic, but there are also words with two or more syllables;
words of the second type are generally of Indie and other foreign
origins. Phonologically the Thai language has nine short vowels
/i- u, e 9 o, ae o a/ which can be geminated to give corresponding long
vowels, and three dipthongs /ia a ua/. By using semivowels /j, w/
it is possible to represent all Indie vowels except r f \\ which are
represented by the consonants /r/ and /!/ plus a vowel. There are
twenty consonants and five tones.

When a Sanskrit word is adapted for use in the Thai language,
it may have to undergo one or a combination of the following
changes : a change in the number of the syllables, a change in the
vowels, and a change in the consonants.

A change in the number of the syllables

The main tendency is to cut down the number of the syllables.
Thus a two-syllabled word becomes monosyllabic, e.g. sattva 'being,
animal* becomes /sat/, sastra 'science' becomes /skat/, nlti 'conduct'
becomes /nit/, hetu 'cause' becomes /htet/. A three-syllabled word
becomes two-syllabled vditya 'sun' becomes /aathit/; anuja 'younger

( 347 )

brother 9 becomes in poetry /niichaa/ also /nut/ down to only one
syllable, kancana 'gold* becoming /kaan/ is- an example of the loss
of two syllables in a three-syllabled word. A Sanskrit consonant
cluster that is not phonologically allowed in the Thai language
usually splits, resulting in an additional syllable e.g. ksema 'ease,
comfort' becomes /kaseem/, the number of the syllables remains the
same because of the loss of the iinal a.

A Vowel Change

Although in ordinary Thai words the length of a vowel is
significant, /tarn/ 'to pound* contrasts with /taam/ *to follow', /aj/
*to cough* contrasts with /aaj/ 'to be ashamed , the length of the
vowels of a Sanskrit loan word, especially in the final open syllabic,
does not always remain the same. Thus kaya 'body* is represented
by /kaaj/ /kaaja-/ (as the first member of a compound) and /kaajaa/,
candra "moon* becomes /can/ /can thru, canthraa/ darsana 'view'
becomes /that, thatsana. thaisanaa/. sattru 'enemy* becomes
/sattruu/, sila 'conduct, rules of conduct' becomes /sin, siin/.

Short a in a close syllable usually becomes /o/. For example,
janaka 'father' becomes /chanok/, daraka 'child* becomes /thaar6k/,
vihaga 'bird' becomes /'wihok/. But when followed by /-the short
a becomes /o/ and the r becomes /n/ t amara 'god' becomes /amoon/,
nagara 'city' becomes /nakhoon/. In a few words a becomes /e/,
e.g. vajra 'diamond' becomes /phet/, sarvajna *kno\\ ing air becomes
/sanphet/, panca 'five' becomes /benca/.

Long a normally does not change. But vidya 'knowledge'
becomes /withaja-/ in /withajathaana/ 'academic status' a word
made up of vidyd and sthana. (P.)

Short i usually remains short, but in the final open syllable it
sometimes becomes lengthened, e.g. Indra 4 thelordof heaven' is
represented as /in/, mati 'thought' remains /mati/ but mani c gem'
becomes /manti/. The lengthening of /i/ is peihaps due to the
stress which falls on the last syllable.

When i precedes a velar or a gutteral in a close syllable it is
some times represented by ji/ a high central vowel. Thus linga
'mark* becomes /Itrj/. adhika 'additional' becomes /uthtk/ and Siksa
'study' becomes /slksaa/.

The / in Skt. prefix nir 'without' is variously represented :
/nira/ in /nirathiik/ from nirdu^kha ^without misery*, /neerd/ in/
/neerakhun/ 'bad, ungrateful' from nirguna 'without virtue',
/ndrf/ in narfmon/ "without blemish* from nirmala.

( 349 )

Long / usually remains unchanged. Sometimes however it is
represented by /i, if, ee/, niti 'conduct 9 becomes /nit, niti, neeti/.
V ija 'plant* becomes /phtit/.

With a following r Skt. / often becomes /io/. Thus &fr// 'fame*

becomes /ktot/ and /kisn/ in raamakisn/ 'the glory of Rama* for
Skt. RamakTrti.

Skt. and u usually remain unchanged. Thus kunjara
'elephant' becomes /kunchoon/. A reversal of length sometimes
occurs : guru 'teacher* becomes /khruu/, curna 'powder* becomes

/cun/.

u and w are sometimes represented by /oo/. Thus ktihaka
*a liar" becomes /kooh6k/ 'to tell a lie% kusuma 'flower* becomes
/koosum/. The prefix dura- 'far, distant' becomes /thoora-/ and is
found in /thoorasap/ telephone' for Skt, Durasabda, /thooral&kh/
'telegraph' for Skt. duralekha, and /thoorathat/ 'television* for Skt.
duradarsana.

Skt. prefix dus 'bad* which becomes dur before a sonant is
represented by /thura/ and /thoora/. Thus durjana *a bad man*
becomes /thurachon, thoo rachon/. durlaksana 'ugly' becomes
/thiiralak, thooralak/.

Skt. prefix su 'god* normally remains /su/ but is sometimes
represented by /suwa/ an /sawwa/. sugandha 'having good smell* is
represented by /siikhon siawakhon sawakhon/.

m" in a close syllable is sometimes represented by /ae ae/.
vaidya 'doctor* becomes /pha^aet/, sam^a 'army' becomes /saeaenjaa/,
veya becomes /phaeaetsajaa/ *a prostitute*.

r becomes /ri ri rli" ros/ f^Kftz becomes /rit/ e power% r.yj 'hermit*
becomes /rt'sil rf tsli/, rA:^ becomes /rook/ 'auspicious moment*.

It can be seen from the above examples that the change of
vowels involves both their length and places of articulation.

A Consonantal Change

Thai has twenty consonantal sounds or phonemes and one of
them (a labiodental fricative) is not used to represent any Indie
consonant. When Sanskrit consonants are to be represented by
nineteen consonantal sounds, many mergers occur. Some of the
Skt. consonants are represented by more than one sound.

(350 )

The general scheme of representation is as follows :

1. All the retroflexes or cerebrals become dentals and subse-
quently undergo the clianges t .f^:I.^ the dentals.

2. The voiceless i:r.:::-.p."": tot! stops, (he semivowels and the
aspiration are represented by the corresponding consonants in Thai.

3. The voiceless aspirated stops, the voiced stops both
aspirated and unaspirated merge into a voiceless aspirated stop of
their class.

4. The nasals are represented by the corresponding consonants
in Thai except the palatal nasal which becomes LI semivowel /j/ when
in the initial position, and becomes dental /n/ when final.

5 All sibilants are represented by a dental ,'s/.

6. As the Thai language permits only /k t p n n mj w/ as
finals, all gutteral stops become /*;/ in this position; all palatal,
cerebral, dental stops and the sibilants become t/; all labial stops
become /p/ : and r and / become /n/.

7. A voiceless unaspirated dental stop and a voiceless
unaspirated labial stop may become voiced when followed by a
vowel. Thus pita 'father' becomes , bidaa 1 '.

8. The semi vowel V may become < f ph : thus both /wicit/ and
/phicit/ are used to represent Skt. vicitrct *prctty\

There are also other changes which are optional and of
stylistic value. For example an initial syllable ka may be replaced
by /kra/ 9 e.g. kapala 'tile' may become /kntbaan/ (the word comes
to mean *head*).

The Tones

In the Thai language there are five tones. The tone of a Thai
syllable is indicated by (1) the class of the initial consonant (there
are three classes of consonants). (2) the kind of syllable, open or
close, and 3) by the tone mark, if necessary. The Thai alphabet
has all the signs for Skt. vowels and consonants plus a few other
signs for words of non-Indie origins. So it is possible to retain the
original spelling of a Skt. word in Thai script. Normally a Skt.
word or syllable takes its tone from its written form-
In borrowing or adapting a Skt. word into Thai, the word may
be given ^many forms. For example from Skt. puratia 'old* are
derived/biiraan, booraan, baw raan/. Different forms have different
literary value : of the three forms above /bawraan/ appears only in
poetry, while /buraan/ and /booraan/ appear in prose as well as in
poetry.

( 351 )

T he Role of Sanskrit in the Thai Language

Although it is not possible to say exactly when Skt. words
were first introduced into the Thai language, they definitely had
been in use before the end of 15th century of the Christian Era. In
A.D. 1492 a rock inscription was made for a king of Sukhothai, a
kingdom to the north of Bangkok. The inscription which is the
earliest extant record of the Thai language, contains many Skt. and
Pali words : /stikhoothaj/ :dawn of happiness" from si-khodayG.
/raam/ for rarna, /praat/ *a learned man' for prujna, are some of the
words found in the inscription.

The borrowing of Skt. (and Pali) words into the Thai language
has been so extensive that there is hardly a lexical ileld in which a
Sanskrit word does not occur. The following examples are given
to indicate the extent of borrowing. The glosses indicate the
meaning of the words as used in Thai.

Kinship terms : /bidaa/ -father' from pita; /but/ 'son' from putra.
Minerals and precious stones : /phet/ 'diamond' from vajra;
/phajthuun/ 'beryl' from Vaidurya.

Animals : /sunak/ 'dog' from sunakha; /sat/ 'animal* from sattva.
Parts of body : /siisa/ 'head" from slrsa; /kaaj/ 'body 1 from kaya.
Fighting : /sattruu/ 'enemy' from sattrui /chaj/ 'victory' fromjaya.
Political terms : /raachaa/ 'king* from raja; /montrii/ 'minister of
'state' from mantrin; /thuut/ 'envoy' from data.
Legal terms : /khadii/ 'a law suit' from gati; /niitisaat/ 'Legal science'

from nitisastra.

Marriage : /wiwaa/ 'wedding' from vivaha; /phanrajaa/ 'wife' from

bharycL .

Education : /stksaa/ 'study' from siksa; /sit/ 'student' from tisya.

Religion : /tham, thamma/ 'duty, righteousness' from dharma;

/phik^u/ 'monk* from bhiksu.

Geography : /kaseet/ 'agriculture, field' from ksetra; /meek/ 'cloud'

from megha; phaajxi/ 'storm' from vayu.

Science : /saat/ 'science' from sastra; /witthajaa/ 'knowledge' from

vidya. /cittawitthajaa/ ^psychology' from Cittavidya.

Time ; /kaan, kaala/ c time' from kala; /samaj/ 'period, age^ from

samaya.

Child rearing : /thaar6k/ 'baby, child' from dciraka; /suutikam/ 'child

delivery" from sfitikarma.

Food and cooking : /aahaan/ 'food' from ahara; /ph&achana/ 'bowls,

cups' from bhnjana; /r6t/ 'taste' from rasa.

Some of the Skt. forms given above might not be attested, for
they may be only forms made up of available elements, The
representing forms are however quite common and in general use,

The impact of Western culture and technology has brought
about the need for many new terms, and to meet the need, new
words are coined out of the already available Skt. and Pali elements
and patterns, Some of the elements are very productive, For
example /thoora-/ 'far, distant' from dura, was first used in
/thoorasap/ 'telephone* from a constructed foi m dura-sabda. Later
it appears in /thoora led/ 'telegraph' from dura-kkha. Now /thoora-/
is used in place of tele- of English, Thus /Ihooraphim/ 'teletype'
from durabimba, /thoorakhamanaakhom/ 'telecommunication from
dura-gawana- agomana.

Sanskrit language then has been making two major contri-
butions toward the enrichment of the Thai vocabulary by lending
words and by providing elements and patterns with which nejy
terms can be coined and put in current use,

SANSKRIT AND THAILAND

CHAMLONG SARAPADNUKE

Lecturer at Silpakorn University,

Bangkok, Thailand

Sanskrit and Thailand

The Sanskrit language is of great importance to Thailand in

many ways, viz.

(a) Archaeology, lb) Epigraphy, (c) Literature, (d) General
Culture, (e) the language.

Sanskrit and Archaeology

In Thailand a lot of ruins depict the Brahman stories, such

bassed on the Sanskrit language.
Stowfcrft c<* Epigraphy of Thailand

period, have been engraved in Sanskrit.

H , A ~f navaravati were found in tne

district :

( 353 )

( 354 )

(1) svasti srimat srighanasasanageasubhadarh yas tambralin --.

(2) gesvarah sa ......... niva patmavamsajanatam varhsapradl

potthavah sarnru

(3) pena hi candrabhanumadanafr sri dharmma raja sa yah
dharmmsasokasamananl

(4) tini punah pancandavanisadhipah,
svasti srikamalakulasamutbhr (t) tarn

(5) bralingevarabhujabalabhimasenakhyayanas
sakalamanusyapunya

(6) nubhavena babhuva caiidrasuryyanubhavamiha
lakeprasiddhikirtti

(7) dhara chandrabhanu-ti sridharmmaraja ~
kaliyugabarsani dvatrimsadhikastrini

(8) satadhikacatvarasahasbhaiiyalikrantc selalckhamiva _
bhaktyanrtavaradam

Sanskrit and Thai Literature

Many books of Thai literatxire such as 'Ramakien' and
'Sakuntala* come from, the Sanskrit origins. The 'Ramakien* as
has been, mentioned above, is the Ramayanam, and "Sakuntala'" is
from the Sanskrit work of the same name. They have been beauti-
fully recomposed in Thai verses. Both are not only read but
produced on stage also. Thai people consider them as c 'classics'*.
And again, the Sanskrit* 'Meghadflta* has also been put into Thai
verses.

Sanskrit and general Thai Culture

It is the national culture for the Thais when greeting each

other that they do namaskara. Two Sanskrit words have been

adopted in current Thai speech and writing ; 'Pranamya' and
*Vanda'.

Much of the style of Thai dancing is said to have been taken
from the Sanskrit Nnfyatestra written by BharatamunJ.

Sanskrit plays an important part in every d#y life of Thai people

to **** tbc Thai

s

( 355 )

The Sanskrit words have been adapted for the Thai names of
the days m a week. They are as follows :

- Sunday, from Skt. aditya
candr (d3An) _ Monday> flom skt . cand ra

angar (Anka : n) _ Tuesday? from S kt. angara

budh (put) _ Wednesday, from Skt. budha

brhasbodi (pAruhAtsabs : di : )

= Thursday, from Skt. bfhaspati
Sukr (sug) = Friday, from Sukra

saur (sau) _ Saturday, from Skt. saura

In giving names to new born babies in Thailand ever since
Sukhothai was the capital of Thailand in 1800 B.E. (1257 A.D.)>
a lot of Sanskrit words have been used. The first king himself
was named c Sii Indraditay'. Indraditay comes from Skt. *Indra
and Aditya; it is because of the beauty or, very often the meaning
of Sanskrit words. Because India and Thailand are so close
together, there have been some exchanges of culture.

Here are the names of Thai people :
Sathien (sAtian) from Skt. sthira
Sundar (sunta : n) from Skt, Sundara
Anek (Aneig) from Skt. aneka
Padma (pAttama :) from Skt. Padma
Ruci (rud3i :) from Ski. Ruci

etc.
Besides, Sanskrit words are used for the names of universities,

hospitals, schools, stores etc.

Names of universities are :

'Silpakorn' University - Skt. ilpakara

Dhammasart* University - Skt. Dhanaastra

'Chulalongkorn' University - Skt. cu(Jalaakarana
etc.

Names of hospitals are :

'Sirirart' hospital - Skt. Srirajan

'Yajira' hospital = Skt. vajra

eRamadhibordi'- hospital *. Skt r Ramadhipati

etc.

Names of bookstores are ; -.
t Suksabh*n' stora - Skt.

( 356 )
SansBca-it and tlie THai language

A lot of Thai words are used in daily life, about 30 per cent
being derived from Sanskrit. The Thai people have considered some
parts of Sanskrit as the mother of their language.

The Thais, however, make use of the form of Sanskrit in the
Thai language but not the sound which they pronounce differently
from the original Sanskrit. Those words, in another word, have
been adopted in the way of Thai pronunciation.

Here are some Thai words adapted from Sanskrit :
(a) With the same meanings as Sanskrit

Thai Words

Thai
Pronunciation

Meanings

From Sanskrit

ang

aun

body

aiiga

adhibodi

Atibodi

head of a
department

udhipati

anacar

Ana : dza : n

immoral
conduct

anacara

kavi

gAvi :

poet

kavi

kasir
kasien

gAsi : ra "*
gAssien J

milk

kslra

kaudand

gAutan

bow

kodanda

khasem

kAseim

happy

ksema

gaj

kout

elephant

gaj a

garbh

kAn

embryo

garbha

grhasth

kAru : hat

householder

grhastha

ghosak

kosoug

proclaimcr

ghosaka

cakr

d3Ag

heel

cakra

candr

d3An

moon

candra

cor

dSoun

thief

cora

chavi

t 2 Avi :

colour of
{he skin

chavi

Thai Words

Thai
Pronunciation

Meanings

From Sanskrit

jan

y*oun

man, person

jana

janak

y*Anoug

father

janaka

janani

y*AnAni "I
younnAni : J

mother

jan am

danay

5Anai

son

tanaya

darun

oArun

young boy

taru$a

dara

6a : ra :

star

tara

tark

tAg

doubt,
reasoning

tarka

dant

toun.

tooth

danta

darjan

to : rAyoun bad man

durjana

darsana
dhani

tAtsAnA sight, seeing

i

ta : ni : town

darsana
dhani

draby

zAb

wealth,
property

dravya

dharm

tAmmA, tAm

virtue

dharma

nagar
nadi
namaskar

nAken
nAti :
nAmAtsaka : n

city
river

respectful
salutation

nagara
nadi
namaskara

baurivar

ba : riva : n

dependents

parivara

bap
buiiy
butr
prakyti
praja

ba :b
bun
but
pragriti
pr Ay a :

evil, bad
merit, virtue
son
nature
people

papa
punya
putra
prakfti
praj v

Thai Words

Thai
Pronunciation

Menu ings

from Sanskrit

"

pranam

prAnoun

respectful
salutation

pranam

prabhed

prApeit

kind, sort

prabheda

phal

poun

fruit, result

phala

phamt

pa : nit

sugar

phariita

brks

pru : g

tree

vrksa

bisdar

pitsAda : n

wide

vistara

bij

pu : t

seed

blja

bhay

pai

danger

bhaya

bharya

pAnja :

wife

bharya

bhakdi

pagdi :

worship, faith

bhakti

mandana

mAntAnA

ornament,
decoration

mandana

mam

mAni :

gem or jewel

maiiii

matsya

mAtsAya :

fish ;

i

matsya

madhayam

mattAyoum

middle |

i

madhyama

yacak

ja : d3oug

beggar

yacak a

yug

jug

age, period
yoke

yuga

yoddin

jotin

warrior

yodhin

rajy

ra ; t

sovereignty
kingdom

rajya

raja

ra :Sa :

king i

raja (rajan)

rddhi

ritti

increase,
success i

rddhi

rday

ru : tai

heart

h rday a

ri

ruzi :

sage

r?x

-

Thai Words

Thai
Pronunciation

Meanings

form Sanskrit

lavaiiy

la : VAn

beauty, charm

lavanya

ling

lin

gender

linga

lok

log

the world
people

loka

lobh , lob

!

desire for,
greed

lobha

i

vanij

VAnit

merchant

vanij

varg

VAg

class, chapter

varga

vidya

VittAya :

knowledge

vidya

sakun

zAgun

bird

sakuna

sab

zoub

corpse,
dead body

sava

sastr

za : t

science, law

sastra

siksa

zugza :

learning

siksa

sakal

sAgoun

all

sakala

sangram

sounkra : m

war, battle

sangrama

Qfri

strl

satri :

woman

a Li i

saty

sAt

truth

satya

hirany

hirAn

gold, silver

hiraiiya

hemant

heiman

winter

hemanta

hairan

hairoun

silver

hairaiiya

etc.

I.,

(b) with changes in meaning

Thai Words

Thai Pro-
nunciation

Meanings
jealous

From
Sanskrit

iccha

Meanings
desire

iccha

ittfa:

canxjal

d3Anta:n

bad, low ; candala

an outcast

chatr

tyAt

tiered | chatra

umbrella

umbrella I

batr

ba:t

bowl

patra

pot

moho

moho angry

!

mo ha

lost in sense,

mistake

yodha

jota;

construction

yodha

warrior

work

vedana

vetAna:

to pity,

vedana

feeling

| pitiful 1

sangh

soufi monk | sariiiha

I i

group

(c) New creations formed by the Thais themselves on the basis
of Sanskrit :

caracar (dSAra : d3o : n)
dasanacar (tAtsana : d3o
doradarSan (tozAt At)
doralekh (tozAleig)
dorasabd (torAsAd)
prajna (praty^Aja :)
vidyu (vittAju)

etc.

policeman on the traffic

duty from Skt. cara +- acara
n) --- lour, from Skt. darsana +
cara

-- televisiim 9 from Skt. dura +
darsana

telegram, from Skt. dura H-
lekha

telephone, from Skt. dura +
sabda

Philosophy, from Skt. pra +
jna

-- radio, from Skt. vidyut.

Sanskrit Studies in Thailand Today

Now-a-days, Sanskrit is widely taught in Thailand. There are
many institutions, colleges and universities in which Sanskrit is
taught in not only B.A. classes but upto M.A. classes also. But it
seems there are a few scholars who are experts in this language.

Speaking of Sanskrit learning in M.A. classes of universities
in India, it is very difficult for the foreigners to study Sanskrit,
because the local languages such as Hindi, Bengali, etc., have too
often been mediums for lectures in India. Thus there is no way for
the foreigners who do not know such languages to understand what
the Sanskrit lecturers are saying. They should adopt English which
is an international language. Many Thai people, who desire to
study Sanskrit, having known that only Indian local languages are
medium for lecture in Indian universities, have been put off from
coming to India to study Sanskrit here. My proposal is that, in
M.A. classes in India, it is better therefore to use English in
lecturing, since it is the best way to teach foreigners Sanskrit.

However, so that the teaching and learning of Sanskrit in
foreign countries may be widely expanded, the Indian Government
should do many things to help the expansion, for example : granting
scholarships to the foreigners who want to read Sanskrit in India
or in their respective countries. This is also indirectly beneficial to
India. Instead of hearing that 'Sanskrit is a dead language', we
may hear that 'Sanskrit is a living language'.

I hope my proposal will kindly be considered. Thank you.
Santih vo bhavatu sarvada 1 (May all of you be forever peaceful

and happy.)

THE RAMAYAI^A IN THFI MALAY WORLD SOME
OBSERVATIONS ON SOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

DR. AMIN SWEENEY
National University of Malay, Kuala Lumpu

My interest in Sanskrit in particular, and Indian culture ir
general, is primarily in the influence which this great culture has
exerted on the life of the Malay world during the past two thousand
years. This influence has been enormous, and even today, although
99.9% of Malays in Malaysia have now been Muslims for several
hundred years, a considerable number of (Islamic) religious concepts
are expressed in Malay with words derived from Sanskrit, thus for
example, puasa (to fast), shwga (heaven), ncraka (hell) etc.

In this short paper f intend to make observations on the
Ramasaga in the Malay world and to present briefly some of the
results of my own research <;n ihe subject. The Ramayana has
captivated the inhabitants of South -East Asia for centuries and has
been written, recited, sculpted and performed from Cambodia to
Bali. Two major versions are encountered in the Malay world.
The first, found only in Javanese literature, is represented by
YogKvara's thousand year old Old-Javanese Rtlmuyana Kakawin and
Yasadipura's, eighteenth century New-Javanese version of it. As
regards the development of the plot, this version is similar to
Valmlkfs Ramayana. The Oltl-Javanesv Rt.wCnuna Kakawln is not,
however, a translation of the latter work, and Manamohan Ghosh
first and then !Ioo/l:aus (1955) have shown that the fust two
thirds were modelled on the Sanskrit kavya, Bhatti's Ravanavadha,
popularly known as the Bhatti-kavya. Yogis varu not only modelled
his work on the content of the Bhatti-knvya* but also the form, and
composed his kakawin according to Indian poetic standards and
ideals. This is a most interesting feature o 1 ' the kakawin in parti-
cular, and of Old-Javanese poetry in general: Old-Javanese poetry

( 362 )

employ 8 quantitative verse, although this is not a feature of the
Indonesian language group, and Teeuw (1952, p.4) cites this as a
"most striking case of discrepancy between language and verse
structure". It would appear that the influence of Sanskrit was so
strong on Old-Javanese literature that the latter developed an
artificial quantitative verse structure modelled on that of Sanskrit
prosody.

Although the influence of Sanskrit on the Malay language has
been considerable, the earliest Malay manuscripts surviving today
date only from the end of the sixteenth century, which puts them well
into the Islamic period, and we are well nigh ignorant of the state
of pre-Islamic Malay literature, for those works originating from
Hindu times have, to a laige extent, submitted to Islamic 'remould-
ing'. There are, however, indications that Malay prosody on at
least one occasion was modelled on a Sanskrit verse form: Marrison
(1951) demonstrates that a poem in Malay inscribed on a Muslim
tombstone in Acheh, and dating from the fourteenth century,
employed a c^.^tliat've metre and modelled on the upajati measure
of Sanskrit verse. Nothing comparable to the poetry of Old-
Javanese, however,, survives in early Malay, and there exists no
translated version of the Rdmayana comparable to that of Yogisvara,
The Rama-saga is, however, well known in Malay and exists in
both literary and oral forms, the latter still enjoying considerable
popularity in the north of West Malaysia, where they form the basic
repertoire of the Malay shadow-play. The literary Malay version the
Hikayat Seri Rama is interrelated with a group of popular Javanese
versions. These popular tales differ considerably from the version of
Valmiki, and this was thought by some scholars, notably Rassers
(1922), to be due to Indonesian influence. It seems clear that Rassers
devoted his attention only to Valmikrs version; yet numerous other
versions of the Ramayana have been current in India from early times,
and Father Camille Bulcke (1950) compares three hundred versions
in Sanskrit and various vernaculars, Rassers' view was shown to be
unacceptable by Stutterheim (1925) and to a greater extent by
Zieseniss (1928) who pointed to Indian sources for nearly the whole
of the Malay Rama-saga. Zieseniss concluded that the Hikayal Seri
Rama represents a popular form of the Rama-saga which reached
Indonesia from various parts of India and was there fused into a
more or less complete whole.

In the studies of Stutterheim and Zieseniss, however, only two
main texts of the Hikayat Seri Rama formed the basis for comparison.
Examination of the Raffles Malay MS. 22 of the Royal Asiatic
Society, London 1 reveals, however, that the version contained

therein is largely a combination of the two \ersions employed
Zieseniss, and in many placer, is much fuller and fills many of
gaps left in the previous nvo icvis. Comparison of this MS. \v
the Thai Rama saga, the Ramakten* reveals that much more of 1
Hikayat Sen' Rama resembles the RaniaLien (and consequently t
Khmer version, which shows much similarity to the Ramakien,*.
which judging from the bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat, is the ok
version) than is apparent from the version of the Hikayat Seri R a >
as presented by Ziesenibs. a For example, the following motifs a
but a few of the features common to the Uikayat Seri Rama [HS
(Raffles version) and to the Rainakicn [RKJ, but which do not occ
in the versions studied by Zieseniss:

a) Hanuman, en route to Lungku. meets a bird nami
Sempati [HSR]/Sambadi [RK| who liacl flown too near the sun ai
lost all his feathers. He is cured when Rama's army cheers hi
thrice.

b) Bali (Skt: Valin) succeeds in v i^cji'i^ the slant of Bisnu
(Skt: Visnu) [HSR/Jsvaru\s IRK] mountain.

c) Bali swears by Bisnifh [HSRI/Ruma's fRK] arrow to delivi
a woman to his brother Sugriwa lIISR|/Sugnh [RK]. He breal
the oath and takes her for himself.

d) Hanuman, en route to Lungku, meets a nymph, curse
and living a solitary life. By meeting E lunmnan, she is release
from the curse.

e) Hanuman kills Miraba [IIS RJ, Maiyarab [RK] (Sk
Ahlravaiia?) by crushing his soul.

f) In order to cure the wounded Luksumana, Hanuma
descends below the earth to collect the dutig of ilie cow that suppon
the earth,

As stated above, the HSR has much in common withth
popular Javanese recensions of the saga as found in the serai kanda
and the Rama Ke ling ^ and it is clear that the popular Rama-saga
of South-East Asia fall into a distinct group. This conclusion in-n
way negates the findings of Zieseniss, and although u large numbe
of the motifs found in the Rallies version of the HSR are not deal
with by Zieseniss, there is 110 evidence to show that these motifs ari
not Indian in origin. Rather, the evidence seems to suggest tha
the popular versions of South-East Asia (thus not merely Mala;
and Javanese) originate, to a greater or lesser extent, from the sami
streams of oral tradition flowing from India.

Study of the Malay HSR reveals a few non-Indian motifs
There is, however, one interesting feature: Islamic influence. Barrel

( 365 )

(1963), makes plausible the idea that the HSR is not merely given
Islamic colouring to ensure its survival in a Muslim society, but
that a deliberate attempt is made to remould the story on Islamic
lines, so that the tale is depicted as unfolding during the time of
the prophet Adam, and indeed Adam takes the place of Pitamaha
in the HSR. Further, much didactic material, as for example, the
speech of Jama Menteri when invited to become ruler, is manifestly
Islamic in content. Barrett suggests the possibility that the tale
was remoulded by Sufis to make it a suitable vehicle for the present-
ation of Islamic beliefs in a milieu which would be entirely familiar
with the tale of Rama. It may be noted, moreover, that not only
in Malay, but also Javanese, the popular Rama-tales do not occur
in written literature of the pre-Islamic period, appearing in Java only
in the Islamic Pasisir literature of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, (Pigeaud, I. p. 243).

Although Rasser's views on the axitochthonous nature of the
divergences of the Malay Rama7saga were shown to be unacceptable,
there is nevertheless a tendency especially in the oral forms of the
Malay Rama tale., towards Indonesianization, whereby,* as Zieseniss
noted, Rama is reduced to the level of * a mere fairy tale hero, a
process which had probably already been initiated in the Sellabear
version of the HSR. This Indonesian levelling is best viewed in the oral
versions of the Malay Rama-saga, which exist primarily as shadow-
play tales, and secondarily as stories of the penglipur lara (professio-
nal story-teller). We find in the study of folk literature, that certain
geographical areas tend to emphasize characteristic types of plot,
often very limited in number. Themes, motifs and plots which
diffuse into those areas tend to be remoulded and handled so that
they assume the features of the plot or types of these areas. In the
Malay, a characteristic plot is that of the separation of loved ones,
wandering in the wilderness, the overcoming of numerous obstacles
and eventual reunion. This is the plot of all Paftjt romances, and the
theme of wandering and undergoing various trials, culminating in
the union of the hero and his beloved constitutes the plot of most
penglipur lara romances. When, therefore, the Rama-saga is adapted
for presentation in Malay folk literature it is already an ideal
subject, for all the features noted above are present it is these
features which tend to be emphasized, often to the detriment of
others. Thus in the Malay shadow-play version of the Rama-saga,
entitled Cherita Maharaja Rawana (The Tale of Maharaja RSvai^a),
the plot is far more compressed than the Malay literary version, the
HSR. No mention is made of Rama's exile and the abduction of Sita
is considered to occur on the journey home from the swayembara

< 366 )

where Rama won her hur.d. Further, the f -,f-::-a lion c
Rama and Slta into monkeys, and the encounter with Ravaija'
sister D -'-.i/- <."-"! ^r. :J arc considered in the Cherlta **" 7 ..-</,": Rwa r:
to be attempts at this abduction. We And, too, a consisten
omission of certain /TOtf-opisodes, as for example, Rama's shootinj
at the hunchback's hump, the meeting with Kikukan, Rama's exile
or the installation of Rama's sandals.

It should not, however, be thought that the oral shadow-pla^
version is merely a compression of the literary Malay version,
Examination of the repertoire of over a hundred dalang (shadowplay
masters) revealed that the majority of motifs of the wayang
(shadow-play) version are also found in the f/SR and/or the R/C
None of the wayang versions, however, is identical to the fISR or RK,
nor are any two wayang versions indenlicai to each other; in fact it
may be said that each dalang possesses, to some extent, a distinct
version, the motifs of which are, to a considerable degree, similar
to motifs of the HSR and/or RK. This is not to say, however,
that there is no "wayang version'" and that the repertoire is merely
the result of "dipping" into the literary versions by each dalang. In
spite of wide variation, the wayang versions possess a. number of
common features which distinguish the wayang tale from HSR/RK
and make it possible to speak of wayang version which, whatever
the origion, has crystallized into a distinct form. Examples of these
common features are :

a) Frame of the plot, already discussed above.

b) Certain motifs and names which are common 10 the
wayang versions but are absent or diller from. HSR/RK. Such
motifs are :

i. Shooting through palm trees growing on the back of a

naga during the contest for Situ,
ii. The setting adrift of Mah Babu San am (Skt: Vibhia$a)

by his brother Rawana.
iii. The presence of and the role played by "god-clowns* a

typical Indonesian feature,
iv. Rawana*s possession of seven or twelve heads (not ten

as in the HSR).

c) Localization of events. Thus the majority of dalang
believe that the Rama-story occurred locally. A number of dalang
consider that Langkapuri (Langka) is situated in Lanskawi, a small
island off the north-west coast of Malaya. Others believe it to be
near Bangkok, AH woxild be sceptical to be told that Langka was
Ceylon J SirriiUirly. It i& .vncr-Uly bottevecl that the Uir^tUm of fht

( 367 )

swayambara for the hand of Slta was in Singgora, in Southern
Thailand. Every dalang is able to cite 'evidence* for the correctness
of his belief, for example, seven palms are still to be seen in Singgora.
d) Characterization. The characters of Rania and Laksa-
mana in the wayang version differ considerably from those of
HSR/RK. In the wayang tale, Rama is in general more elTeminate,
petulant-, harsh and amorous, and lacks resource, depending more
than in HSRJRK on his followers. Until the building of the cause-
way, Rama is dependent 011 Laksamana"s wisdom and foresight.
After this time, Laksamana's role in this respect is, to a large
extent, transferred to the astrologer Man Babu Sanam who figures
even more importantly than in HSR/RK. In. contrast with Rama,
Laksamana, who in the wayang version is made a hermaphrodite
[the virtues of celibacy and asceticism do not appeal to the Malay
dalang, their only explanation of Laksamana's celibacy is that he is
a hermaphrodite ! ], is gifted with second sight, has great wisdom
and is a moderating influence on Rama. We note a similar tendency
in the penglipur lara version cited by Zieseniss for Rama to become
a more fairy tale prince and there, too, Laksamaiia has the powers
of a shaman. We note, too, that in the wayang version, Rawana
and his followers do not usually have very finely-drawn characters;
in general they are reduced to the level of "all purpose baddies"
and few dalang ever feel sympathy for them .

Although similarity of wayang motifs to HSR/RK does not alone
prove that it is the wayang version which is derived from HSR'RK,
comparative work reveals (Sweeney, 1971) that the wayang version
in its present state is the result of intermingling of two main versions:
Thai and Malay, which may be the literary versions or oral
forms parrallel to them. Nevertheless, a considerable number of
similarities are also found with Javanese, Lao and Khmer versions.
One interesting example is the episode of Rawana's changing himself
into a lizard in order to gain entry to Borembun's (Skt: Visnu) grotto
and seduce the latter's wife. The same legend is cited by Moura
(1883, II,p.315) and it is said to explain one of the bas-reliefs of
Angkor Wat. (There however, Ravana is seeking entry to Indra's
palace.)

There is yet a further stage in the development of the tales of
Rama in Malay folk literature. The term ranting (twig) is used in
the wayang to designate a mass of stories which, although featuring
^amtfj^ia-characters, are not parallel to the HSR/RK (nor thus to
the Indian epic). As is clear from the name ranting these stories are
not considered to form a basic part of the repertoire, and consist
of the later or minor adventure* of the heroes and their ofiMV-iii.
generally much wore fluid in content than

basic repertoire and are often changed or in \cnled. The most
ting feature of these ranting ialcs is ihul the plots are mostly
stories, adapted to suit the /^7/ajY*/*<r/-cliaracters. Thus Radin
Kertapati's role is taken by Rama, tlril of Radin Oaluh Chend
KJrana by Slta, Ino's brother by l.aksamana. Characters
the basic Rama-repertoire, although not corresponding to
Pafiji character, may be brought in to play parts in keeping with
their characters and rotes in the basic /-. .-;- . the Cher't
Maharaja Rawana. Thus Hanuman may appear on the scene t
perform a task requiring strength; Mali Babu Sanam may be
introduced when a problem requires divination. Rama characters
corresponding to Pafiji characters may also retain, their original
characteristics. Thus, when Laksamana assumes the role of Ino'
brother, he remains always the celibate Sometimes* the character-
istics of the performers of two corresponding roles are almost
identical as in the case of Pak Dogol (the 'god-clown* in the Rama-
story) and Semar fthe god-clown in the Pafiji plo(s). On the other
hand, the Pariji characters may have an in lluunce on the Rama-
character. When a characterise, such u* that of lover in the case
of Panji, is prominent in the majority of stories, this appears to
influence not only the character of Rama in rtt/it/.ig tales but the
effect is seen even into the basic part of llu repertoire.

Although nowadays the literary Malay version of the Ramayana
enjoys little popularity and is read probably only by scholars, at
least the characters ol the Lord Rama, his Lady Slta and their
loyal followers still come to life nightly on the shadow screens of
the north of West Malaysia, where a performance by a good dalang
can still draw a larger audience than a local open-air cinema showing
the latest in Hollywood Coca-cola culture.

Notes

1. This MS. was first brought to light by Winstedt (1944).
A careful romanization has been made by Mr, E. C. O. Barrett
of the School of Oriental and African Studies, but so far
unpublished.

2. For a detailed discussion of the subject, see Sweeney (1971).

3. For the sake of convenience, the names Rfmiu, Sfta, Havana,
& Surpanakha are the Sanskrit forms. The Malay forms are
SeriRama, Site r>ew!, Rawana and Sura Pandaki. The Malay
wayang forms are Seri Rama, Siti Dewi, Rawana and Siti
Mayang.

Works

Barrett, E.C.G. 1963. The Malay Ramayana, unpublished paper
read to the members of the Royal Asiatic Society, London.

( 369 )

Bulcke, C. 1950. Rama-Katha. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis,
Allahabad, [not consulted].

Hooykaas, C. 1955. "The Old- Javanese Ramayana Kakawin,
with special reference to the problem of interpolation in
kakawins". Verhandelingon van het Kon. Instituut, XVI.

Marrison, G.E. 1951. "A Malay poem in old Sumatran characters"
JMBRAS XXIV. 1.162-165.

Moura, J. 1883. Le Royaume de Cambodge, 1 vols, Paris.

Pigeaud, Th. G. Th. 1967. Literature of Jam. Catalogue Rai-
sonne of Javanese Manuscripts in the Library of the
University of Leiden.

Rassers, W.H. 1922. De Pandji Roman. Academisch Proefs-
chrift Leiden.

Stutterheim, W. 1925. Rama-Legenden und Rama-Reliefs in
Indonesien, 2 vols. Munich.

Sweeney, P.L.Amin. 1971. The Ramayana and the Malay Shadow-
Play. National University of Malaysia Press, [in press].

Teeuw, A. 1952. Taal on Versbouw. Rede ... Utrecht. Amsterdam.

Winstedt, R,0. 1944. "An undescribed Malay version of the
Ramayana", JRAS, pts. 1-2, 62-73.

Zieseniss A. 1928. Die Rama Saga mterden Malaien, ihre Herkunft
und Gestaltung. Hamburg.

GENERAL APPEAL OF SUBHASITA LITERATURE
IN SANSKRIT

LUDWIK: STERNBACH, LL.D.
University de la Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris III)

The moral and ethical verses ( subh&sita-s) are innumerable
in Sanskrit literature; they are mines of practical good sense in
metrical form. The subhasita-s are found not only in different
Sanskrit literary works but also in special collections of wise
sayings subhasita-samgraha-s. These collections influenced the
literature of "Greater .India" and became known in the North,
South and East of India. Some of the collections of wise sayings
were translated into the languages spoken in "Greater India" or
with spreading of Pali became known in countries South and East
of India or even became known in Sanskrit in these countries where
Sanskrit was used. With the spreading of Sanskrit literary works,
subhasita-s of Sanskrit origin became also known in countries West
of India.

A. TIBET

2. In the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries A.D. some of the
best known works in India, not necessarily of Buddhist character,
were translated into Tibetan and were included in the Tanjur. In
this way some Sanskrit gnomic poems which became lost in India
were preserved in Tibet.

2.1. The Tibetans had a special liking for the gnomic (mti)
literature and in particular collections of moral and ethical sayings.
Thus, one of the best known in India collections of gnomic verses,
the so-called Canakya's sayings, and in particular the Canakya-
raja-mti-astra version, was preserved in Tibetan through a
translation made in the tenth or eleventh century A.D.

2.2. Since the first studies were made in the Tibetan Tanjur
.by A. Csoma de Koros in the first half of the nineteenth century,

( 370 )

( 371 )

we know that eight works, containing collections of subhasita-s, were
included in the Tanjur. These works are as follows 1 :

1 . Ses-rab brgya-pa shes-bya-balji rab-tu-byed-pa; in Sanskrit
Prajna&atak a-n a m a-p rakarana (according to P. Cor-
dier 2 sataka-prakarana namd) by A. Klu-sgrub (Nagarjund) and
translated by Sarvajfiadeva, Dpal brtsegs. (No. 4328 [no. 99
bM03 a 7 ] = lSk>. 4501);

2. Lugs-kyi bstan bsos ses-rab sdon-po shes-bya-ba; in
Sanskrit Nitisastr a-p rajnndand a-n a rn a by Klu-sgrub
(Nagarjund) and translated by Silendrabodhi, Ye-ses sde. (No.
4329 [no 103 a 7 -! 13 a 4 ]);

3. Lugs-kyi bstan-bcos skye-bo gso-babi thigs-pa shes-bya-ba;
in Sanskrit N i t i-s a s trajantuposanabind u-n a m a
(according to P. Cordier Janaposanabindu nnma mtiJastra) by Klu-
sgrub (N agdrjund) and translated by Sllendrabodhi, Ye-ses
sde. (No. 4330 [no 113 a 4 -! 16 b 4 ]);

4. Tshigs-su bcad-pahi mdsod ces-bya-ba; in Sanskrit G a t h-
akosanama (according to P. Cordier Aryakosa) by i-ma sbas-pa
(Ravigupta) and translated by JfianaSanti, Dal-gyi Ihun-po
sde. (No. 4331 [no. 116 b 5 -122 a 3 ]);

5. Tshigs-su bead-pa brgya-pa; in Sanskrit Satag&thaby
Mchog sred (V ar ar u c i) and translated by Yinayacandra, Chos-
kyi ses-rab. No. 4332 [no. 122 a 3 1126a 6 ]);

6. Dri-ma med-pa^i dris-lan rin-po chefei phren-ba shes-bya-
ba; in Sanskrit Vimala-prainottararatnamnla-nama
(according to P. Cordier *notata...mali-^ by Don-yod hchar and

translated by Kamalagupta, Rin-chen bzaii-po. (No. 4333 [no. 126

a 6 -127 b 6 ] = No. 4499);

7. Tsa-na-karji rgyal-po^i lugs-kyi bstan-bcos; in Sanskrit
CariakyanitiS-astra by Tsa-na-kahi (C n n a k y a) and

1 . Qtioted from the Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist^
Canons ed. by Professors Hutuju Uinetada Suzuki, Yensho
Kanakura and Lect. Tokan Tada. Publ. by Tohoku Imperial
University aided by Saito Gratitude Foundation Senadai^ Japan
1934. Nos. 4328-4335. This catalogue refers to the Sde-dgo
edition of the Tibetan Buddhist-canons (Bkah bgyur and
Bstan-bgyur) in 4569 volumes owned by the Japanese T5hoku
Imperial University Library.

2 P Cordier, Catalogue du Fonds Tibetains de la Bibliothequt
Rationale, Paris, 3ms par tie pp. 481-3 (Mdo Hgrel-Sutrav^tti),
Vol. 123 (Tibetan 318).

( 372 )

translated by Prabhakarasrlmilra, Riu-chen bzan-po. (No. 4334
[no 127 b- 137 b 6 ]); and

8. Lugs-kyi bstan-bcos; in Sanskrit A r T t i s a s t r a of M a s-
u r a k s a (or Masau-raksa or Masurnksa) and translated by
Dharmasribhadra, Sakya blo-gros. (No. 4335 [rio. 137 b G -143 a 7 ]).

2.3. Particularly the last two works, i.e. the Cfmakya-niti-Sastra
and the NTtiastra of Masuraksa arc ~ f 'f ?}*/-' *>< fig. aha-\ par
excellence, of which the last became lost in India Also the
Gathakosanama of Ravigupta and the SatugatJul of Vararuci contain
a great number of subhasita-s.

2 A.I. The Tibetan Canakya-nTti-s'fistra was edited in Tibetan
and retranslated into Sanskrit by Sunitikumar Paihak; 3 it is the
Canakya-raja-nlti-sastra version of Canakyu's sayings and is almost
identical with the Brhatsaiiihila of the Gurucju-puranu' 1 .

2.4.2. The text is divided into 8 adhyaya-s which contain res-
pectively 23, 30, 31? 17, 26, 23, 31 and 72 wise sayings. This text
must have been well known in Tibet and probably was used by other
Tibetan compilers of subh&sita-saihgrahct-s* since we find the same
saying also in tbe She-rab-dong-bu and the Subhasila-nidhi.

2.5.1. The text of the Nltisastra of Masuraksa was completely
unknown in India until 1962. Only then was it tor the first time
edited in Tibetan with a retranslation into Sanskrit and a translat-
ion into English by Sunitikumar Paihak*"'.

2.5.2. Masuraksa is an unknown author; he is mentioned
only once in Vallabhadeva's SubhasitavalT as the author of verse

3. Visva Bharati Annals, Vol. VIII, Santiniketap., 1958.

4. Cf. L. Sternbach, Canakya-Niti Text Tradition Visvesvaranand
Indological Series No. 28), Vol. 1.2; pp. XXXVIII-LVIII;
L. Sternbach, The Cai.iakya-ruja-nitisnstra and the BrhaspaH
Samhita of the Garuda-purana in Annals of the Bhandarkar
Oriental Research Institute, Poona, Vol. 37; pp. 58-110; L.
Sternbach, The Tibetan Cn#akya-ruja-nTti-s&stra* idem Vol.
XLTI; pp, 99-122; L. Sternbach, Sanskrit Subha$ita-samgraha-s
in Old Javanese and Tibetan, idem VoKXLVlII; pp. 115-158;

t L. Sternbach, A new Canakya-raja-mti-xaxtra Manuscript,
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay 1958; L. Sternbach, An
unknown Cnnakya MS and the Garuda Pur ana in In do-Iranian
Journal, Vol. T; pp. 181-200; L. Sternbach,' A New Abridged
Version of the Brhaspati - samhita of the Garutfa-purana.
e 'Purana" 9 Vara.nasi, 1966.
A- Vitya-Bharati Annals, Vol. X, Sanlinikclan.

( 373 )

2935 which is however a verse from the Pancataiitra; 6 Masuraksa
(or Masuraksa) mentioned in the Tanjur is probably another person
and was probably the compiler of a subhasita-sariigraha which must
have been popular in. India in the tenth or eleventh century A.E>. 7 .

3. In addition to the gnomic (nfti) works preserved in the
Tanjur we find also two other Tibetan subhdsita~samgraha-$ 9 undou-
btedly at least in its greater part, of Sanskrit origin, viz. the She-rab
dong-bu and the Subhasita-ratna-nidhi.

3.1.1. 1 he She-rab dong-bu is a subhasita-samgraha
in Tibetan which contains 260 wise-sayings; in the colophon it is
ascribed to Klu-sgrub or Lu-trub, i.e. to Nagarjuna.
M. Winternitz 8 considered that it was not likely that this anthology
was the work of Nagarjuna, while Campbell tried to prove that it
was compiled or written by Nagarjuna himself; if we accept
Campbell's theory than, the She-rab dong-bu was composed in the
first century B.C. W.C Campbell was of the opinion that this
anthology was a metrical translation from Sanskrit of an ethical
work. It seems, however, that She-rab dong-bu was compiled in the
form known to us sometimes in the eleventh centuryA.D. when most
Sanskrit works were translated into Tibetan and included in the
Tanjur.

6. Pancataiitra, textus ornatior 3.35 and textus simplicior 3.43
(or 3.4O [Kosegarten]).

7. The name of Masuraksa (in the RAS MS; and the Nepalese
MS; mathasura) is also mentioned in the Lankavatara-sutra

- (Bibl. Ctaniensis, Vol. I, Otaiii University Press, 1923;
Sagathakam, sloka 816) as a highly virtuous rsi who along
with Valmika (sic !), Kautilya and Aivalayana will appear in
the future. We also find the name of a king Masurakita of
Pala family in the Taranatha's History of Buddhism in India
(in German translation by A. Schiefner, chapter 31; 171 p.
225 and ch. 38; 195; p. 257) in the latter case along with
Canakya also of the Pala family; he was also mentioned as a
Sg in ch. 27 (154-5; p. 201) and ch. 33 (178; p. 234)
Masuraksita, as an interim ruler of the Pala dynasty of Bengal
in the ninth century A.D., is also mentioned in the Dpag
bsam bjon bzab of Ye Ses dpal byor. In some stories Canaka
(Sxtak'ya) was identified with Mohipala (see Mystic Tales of
L* TtL-atHa, transl. by Bh. Datt a Calcutta p. 62^ Mjnjc
Williams in his Sanskrit Dictionary also quotes Masuraksita
Han?me of king. See also : I-- S^b^. J^view of tha
NitiSastra of Masuraksa in JAOS 82.3; pp. 4O7-411
8. M. Winternitz, Geschichte der indischen Literatur II,

3.1.2. The She-rab dong-bu is a well known work in Tibet
though it was more likely better known by the educated classes by
name only. It was largely quoted by Tibetim authors. W. L
Campbell considered that later writers borrowed many sentiments
and sometimes entire lines, inserting them in their own compositions
He particularly thought that Pandita Sakya had done so when
preparing his Subhasita-ratna-nidhL It is difficult to subscribe to
this statement since it was possible to identify only three subha$ita-s
which occur in both works 9 and two of them are Canakya's wise
sayings; their common source was probably the Canakya-mtiSastra
prevalent in Tibet.

3.1.3. The She-rab dong-bu was first edited by Rai Bahadur
Sarat Chandra Das 10 and then by W.L. Campbell 13 who gave on the
right-hand side the Tibetan text and on the left-hand side the
English tranalation.

3.1.4. The work deals mostly with ethics and general wisdom;
it contains only few Buddhistic truths (e.g. 61, 100) and even in
these places some Sanskrit words could have been changed by the
translator in oider to fit the text with his own faith; such a proce-
dure was also extensively applied in the Tibetan Canakya-nlti-sastra.
She-rab dong-bu followed the pattern of Sanskrit anthologies, as
far as their contents were concerned and included, similarly as the
main Sanskrit Subtmsita-sariigrahct-s did wise sayings from the kathu-
works 12 and from the floating mass of oral tradition.

3.2.1. The Subhasita - r a I n a - n i d h i is also a
subhasita-samgraha in Tibetan; it contains 457 wise sayings and is
divided into 7 chapters dealing with the wise, the prominent people,
the fools, the excellent and the fools^ wrong behaviour, normal
behaviour, improper behaviour, duties of men and religious
doctrines. The wise sayings included in this anthology are not
always translations from Sanskrit but, perhaps with the exception
of the last chapter, were influenced by Sanskrit sayings. Also the
arrangement and division of this anthology into the seven chapters

9. She-rab dong-bu 29, 111 and 133 Subhasita-ratnanidhi 323,
29, 43.

10. This edition was not available to me. According to Campbell
it was printed in continuous lines. Some stanzas of the
PrajnSdanda were also published in Bhota Prakaa, Tibetan
Chrestomathy, University of Calcutta, 1939. Cf. L,. Sternbach,
Sanskrit Subhasita-sarhgraha-s, op. cit. fn. 4.

11. Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta 1919.

12. E.g. from the Pancatantra, verse 45.

( 375 )

mentioned above shows Indian influences. 13 This anthology
contains however one noticeable characteristic; it deals to a negligi-
ble extent with women, a siabject dealt extensively in Sanskrit
subhasita-samgraha-s. It contains only isolated sayings with
Buddhistic leanings.

3.2.2. The Subhasita-ratna-nidhi is ascribed to Pandtta Sakya
(Saskya) Kun dgah rgyal-mis'han dpal-bzang-po; in Sanskrit :
Ananda Dhvaja rl Bhadra who was born in 1181 A.E>. and died at
the age of seventy in 1251 A.D. It was partly published in 1855-56
with an English translation by Csoma de Koros; 14 there it con-
tained only 234 out of 457 subhasita-s. An other extract of this
work was translated into French in 1858 by Ph. E. Foucaux; it
contains a selection of 134 subhasita-s. 12 of these subhasita-s were
translated in 1860 into German and published in the Illustrirten
Revalschen Almanack. A.Schiefner published critically (with notes) 33
of subhasita-s and included them in the first edition only of Bohtlingks
Indische Spriiche in 1863-1865. Also G. Huth in his History of
Tibet HOT chos byung, published and translated 19 subhnsita-s. The
whole text with a German translation was published in 1925 by
W.L. Campbell (who also published and translated the She-rab
dong-bu) in the Ost-Asiatische Zeitung, N. F. 2. (pp. 31-65 and 159-
185). The best critical edition (of the Tibetan and Mongolian Text)
with an English translation was published by I.E. Bossom as a thesis
submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in the United States; it was produced by
micorofUm-xerography in 1967 by University Microfilms, A Xerox
Company, Ann Arbor. 15 J. E. Bossom based his edition in the
first place on the Tibetan and Mongolian text published byX. Ligeti
in J949 16 , as well as on some xylograph copies of the text. J. E.

13 For instance in verse 246 mentions the Pandava-s Several
verses are translations or adaptations of verses from the
Pancatantra and the Hitopadesa. See also A. Schiefner m
the First Edition of O. Bdhtlingk's Indische SprOche.

14. JASB 24. p. 41 and 25, p. 257, reprinted
Being a reprint of the Articles contributed to
Asiatic Society of Bengal by A. Csomas de Koros, cd. by E
Denisson Ross, Calcutta 1912. JASB Extra 1911.

15 Recently announced in some catalogues of commercial book
sellers that it appeared also in book-form

Sibliotheca Oriental* Hungarica VI; Budapest 1948

Bossom mentions that the entire text has recently been published f n
China in 1958 in Ch'eng-tu and another one in Lan-chou and a
selection of 212 subhcisita-s in Chinese translation also in 1958. 17

3.2.3. There are many stoiies about the life of Pan<Jita
Saskya. 18 We know that he made a long trip to China and resided
in Middle Tibet (U Ts'ang) in the Saskya monastery in the province
of Ts'ang "one hundred days distant" from Tashi Lhun-po.
According to the introduction and the colophon, the Subhasita-
ratna-nidhi was first compiled by Nagarjuna but was written and
edited by the Pa^dita Saskya. Sometime, in the beginning of the
thirteenth century A.D., according to the legend, the Subhasita-ratna^
nidhi was brought by Pancjita Saskya from China (sic !) but was lost
by him when a boat overturned on a river. However when Paridita
Saskya returned to his monastery he found it miraculously in the
library 19 .

3.2.4. Tibetan scholars consider that the Subhasita-ratna-
nidhi, called by them Saskya legs-bead (in Lhassan : Sakya Legshe)
was not a work of one person but a compilation made by three
scholars. They base this theory on the introduction where it is
stated that the author of the Subhasita-ranta-nidhi took the
best from various works of his predesessors. This argument is
not convincing, since Sanskrit subha$itti-suriigruhcf-ti led often such
an introduction and for instance, all the texts of the Canakya-niti-
Sastra version have similar introductory stanzas.

B. MONGOLIA, MANCHURIA CENTRAL ASIA

4. Buddhist monks spread some Sanskrit works, particularly
through Tibet, to Mongolia and Manchuria.

4.1. And so, the Tibetan Subhasita-ratna-nidhi was translated
into Mongolian and West Mongolian (Kalmuk) and became one of

17. See also Pentti Aalto, The Mannerheim Fragment of Mongolian
Quadratic Script in Studia Orientalia XVII. 7. Helsinki 19521
pp. 3-9 and Fragmente des mongolischen SubhCisitaratnanidhi in
Quadratschrift in Mitteilungen des Institutes fur Orientforschung
Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin., Band III,
Heft 2, Berlin 1955; pp. 279-290; James E. Bossom, A
Rediscovered Xylograph Fragment from the Mongolian Phags-pa
Version of the Suhasitaratnanidhi in Central Asiatic Journal,
Vol. VI, No. 2, June 1961; L. Sternbach, op. cit. (fn. 10).

18. See J. E. Bossom, op. cit. pp. 4 sqq

19. The Sa-skya Monastery famous for a large library of books
taken or transported from India; it contains even today a large
collection of Tibetan, Sanskrit and Chinese books.

the most popular works in this part of the world, whete great
interest for gnomic and didactic literature was noticed 20 .

4.1.1. The first translation into Mongolian of the Subhasita-
ratna-n'idhi was attributed to Ch'os kyi od ser. Another translation
from the fourteenth century by Toyin Sonom gara 21 exists in
transcripts. Another translation called Sayin tige-tii erden-yin
sang subhasita kemegdekii shasti orusiba 22 (a treasure of gems of

20. B. Laufer, Skizze der mongolischen Litreratur in Kemeli
Szemle* Revue Orientals pour les etudes ouralo-altaiques VIII
(1907) pp. 165-264; B. Laufer, Skizze...in Keleti Szemle...IX:
pp. 1-53; L. Ligeti, Rapport pr&liminaire d*un voyage d* explora-
tion fait en Mongolie chinoise, 1928-31, Budapest 1933; W.
Heissig, Die Pekinger Lamaistischen Blockdrucke in Mongoli-
shher Sprache? Wiesbaden, 1954, in Gdttingen Asiatische
Eorschungen, Bd. II; N. Poppe, Beitr&ge zur Kenntniss der alt-
mongolischen Schridt-sprache in Asia Major, Vol. I; pp. 688
sqq. Mongolische Volksdichtung, F. Sterner t'erlag, Wiesbaden.
1955; P. Aalto, Altasiatica in Studia Orientalia 17.7 of 1952;
Verzeichniss der O rlentalischen HSS J (Mongolische HSS;
Blockdrucke, Landskarten) 9 Wiesbaden 1961.

21. VPadimircov, Mongol" ski sbornik rasskasov in Pancatantra in
Sbornik Musea Antropologii, Etnografii pri Akademii Nauk
SSSR V.2, Leningrad 1925; p.445. Vi'adimircov also mentions
a mongolian translation which originated among the Kalmuks
and which dated from the seventeenth century. The MS . was
prepared on the basis of a translation made in the fourteenth
century by an unknown author; it has preserved some
archaisms in the ortography and vocabulary. N. Poppe (op.
cit. fn 20) also reported that the Asiatic Museum of the Soviet
Academy has a tibeto -mongolian MS. of the Subhasita-
ratnanidhi; it is a copy from the sixteenth or seventeenth
century. For more details see I.E. Bossom (op. cit) in the
Introduction.

22. Or Sayin iige-tu erden-yin sang subhaita kemegdeku shastir
orusiba. We find this work in a mongolian edition (xylograph
of small size) from the eighteenth century (78 pages). L. Ligeti
(op. cit. fn. 20) (p. 58) repoited that it was still easy to find
a copy of the same in Peking. Another translation of the
Subhasitaratnanidhi, the Sayin iige-tu... by Sonom gar-a was
also reported by L. Ligeti. He found among the Xarchin a
MS. of the seventeenth or eighteenth century which preserved
the archaism of a translation of the fourteenth century (see
above).

good counsel) was translated by dge slong dambaidzamsan (dge slou
bstan pa'i rgyal mc'an) of the Ural on repeated advice of Suriim
that such a translation was essential. This translation was then
elaborated by Mergen blama-yin gcgen a3 . A further translation of
the Subhasita-ratna-nidhi and its comprehensive commentary by
Nbyirub (dnos grub) from the Chaghan funinggha sumun of Tsakhar
was prepared at the end of the eighteenth century after the Mergen
blama-yin gegan had been compiled. It was printed in Chaghan
agula siime in the district of Tsakhar. The printing blocs were
prepared and are preserved in Chaghan aghule-yin sume of the
Chaqar kobege tii Chaghan-i qosighan, the white mountain,
monastery of the white-bordered flag of Tsakhar 21 . This text is also
combined with a commentary entitled Subhasidi-yin tayilburi
chindamani-yin tiilgiglir keinegdekii; the latter is the revised version
of the Tibetan commentary of Rin chen bzan-po. This version was
published in book form in Kalgan some time between 1930 and
1950, and in Ulaanbastar in Cyrillic script, as well as in Mukden in
Mongolian script. There exist also a West Mongolian (Kalmuk)
translation of the work 25 .

5. Based on the Mongolian Subhasitaratna-nidhi or directly
on the Tibetan Subhasita-ratna-nidhi is the eastern Mongolian,
Buryat Work by Lama Irdini Maybzun Gallishcv who lived among
the Buryats in the second half of the nineteenth and jn the beginning
of the twentieth century. He prepared his "Mirror of Wisdom",
published in Russian translation in 1966 in Ulan-Ude. 2 * 1 According
to the introduction to this work Lama Jrdini prepared his work
composed of 979 subhasita-s on the basis of aubhasita-s of Gunga-
al-an in Tibetan, i.e. the Sa-skya n s kun dgah rgyai-mis'han dpal-
bzang-po (Subhasita-ratna-nidhi). Many Sanskrit subha$ita-s can
be traced in this work, including some from the Pancjitantra, Hito-
pades"a and so-called Canakya's sayings

6. In addition to these works, being translations from
Tibetan, we find in Mongolia and Manchuria collections of wise

23. Yeke Nonghol ulus-un, tindusun-u altum bobchi. It is the
closest translation to the Tibetan SubhS$itaratnanidhi.

24. X.40

25. The text is found in the Sven Hedin collection in Stockholm.
See P. Aalto, A Catalogue of the Hedin Collection of Mongo-
lian Literature (p. 102). For other texts of the Mongolian
Subhasitaratnanidhi see I.E. Bosson (op. cit.) Introduction 17-2

26. Zertsalo Mudrosti by T.A. Dugar-Nimayev, Burnatskoe
Knizhnoe Izdatel'stwo Ulan Ude, 1966.

sayings which arejjither translations from Sanskrit or were inflenced
by Sanskrit subha$ita-s. For instance some of the Mongolian and
Manchurian sayings collected by Louis Rochet 27 definitely show that
they are of Sanskrit origin (e.g. the Manchurian saying (13) which
stated that the king who likes the same things as his subjects like,
who hate the same thing as his subject hate, is like a father, mother
to his subjects) is certainly influenced by a subhnsita found in the
Suktiratnahara (176.59) which is a quotation from the Kautillya-
arthasastra (1.19.34) or from the Mahabharata (12.56) or the
Sukranitisara (4.4.204).

7. Some subhnsita-samgraha-s found also their way to Central
Asia. We find, for instance, among the finds of the German
Turfan-expedition to Eastern Turkestan, some fragments of the
Laghu Canakya version of the so-called Canakya's collections of
wise sayings. 28

C. DRAVIOIAN LANGUAGES; CEYLON

8.1. Sanskrit subhasita-s of didactic and gnomic character
influenced the Tamil nf/z-literature, in particular some of the main
18 main didactic works, i.e, the Naiatiyar with its famous quadrains,
the Tiru-k-kural (both divided according to the three purusartha-s).
the Nanmani-k-katikai, the Inna-narpatu, the I my aval narpatu, the
Tirikatukam, the Acara-k-ko-vai, the Cirupancamulam, the Llati,
the Mutumoli-k-karia and to the lesser extent the Palamoli, the Kar-
narpatu, the Kalavali narpatu, the KainruLai, the Tinaimoli aimpatu,
the Tinaimalai nurraimpatu, the Aintinai aimpatu and the Aintinai
elupatu, as well as such works as the Nlti-venpaa, Niti-neri-vilakkam,
Nanneri, Nalvali and Atanericcaram which contain Sanskrit
subha$ita~s. It is very likely the Tamil mrf-literature as well as
the South Indian Sanskrit literature influenced the mYMiterature of
Ceylon.

8.2. The Sirnhalese subhasita-samgraha-s \ such as the S u b h a-
sitayaby Alagi yavanna, the Lokopakaraya by
kanasgalle Theraof 238 verses, the Anuragamal-

27. L. Rocher, Sentences, maximes et proverbes mantchoux et
mongols, Paris 1875. See also E. Teza, Laghucnnakyam in
Annali delle University Toscane, Tomo XVI, Pisa 1878,
Appendice, pp. 3846; J.Kovalevski, Mongol'skaya Chrestornatiya.

28. Cf. L. Sternbacli, Some Canakya s Epigrams in Central Asia
in Vi&vesvaranand Indological Paper Series ', No. 292 and
L. Sternbach, Les aphorismes difide ^Canakya dans les textes
bouddhiques du Tibet et du Turkestan Oriental in Journal
Asiatique 259. 1-2; pp. 71-82.

a y a of 65 verses (despite its title has no erotic content), th e TJ n ~
ratnamalaya of 60 verses, as \\ell a^., in particular th
textbook of poetry prepared byAltaragam a-B a ri cl a r a
entitled Vadankavipota contain some verses from 9 or
influenced by Sanskrit subhasita-s.

9. In particular three Ceylonese r '*. ; ; '-'TO',' -^c- r"//-.'//i fc /-v show
great affinity with Sanskrit sitbha$ita-saihgraha-si the Vyasakaraya
the Pratyayasataka, both know in Sanskrit and the Sirhhalese
Subhasitaya of Aligayavanna.

9.1. The V y a s a k a r a y a is a Sanskrit ^:iMi{!s:tn-sarugraha
which until recently was unknown in India. Only recently the
Vyasa-subhasita-sarhgraha 29 was published on the basis of two South
Indian Manuscripts and some ancillary sources, of which one was
the Ceylonese Vyasakaraya 30 which is almost identical with the Sans-
krit Vyasasubhasita-sanigraha; the latter was certainly the basis for
the Ceylonese Vyasakaraya.

9.2. There is not such a clear-cut in the case of the Ceylonese
Pratyayasataka, a subhasita-samgraha in Sanskrit, well-known
in Ceylon 31 , containing 102 wise say ngs in xardntavikrtdita, vasantati*
laka, upajdti and sloka metres. Tn the Pratyayasataka the Sanskrit
subhnsita-s are seldom reproduced in their classical original form; if
they are reproduced at all, they are reproduced in the vulgate text
and in the most popular form; the majority of the^e suhhasita-s were
borrowed from the classical sources of Sanskrit literature. In
addition some subhasita-s are paraphrases of known suhh3$ita-s\
this paraphrase is usually correct as far the contents of the wise'
saying is concerned but not as far as its form; often some subh5$ita-s
are composed of two to four different components taken from more

than one Sanskrit subhas/ta; there are also many .vub/mxita-s only
influenced by thoughts which we also find in Sanskrit suhhasita-s .

. 29. Cf. L. Sternbach, On the Sanskrit Nit I- Literature of Ceylon. 1.
Viyusakuraya... in Brahmavidya Vol. 31-32; pp. 636 sqq. and 3.
An additional Note on the Vyasakaraya in Brahmavidya 35. 3-4;
pp. 258-269.

30. Published by H. Bechert in Sanskrit text aus Ceyon I,
Miinchen 1962. See also L. Sternbach, On the Sanskrit Nlti
Literature in Ceylon. 2. Pratyayasataka in Brahmavidyn Vol.
33, pp.80 sqq.

31. Published by H. Bechert (op. cit. In. 30) in Sanskrit. Published
m Sinhalese script by PJ. Karmadhara, Panadura Press, 1941.
Translated by Arthur p. Perera in Sanskrit Wisdom in English
Verse, Candy 1942.

( 381 )

All the subhasita-s which are paraphrases, or combinations of
veral subhasita-s 9 or verses influenced by some subhasita-s, or,
finally, verses containing thoughts similar to those known to exist
among Sanskrit subhnsita-s may have existed in the form preserved
in the Pratyayasataka, but at present are still unknown 32 .

93. As far as form is concerned, theSubhasitayaof
A 1 i gay a v a n n a > a Sirfinalese subhZLsita-samgraha of 100 verses,
is similar to the Pratyayasataka. Also most of the subhasita-s
included in the Subhasitaya are well-known Sanskrit subhz$ita-si
some of these subhasita-s are also paraphrases of well-known wise
sayings or were influenced by the Sanskrit subhasita-s. Only the
17 verses of the first part of this anthology, which is Buddhistic in

character, were probably not borrowed from the Indian literature.

10. In addition to these subhasita-samgraha-s y the whole

collection of Canakya's wise sayings is prevalent in Ceylon; that is

the Canakya-iiiti-Sastra version 33 ;

D. BURMA

11.1 Probably there must have existed in India, in the thir-
teenth, fourteenth or fifteenth century a collection of wise sayings
which was particularly well known among the Manipunan Panna-s;
22 collection which was as J. Gray reported- written m Bengali
characters, but also known in Sanskritised Burmese penetrated into
Burma and became well known as the Lokanlti, one of the three
besi Renown in Burma collections of wi^e sayings; the two others are
Dhammamti and the Rajamtu

112 It is impossible to ascertain when these collections of

any

Siamese Proverbs and Ichomatic

32. Cf. L. Sternbach, op. cit. fn. 30.

33. Cf. L. Sternbach, op. cit fn. 29 '

34. J.Gr*y, Ancient Proverbs and

or the Niti literature of Burma,
Series, 1886; pp. I**

35. Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. I, p. 180.

Burrnese Sources;
^ Qriental

( 382 )

He thought that the Lokanlti was composed between 425 and 1400
A.IX He saw the date a quo in commentary on the E>hammapada
the Dhammapadatthakatha ascribed to Buddhaghosa, in which he
could notice ''strict analogies" between certain passages of the
Lokanlti and the Dhammapadatthakatha. On the other hand C.
Temple 36 thought that the LokanJti was not "of any great
antiquity".

11.4. J. Gray considered that it was unlikely that the Lokanlti
and the two other mti-works were compiled between the twelfth and
fourteenth centuries. He seems to be right when saying that the
wars between the M6n-s and Burmese led to intercommunication
between the two races. J, Gray also stated that Hindu colonists,
besides, had settled on the lower valleys of the Irrawadi and Sittang
rivers, and a religious struggle between Brahmins and Buddhists
resulted in evolving the erudition of the learned Punna-s. Their services
were soon utilized by the Burmese kings in furtherance of the cause
of literature, and it was through their invaluable assistance that the
study of Sanskrit became a sine qua nan in the royal monasteries.
Being familiar with the Magadhi language and the local vernaculars
they were of great help to the Buddhist rahan-s in the interpretation
of the Pitagat. J. Gray was further of the opinion that it was
reasonable to suppose that when the great task was completed
attention was paid to secular literature, the outcome of which \vas
the compilation of the Lokanlti, Dhammantti and Rajanlti.

11.5. It is most probable that these niti works were prepared
for a king's deary a in order to enable him to discourse on ethics and
polity, to pronounce moral sayings and to give advice. 3 A J. Gray
thought that since these treatises were in use in the royal courts of
India they could have been introduced in the court of Ava.

11.6 C. Temple who, independently of J. Gray's research,
studied the Lokanlti., could not find out much about the history of
this book, although he personally made enquiries from the Burmese
Sayzt-s. He reported that according to one account it was written
originally at an unknown date in Sanskrit (or Pali) by the Pdngna
(Brahman) Sannekgyaw and paraphrased into Burmese in 1826 by
the Hpongyi U P6k of the Maha Oung Nye Bong Sun Ok Kyoung
at Ava. This U Pok's name as priest was Sek-k&n-da-bT,, to which
the king of Ava added the titles of Thiri Thaddamma-daza ? Maha

36. The Lokanlti translated from the Burmese Paraphrases (JRASB,
No. 11 (1878); pp. 239 sqq.

36A. Cf. M.H. Bode, The Pali Literature of Burma', Prize PubL
Fund. voL2; Royal Asiatic Society ; 1909; p. 5i

Dama-yaza Guru. According to another informant of C. Temple,
the author was a priest without very extraordinary knowledge of
Pali who either collected the wise sayings from old books or collec-
ted some of them and added others of his own composition.

11,7. During my stay in Burma in 1961, I also made unsuccess-
ful enquiries into the origin of the three mrt-collections. I contacted
the International Institute for Advanced Buddhistic Studies, Kaba
Aye, Rangoon, and several Burmese Saya-s in Rangoon, Mandalay,
Pegu and Pagan but no one could give me any information about
these three mfi-works, although many of them knew about the
existence of the Lokaniti, more by name than by its contents; they
only knew that it was a book of proverbs on common life.

11.8. It does not seem yet possible to know when these niti-
works were compiled. The date suggested by Gerrini seems to be
too early, since the analogies with Buddaghosa's Dhammapada-
tthakatha 37 are more likely to be accidental and the moral sayings
included in the Lokaniti are of a general and common nature.
Temple's date of 1826 is certainly too late; it probably refers to one
of the translations of the Pali Lokaniti into Burmese, while the Pali
text was known in Burma much earlier. Therefore, it is quite possible
that the Lokaniti was composed in the beginning of the fifteenth
century 38 and that the two other niti-col lections were compiled not
much later,

1 2. 1 . The Pali Lokaniti is known today in Burma more
by its name than by its contents. Two different independent trans-
lations were made into English in 1886 from Pali by J. Gray 39 and
from Burmese in 1875 (published in 1878) by R.C. Temple 40 . Gray's
translation contains 167 wise sayings while Temple's translation 164
wise sayings. This difference is due to the fact that C. Tempple
combines sometimes two wise sayings into one 41 . The Lokaniti is
divided into seven distinct sections dealing with : (1) wise men (1-40);
(2) good men (41-67); (3) the evil-doer (68-78); (4) friendship (79-93);
(5) women (94-111); (6) kings (112-137); and (7) miscellanea (138-

37. It is not certain whether Buddhaghosa really composed this
commentary.

38. Imitations of some passages of the Lokaniti occurred in
Burmese inscriptions at Pagan (cf. above).

39. Cf. fn. 34 above.

40. In JASB XLVII of 1878; pp., 239 sqq.

41. Also Gray's translation is much better and clearer than
Temple's. Cf. E. Teza (op. cit. fn. 27); pp. 402 sqq. Cf. L.
Sternbach, The Pali Lokaniti and the Burmese Niti Kyan and
their Sources in the BSOS 26.2; pp. 329-45.

( 384 )

167); such a division of s..Ve^l-r.-ittcrs is very common to Sanskrit
subhasita-sarhgraha-s.

12.2. The origin of a great part of Lokanlti's wise sayings
can be traced co classical Sanskrit sources and, in particular, to the
Mahabharata, the Hitopadesa, the Paftcatantra, so-called Canakya's
wise sayings, the Manava-dharmasastra, etc.

13.1. It was proved that the Nlti-Kyan was the
Burmese translation of the Pali Lokanlti.' 12 In the Nlti-Kyan many
verses (gatha-s) are divided into two or four parts and therefore
the number of wise sayings of the Nlti-Kyan is 211 instead of 167
found in the Lokaniti.

13.2. The NTti-Kyan was translated in 1858 by E. Fowler 43
who wrote that this anthology was taught in the Burmese monas-
teries to the daily scholars and resident novices; it was always in
use and was generally known as being one of the elementary books
in Burma, since it contained moral teachings, popular in India
which could be applied in every day life.

14. In addition to this collection of sitbhasita-s of Sanskrit
origin, there are two other subh&sita-samgraha-s also greatly
influenced by Sanskrit subJiasita-s . These are the Pali Rajaniti and
the Pali Dhammanlti.

14.1. The Pali Rajaniti is a typical Indian subhasita-
samgraha, dealing as its title shows with rcyanifl; it contains
136 wise sayings. According to J. Gray it was based on the Indian
dharmasastra-s and was compiled by the Brahmins Anantanana
and Gaijamissaka. It does not seem to be correct to state that the
Pali Rajaniti was based on Indian dharmas&stra-s\ it was rather
based on sanskrit subhasita-samgraha-s., and in particular on one
version of Canakya's sayings, viz. the Canakya-sara-sarhgraha
version. The first 20 wise sayings dealing with king's officials,
their duties and qualifications and the group of wise sayings 48-55
were, no doubt, borrowed, either directly or indirectly, from the
so-called Canakya's collections of wise sayings; the latter group
follows almost word for word the Canakya-sara-samgraha version. 44

14.2.1. The Pali Dhammsniti is also a typical Indian
subhasita-sarhgraha; it contains 411 wise sayings (plus three
introductory verses) and is divided into 24 sections dealing with the

42. L. Sternbach, op. cit. fn. 41.

43. JRAS XVII of 1860; pp. 252-266

44. Cf. L. Sternbach, Spreading of Cdpakycfs Aphorisms over
"Greater India" Calcutta, Oriental Book Agency, 1969; pp. 42-43.

( 385 )

preceptor, scholarship, wisdom, knowledge, conversation, wealth,
residence, dependence, friendship, the bad man, the good man, the
powerful, women, sons, servants, the wise man, what should be
done, what should be avoided, ornamentation, kings, ministration,
two's three's, etc. miscellanea. 45

14.2.2. The Dhammaniti contains a great number of Sanskrit
subhasita-s, of which many are identical with the Pali Lokanlti but,
generally speaking, the Dhammanlti is more losely connected with
Sanskrit sources than the Pali Rajaniti and particularly the Pali
Lokaniti. The wise sayings of the Dhammanlti are seldom straight
translations of Sanskrit wise sayings; they are rather paraphrases of
Sanskrit subhasita-s.

14.2.3. The Pali Dhammanlti is not as common in Burma as
the Lokaniti, but is better known than the Pali Rajaniti; it never
became a handbook of study in Burma and, being much longer than
the Lokaniti and Rajaniti, was not so willingly recopied by scribes;
it also did not have the reputation of being originated in India,
though it is, at least in part, a translation or paraphrase of Sanskrit
subhasita-s, particularly from the Hitopadesa, Pancatantra, other
fozf/za-works, the Mahabharata, the Manava-dharmaSastra, etc. 46

15, Among other gnomic works of Burma the following
should be mentioned ; the Sutta-va<J<Jkananiti in Pali
and Burmese translation, containing 73 wise sayings chiefly from
Buddhist sources, but also containing some subhdsita-s from the
Sanskrit kathn literature, the Maharaha-niti and the
Sihala-niti (for Simhalaniti). I was informed by the
Manuscript Examiner of the International Institute for Advanced
Buddhistic Studies in Rangoon that the two last named anthologies
are "a combination of the Lokaniti, the Dhammanlti and a collection
of Canakya's sayings." The MSs of the last two works were
however not avai'able for scrutiny. 47

16. Another Pali work containing a collection of wise sayings
is the Lokasara, a Pali anthology of 55 wise sayings, probably
from the fourteenth century; it is divided into three parts dealing
with the general rules of ethics, kings and Brahman-s. It is more
Buddhistic in character than the Lokaniti, Rajaniti and the

45. 1-10; 11-24; 25-54; 55-60; 61-71; 72-77; 78-84; 85-92; 93-108;
109-137; 138-147; 148-152; 153-169; 170-176; 176-178; 179-192
193-224; 225-253; 254-262; 263-284; 285-320; 321-331; 332-411.

46. Cf. L. Sternbach, op. cit. fn. 41.

47. Cf. L. Sternbach, op, cit, fn, 44; paras. 72-73

Dhammaniti; however most of the subhasita-s included in the second
and third parts of the work are influenced by Sanskrit wise sayings,
but the wording of the Pali subhOsita-s is quite different from that
of Sanskrit

17. We also find in Burma in Sanskrit with Burmese trans-
lation as well as also Pali translation of some Canakya's collections
of wise sayings, viz. the Canakya-nlti-sastra version. There is the
Canakya-niti-Thadamti, originally published in Mandalay in 1900;
the Sanakya-niti (with the Lokanlti). ...Two most renowned niti
(collections), Rangoon (one edition without dale and another from
1954), and the three-volume work entitled Sanakya-nlti-kyan, based
on the original text in Thakkata (Sanskrit), Rangoon, 1957, which
contains an explanation in Pali and Burmese of forty verses for
memorising the main Canakya verses and a long explanation of each
of the Canakya's sayings. This work was prepared for the purpose
of teaching ethics. 4 *.

E. SIAM

18. The Sanskrit and Pali literature, extremely rich in niti
verses, contributed largely in forming the greater part of Siamese
sayings. The Siamese, similarly as the Burmese, were greatly
impressed by the profound thoughts of Sanskrit wise sayings; they
discovered however a source nearer to them than India, viz. Burma
and embodied the Pali-Burmese LokanTti into their literature.
E. G. Gerini 60 reported the existence in Slum of several editions of
the Lokanlti in Pali; one of these (the Sup'hasit Lokanlti Klam
JClong, Bangkok 1904), comprising 408 wise sayings contains many
wise sayings from other sources prevalent in Siam. 51 Another
collection of the Lokanlti in Siamese vci^e was written by his
Royal Highness Prince Dajadisorn in 1824; it was probably based
on some old incomplete Siamese collections from the days of
Ayud'hya; the author admitted that this text has been derived from
a Pali version which is not named beyond LokanTti. This anthology
of verses, together with older fragments, was recently published in a

48. Lokasara pyui 1 (Lokasara pyo) ed. by fr* Van. (Mcmsuvan)* with
paraphrasing and notes; Rangoon, Kusulavati, 1955 (in
Burmese); Lokasara 'with an introdvctian and notes by Yeo Wun
Sin Rangoon, The British Burma Press, 1902 (in Burmese and
English)

49. Cf. L. Strenbach, op. cit. fn. 44; paras 36-37.

50. On Siamese Proverbs Cf. fn. 35.

51. Cf. L. Sterabach, op. cit. fn. 44;

( 387 )

"Compendium of Worldly- wise verses in Siamese" named Klon
Lokamti.

19. In addition to this classical anothology containing
Sanskrit wise sayings, we find in Siam several other collections of
sayings; they are enclosed in Sup'hasit-s (from Sanskrit subhzsita-
samgraha-s) which included not only epigrams, moral teachings,
rules of good conduct, but also proverbs.

19.1. The best known Siamese subhasita-samgraha is the
Sup'hasit ofP'hrah R u a n g (or Bannat P'hra Ruang).
According to tradition P'hrah Ruang was one of the first kings of
Sukhet'ai, probably Rama K'ambeng; he lived in the second half
of the thirteenth century A.D. E.G. Gerini 52 regarded this
collection of wise sayings "as a genuine product of the period, as
the ethical code of the re-born nation, embodying the outcome of
the wisdom matured during the long centuries of servitude and
tempered and made more poignant by the novel spirit of freedom
that pervaded the age" 53 . On the other hand he thought that this
collection of wise sayings was probably inspired by practical sense,
but did not soar * to the sublime heights of the ethical treatise of
the West" or the Buddhistic literature in the East 54 .

19.1.1. The Sup'hasit of P'hrah Ruang exists in several
editions 55 . Gerini translated subhaita-s which show influence of
Indian thinking, but are rather composed in form of proverbs than
subhasita-s.

20. E. JLorgeou in Bulletin de /' Athenee Oriental** translated
in his "Suphasit Siamois" a number of Siamese wise sayings; some
of them were influenced by Indian thinking and were written in
the style of Sanskrit subhasita-s; however some of these Siamese
wise sayings are quite different and are not of Indian origin.
According to Lorgeou their origin is obscure; they were collected
in the beginning of the nineteenth century by a monk who lived in
a monastery in Bangkok.

21. Gerini quoted also a number of Siamese Sup'hasit-s, the
most important of which are the P u s o n tan (The grandfather's
teaching to his grandchild) and the LansdnPu (The giand-

52. op. cit. fn. 50

53. op. cit. fn. 50; p.6.

54. op. cit. fn. 50; p. 12

55. E.G.E. Gerini. fn. 35.

56. Cf. 1881; pp, 59-65, 123-135. 260-279; and of 1882; pp. 102-
114; 187-205, 250-253.

( 388 )

child's teaching to his grandfather); they are probably of Lao
origin but were well known in Siam. The National Library in
Bangkok has registered in its catalogue these two works in T'ai
verse and the Pu son Lan also in Sanskrit verse (sic\). Unfortunately
these two works, despite long search, coukl not be found in the
Library when I visited Bangkok in 1961 and consequently could not
be analyzed by me. Since the Pu son Lan was written in Sanskrit
verse it may be surmised that it was also known in India and that
it is of Indian origin* Probably then the same applies to Lan son
Pu. One text of Pu son Lan in the National Library in Bangkok
is a work of Xieng Mai literature; it is written on palm leaves.

22. L. Finot 57 mentioned also that in Siam two additional
anthologies of wise sayings exist, viz. the Pip'hcksonbiit
and the Pali S o n n o n, 58 however they contain teachings from
the Ramayana (Vibhisana to bis family and Bali to Sugrlva).
Particularly the latter one is well known in Siam. Though
undoubtedly of Indian origin, these teachings are not subhasita-s
par excellence.

23. The Siamese proverbs and wise sayings which were
collected by Gerini and Giihlel 50 (Gerini collected 208 and
Giihler 276) are, similarly as the P'hrab Ruang's short
sentences and were probably of local origin, although some of the
thoughts coincided with Western ideas 01 . Some of the wise sayings
were of Indian origin; that can be seen from the fact that they
often refer to the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and heroes of
these two epics, as well as mention Indian deities in particular
Garucja; it seems also that they were influenced by the Pancatantra
and the Hitopadesa tales, but most of them were adapted to the
local daily life.

24. In the twentieth century the Sanskrit Vyasa-subhasita-
saragraha became also known in Siam as the V y u k a r a s a t a k a
It was probably brought from Ceylon during the reign of king

57. Resherches de la literature laotienne, BEFO XVII; 5.148.

58. Unfortunately I was not able to consult these treatises.

59. W. Giihler, Uber Thai Sprichworter in the Journal of the Slam
Society 34; pp. 97-144; Cf. J, Kasem Sibunruang and Ann B.
Darling, Siamese Proverbs in Thought and Word /; No. 2; pp.
46-9.

60. Op. cit. fn. 214; pp. 69-105,

1. Cf. Gerini, op, cit, (fn. 55); 13. 18-23.

Rama III and printed 62 in Siamese characters with the help of a
Brahmin Mukupusvami (?) and Luang Phirivanahorn and then
distributed at the cremation ceremony of Ammart TrI P'hra
Turuparkpichorn 03 .

25. Also a collection of Canakya's sayings the "sanskrit
Canaky a-s at ak a" 64 is known in Siam; it is registered in
the catalogue of the National Library in Bangkok 65 , but could not
be traced when I visited Bangkok in 196 1 68 . Also Under the
auspices of the Royal Insititute a translation of the Canakya-sataka
into Siamese was prepared by P'hrati P'hinic* hevarnakar and was
published in 1922 67 : it is the text of the Canakyaniti-Sastra version.

F. CAMPA, KAMBUJADESA, LAOS

26. In "Further India", Hindu-s established two powerful
colonial kingdoms Campa and Kambujadeia which comprised
today's Cambodia, southern part of South Vietnam (old Cochin-
china), part of Laos and the southern part of today's Thailand.

27. Only in today's Cambodia it was possible to find one
edition of the Lokaniti in Pali with a Cambodian translation.
It is the Lokaniti Pakarana (for prakarand) by Yen. Ouk Chea
Vacirannanbhavongs, Member of the Commission du Tripitaka a
1'Institut Bouddhique de phnom Penh 68 It is not a complete edition
of the Pali Lokaniti; it contains only 150 wise sayings, divided into 7
chapters of 36, 28, 11, 13, 18, 25 and 19 verses respectively; it omits
particularly the wise sayings of the last chapter miscellanea.

28 It was impossible to ascertain whether any other
subhasita-samgraha-s of Sanskrit origin exist in this part : of the
world. The only additional information which was possible to

62 Vyaksrasataka, Sanskrit Text in Siamese translation
preface by H. R. H. Prince Damrong Rajajanubhab, B. b.
2464 (A. D. 1920). _

63 Cf. L. Sternbach, op. cit. fn. 29 (No. 3) and in Brahmavidya
35. 3-4; pp. 258-269.

>>

India and Nepal.

67. Information from His Highness Prince Dhani Nivat.

68. Phnom Penh, Albert Portail, 1936,

secure, was to find a small publication of 26 pages in Pali in
Cambodian characters with a translation into Khmer entitled
R a j a n i t i (for Rajamti), texte tiro de Sastras (for sastra-s) sur
feuilles de latanier... Premiere edition. Phnom Penh. Editions de
la Bibliotheque Royale, 1941"; it contains political wise sayings in
based on Sanskrit sources.

29. Another publication is the SupMiasit ebap srl
Baky kaby, Anak Okna Suttant Prija. Ten Ind., of which the title
page in French reads "Bons Conseils (sour ies femnies) (Poesie) par
Oknha Suttantrarije *Ind' Douxieme edition, Phnom Penh. Editions
de I'lnstitut Bouddhique, 1951." The booklet contains 250 verses
in Khmer, dealing in particular with the beauty and charm of women
modelled probably on Sanskrit kavya works, in particular the
Amarusataka.

30. L. Finot in his "Recherches de la litterature Laotienne" 69
referrred to a Pali L o k a n i t i which is known in Laos; it is
composed of some 400 wise sayings 70 ; although not mentioned in
the catalague of the Royal Library in Luang Prabang it exists in the
Vat That 71 .

31. L. Finot also referred to the P u s 6 n L a n and the Lan
s o n P u manuals of "apophthegmatical Jove" held in the highest
esteem "from Luang Prabang in the North to Ubon in the South"
which were not only widely read but aL->o learnt by heart 7 -. The Lan
s5n Pu was known to exist in Luang Prabang in manuscript form 73 .

32. L. Finot referred further to the publication of a series of

69. BEFE022.6.

70. Finot probably referred to the Sup'hasit Lokaniti iCam. Klong,
one of the editions of the Lokaniti current in Si am (Bangkok
1904), cf. para 18.

71* In the list of the Lao MSs. Finot later mentions under No.
328 Lokaniti C ( Liste des MSs conservSes dan.s Ies Pagodes de
Louang Prabang par Chao Chittarat. 1914),

72. BEFEO 17.5; p. 148; Gerini, op. cit, (fn. 55) 110.

73. L. Finot speaking about the Lao subhasita-literature (BEFEO
17.5; p. 147-8) mentioned that the Ecolc Francaise de
1'Extreme Orient has a MS L* 70 which is composed of three
distinct treatises : (1) Kon Suphasit; (2) Anacak Thammacak,
a code of offences and punishment; and (3) Sattahardhamma,
duties of an official. He gave five examples of these sayings,
but none seems to be of Indian origin.

Lao adages of Xieng Mai (S u p ' h a s i t Lao Xien) which
however was not finished 74 .

u, therS ' fifteen L * proverbs were

recorded by Germi 75 , eleven by W. Giihler 7 *, fifteen by P Levy 77 and
twenty by P. S. Nginn 78 ; they are of peasant, earthy type of every-
day wisdom and only seldom show Indian influence 79 . However the
Laotian Lokaniti is certainly, as other Lokanlti-s of Indian
origin.

34. My other endeavours in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in
1961 and then in 1967 and 1968 to find there other sources of
gnomic literature showing Indian influences were unsuccessful,
particularly due to the lack of interest in this part of the world in
the older literatures. I am convinced, however, that many other
subhasita-s of Sanskrit origin exist also there.

G. JAVA, SUMATRA, BALI

35. The Hindu-s must have established political authority in
Java by the beginning of the second century A.D. In Java there were
several Hindu kingdoms; two of these called Cho-po and Ho-lo-taii
by the Chinese, sent regular embassies to China in the fifth century
A.D. The names of the kings of both these countries ended with
varman'% show Indian influence. The first great Hindu empire
was founded by the Saileiidra dynasty in the eighth century A.D.
With the Hindu colonisation came also the Sanskrit literature,
including Sanskrit subhasita-samgraha-s . Particularly two subhasita-
samgraha-s became very popular viz. the Sarasamuccaya and the
Siokantara; both are well preserved.

35.1. The Old Javanese Sarasamuccaya was well-
known in Java and Bali, as the book of moral precepts collected
from different Sanskrit sources, mostly the Mahabharata
(Anusasana-, Adi-, Udyoga-, Stri-, Santi- and Avamedha-parvan-s),
the HitopadeSa, the Pancatantra and the Manava-dharmasastra*
It was first noticed by Dr. Friedrich in 1849; and then by H. H.
Juynboll who published 117 of the wise sayings included in this
anthology, it contains 517 wise sayings and, as C. Hooykaas

74. I was not able to study any of the collections of maxims
mentioned by L. Finot.

75. Gerini, op. cit. (fn. 55); pp. 106-112.

76. W. Guhler, op. cit. (fn. 35) pp. 144.

77. Proverbs in France-Asie XII; pp. 1079-80.

78. Proverbs in France- A^ie XII; pp- 1080-82.

79. As for instance, No. 8 of the Laotian Pa son

remarked 8 , is considered the "best source for Old Javanese
literature hitherto known". Almost all subhasita-s included in this
subhasita-sarhgraha could have been identified in Sanskrit sources 81 -
out of 517 wise sayings quoted in this anthology 320 were borrowed
from, or were influenced by, the Mahabharata, sixty wise sayings
occur in various collections of Canakya's sayings, 33 in the
Pancatantra; 30 in the Garuda-purana, 20 in the Hitopadesa, 23 in
the Manava-dharmaSastra; also a number of wise sayings appear in
various smrti-s and in other works of Sanskrit literature, not to
mention subhasita-samgraha-s^ such as the Subhasita-ratna-
bhan<Jagara, the subhasitavall of Vallabhadeva, the Sarngadhara-
paddhati, the Suktiratnahara and many others. 82

35.2. The Sarasamuccaya was edited in the Sata-pitaka-Series,
No. 24 in Delhi in 1962. Its collator is Vararuci who in the
introduction stated that he collected "ail the essentials of the
Mahabharata, the composition of His reverence Vyasa" to whom he
paid homage. In the explanation to the sixth verse Vararuci referring
to himself wrote : "henceforth he will say what is best in this
Bharata epic. It is designated Sarasamuccaya; sara signifies essence
and samuccaya is its accumulation". Therefore Raghu Vira who
translated the whole work and wrote a preface to it remarked :
"The Sarasamuccaya is the Glta of the Balinesc Hindu-s. As
designed by its author Vararuci, it contains the essence of the high
teaching and noble ideas set forth in the Mahabharata'".

35.3. On the basis of the edition of the Sarasamuccaya in the
gata-pitaka-Series and additional two lontars (which do not contain
any important variants) Tjok. Rai Sudharta published in
mimeographed form the first 255 verses of the Sarasamuccaya in
Sanskrit and Old Javanese transcriptions as well as in Indonesian
translation of the Old Javanese text; it appeared in the Parisada
Hindu Dharma Pusat in Denpasar (Bali) 1968. The whole Sara-
samuccaya so edited and translated is expected to appear in printed
form in 1972.

36.1. The existence of the Old Javanese Slokantara

80. G. Hooykaas, Kdmandaklya Nitisara etc. in Old-Javanese in
Journal of the Greater India Society ; Vol. 1 5; pp. 1 8 sqq.

81. Cf. L. Sternbach, Sanskrit Subhasita-sarhgraha-s in Old-Javanese
and Tibetan in Annals of the Bhandarakar Oriental Research
Institute, Poona XLIII; pp. 115-158.

82. Op. cit. fn. 81; para 6. Obviously same $ubha$itas appear in
more than one primary source.

was known for a vary long time 83 ; it was however brought to light
in a critical edition only in 1957; it was then published in the
International Academy of Indian Culture and critically edited by
Sharada Rani 84 .

36.2. The Slokantara contains 83 sayings which are followed
by an Old Javanese prose-explanation which, as the editor stated,
"though usually close to the original stanza, is at times quite prolix.
This style of exposition is still to be seen in India, where the
religious preachers and purunic narrators explain the Sanskrit
sloka-s and further elaborate them by their own explanations" 85 .

36.3. The Slokantara does not correspond "to the niti text of
Sanskrit literature", as the editor suggested; it is somewhat an
unusual text of a subha?ita-sarhgraha because of the preponderance
of purely dharmaSastra verses; such verses are sometimes included in
subhasita-sarhgraha-s, but never occupy as much as one-fourth of the
whole subhasita-samgraha, as is the case of the Slokantara. Otherwise,
however, it can be considered as a subhasita-samgraha. If we do
not count some twenty verses, which are dkarmasastra verses, half of
the rest, i.e. 27 verses are of Canakya origin or were influenced by
the so-called Canakya* s sayings.

36.4. The importance of the Slokantara, similarly as the

importance of the Sarasamuccaya, is enhanced by the preservation

of "losts" texts; the Slokantara contains the same < k lost" Manava-

dharmasastra verse which we find in the Sarasamuccaya 86 , as well

as an additional "lost" Manava-dharmsastra verse. 8 ^

83 The MS of the Slokantara was mentioned by H. H. Juynboll
in his Supplement op den catalogue van de Javaansche en
Madoereesche Handschriften der Leidsche Universiteits Bibliothek
//, Leiden; 1911; pp. 200 sqq.

84 Dvipantara-Pitaka, vol. 2. International Academy of Indian
Culture, Delhi. The edition is divided into three parts : the
first contains the text in transcription; the second the Enghsh
translation; and the third the text with extensive notes It
So contains a preface and au Index of -new and notable
words".

85. Introduction, p. 5

86. Slokantara 1 Sarasamuccaya 136.

87 Slokantara verse 30. The first "lost" Manava-dharmasastra
ferse appe'ars in V. N. Mandlik's edition of the Manava-
dharmSLra after VIII. 82 (p. 929), the second appears also
exclusively in V. N. Mandlik's edition after VIII. 102 (p. 934^
both verses are often quoted in mbandha-s (cf. L. Sternbach
op. cit. fn. 81, para-s 14 and 19).

37.1. Less popular, but also important is the Old Javanese
N i t i Vs t r a or N I t i s a r a , 88 composed, according to Dr.
Poerbatjaraka, the editor of this Old Javanese subhssita-sarhgraha,
in the last years of Mahapahit 8 *; it contains 120 veises in fifteen
chapters.

37.2. Dr.C.Hooykaas was of the opinion that the Old Javanese
NItiSastra gave the impression of being purely Indian in origin.
The garb, however, in which the maxims have been clad, though
also of Indian origin, did not favour exact translation; its metres
must at times have driven the poet to some abbreviations, at other
times to enlargements and additions. He also very rightly
concluded that it is doubtful whether it would be possible to
detect one definite treatise as a source; the Javanese may only have
rearranged the contents of the work, but also may have omitted
from or/and added to it; the work may also have been an anthology
from the very beginning. U. N. Ghoshal characterised it as "a
collection of wise sayings, moral precepts and so forth of the
Ca^akya-niti-class"' .

37.3. It seems that the NrtiSastra could be characterised as
an Old Javanese subhnsita-samgraha, since many of those sayings
which could be identified are found exclusively in some Sanskrit
subhasita-sarhgraha-s and not in primary sources. This anthology
might have been, as Dr. C. Hooykaas suggested, a work rearranged
by a Javanese compiler with omissions or additions; it must be
added, however, that it is far from a purely Sanskrit ized text; the
wise sayings are, generally speaking, not translations of the Sanskrit
text into Old Javanese but a paraphrase of the Sanskrit saying
written very often in corrupt Sanskrit.

37.4. A great number of subhasita-s included in this
anthology are so-called Ca^akya's sayings; many other subhasita~s
originated in the Manava-dharmasastra, the Ramayana, the
Pancatantra, the Mahabharata, the HitopadeSa and other Sanskrit
sources.

88. Nittfastra. Oud-Javaansche tekst met vending iutgegeven door
R. Ng. Dr. Poerbatjaraka Bibliotheca Javanica No. 4. Bandoeng
1933.

89. Cf. U. N. Ghoshal, Progress of Greater India Research during
the last twenty-five years in Journal of the Greater India Society,
IX, 2, p. 124; C. Hooykass Bibliotheca Javanica in Djawa, 20,
1940, pp. 42-46.

90. Cf. U. N. Ohoshal, op. cit. (fn. 89).

38.1. Also the Pancatantra with many added siihhasita-s
became very popular in Java, Bali and Madura; it was known there
asTantriKamandaka, it is quite different from most of the
versions of the Pancatantra; it seems to be nearest to the Pafica-
tantra of Ourgasirhha 91 . We find in this part of the world at least
twelve different recensions of the Pancatantra of which the oldest
three are written in a sort of Old Javanese, several in Middle Java-
nese and Balinese, two in New Javanese and two others in
Madurese 92 .

38.2. The best text of the Old Javanese Tantri Kamandaka
was edited and translated by C. Hooykaas 93 . The Old Javanese text
written in prose with some added verses, which are mostly
subhasita-s 9 contain only 83 such verses 94 , not all of which can be
found in the different texts of the Pancatantra; most of those
verses which could not be traced to the Sanskrit Pancatantra could
be found in the Mahabharata, Bhartrhari's Sataka-s, or among wise
sayings attributed to Canakya.

39. Also the Udyoga-parvan of the Mahabharata which
contains a great number of wise sayings was known well in Old
Javanese.

4O.1. It is well known that many Indian fables with hun-
dreds of inserted mfz-sayings (subhasita-s) and I mention here only
the best known, were incorporated into the literatures not only to
the East of India but also to the West of India. The Pancatantra,
for instance, became known not only in the whole of South-East
Asia, but was also translated into Pehlevi by A.E>. 570; this text
was then translated into Old Syriac and old Arabic, as the Kalilah
wa-Dimna (later called also the fables of Bidjpai). The text spread
through Hebrew and Greek translations to whole of Europe. Let
me only mention the translations of Rabbi Joel, Symeon Seth,
Oiulio Nutti, Johannes di Capua, A. von Pforr, Abu'l Naali

91. Published by A. Venkatasubbiah in Zeitschrift fur Indologie

undlranistik 6.255 sqq.
92* Cf. C. Hooykaas, Tantri Kamandaka. Een Oudjavaansche

Pantjatanra-Bewerking in tekst en vertaling uitgegeven door,..

Bibliotheca Javanica; No. 2. Bandoeng 1931, pp. 14 sqq.;

H. B. Sarkar, India** Influences on the Literature of Java and

Bali, Calcutta, 1934, pp. 237 sqq.; L. Sternbach, op. cit. fn. 81.

93. Tantri Kamandaka* op. cit. fn. 92.

94. The Pancatantra in different various texts contains from 341
to 1134 verses.

Nushrallah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul Hamld and Anwari Suhaili
The Hitopadesa has been known in the West for a very longtime*
a translation of this collection of fables was already made into
English in 1787 and from them into most European languages. The
Sukasaptati served as the basis for the 14th century Nakshabi
version of the Persin Tuti-nameh and the 17th century version of
Muhammad Qadiri; it spread then to Turkey as the Turkish version
of the Tutl-nameh with additions from the Vetala-paficaviihsatika.
Motifs of the Sukasaptati are found in the Arabian Thousand and
One Nights and particularly in the KLitab el-Sindbad and even in
Gottfried's Tristan und Isolde, not to mention many translations of
the Sukasaptati into European languages. The Vikramacarita was
not only translated into Newarl and as Sib-songliang into Siamese
but also in 1574 by order of the Emperor Akbar into Persian. By
name of Arji-Borji Chan (Raja Bhoja) it was absorbed into the
Tibetan and the Mongolian literatures. Also translations, though
of a later date, were made into European languages. Finally the
Vetalapancavimsatika was early translated into Newari, Tibetan
and Mongolian -Kalmuck and through Braj-bhakha, Hindi and
other modern. Indian languages has greatly influenced under the
name Baital-pachisi, particularly in the nineteenth century, the
English literature with Richard Burton's Vikram and the Vampire,
or Tale of Hindu Devilry. It also became partly known in Turkey
through the Turkish version of Ntikshabi^ Tut! Nameh, where
some stories of the Vetalapancavimsatika were also incorporated.

40.2. The question of the influence of Sanskrit A-a//r-litera-
ture on European fables is a well known fact, it is not for me to
deal with this question; I wish only to emphasize that the Sanskrit
&tf*A-literature is full of nlti sayings {subha$ita-s) which through
translations of the main works into foreign languages became widely
known not only to the East of India but also to the West of India
and were often quoted in Europe.

41. It may also be emphasized that some Sanskrit subhasita-s
were included in the Old and New Testament, For instance
Mahabharata's subhasita-s such as "you see the faults of others
even if they are as small as a grain of mustard, but you .do not
want^to see your own faults even if they are as big as the bilva-
fruit" (MBh. 1.69.1) is found in St. Mat hews 7.3 and in the Talmud
Arakkin 16; or the MahabharaU suhhasita "Do not do to others
what is disagreeable to yourself, that is dharma, the other proceeds
from desire" (MBh 5.39,57) is found in St. Mathews 7.12 and in
the Rabbi Hillel's dictum; or the saying of the Mahabharata "do
not react evil with evil" (MBh. 3.198.43) or -whatever one has sown

( 397 )

that one reaps*' (MBh. 12.287,44) are respectively found also in the
Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans (12.17) and in the Epistle
of Paul the Apostle to the Oalatians (6.7) and many others. However
the ascriptions of these maxims to Sanskrit texts should be made
with great care for they may belong to the floating mass of oral
tradition being the property of the whole of mankind 95 .

42. Probably many more collections of ra/z-saymgs of
Sanskrit origin and I wish to stress the word collections, since I
did not deal in the main part of my presentation with individual
nlti sayings exist in "Greater India", but with so many works still
buried in the various lands of South-East Asia and difficulties in
getting the needed information, it was impossible to ascertain the
existence of other treasures of Sanskrit #f//-literature which spread
over "Greater India". I am, however, convinced that with the
progress of Indian studies in * 'Greater India" this important branch
of Sanskrit literature will become better known in the nearest
future.

95. Cf. JL. Sternbach, Similar Thoughts in the Mahabharata, the
Literature of "Greater India" and in the Christian Gospels in
JAOS 91.3, pp, 438-442,

SANSKRIT IN PHILIPPINE LANGUAGE
AND LITERATURE

DR. JUAN R. FRANCISCO

Vice-President for Academic Affairs,

Mindanao State University,

Philippines

Introduction : The influx of Jnclian cultural elements, viz. art
objects 1 , Sanskrit language and literature-, systems of writing 3 , and
others 4 , is viewed only in terms of their movement through the
South-east Asian regions. In more precise terms, the role of Malaya
and Indonesia in this movement is most ^is"-,:fic;i;ii. So pervasive,
indeed, is the Indianization of these areas, that these Indian cultural
elements, in spite of their having been substantially assimilated into
their local cultural matrices, that in the course of time these also
found their way into the Philippines. However, it should not be
construed that the process of culture movement was primarily one
way; rather there was also a substantial reverse movement.

Certainly, the carriers of these elements as they returned of
their original lands in pursuit of trade and traffic may have carried
back with them some cultural elements of the lands they visited.
In a similar manner, traders and traffickers from the Philippines
visiting the Indonesian archipelago and the Malayan Peninsula left
some of theirs with those they had traded, and brought back with
them some of those they felt would suit their needs. Thus, on this
basis, could we understand the influx of Indian culture into the
Philippines.

In terms of the linguistic evidences, the Indian cultural elements
began to percolate some time between the 10th and 12th centuries
A,D. However, the more detable evidences, e.g., archaeological
artifacts, reached the Philippines between the 12th and the 14th
centuries A.D.

( 398 )

( 399 )

It may be fairly deduced from these dates that (1) the
language items arrived in these Islands ahead of the artifacts
and (2) they arrived here at a time when the full flowering of
Indian culture in the intermediate regions had reached its zenith
and was in fact on its decline, decisively crushed towards the middle
of the fourteenth century by the advent of Islam. 5

What is most interesting in this process of culture move-
ment, particularly in relation to the influx of Indian culture into the
Philippines is that Indian cultural influence continued to percolate
into the islands even after the establishment of the Islamic kingdoms
in the Malay Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago. For the
Muslims who came to the Philippines were themselves formerly
Hindus or people who had been Hinduized, and they could not
have forgotten their heritage so soon. Thus it is not surpris-
ing to see vestiges of Hindu rituals in those of the Muslim
Filipinos of Mindanao and Sulu. But the percolation finally
ceased with the "complete" Islamization of those "entrepreneurs'*
and the coming of the Europeans. 6

It must be noted at this point that these evidences of Indian
penetration into the Philippines are substantially less than those
found in both the Malayan Peninsula and the Indonesian
Archipelago. It is an inescapable fact that the paucity of the Indian
influence that reached the Islands was due primarily to its start at
a period when Indian influence had begun its decline a decline
accelerated by the Islamic invasion and expansion and by the intro-
duction of a European culture entirely alien to the orientations
of the Philippines 7 .

Thus, looking at these facts brings to focus inferences relevant
to the subject of the present paper. That the language elements,
e.g. Sanskrit, that reached the Philippines did not involve syntacti-
cal or grammatical constructions as to have been strong or influential
enough to have changed substantially the character of Philppine
languages. Rather, these influences were primarily in the field of
enriching the Philippines by way of contributing to their stock of
vocabularies. That the literatures did not involve the introduction
of Sanskrit texts, or the writing of local texts that are highly
Sanskritized, e.g., the Old Javanese Ramayana and other texts of
like importance. Rather Sanskrit literature that reached the
Philippines were either re-narration of those stories in the local
languages, e.g., Maranaw, or direct translations of stories of Indian
themes, e.g., the Rama-story, from the intermediate languages, e.g.
Malay.

( 400 )

Sanskrit in Philippine Language and Literature ; Earlier work
has been done in the way of initially uncovering the Sanskrit
influence in Philippine languages. However, as the research activities
of the present writer on the same subject continued, new evidences of
these influences have been brought to light. This refers to the work
being done on the Maranaw language and literature, 9 with
particular reference to its Sanskrit influence. The data used in
this paper is based on the initial readings of the Maranaw folk epic,
the Darangen, 10 a narrative of great length tells the story of their
culture heroes and their deeds.

(1) Language : The Sanskrit words that are being presented
in this brief essay are not found in the other Philippine languages
that have been studied in an earlier work. No attempt on a phono-
logical analysis of these words shall be made for the general
principles on the development of Sanskrit sounds, as they found
themselves adopted in Philippine languages, had been established in
said earlier work. Only peculiar developments shall be given
attention in this brief essay.

Mar. 11 astanaS mansion, manor, house, castle, residence.

Sans, sthana, place of standing or staying, any place, spot,

locality, abode, dwelling, house, site. Jav. Mai. istana, palace!

Mag., istana, "id." cf. also Sans, asthana, court.
Mar. bakti, faithful, loyal. Sans, bhakti, attachment, devotion, trust,

homage, worship, piety, faith or love. Jav. bekti, homage.

Mar. bandara*, title of nobility. Mai. bendahara, royal treasurer,
prime minister (in old Malay state). Sans, bhaydag&ra,
treasury .

Mar. barahana, eclipse. Sans, grahana, seizure, of the sun or moon,
eclipse.

Mar. batokapala, headstone. Mai. bato, stone + Sans, kapnla, the
skull, the cranium, skull-bone.

Mar. biaksa\ expert, accustomed, experienced. Sans, abhyzsa,
repeated or permanent exercise, discipline, habit. .Tav. biyasa,
habit.

Mar. bidaria, houri, angel (female in Maranaw belief). Sans.
vidyadhari, a female of the above class of supernatural beings,
fairy, sylph.

Mar. bitiara, speak, feast as in marriage, dialogue.

Sans, vicnra, dispute, discussion, pendering, deliberation,

consideration, reflection* examination, investigation. Mai.
bicara, discussion, legal proceedings, concern, opinion.

Mar. bogabong a komara, kingdom in the darangen. Sans, kumara,
a child, boy, youth, so.i; a prinos, hsir-apparent associated in*
the kingdom, with the reigning monarch.

Mar, daksina, northeast.

Sans, daksina, south, southern (as being on the right side of
a person looking eastward), situated to the south, turned or
directed southward. Jav. daksina, south.

Mar. gadia? bishop in chess gams; lioa. Satis, gaja, elephant.
Mar. garahana, eclipse, (see barahana) Sans, grahana, eclipse.
Mar. istiri* sweetheart, marry. Sans, stri, a woman, female, wife.
OJav., stri, "id.", ModJav. istri, "id/*

Mar. kalo kapur, dryobalanops Gaertin. F., pinus insularie Endl.

kaio 9 tree. Sans, karpura, camphor (either the plant or

resinous exudation, or fruit).
Mar. laksasa, dragon.

Sans, raksasa* a demon, in general, an evil or malignant

demon. Mai., Jav. raksasa, reksasa, ogre, or goblin of Hindu

mythology (often mentioned in traditional literature).
Mar. mantapoli, The Philippines

Sans, mantra^ saying, prayer, etc., + puri, city, town, Hence,

the country where pious people live.
Mar. manteri\ queen in the chess game.

Saps, mantrin, a king's counsellor, minister. Mai. menteri,

headman, chief.
Mar. midadari, lady of god, beautiful lady in heaven. Sans vidya-

dhari, a female of the upper class of supernatural beings,

fairy, sylph.

Mai. bidiadari, bidadari, celestial nymph. Jav. widadari, "id.**
Mar. nagri, community, country.
- Sans. nOgart, town-born, town-bred, relating or belonging to

town or city, town like, civic.

Mar. ntaoa. life, spirit, soul. cf. Sans, jiva, life, existence.
Mar. otara\ northeast monsoon, pagotara' an, north. ans

subject is presumed to speak to the king's shoes) Bh
(OJav), His Majesty. "

Mar, pahala, use. value

Sans. pJiala, benefit, enjoyment, compensation, reward
advantage, fruit. Mai. pahala, reward, merit. *

Mar. paksina, northwest. See daksina, above.

Mar. paramata y sapphire* gem, jewel.

Sans, paramartha, the highest truth, spiritual knowledge, any
excellent or important object, the best kind of wealth/ Lit
Jav. marta paramarta, gentle, gentleness.

Mar. ragas* sizzle,, successive sounds.

Sans, raga, loveliness, beauty (esp. of voice or song); a
musical note, harmony, melody.

Mar. rasa, coating, nutritious part of food.

Sans, rasa, the sap or juice of plants, juice of fruit, any liquid
or fluid, the best or finest or prime part of anything, essence
marrow, juice of the sugar cane, syrup. Mai. rasa, taste,
feeling, sensation. OJav M rasa, "id."

Mar. ropfa, money, rupee.

Sans, rupya, well-shaped, beautiful, stamped or impressed
wrought silver or - gold, stamped coin, rupee. Mai. ruptya
silver coin, rupee. - *->-

Mar. sarnsara\ trouble, suffer, hard up

Sans, samsara, the misery of mundane existence. Mai.

sensara, suffering misery, torture.
Mar. saudara, friend, chum, pal, sweetheart Sans, sodara, brother,

born of the same womb. Ma!, sudara, saudara, brother'

sister. '

Mar. sasana, trust, to have confidence in, rely on. Sans. Jssma

religious or scientific instruction; charter, royal edict any

written book, scripture, teaching.
Mar. safari, game, chessmen; sator, chess, chess-play; satoran, chess

game. Sans, caturanga, the four limbs of the army : elephants

chariots, cavalry, infantry; a kind of chess, the game of chess!

Mai., Jav., Suiid., catur, chess or chess-like game.
Mar. satro\ trouble.

Sans, fatru, enemy, rival, a personal enemy.

Mai. seteru. personal enemy.
Mar. sitea*. calamity, danger, pestilence, trouble, maltreat.

a to^Sr rf UCti0n ' Chastis ^"t, Punishment. Mak.
sessa, to punish, torment.

Mai. seksa, stksa, punishment, torment, agony, etc.

A few comments on the above list of Sanskrit words in
Maranaw may be given at this point. There seem to be two forms
of Sans, vidyddharl in Maranaw, e.g. bidaria and midadari, each
having apparently different meanings. However, both words seem
to convey meanings only in two levels. Phonologically, midadari
appears to be much closer to the assumed Sans. form. The inter-
mediate Mai. form does not deviate substantially from the original
Sans , for the nasal bi-labial m is merely a variation of the bi-labial
plosive b, which is the sound to which the Sans, v develops as it
reaches the Malayo-Indone>ian languages.

An interesting interpretation is that of the Mar. rwantapoli,
which is said to be the Philippines, according to the Maranaw.
Whether or not the word is composed of Sans, mantra and purl or
pura* it is difficult to ascertain. The texts are, however, definite in
referring to the area now politically known as the Philippines, the
setting of the epic. Unlike the geographic descriptions in the
Mahabhnrata and the Ramayana which are definite, the descriptions
in the Darangen are quite hazy. Hence, it is still difficult to place
Mantapoli in sharper location and, therefore, interpreting it as the
present Philippines.

Sans, daksina takes the opposite meaning in Maranaw
ddksina northeast, and paksina, northwest. At the present stage of
the work on the Darangen, it is not yet ascertainable how this
direction came about. What may be offered as an explanation to
this phenomenon, is that the term may just as well be a native
Maranaw word, or that if it were a borrowed word, the borrowers
may not have had a clear meaning of it when they assimilated it
into their stock of vocabulary. Could it have any relevance to the
north-east monsoons or to the north-west monsoons ? Phono-
logically, it is difficult to explain the d > ^-development (the dantya
to o$thya development).

Of the other words in the list, it seems that they had followed
the general development both phonological and semantic from
Sanskrit to Maranaw through the intermediate languages, viz.
Malay and Javanese.

(2) Literature. In an early work, 13 I discussed the Indian
influences in Philippine literatures in two levels, i.e,, parallel elements
and motif indices. The discussions were limited only to brief, or
even fortuitous, sometimes hazy, episodes or indices. At that point
in time during which the work was written, there had not been
discovered narratives of some magnitude showing extensive borrow-
ings from a much greater literary tradition like the Indian. In a

later work 13 following this earlier one, I had occasion to refute some
of my earlier conclusions, and put into sharper focus the indigenous
nature of some of my earlier conclusions.

Some time in 1968, however, in pursuance of further work on
the same subject, I discovered a local (Maranaw) text which upon
examination is the Rama-story in miniature. It is, however, entitled
Maharadia Lawana. Of course, maharadia is Sans, maharaja and
lawana is Ravana, rather undisguised. The piece is now published
in text and translation with an introductory essay. Since, the work
is not readily available in India, I am presenting here a summary of
the story, and a detailed comparison between the Indian Rdmayana
and the Maranaw story, using the intermediate Rama-stories as the
connecting link between the two.

Summary. The story begins with a description of Maharadia

Lawana as the son of the Sultan and Suitanness of Pulu Bandiar-

masir, who possesses eight heads. He is one of irritable character

that the whole sultanate becomes the object of his derisions. He is

reported to his Sultan father, and for this he is exiled to an island

named Pulu Nagara. While at Pulu Nagara he performs tapas and

prays to Alkh; through Angel Diabarail, he is released from his

tapas. He returns to his father's kingdom and he is received back

into the graces of his father.

Now in another kingdom, Radia Mangandiri and Radia
Mangawarna, sons of the Sultan and Suitanness of Agama Niog^
had grown to manhood, and yet had remained unmarried. Presently
they are preparing their journey to pay their suit to Tuwan Potre
Malaila Tihaia v daughter of the Sultan and Suitanness of Pulu
Nabandai. They set on a boat which was provisioned for their
journey of ten years. On the way, they were shipwrecked, but they
were thrown ashore by the strong waves right on the land of Tuwan
Potre Malaila Tihaia. There they were saved by an old Lady,

Kabayan by name, who took care of them while they were recovering
from the accident.

In that kingdom, Radia Mangandiri wins the hand of Tuwan
Potre Malaila Ganding (Tihaia) by being able to kick the sipa into
the lamin (the women's quarters). After living in the bride's land;
for some time, Radia Mangandiri and Rada Mangawarna become*
extremely homesick that they desired to go back to their homeland J,
Thus, they set out with a retinue who shall provide them all th$,
services they needed for such a long journey. On such a journey^
they had to remain for a sometime in a certain place to enable them;
Jto produce food-rice and corn.

As they watched their rice ripen, one afternoon the brothers
Mangandiri and Mangawarna and also Tuwan Potre Malaiia
Ganding saw a deer with golden horns grazing among the ripening
rice. Tuwan Potre desired that the animal be caught, and if not
she would die. So the brothers set out to capture the deer, First,
it was Mangandiri, but as he wrestled with the deer, he cried for the
help of his brother Mangawarna, who was at that time guarding
his sister-in-law. Knowing that her husband might be killed, she
demands of her brother-in-law to go and aid him. As he joins the
fray, the deer makes itself two so that each brother ran after each
of the deer. In the chase, Mangawarna ran after the deer round
and round till he is back to their house, and finds out that Tuwan
Potre Malaiia Ganding has been abducted by Maharadia Lawana.
Of this, it immediately dawned on him that it was Maharadia
Lawana who had disguised himself into a deer in order to deceive
both of the brothers to enable him to get near Potre Malano
Ganding to abduct her.

With this discovery, Mangawarna sets out again to search for
his brother, who had followed also the other deer. In the process,
he (Mangandiri) falls into the river and was carried down stream
unconscious. In his unconsciousness, he dreams that he fought a
carabao. He was gored and one of his testicles was thrown to the
east where it was swallowed by Potre Langawi, the Queen of the
East. This makes Langawi pregnant, and later gives birth to a
monkey-child, who was named Laksamana. At this point
Mangandiri wakes up because Mangawarna arrives. Mangawarna
tells his brother of the fate of Potre Maiaila Ganding, and both
lament such a fate, for they are now without any army or arms to
fight Maharadia Lawana in their plans to search for and recover
the princess, who becomes a prisoner in the kingdom of Lawana,

While the brothers are contemplating on their unfortunate
situation, Laksamana, the monkey child, appears before them and
offers his services in the search for Potre Malano Ganding.
Mangandiri's dream is indeed true ! After much hesitation, the
brothers accept the offer of Laksamana, who now prepares his follo-
wers - crocodiles, carabaos, monkeys for the search and recovery
of the princess. Laksamana finally finds the princess after jumping
over the seas on the palm of his father, Radia Mangandiri, who now
recognises his parenthood. Laksamana observes that whenever
Maharadia Lawana approaches Potre Malano Ganding fire appears
between them.

The battle now rages between the followers of Maharadia
Lawana and those of Mangandiri. Lawana's army are wiped out,

C 406 )

thus he joins the fray, fighting Mangawarna and then Mangandiri
and then Mangawarna again, who at this time wounds Lawana with
a sword that was sharpened in a stone that was foretold that any
blade that is sharpened on it shall be the only weapon that shall
subdue Lawana. Thus Lawana falls wounded.

Now everything becomes peaceful, and Lawana rules with
justice, and the brothers Mangawarna and Mangandiri, Potre
Malaila Ganding and Laksamana and their retinue proceed to
Agama Niog, where they are received with joy and happiness,
Laksamana metamorphoses into a handsome datu. And they lived
happily ever after.

To bring the Maharadia Lawana in the full context of South-
east Asian literature as the Indian epic, Ramnyana* has influenced
these literatures ? it (the Mah. Law.) shall be compared with the
Hikayat Maharaja Ravana (HMR), 15 and a Malay Fairy Tale based
on the Rnmayana.^* Certainly, the Mah. Law, shall be brought
within the perspective of the Ramayana.

The comparison shall deal primarily with three points, e.g.,

(a) the major characters and their relationships with each other;

(b) the names of the important places and episodes connected with
these places, and (c) interpolations and accretions.

The Major Characters and Their Relationships With Each Other.
The table (Page 407) gives a graphic representation of the characters
in the Maharadia Lawana in comparison with those in The Fairy
Tale, the HSR (HMR) and the Rnm. .

The birth of Radia Mangandiri, and for that matter, of his
brother Radia Mangawarna, is not described. The story merely
relates that Radia Mangandiri and Radia Mangwarna are the sons
of the Sultan and Sultaness of Agama Niog. Therefore, there
seems to be no way of knowing the facts of the birth of these two
sons, unlike that in the HSR, HMR and the Ram. Similarly, there
is no mention of the fact of the birth of Sri Rama in the Fairy Tale,
as well as the circumstances of the heroine's birth. No inference
from the tale itself can be drawn as to the circumstances of these
births. The story commences only with the reference that Sri
Rama is married to Princess Sakutum Bunga Satangkei and that he
was unhappy about their being childless for years.

The names of SIta and of her sons (Kus"a and Lava) in Maha-
radia Lawana show entirely different developments. This is also
true in the Fairy Tale. Sita becomes Tuwan Potre Malano Tihaia.
She is Sakutum Bunga Satangkei, "Single Blossom on a Stalk",
and Kusa and Lava, Kra Kechil Imam Tergangga. In the HSR.

she is born as Sita E>ewl, of the second Mandu-dari (who wa
carried away by Ravana) by Dasaratha, who by supernatural powe
goes to Langkapuri and sleeps with her. It would lead to tb
inference that Rama in this Ram. version married his own (half
sister. However, in Maharadia Lawana, the identities of Kusa am
Lava become rather complicated, for Radia Mangandiri (Rama) anc
Tuwan Potre Malano Tihaia (Sita) in the story do not have as yel
an issue. Radia Mangandiri becomes the father of a monkey son,
not by Tuwan Potre Malano Tihaia; the circumstances of such an
issue shall be discussed in the following paragraph.

In the Fairy Tale, Kra implies that the son is born as a
monkey, a small (kechil) monkey, but a leader (imam tergangga)**
among the simians". The monkey-birth of .he son was caused by
the transformation of Sakutum and Sri Rama into monkeys on
their excursion for the acquisition of a son. In the HSR, there is
no clue to the development of the name of Sri Rama and Sakutum's
son. It may be well to assign this question to an independent
source which may be indigenous Malay. While Rama's son turns
out to be a monkey in the HSR, he is not directly born of Sita
DewT, Instead the embryo was massaged out of Sita Dewl's womb,
wrapped and thrown into the sea, where it falls into the mouth of
Dewl AnjatI, while the latter was performing spiritual austerities.
Dewi Anjati becomes the vehicle through whom the son is born
(see below).

The birth of a monkey son (in Maharadia Lawana) of Radia
Mangandiri, but not the counterpart of JLava and Kusa in the Rnm.,
shows a similarity with that in the HSR. He is born of Potre
Langawi, who swallows the testicles of Radia Mangandiri, which
was gored out (of his scrotum) by a wild carabao (Boss sondaicus)
in his dream. Potre Langawi thought it to be precious stone. In
the Ram. 9 these events are entirely absent. Thus, it may be safely
said that these developments owe their introduction into Maharadia
Lawana, the Fairy Tale, and even in the HSR to indigenous literary
traditions. Even in the popular versions of the Ram. in India, no
evidence of this episode is seen.

The birth of a monkey son in Maharadia JLawana is relatively
complicated because while it is an issue by similar circumstances,
the son takes on the role of Hanuman as seen in the Ram. He was
born of a dream which becomes empirically true, with Potre
Langawi as the vehicle of birth. On the other hand, Hanuman
becomes Shah Numan in the Fairy Tale, and he turns out to be a
"grand parent 1 * of Kra Kechil Imam Tergangga, Shah Numan

appears to be a corruption of Sans. Hanuman, the name of a
general in the Monkey army of Sugriva, who helped Rama recover
Sita. 17 Moreover, the title Shah must have been mistaken by the
rhapsodist (from Perak who narrated the tale) to be corrupted in
Hanuman. Shah Numaii is a monarch in the monkey world by the
sea. All the adventures of Hanuman in the Ram. are now attributed
to Kra Kechii Imam Tergangga in the Fairy Tale. In the HSR.
Hanuman 3 s is born as the son of Sita Dewi and Seri Rarna. His
birth came about after the couple had plunged into a pond which
as an embryo after having been massaged out of Sita Dewi was then
deposited into the mouth of Dewi Anjatl who becomes pregant with
it: she gave birth to a simian-boy who was named Hanuman. In
the Maharadia Lawana, Hanuman becomes Laksamana, and there
seems to be no internal evidence with which to check these develop-
ments. Moreover, even in the larger versions of said episode in
the darangen, the incident is not verifiable.

One of the mgt interesting developments in the Fairy Tale
is Laksmana's (Laksamana in the HSR) relation to Rama. He
becomes Ramans elder brother and is given the title Raja-Raja
Laksamana. In the Ram., Rama is the first born of Dasaratha,
and Laksmana, the third, born of a different mother. There is no
way to 'determine whether or not Sri Rama and Raja Laksmana
were bom of the same mother. The brothers Rama and Laksmana
in the Maharadia Lawana are known as Radia Mangandiri and
Radia Mangawarna, respectively, being the sons of Sultan and
Sultaness of Agama Niog. Their relation is that from a double-
single consanguineai line,

A T

A; A contrast to the Rama-

Lakmana kingship through the single-double

line OyAjO ^ hat is ^ both were

A A

born of one father through two mothers. It is, indeed, interesting
to note that certain cultural factors may be operating in the Km
structure of the dramatis personae of the story.

As noted above, Laksmaoa, who becomes Radia Mangawarna
in the Maharadia Lawana, appears to be the younger brother of
Rama, the major hero, as he is known in the Ram. But their
relationship (Radia Mangandiri and Radia Mangawarna) seems to
be more egalitarian than that between Rama and Laksmana.

However., in the Fairy Tale, apart from being the elder brother
to Rama, Raja Laksamana becomes a diviner, a man well versed
in sorcery. This seems to be an "allusion to the art of divination
still practised by Malay sorcerers and devil dancers, the impiety of
whose performances, from the Muhammcdan point of view is
excused by immemorial usage/' 19 The ceremonies that he performed
in order to divine whether Sri Rama, his younger brother, would be
favoured with a child are exactly those of a Malay pawang 20 of
present day. Raja Laksamana's name and position in the Fairy
Tale is in direct disregard to the meaning of the words in the Malay
language. Laksamana, in Malay, means "admiral", the name with
whom historically Han Tuah compared himself in the 15th century
Malacca. 21

Ravana in the Maranaw .story occupies the major position as
both villain and hero, but much less so of the latter, for he forcibly
abducts without her consent the wife of Radia Mangandiri (Rama
in Rnm. 9 ri Rama in the Fairy Tale, Seri Rama in the HSR). It is
indeed interesting to note that the story presents Maharadia Lawana
first, and describes him as one with vile tongue, albeit having great
compassion for the world, because "the world is chained" to desire.

He is still a young man subject to the commands of his parents

the Sultan and Sultanness of Puiu Bandiarmasir.

In the Fairy Tale, the position of Ravanu seems interesting. 22
He is Maharaja Duwana of an Island equivalent to Lanka
(Kachapuri, see below); he is an island ruler of less violent
tendencies. After his abduction of Sakulum, lie is discovered to be
consanguinally related to the princess - that the princess stood
to him in the relation of a daughter to a father. This relationship
is not found in the Ram. as well as in the HSR. In fact in the
HSR, Ravana carries away Rama's mother, Mundudari,* 8 who is
actually the double of his real mother, from whose skin's secretion
the former had been created.

The place-names : Only two important place names shall be
discussed in this essay. The city of Dasaratha, Ayodhyu, in the Rzm.
does not have any traces in the Maharadia Lawana as well as in the
Fairy Tale, and in the HSR. The HSR city of Dasaratha has Sanskrit
suffixes, e.g. Mai. puri (Sans, pura, "'city") "ruler's private apart-
ments in a palace," and Mai. nagara, negara (Sans nagara, "city"),
"lit., state, country; or., the top of a hill/' Mandupuri nagara 24
may, therefore, mean "the city of Mandu on top of a hill," if it
were to be interpreted literally- But the city of Sri Rama, Tanjong
Bunga, which may be inferred to be also the city of his father, in

the Fairy Tale, apparently shows a development independent of
both the HSR and the R&m. Similarly, Pulu Agama Niog does not
show any traces of the city in the Fairy Tale, HSR or in the Ram.
The name may be interpreted to mean the "City located in an Island
of Coconuts/* which is quite interesting in terms of the fact that the
setting is relatively a source of products derived from coconuts.

Mah. Law.

Fairy Tale

HSR-HMR

Ram.

Pulu Agama

Niog

Pulu Bandiar-
masir

Tan jong Bunga

Kachapuri

Mandu Puri

Ayodhya

ISTagar a/ Mandur ap a
Bukit Serindib Lanka

(Later, Langkapuri)/
Langkapura

The events that happen in Lanka in the Rnm.* in the HSR, as
well as in the Fairy Tale are not transferred to Pulu Bandiarmasir
in the Maharadia Lawana. The word Bandiarmasir is reminiscent
of the city of Bandjarmasin in the south-western part ^ of Borneo.
Whether or not Bandiarmasir has any relation to Bandjarmasin, is
one problem that needs further investigation.

W E Maxwell 25 interprets Kachapuri to be Conjeeveram (the
Kancipuramofthe inscriptions and literature) in the Coromandel
(Cholamandala) coast in South India. He interprets it further to be
the "Kachchi in Tamil literature."** There is no internal evidence
of the development of Kachapuri from Lanka It seems ha
Kancipuram was yet unknown in the Ram., although it is like y that
S cTy ma" already be known in the later versions of the ^epc hke

the Tamil Rama-story by Kaxnbar Moreover **
the Fairy Tale may have sources other than the HSR from

this interesting interpolation may have been b ^

w^ld be later known as Langkapuri which follows closely the Rw.
island kingdom with the purl accretion.*

The identity of both Pulu Agama Niog and Pulu Bandiarmasir
in the historical records of the Maranavs as uell as in the references
in literature is not kno\\n. A check wUh known historico-literarv
texts in Old Malay and Old Javanese, particularly in those that are
contemporaneous with the introduction of the Rama story i nto
Indonesia and Malay, yielded negathe results.

Important Episodes : The episodes that have been selected for
discussion in the present essay arc (1) the winning of Sita, (2) the
abduction of Sita, (3) the search Tor STuu and (4) the return of Sita.
These episodes roughtly correspond to the Bfda-, Aranya-, Kiskindha*,
Sundara- and the Yuddha-kanda-s of the Ram. it may be seen
that the story is reduced to almost microscopic si^e in the Maharadia
Lawana. The Fairy Tale is equally microscopic, but the HSR i s
still relatively voluminous.

(1) The Winning of STtd : Radio, Mangandiri and Radia
Mangawarna had learned of the incomparable beauty and charm of
Tuwan Potre Malano (Malaila) Tihaia, (.laughter of the Sultan and
Sultanness of Pulu Nabandai. Now they set out for the journey to
the princess's home which could be reached only by sea for ten
years. After suffering the privations of the journey they reach Pulu
Nabandai wrecked by the strong waxes of the ^eci. However, they
did not know that the island was Puki Nabuntku.

While they were recuperating in the home of their rescuer and
benefactor, they heard of the playing of the agongs and the
kulintangs and upon inquiry were informed that a festival is going
on for the winning ot Tuwan Potre Muluila Tiluiia^s hand in
marriage; that a game of the sipa is to be played among the suitors,
and whoever kicks the rattan ball to the lamin, pent-house, where
the princess lives with her retinue, to him shall she be wed. To make
the story short, Radia Mangandiri kicks the sipa to her pent-house,
and wins the hand of the princess.

The Fairy Tale and the HSR (Maxsvell) do not tell of the
winning of Sakutum Bunga Satangkci by Sri Rama. Rather they
open with the married life of both being described as childless.
The HSR and HMR tell of the winning of Slta's hand by Rama's
shooting one arrow through forty palm trees, which was the
condition set by Slta's guardian, Kulu, thtit whosoever pierces these
forty trees with just one arrow to him shall Situ be wed.

While the HSR and the HMR show the use of the bow and
arrow in the winning of Sita, it is only the bow that plays a
significant role in the winning of Sita in the Valmiki Ramdyaya.
King Janaka offers Sita in marriage to whoever could raise and

string the bow that pi ays a significant role in the winning of Sita
KtteV*lMikiRamayana. King Janaka offers Sita in mfrrfage to
whoever could raise and string the bow of Siva. Rama instead of
merely raising and drawing it with just one arm also snaps it
asunder. He wins the hand of Sita in marriage.

(2) The Abduction of STtz. The cause of the abduction of
Sita in the Ram. is found in the HSR, although thsre are already
certain variations in the episodic unfoldment. It is Sura Pandaki
(gurpanakha, in the Ram.} alone who suffers the humiliation and in
the hands of Laksmana. In the Ram., Surpariakha tells Ravana of

the exquisite beauty of Sita; thus the abduction had two purposes

revenge and the desire to possess such a woman of unsurpassed
charm and beauty; in the HSR, the attraction to Sita's beauty is
not mentioned,

In the Fairy Tale, no revenge is known. Maharaja Duwana,
having merely heard of Sukutum Bunga Satangkei's fascinating
beauty, falls in love with her. 28

Now begins the adventure of Maharaja Duwana. Possessing
supernatural powers, he flew from Kachapuri to Tanjong Bunga
and there by magic charms he affected the bahaviour of the princess.
Subsequently he appears before her in the form of a golden goat.
She and her attendants around her, as well as Jri Rama himself,
were fascinated by such an unusual animal. The king, therefore,
summoned his people to seize the golden goat, but it proved elusive.
It ran deep into the jungle. Having thus enticed all, it disappeared,
and returned to the palace. Resuming his human form and having
by magic charms opened all the locks of the palace doors, Maharaja
Duwana presented himself before Sakutum Bunga Satangkei, who
was extremely agitated by the confrontation of a person who is a
complete stranger to her.

Here follows one of the most interesting episodes in the Fairy
Tale. The conversation between Princess Sakutum Bunga
Satangkei and Maharaja Duwana in rather symbolic-euphe-
mistic verse, particularly the replies of the latter to the former, is
very curious. The following excerpts from the conversation is a
case in point: 29

. "From the island of Kachapuri," he said,
Yang tersisip di-awan mega
Hilang di-puput angin menyankar
Belam tempak dari kemunchak gunong
Bnggil-berenggil

(It may be seen peeping out from among the clouds, but is
lost to view when the wind blows, From the summit of
Enggil-bereiiggil it looks no larger than a dove's nest.")

"What uneasiness of mind/' asked the princess, "has
brought you to my house at such an hour of the night ?"
He answered in the following stanza :
Berapa tinggi puchock pis an g
Tinggi lagi asap api
Berapa tinggi gunong melentang

(ledang, Windtedt)
Tinggi lagi harap kamil

(How high soever the shoot of the plantain,
Higher still is the smoke of che fire ;
High tough may be the mountain ranges ;
Higher yet are the hopes I indulge.)
To which the princess replied :

Kalau bagitu kembang jala-nya
Ikan sesak ka-berombong
Kalau bagitu rembang kaya-nya
Choba berserah beradu untong.

(If the casting net be skilfully thrown, the fish are found
together at the upper end of it; If these words are said in
earnest, Let us yield to fate and see what comes of it.)

He retaliated with the following verse :
Meranti chabang-nya dua
E>i-tarah buat kerentong
Sedang mati lagi di-choba
Inikan pula beradu untong.

(The meranti tree with a forked limb; Shape the wood and
make drum of it. The path that leads to death is often
ventured one; Here I yield to fate and see what comes of it.)

The princess then ceremonially entertained the stranger with
sirih. The ceremony being over, Maharaja Duwana found no
difficulty in convincing the former to elope with him. to Pulau
Kachapuri. But with his magic power, he carried her off. Having
reached Pulau Kachapuri, Maharaja Duwana looked over the
genealogy of his house and discovered that the princess stood to
him in the relation of a daughter to a father. Thus he could not
marry her.

Meanwhile, Sri Rama, having entered the jungle in search of
the golden goat,, realized the futility of the chase. He ordered his

men to return to the palace. Having reached his court, he
discovered his inner apartments violated. Learning of the true
situation, he uttered a horrible cry whi:h terrified everyone in the
palace.

In the Rnm.* the abduction of Sita was accomplished by
Ravana* s deception. Reorders Marlca to assume the form of a
golden deer, and gambol about Rama's hut in the jungle. Sita
sends Rama after the deer while Lak^mana remains to watch over
his sister-in-law. Marlca when struck by Rama's arrow utters a
cry similar to Rama's voice. Sita anxious of Rama's safety sends
Laksmana, who goes reluctantly. Ravana, as in the HMR, and
HSR, thereby appears before Sita in the guise of a Brahman, and is
admitted into the princess's confidence. But later on, he reveals
his own nature, and forcibly abducts the helpless Sita. The use of
a magic car in the Rarn. is not found in the Fairy Tale; neither is the
combat between Jatayus and Ravana. The flying chariot is found
in the HMR and HSR. Two raksasas, one of gold and the other
of silver, appear before Sita Dewl. As in the HSR, the conversation
between Sita and Ravana in the Ram. was congenial before the
latter's revelation of his true intention. In the Fairy Tale, it was
friendly.

As in the Ram., the HSR scenes are located in the jungle
where the couple, accompanied by Laksamana, were in exile. In
the Fairy Tale, the scene is in the kingdom (palace of Sri Rama).
This interpolation seems to be an independent development from
Ram. and HSR-HMR, whereas the variations in the employment of
the silver golden fawns, the golden goat, and the golden deer, have
shown or show very close affinity. This last point seems to give a
clue to the origin of the Fairy Tale.

There is no evident cause for the abduction of Malaila
Oanding (Tihaia) by Maharadia Lawana in the Maranaw story. The
abduction is introduced by the scene of ripening rice grains which
Radia Mangandiri and his party had planted while they were on
their long journey to their kingdom, Pulu Agama Niog. While they
watched the golden grains, their attention is caught by a deer with
golden horns, grazing in the nearby cogonal area. Malaila Oanding,
upon seeing it immediately harbours a craving for the rare animal,
that if it is not caught she would die. Radia Mangandiri, to satisfy
such desire, goes forthwith to catch the animal with instructions to
his brother Mangawarna not to leave Malaila Ganding even if he
would call for help .

The deer did not prove elusive to Radia Mangandiri. Rather it
met him, and fought back. Radia Mangandiri in his difficulty

( 416 )

cried for help, but Radia Mangawarna did not leave his sister-in-
law. However, Potre Malaila Oanding not being able to bear the
predicament that Radia Mangandiri is in, threatened to die (to
kill herself) if Radia Mangawarna did not go to help his brother.
So he went telling his sister-in-law "... I think that when I go down,
you close the window, and whoever knocks, do not open."

Upon reaching the site where Radia Mangandiri and the deer
were fighting, and the deer seeing him thus, made himself into
two and ran away. The brothers ran after each till darkness fell,
and Radia Mangawarna finally found himself right at their house.
Radia Mangandiri had reached the forest, and the deer was nowhere
to be found.

Radia Mangawarna, upon his return, saw the result of his
action the women, were wailing because Potre Malaila Ganding
has been forcibly taken away by Maharadia Lawana, the wall of
their house was destroyed and everything in the house was in
disarray. He said to himself, "That which we were running after
was Maharadia Lawana who disguised himself as a deer."

It is interesting to note that there is a common identifying
element in the stories, particularly the HMR, HSR (Maxwell and
Shellabear) and the Maharadia Lawana; and that is the presense of
the golden deer, or golden goat or silver goat or golden gazelles or
a deer with golden horns. All these are coveted by the heroine in
each story. r l hese fantastic animals are Ravana in each story
appearing thus before the heroine to draw away the heroes from
her preparatory to the abduction. Jn the jRum. 9 Ravana orders
MarTca to assume the form of a golden deer to draw away Rnma, and
then Laksmana, so that he would have no diincuity in penetrating
the defences of the brothers. All these were done by deception.

No drawing of the protective magic circle is evident in the
South East Asian versions of the episode as it is found in the Rnm.
Neither is there any evidence of Sita's accusations against Laksm-
a^a's desire to possess her should his brother Rama die in the
pursuit of Marica disguised as a golden deer. Many other details
could be cited here but these are the most significant to the episode
of the abduction.

(3) The Search for Sita. This episode takes on very curious
turns. Radia Mangawarna, upon learning of the abduction of
Malaila Ganding and seeing that Radia Mangandiri had not
returned from his search for the golden horned deer, returned to
the jungle to look for his brother. He finds him unconscious
(asleep).

Now Radia Mangandiri dreams that lie fought a carabao and
he was gored; and one of his testicles was thrown to east where Potre
Langawi, Queen of the East swallowed it, causing her to become
pregnant and later to give birth to a monkey son named Laksamana.
He awakes and sees his brother Radia Mangawarna. He feels his
scrotum and finds his testicle missing. He thinks to himself that his
dream may be true .

Subsequently, the brothers discuss the plans for the search
and recovery of Potre Molaila Ganding. And they felt despair
because there are only two of them; they have no arms, no army to
pursue their search for the princess who has been brought to Puiu
Bandiarmasir by Maharadia Lawana, who had deceived them.

Now, Radia Mangandiri' s dream indeed is true; Laksamana,

the monkey-son asks his mother Potre Langawi about who could

be his father, since while growing up he had not seen him. She

evades answering the question, for she knows that he -has no

father" The monkey-son being disappointed by such evasion,

leaves" home, and goes in search of his father. In one of his

adventures, he falls right between Radia Mangandiri and Radia

Mangawarna, and addresses them father and uncle, respectively.

And both were surprised to be addressed thus by a complete stran-

* ,,*ir7 *t that After proper introductions, and a

,.U*B*n r. He afco

they now are.

~ mci of the rattan to a tree, and holding
on. , 4 of the rat

~
Itonn. . on. , r ^ ^ his

the other, be prepares to leap B tat is di cted to leap
father to support ton ^>J>.ta cL =ot support Mm. It f

Mangandiri and Radia Mangawarna. Thus they are to battle those
subjects of Maharadia Lawana who shall run to the sea for safety.
They proceed to the palace of Maharadia Lawana. At the Palace
they witness Maharadia Lawana approach Potre Malaila Ganding',
but fire appears between them. They are surprised at such a
phenomenon. Maharadia Lawana himself is perplexed by such a
situation and he is told by Laksamana that such a phenomenon
occurs because she was abducted from Radia Mangandiri.

After this exchange, betel chew is prepared and exchanged
between Radia Mangandiii and Potre Malaila Ganding. Then
Laksamana takes the princess' hand, leads her to his father.

At this point, the battle between the forces of Maharadia
Lawana and Radia Mangandiri led by Laksamana begins. Laksam-
ana commands the carabaos to enter the village to fight Maharadia
Lawana's army. Those who fled to the sea/water are eaten by
crocodiles. Later* Maharadia Lawana enters into the fray and fights
with Radia Mangawarna, who cannot equal the strength and power
of his adversary. Radia Mangandiri takes over, but he cannot
wound Maharadia Lawana. Laksamana, seeing that his father
seems to be unable to cope with Maharadia Lawana's prowess, takes
the kampilan of Radia Mangandiri and sharpens it on the whetstone
set upon a naga wood found in the palace. With this, Radia
Mangawarna wounds Maharadia Lawana, who falls, for according
to the prophecy Maharadia Lawana could only be subdued from
the power he acquired while performing "austerities"' during his
exile, by any bladed weapon sharpened on the whetstone set upon a
naga wood. Thus the battle comes to an end.

In the Fairy Tale, Sri Rama, having been advised by his chiefs,
consults Laksamana, his elder brother. After deliberating upon the
course of action they should take, they set out to recover the lost
princess. Having reached the realm of a monkey monarch, who is
actually Sri Rama's son who he had driven away from Tanjong
Bunga, they are asked what their business was. Sri Rama there-
upon asks his son to help him search for his mother. But the
monkey prince promises to fulfil his father's request only if he is
permitted, just for once, to cat a meal with his father off the same
leaf, and to sleep in his arms. Having extracted the promise., and
having fulfilled it, they prepare for the prince's jump to Kachapuri.
After two or three attempts, he jumps from his father's shoulder
but lands upon an island in the midst of the sea. He calls upon
the jin, whom he had befriended in one of his attempts to help him
land upon Pulau Kachapuri.

( 419 )

The meeting between the mother and son was effected through
the recognition of the ring that Kra Kechil had slipped into one of
the water jars which forty-four maidens carried with which to
collect water for the bath of the princess, After this meeting,
Maharaja Duwana and Kra Kechil confront each other, before
which, however, the latter destroys the former's favourite trees a
coconut tree (nyor gading) and a mango tree. Furious at th's
outrage, Maharaja Duwana fights the monkey prince who changes
himself at will into a buffalo bull and declares hs mission. There-
after, a battle rages between Maharaja Duwana's army and the
prince. No weapon could hurt him; even when bound and thrown
into the fire, not a hair is singed. After a seven-day truce the
battle continues. Kra Kechil is caught. He instructs his captors
to swathe him with cotton cloth soaked in oil, and to set fire to the
mass. He jumps about the palace and the fire spreads reducing
Pulau Kachapuri to rabble and ashes.

All the adventures of Hanuman in both the Ram., HMR and
the HSR are atributed to Kra Kechil Imam Tergangga in the Fairy
Tale. But these adventures are attributed to Laksamana in the
Maharadia Lawana. The meeting between mother and son in the
HSR is not quite represented in the Maharadia Lawana for
Laksamana is the son of Radia Mangandiri by another potre.
Hence, there is no evidence of recognition by the mother, rather it
was merely identification of who Laksamana was before her, just
as the identification of Hanuman in the Ram. (but with rings for
recognition of his mission from Rama). The ring-incident is not
found in the Maharadia Lawana.

There are no evidences in the HSR that may have led to these
developments. The meeting between mother and son, however, is
known in the HSR. Kra Kechil's appearance in monkey form
before his mother is perhaps an echo of Hanuman's appearance
before Sita in the ASoka groove of Ravana, while Hanuman m the
HSR appears first as a Brahman before Sita Dewi. The rmg
incident is found in all stories, as well as in the HMR, although in
varied forms. In the HMR, Hanuman appears before Sita in the
form of an old woman, and later assumes his monkey-form and
identifies himself as her son.

The single combat between Maharaja Duwana and Kra
, ** R*. or 1 HSR or to * HMR. B

~^^* 1 SS&S^ZZ%

( 420 )

saltpetre (sendawan); Hanuman in HSR is swathed all over but h
grows till all the cloth in Langkapuri becomes insufficient. The '!
soaked cloth is burned, and when only that which binds the tail'*"
left he leaps over the roof and sets the palace on fire. No bodil^
expansion of Kra Kechil takes place in the Fairy Tale. All these
are not known in the Maharadia Lawana. There seems, therefore
to be no significantly sustained nourishment of the literature in th'
past. Either this was due to the changes in the political climate
in the area, or this was more or less a case of rnisiirdcrstandine of
the literary motif by the borrowers who belong to a different socio-
cultural complex. Whichever is probable, it is a very important
task of further research to investigate.

(4) The Return of Sit a. The return of Pot re Malaila Gandine
from Pulu Bandiarmasir after the death of Maharadia Lawana is
not as dramatic as the return of Sakuturn Bunga Satangkei in the
Fairy Tale, the return of Sita Dewi in the HSR or STta in the HMR
and Ram. There's no evidence of the carrying of Sita Dewi by
Kra Kechil nor the use of a flying car or chariot to carry Sita back
to Ayodhya. Moreover, no fire-ordeal is known in the Maharadia
Lawana to purify Potre Malaila Ganding, from her "contact" with
Maharadia Lawana. But the fire that appears between them is
reminiscent of this fire- purification in Ram.

Details of the return of Potre Malaila Ganding is here
presented for comparative purposes. Tarrying in Pulu Bandiar-
masir after their victory over Maharadia Lawana, they make prepa-
rations for their return to Pulu Agama Niog. The biggest
crocodile with the broadest back becomes the mount of the prince
and the princess, and Radia Mangawarna and Laksamana, After
travelling through the sea they reach the shores of Agama Niog, and
the waves created by all the crocodiles were like those created by
strong winds; -'also the forest seemed to tremble at the footsteps
of the carabaos that were walking"* escorting the party on land.

The people of Agama Niog were frightened, but Laksamana
announces to them that they should not fear, for Radia Mangandiri
with his bride Potre Malaila Ganding and Radia Mangawarna is
returning from long travel. They are welcomed with joy instead
of with fear. Laksamana metamorphoses into a handsome datu.

Following are the details relative to this episode as they are
found in the HSR, HMR, Fairy Tale and the Ram. This will
further bring to mind the various interesting aspects of the Maianaw
story in relation to the South-east Asian versions of the story as it
is known in India also.

The return of Sakutum Bunga Satangkei follows the burning
of Kachapuri. She is carried off by her son and restored to Sri
Rama at the plain of Anta-ber-Anta, in the kingdom of Kra Kechil.
Her return to Tanjong Bunga was marked with rejoicing and
feasting, but the celebrations are interrupted by the arrival of
Maharaja Duwana who had come to avenge his defeat at Pulau
Kachapuri. (He had previously warned Kra Kechil that he would
follow him.) In the midst of the fierce combat, Raja Laksamana
is killed but is immediately revived by a powerful remedy that Kra
Kechii brings from Mount Enggil-ber-Enggil. Maharaja Duwana,
seeing his power being reduced to nothing, leaves Tanjong Bunga
in token of defeat. His men who died in the combat are revived by
Kra Kechil.

Sri Rama and Sakutum Bunga Satangxei now acknowledge
Kra Kechil Imam Tergangga as their son and heir to the tin one of
Tanjong Bunga.

The adventures of Hanuman are carried on to the third episode
While the return of Sita in the Ram. agrees with the return of Sita
IDewi in HSR and Sita in HMR, Sakutum's return takes on another
turn in the Fairy Tale. Sita is carried back to Ayodhya by Rama in
the magic car of Kubera which was forcibly appropriated by Ravana
from the god of wealth. No mention of the magic car or flying
chariot is made in the HSR and HMR, while Sakutum is carried off
to Sri Rarna by her son. No flying car or magic chariot is used.

Perhaps the fire-ordeal is not necessary, as it is in the .Ram., the
HSR and the HMR, for the purification of the heroine because it is her
son who took her away. Moreover, Sakutum Bunga Satangkei is san-
fiuinally related to Maharaja Duwana, who stands to her as a father
to a daughter. Thereby no chastity test and purification ceremonies
are necessary. There is no clue to the incident relating to the
"invasion" of Tanjong Bunga by Maharaja Duwana m the HSR,
HMR or in the Kim., while the death and revival of Raja Laksamana
fs known. Moreover, no proof of Sri Rama and Sakutum's

as their son after his adventures
i "other is also known.

Ravana. Of Ravana's position in the Maharadia Lawana,
the account points out a very important relation with the HMR and
the HSR (Shellabear). Maharadia Lawana commences with
MaluSSfa Lawana described as the son of the Sultan and Sultanness
ofPulu Bandiarmasir; he has eight heads <^J^J*.'
Text and Translation). He is said to have caused the death of many
in tL realm because of his vile tongue-he mtngues. Then

he is sent on a ship to Pulu Nagura on exile u^ a punishment for his
false representations.

In Pulu Nagara, he gathers leaves and wood, ignites these'
and climbs a tree over the fire. He cries that the world is chained*
thereby, Diabarail (Angel Gabriel), hearing it, appears before the
Lord (.Tohen), informs the latter that Mahuradia Lawana cries
because the world is in chains. The Lord (To hen) instructs Diabarail
to tell Maharadia Lawana to desist sacrificing himself, because noth-
ing can cause his death except when he is cut by any tool (knife,
sword, etc.) that is sharpened upon a whetstone kept in the heart of
the palace of Pulu Bandiarrnasir.

The HMR commences with the relation of the genealogy of
Maharaja Ravana .Then being unruly and having become a danger
to his sire's dynasty, he is banished to Langkapura. In Langkapura
he practices austerities, collects firewood during the day and sleeps in
the night hanging over the lire, head down. Twelve years elapse
and Allah sends down Adam to find out what Ravana wants.
Ravana asks for the rule over the four worlds earth, air, water and
the nether world. His wish is granted on condition that he angers
nobody, and does not sieal women. Should he break the covenant,
Allah's curse will fall upon him. (When deli \ering the message,
Adam omits the stealing of women.) Ravana agrees andx conquers
the four worlds.

Reference to Ravana's having ten heads is made when he
becomes angry as he passes over the hermitage of a great rishi
(sage). The ten heads appear thus.

The HSR CShellabear) commences with an account describing
Ravana as ten-headed and twenty-handed Raksasa. He is banished
to Bukit Serindlb (called later as Lungkapuri) where he performs
austerities for twelve years, hanging himself by the feet downward.
While engaged thus, the Almighty C3od in heaven sends Prophet
Adam to ask what he wants, and God, informed of his desire,
grants his wish that'he rule over the worlds: the earth, the heavens,
the seas and the nether world.

RSLvarja, in the Ram.., is described with ten heads and twenty
arms; performs austerities for conquering four worlds.

In all the stories, the asceticism event seems to be the common
"denominator"; with just slight variation according to each story.
All the four stories describe the austerities as having been caused by
the banishment imposed upon ' him for causing disorder in, and
danger to the dynasty/ kingdom of his father. The use of fire in
prder to perform the ascetic acts is also a feature which is indeed

( 423 )

very much Indian in character. The appearance of Allah and Adam
and the Angel Gabriel (Diabarail) in the Maharadia Lawana, the
HSR and the HMR may be and could be interpolations in exchange
for the persons of Brahma and Visnu (both Hindu gods in the
Indian pantheon) to give the stories Islamic character considering
the development in the area, e.g., the introduction of Islam and the
subsequent changes that occured to give the literature and other
social aspects some Islamic spirit, if not entirely to supersede the
earlier overlay. However, these may just as well be indigenous
developments considering also the importance of fire in even the
most "primitive" societies in the area.

One of the interesting aspects of the austerities by fire of
Maharadia Lawana is his lament that the world is chained. What-
ever this means to the Maranaw, it means that he is performing
this asceticism to relieve the world of the sins (desires) to which it
is chained. This (concept) appears to evince a relatively Buddhistic
orientation, considering the influence of the Buddha's teachings in
the area. However, whatever could be said about its relationship
with the Buddha concept, the other Rama story versions the HMR
and the HSR in the Malay literature do not seem to show such a
tendency. Certainly, the austerities performed by Ravaga in order
to gain power to challenge Siva in the puranic literature is definitely
Brahmanic in character. Of course, in South East Asia, there
developed in the course of the long years of encounter between
Brahmanism and Buddhism, a blend of these two systems of thought
as expressed in the Siva-Buddha syncretism.

In the HMR and HSR, Ravana is described physically as ten-
headed and twenty-handed king of Langkapuri (Bukit Serindib), or
Langkapura, which physical description is derived from the Ram.
Maharadia Lawana describes Maharadia Lawana as eight-headed in
paragraph 1, while in paragraphs 61s 65 and 73 he is seven-headed.
There seems to be no clue to the change from ten to eight or seven
heads. No mention of the other hands of Ravana in the Maharadia
Lawana is made. No reference even is seen to such number of
other hands during Maharadia Lawana's combat with the brothers
Radia Mangandiri and Radia Mangawarna during the battle for
recovering Potre Malaila Ganding (Tihaia). Perhaps, the problem
may be solved only upon examination of the greater literary piece,
the epic darangen, which is still in the process of being put together
into one volume, and translation to be made available to the non-
Maranaw. The Darangen describes in the detail the abduction, at
least in terms of the many re-narrations of the story in English by
Maranaws themselves and others who have passing interests m the

literature. Perhaps, the genealogy or Maharadia Lawana in the
text may help to solve the problem of the reduction of the number
of heads.

The foregoing episodes may be touched upon again in the
discussions that follow.

Interpolations and Accretions. A collation of the Maharadia
Lawana with the Fairy Tale and the HSR and HMR reveals that a
number if not all of the interpolations and accretions found in the
former cannot be traced to the latter two. This may lead to the
inference that these interpolations and accretions are independent
of the historical development of the story in Maran aw literature.
Some of the accretions and interpolations found in the HSR and
the Fairy Tale relative to the Rum. are not found in the Maharadia
Lawana, e.g.

(a) Sri Rama's desire for offspring even after three years of
married life does not show any distinct connection with either the
two Rama-stories. The desire for offspring, however, may derive
from Indian custom and tradition; but it is universal among all
peoples of the world.

(b) While showing independent development from the two
Rama-stories, Raja Laksamana's sorcery to predict the birth of a
son to Sri Rama and Sakutum Bunga Satangkei is purely an
indigenous accretion is an allusion to the art of divination still
practised by Malay sorcerers and dancers, since time immemorial.

The excursion of Sri Rama and Sakutum seems to show
connection with the decision of Sri Rama in the HSR not to return
to his father's country after winning the hand of Sita Dewi, and
the connection is perhaps carried on to the transformation of Seri
Rama and Sita Dewi into monkeys, which transformation is also
found in the Fairy Tale. The pregnancy is explained by this
excursion. This is not found in the Maharadia Lawana, but which
birth is known.

(1) The birth of Laksamana, the monkey-son of Radia
Mangandiri, in Maharadia Lawana, takes on a very interesting
aspect. Laksamana is born of Potre Langawi after she swallows
Radia Mangandiri's testicle thinking it was a precious stone which
was gored out and thrown to the east by a carabao in his dream.
Laksarnana's searching questions addressed to his mother enquiring
about his birth and his sire are, indeed, significant in the light of
the structure of Maranaw society. Here reference to a certain
taboo in the society, e.g., incest, becomes important in the relations
Between mother and son. Moreover, the Maranaw's "congenital"

v

concern with genealogy to establish the srealnes<; r>f
brought ,o focus by the .-. searching ,S? n T

The birth of Laksamana as a monkey finds no clue or clues in
the story itself. Unlike the birth of Kra Kechil in the ^ Fairy Tall
and of Hanuman in the HSR (also in the H MR) which are more
or less explained, Laksamana in the Maharadia Lawana, where no
mention of the birth of Radia Mangandiri and Potre MaL?la
Gandmg (Tihaia)>s son(s) is made.

The birth of the monkey-son in the HSR takes on another
interesting turn. Seri R ama and Sita Dewi like Sri Rama and
Sakutum Bunga Satangkei in the Fairy Tale were turned into
monkeys after having plunged into a lake, but were later
restored to their human forms after bathing in another lake. Having
thus been transformed into monkeys, the germs that developed were
monkeys. Hanuman is born of Sita Dewi, through Dewi Anjati
who carried the embryo that was conceived by the former while
Sakutum Bunga Satangkei herself conceives, carries and gives birth
to the monkey-son, Kra Kechil Imam Tergangga. The birth of
Hanuman in the HMR is similar to that in the HSR.

In the Ram., Sita gives birth to sons in the exile; in the HSR,
Sita Dewi, Hanuman and later gives birth again to another son*
Tabaiawi, also in exile. This incident does not occur in the Fairy
Tale, as well as in the Maharadia Lawana. What is interesting,
however, is that in the Fairy Tale, there is an expressed desire for
an offspring which does not occur in the Ram, 9 HSR, HMR, and is
not known in the Maharadia Lawana.

On the occasion of the birth of a son, ceremonies described in
the Ram. and HSR are not found. This is also true in the
Maharadia Lawana. The presence of lebis, hajis, imams and
khatibs and the readings of the Koran do not have any reference
in the Ram. These are not found in the HSR and HMR which are
already influenced by Islamic ideas* But perhaps these owe their
presence in the Fairy Tale to the complete islamization of the Malay
(Perak) peoples. There are no clues to the incidents of the breaking
of the news to Sri Rama of the birth of a monkey-son, and of the
sending away of Kra Kechil hi either the Ram. or the HSR.

The departure of Laksamana in Maharadia Lawana from his
mother's home is impelled by his search for bigger sources of food.
This is somehow paralleled by that in the banishment of Kra

Kechil (in the Fairy Tale), for he has been a shame to the kingdom
"to a remote part of the forest where human foot had never yet
trod." Later, he leaves the forest to look for more adventure arid
in the process he finds Shah Numan (Hanuinan), his "grandsire"
Further on, he leaves the realm of Shah Numan to pick the large
round red fruit, which is actually the sun. He falls in his attemot
to pick it. Jumping from tree to tree, Laksamana (in the Maharadia
Lawana) falls between his sire Radia Mangandiri, and uncle Radia
Mangawarna. This is the end of his search for his sire, and hence
his problem ot being "born" of a supposed incestous relation
between his mother and grandfather is solved. But the immediate
recognition of the brothers Radia Mangandiri and Radia Manga-
warna as his sire and uncle respectively is a problem that is to be
solved; perhaps the solution of which may be (bund in the greater
epic version, the Darangen.

(2) Sugriva's or Bali's position in the Ram. appears to be
taken by Shah Numan (Hanuinan) in the Fairy Tale. Hanuman in
the HSR is the same Hanuman in the Ram., the former's birth
shows no clue to the birth of Shah Numan in the Fairy Tale, He
(Shah Numan) is an aged sagacious monarch in the kingdom
by the jungles. Moreover, he becomes a friend of the sun (Mata
Hari).

*

Shah Numan by his declaration that he already knew of the
origins of Kra Kechil upon their lirst meeting, that he is related to
Sri Rama and Sakutum Bunga Satangkei, and that Kra Kechif is
his "grandchild" is very interesting. These will perhaps give the-*
clue to the parentage of Sri Rama or Sakutum Bunga Satangkei.
If may not be without basis to conjecture that Shah Numan may be
the father of either Sri Rama or Sakutum, judging from the filial
affection, the concern and loving care that he (Shah Numan) had
for Kra Kechil Imam Tergangga.

In the Maharadia Lawana, Sugriva's or Bali's roles are not
known; and, therefore, it seems that this is a very perplexing
problem, at least in the light of the story. For the kinship of
Laksamana with monkey-world further adds to the problems. It
seems, however, that the roles of Sugriva or Bali and Hanuman in
the Ram., and that of Shah Numaa in the Fairy Tale, or Hanuman
in the HSR and HMR are performed by Laksamana in Maharadia
Lawana. This is evident in his gathering all the carabaos and
crocodiles to compose the army that shall invade Pulu Bandiarmasir,
and in his great leap across the sea from Pulu Nabandai to Pulu
Bandiarmasir to secure the rattan vine for the bridge that shall be

constructed on which they shall cross to the latter island. Towards
the end of the story still no evidence of the kinship of Laksamana
with the simians could be established. Perhaps it is only ir? the
examination of the larger Maranaw literature, the great epic
Darangen, that this problem would be brought to light.

(3) It seems evident that the adventures of Hanuman in
both Ram. and the HSR as well as the HMR are attributed to
Laksamana in the Maharadia Lawana and to Kra Kechil Imam
Tergangga in the Fairy Tale. However, there are no other adven-
tures attributed to Laksamana than the discovery of Potre Malaila
Ganding (Tihaia). Kra Kechil's other adventures can be traced to
the two epics.

It may be assumed that since Hanurnan in the Ram. and in
the HSR-HMR occupies a prominent position in the cynosure of t tie
hero, Kra Kechil's becoming a prince of all monkey-tribes in the
Fairy Tale is traceable, for the Tale appears to have its original
source in either or both the epics. With this situation it is under-
standable that no traces of the presence of Sugrlva and Balm are
evident. Similarly, Laksamana occupies an important position in
the Maranaw story; but there is no evidence of his being a monkey-
prince as such in spite of his being born of a princess (Potre
Langawi, Queen of the East). However, the monkey-aspect as well
as the adventures of Laksamana may be traced back to the HSR-
HMR and further back to the Ram., perhaps with the Fairy Tale as
the intermediate story.

There seems to be no evidence at all in. the HSR to show Kra
Kechil's eating from one leaf, with and sleeping in the lap of his
father, Sri Rama, in return for which he will undertake the search
for his lost mother. In the HMR, however, Rama and Hanuman
eat from the same banana leaf. Neither does his metamorphosis
into a handsome prince towards the end of the tale have any
evidence. This metamorphosis, however, may be explained to be
an influence from the folk-literature 30 of the Malays. 32 Indeed, the
assumption that this accretion is independent of any folk-literature
development cannot be ignored. For the metamorphosis motif is
comparatively widespread not only in locality but also in all forms
of fblk-literature.

The Maharadia Lawana is so microscopic, in comparison with
the HSR, HMR and the Fairy Tale, that no traces of Kra Kechil's
eating from one leaf with, and sleeping on the lap of his, father,
Sri Rama, are found in the story- However, there is a trace of the
metamorphosis of Kra Kechil into a handsome prince in the Maha-
radia Lawana. Laksmana metamorphosed into a very handsome

datu. However, there is no reference to any further adventures h
undertakes, unlike what is evident in the Fairy Tale.

Such a metamorphosis as referred to above may be an influen
of the folk-literature, such as seen in the many metamorpho ^
stories in Maranaw literature-both kunst and volk.

(4) Both the Maharadia Lawana and the Fairy Tale end with
the metamorphosis respectively of Laksamana and Kra Kechil into
handsome prince/datu. But Laksamana's change is not followed
by other events, and he does not assume any other name. Kra
Kechil henceforth is known by the name of Mambang Bongsir
becomes the son-in-law of a king (Raja Shah Kobad), who abdicates
his throne in favour of Mambang Bongsu, and reigns as Raja (of)
Bandar Tawhil. All these are not found in the greater Malay text
the HSR as well as the HMR, and no traces are found either in the
Rnm. This is understandable for it appears that in spite of the
evident attempt at Islamization of the HSR and HMR, there seems
to have been some resistance to the introduction of new elements
and interpolations, because of its being closer to the traditional
story as introduced from Indonesia than to the developing literature
which found its way into the folk traditions.

Concluding Remarks. At the present stage of the work on the
Sanskrit influence upon Philippine languages and literatures, we
are not yet in the position to make definitive 'conclusions as to the
degree of that influence. The work is being done in the literatures
of Philippine Muslims, who in the past had been the earliest and
the most deeply influenced ethnic groups of the Philippines. Studies
on the Sanskrit elements of their literatures and languages are
concentrated on their p re-Islamic literatures, which are suspected
to contain the most extensive amount of Sanskrit elements in the
language as well as in the literature. This suspicion is more or less
partly confirmed in the cursory study of the durangcn, the folk-epic
of the Maranaw. Considering the Rama-story in miniature in the
Maranaw literature, there is great chance for our scholars to discover
more in the literatures of the other Muslim peoples of the Philippi-
nes like the Magindanao and the Sulu. The ilndarapatra epic of the
Magindanao appear to show some characteristics of the Indian long
narratives, but we cannot as yet make any definite stand on these
elements, for we have not collated it yet with a narrative of the
same title found among the Maranaw.

In a year or two, we would be able to show in sharper lines
the nature and extent of Sanskritization of Philippine language and
literature, particularly before the intrusion of Islam and Christianity.

( 429 )

ABBREVIATIONS USED

BEFEO Bulletin de PEcole Francaise cTExtreme orient

BSOS Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies

FAIRY TALE The Rama-Story in the Maxwell Study
HIKAYAT or
HSR The Malay HIKAYAT SERI RAMA

(Shellabear)
JRAS-SB Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Straits

Branch
JRAS-MB Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,

Malayan Branch

PSP Philippine Studies Program

Ram. The Sanskrit Ramayana

Notes

1. See Juan R. Francisco, The Philippines and India : Essays in
Ancient Cultural Relations. Manila : National Book Store,
1971. pp. 38-60.

2. See Juan R. Francisco, Indian Influence in the Philippines (With
Special Reference to Language and Literature) . Quezon City :
University of the Philippines, 1964.

3. See Juan R. Francisco, Philippine Palaeography, Quezon
City : Linguistic Society of the Philippines, 1972.

4. See other essays in reference cited in fn.l, above.

5. Ibid., pp. 16-16.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. See work cited in fa. 2, above.

9 The Maranaw are lake (ranao) dwellers, who at some point
of their history received Indian cultural elements, but wbich
more or less had ceased in the course of their Islamization.
Nevertheless, their language and literature in spite of the
dominance of Islam in their present cultural perspective still
carry much which are distinguishable as Indian in character.

10. The term darangen may be Sans, tarangim perhaps both being
of the same meaning, narrative or history.

11. Other abbreviations are found at the end of the paper
Mar Maranaw; Jav.~ Javanese; Mai. Malay, OJav,-Old
Javanese: Omal.-Old Malay; Mak.- Makassar; Sund.-
Sundanese; Mag.-Magindanao. The apostrophe after *
vowcl^ultima indicates the velar-stop, e.g. ostma ,

( 430 )

12. See fn. 2, above.

13. See fn. 4, above.

14. Hikayat Seri Rama (Text) in JRAS-SB, LXXI, 1917. With
introduction to this text which is n ms. in the Bodleian
Library at Oxford, by W. O. Shellabear, in JRAS-SB, LXX,
1917.

15. H. Overbeck, in JRAS-MB, XI, w, pp. Ill ft.

16. W.E. Maxwell, "Sri Rama, A Fairy Talc told by a Malay
Rhapsodist," JRAS-SB, XVTI, May 1886.

17. W.E. Maxwell, Loc. cil., writes a note to the name, that
Hanuman was the "monkey-king in the Rfmiayuna.'" This is
not exactly so.

18. In Indian mythology, Hanuman is the son of Pavana, the god
of the winds, by Anjana, wife of the monkey named Kesarin.

19. Maxwell, loc. cit.

20. Malay, pawang, 66 1. magician, expert in spells, talismans,
drugs and some peculiar industry, 2. a shaman who invokes
ancestral spirits, Hindu gods, Arabian genie, and Allah to
reveal the cause of the illness or drought or pestilence and
accept placatory sacrifices*" See R.O. Winstedt, "Notes on
Malay Magic/' JRAS-MB, JII, 3, pp. 6-21; and "More Notes
on Malay Magic," JRAS-MB, V, 2, pp. 342-347.

21. See R.O. Winstedt, Malay-English Dictionary. It is certain
that the Hang Tuah of the 15th century Malacca may have
been a ruling sultan who was at the same time an admiral of
the navy.

22. See H. Over beck, ^Hikayat Maharaja Ravana/* JRAS-MB,
XI, 2, December 1933, pp. Ill rT. This hikayat is not dated.
While its title tells of Ravaria., it more or less tells the story of
Rama, his exile, his search for sit a, his combat with Ravana,
and the return of the princess, who is purilied in the pyre.
The entire hikayat shows the influences (?) of the Rama and
the HSR, and it appears that it could be the source of the
Fairy Tale.

23. In the HSR, Mandudari, having been "given" by DaSaratha
to Ravana although she had already given birth to a son, Seri
Rama, retires into the inner apartments, and from the secretion
of her skin, she produces by massage amass which she first
changes into a frog, then into a woman exactly like herself,
whom she dresses with her own clothes and sends to the
king.

( 431 )

24. Although the story of Seri Rama in the HSR commences only
on page 51 of the text, the city is mentioned for the first time
on page 62.

25. Op. cit.

26. Ibid. His authority is Yule's Glossary, p, 782.

27. Serindib is mentioned (Dimaski 1325) as one of the islands
met in a west-east route (from Arabia) in which Malay closes
the chain "serindib (Ceylon) and Sribuza ..... " See and cf.
J. L. Moens, "Srivijaya, Yava, en Kptaha," JRAS-MB, XVII/
2, January 1940, p. 85.

A check with the Malay Annals (Sejarah Melayu) does not
mention the name Bxikit Serindib or Serindib. But the modern
name is known as Ceylon already (See "Outline of the Malay
Annals : Shellabear's romanized edition. Singapore, 1909"
Chapter XXVIII, in "The Malay Annals or Sejarah Melayu"
The Earliest Recension from Ms. No. 18 of the Raffles Collec-
tion, in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society, London
edited by R.O. Winstedt), JRAS-MB, XVI, 2, pp. 12-13,
Perhaps it owes its not being mentioned to the late composi-
tion of the Annalb between the 16th and 17th centuries.
Ibid., pp. 27-34.

28. Sakutum Bunga Satangkei is described thus " her waist
could be encircled by the four fingers and the thumbs joined
how her figure was as slim as the menjelei (a kind of
grass or weed something like millet?) stem, her fingers as
slender as the stalk of the lemon grass, and her heels as small
as bird's eggs; ...... when she ate sirih or drank water her face

acquired an indescribable charm..." Maxwell, loc. cit.
29. See JRAS-SB, LV, June 1910, p. 68

30 See and cf. Howard Mckaughan. The Inflection and Syntax
of the Maranao Verb, Text Illustration No. 2A, "Si Someseng
sa Alongan ago si Amo" (Someseng of Alongan and Monkey),
pp. 5O ff.; Dean S, Pansier, Filipino Popular Tales (Lancaster,
Penn , 1921), No. 19 "Juan Wearing a Monkey Skin"; No.
29 "Chongita" (Little Monkey Lady); and the Tinguian
Tales, found in Fay Cooper Cole, Traditions of the Tingmans,
Field Museum of Natural History Publication 180, XIV, 1
(Chicago 1915).

and Pururavas in RV, X, 95, is another

for his motif: The motif in this story is also known astl
"Swan Maiden" motif (see KahasarMgara, II, Appendix I-
"Urvasi and Pururavas"; VIII, Appendix P'The Swa
Maidan' Motif,

Furthermore, see Ivor N, H, Evans, "Folk-stories of tl
Tempasuk and Tuaran Districts, British North Borneo,
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, XLIII, 191;
Studies in Religion, Folklore and Customs in British Nort
Borneo and the Malay Peninsula (Cambridge, 1923),

31, Malay is used here as a generic term, This would indue
therefore the whole of the Malaysian Peninsula and Arch

SHANTIDEVA'S BODHICARYAVATARA AND MONGOLIAN

EVERLASTING SONGS

RINCHEN MONGOLIA

It is a great honour and pleasure to me to participate in the
International Sanskrit Conference and I sincerely thank the Orga-
nisers for the opportunity given to me to attend it.

It is also my sacred duty as disciple to honour the pious
memory of my Soviet Gurus Indologist academician Oldenburg,
Tibetanist academician Shcherbatsky, Mongolist academician Vladi-
mirtsov and the founder of the Russian School of History of Orient
academician Barthold all of whom emphasised to me the great
importance of Sanskrit and its glorious literature for the sublime
cultural heritage of my beloved People.

At present we know the existence of Mongol written versions
of Ramayaiia but from my childhood I remember evening shadow-
plays with coloured puppets of Rama, monkeys and a many-headed
demon Mangus cut out from a transparent yellow, rather hard
leather manipulated by the skillful hands of a wandering Mongol
monk-artist reciting a story of Rama. And after more than a half
century it seems to me that I hear his little cracked voice myster,
iously sounding in semi darkness behind a screen in a large gher
crowded with silent and ravished audience.

Demon Mangus in the shadow-play was invincible but Rama
came to know that a soul of his redoubtable adversary was hidden
in another place. Using a stratagem he killed the soul and demon
Mangus died in the twinkling of an eye,

- The similar episode of battle' with monster Mangus having a
soul in a safe and secret place is very common in Mongol heroic
epos and may.be closely connected with the folklore of ancient

India.

The most gifted and distinguished singers of Mongol epic
songs, following the old tradition, studied the elements, of Darin's

( 433 )

Kavyadarsa in their literary or mostly oral Mongol versions 7
scholars of old Mongolia estimating their national heroic
sincerely helped them to master the art of poetry.

Most of Mongol scholars of older generation made a caref
study of Santideva's lyrico-philosophical poem Bodhlcaryavatnra ai
tantric songs of Mongol Tanjur.

Bodhicaryavatara was first translated into Mongol in 1305 ar
its text was included in Mongol printed Tanjur with many other o
translations very important for the Mongol philologists.

Soviet academician Vladimirtsov in his edition of the o
Mongol text of Bodhicaryavatara translated by Pandita Chos-kyi-'o<
zer and included in Mongol Tanjur mentioned his great importanc
for the development of the literary Mongol. He stated also a
influence of the philosophical conceptions of Santideva's poem to
noble lyrical poetry of Tsoktutaiji, the Mongol Prince, statesma
and poet of the early 17th century, whose elegiac verses wer
engraved by his learned and true-hearted assosiate Guyeng bagatu
on the rocks from which Tsoktu taiji recited his poetical improvi
sation remembering his beloved elder sister.

From 14th to 19th century Siintidevu's poem was man
times translated into Mongol testifying us its great popularit
among the Mongol scholars which created commentaries on thi
celebrated poetical work of the great Indian writer and philosopher

Following an old literary tradition the highly educated Mongo
intellectuals, both the clergy and laymen, wrote poetry and song
composing their melodies. And the philosophical conceptions o
Santideva's poem and Tantric songs of Tanjur, by their ideas o
enlightening, influenced the so-called 'urtu-yin dagun n i e 'everlast-
ing songs' created by Mongol scholars. The beauty of the eternal
Motherland Jambudvlpa, the high sentiments or esteem and vene-
ration to enlightened Gurus, the love and benevolence to all Living
beings etc. were the highlight of these songs which were esteemed
very much by the people. Thousands of manuscripts of these

t e TS S S n tf. T re dis *> ers * d a ** over the country and some of
them had socalled 'yan-yig' - i. e . musical notes for the melody of
songs. J

lcamed authors of the everlasting

2 th CCntUry - For Cample, the solemn
. Tiimen - a eki'-'A Head of Thousands' was
by a Prmce Darkhan Chin Vang in 1696 on the honour
or tne all-horse winner at the great national feast after a devastating
war, Mongols Jove horse, which symbolize in their Hineuase of

(435)

poetry. 'Thought, Mind, Intention,' rapid like 'Morin Erdeni,
Cindamani Morin' - Cintamani Horse,

Nowadays the eminent singer of everlasting songs, the soldier
of the People's Revolution Dugarjab composed an everlasting song
in honour of the Mongol Hero National Sukhebator after his
death in 1924,

All the everlasting songs are very much appreciated by Mongols
and singers sing them in such solemn occasions as feasts, anniversaries
banquets, weddings etc,

In concluding my brief paper I request you to permit me to
reproduce tape-recordings of two old everlasting songs, The first of
them is the above mentioned 'Tumen-ii ck? -'A Head of Thou-
sands', performed by Lhamojab, the popular singer of everlasting
songs,' Member of the People's Songs and Dance Company. The
another is 'Uyaqan Jambutvib' - 'A Lovely Jambudvipa' performed
by woman singer Norbobandzad, the Honoured Worker of Arts of
the Republic,

SANSKRIT AND INDO-EUROPEAN

PROF. FRANCISCO R. ADRADOS,

Presidentc, Sociedad Espanola de

Linguistica, Madrid.

Within the past ten years I have been working on general
studies on the history of IE languages from which a few relevant
conclusions concerning the pre-history ofVedic and its situation
among the IE dialects can be drawn.

Some of these works are already published as Estudios sobre
las laringales indoeuropeas (Madrid, 1961, a new enlarged edition is
about to appear). Evolution y estructura del vcrho indoeuropeo
(Madrid 1963) and a series of articles 1 . There are also in prepara-
tion books and works, not only mine but of some of my pupils.
I think convenient to advance here some of the results. In one or
two years Francisco Villar's Evolution y evtructura dc la flexion
nominal indoeuropea, a large work by Julia Mendoza on the pro-
nominal flexion and another book of mine, a synthesis entitled
Lingutstica indoeuropea will appear. The results of all these studies
are easy to resume :

(a) The most archaic IE dialect transmitted is Anatolian,
concreatly Hittite. Let us make a list of Hittite archaisms ; non-
existence of opposition between masculine and feminine genders,
identity between singular and plural endings (with exception of
1. Cf. "Loi phonetique, sonantes et laryngales", Emeriia 31,
1963, pp. 185-211; "Historische und strukturalle Methode in
der indogermanischen Sprachwissenschaft", Kratylos 10, 1965,
pp. 131-154; "Notas sobre laringales"', Emvrita 34, 1966, pp'
1-14; "Die Rekonstruktion des Jndogermanischen und die
strukturalistische Sprachwissenschaft", Indogcnnanischc Fors-
chungen 73. 1968, pp. 1-47; "Das Hethitische und die indoger-
manische Laryngale", Revue Hittite et Asianiquc, 28, 1970,
pp. 7-17; <fi On indoeuropean sigmatic verbal stems", Archivum
Linguisticum 2 (n.s.), 1971, pp. 95-116.

nominative and accusative), identity between dative and locative*
absence of ablative, no comparative grade in adjectival flexion, and,
over all, the existence of a verbal flexion where each verb has a
single stern, with no subjunctive nor optative modes.

The great innovations of IE languages which \ve call Post-
Anatolian consist in opposing to each verbal stern a second one
with secondary endings, meant to mark the past tense; and, at least
in some languages, to oppose a third stem meant to mark a
subjunctive with no temporal value.

(b) The reconstruction of the utmost phonological IE system
shows a stage with two short vowels, e and a used mostly to mark
a lexical or morphological distinction. There were also two series
of laryngeals with three timbers <?, a, o\ one of the series had a
palatal appendix, the other a velar one. With the aid of these two
series it is possible to understand the origin of the items ending in
-f and -u 9 used with several grammatical values; for instance, present

stems in -, perfect stems in -u, such as Sanskrit jajndu, daddn 9 etc.

These are grammaticalizations inside the morphological system of

phonetic variants which, as such, did not have originally those

morphological values.

(c) Understanding of the phenomenon through which, new
grammatical categories can be created, which as their marks adopt
stems, suffixes or endings which originally did not have any relation
with them. The study of the evolution of significative systems
allows to explain these facts. In our case it explains how from an
IE stage where verb was not different in flexion from noun, it
developed the Anatolian stage, where with a single verbal stem and
four series of endings, oppositions of person, number (singular/
plural), tense (present/past), mode (indicative/imperative), voice
(active/media) are expressed. In a later moment, oppositions of
number, tense and mode are completed and the opposition of aspect
is created. In a paiallel way, it is possible to follow the formal
differentiation of noun and adjective and the creation of nominal
and pronominal flexion.

On this basis it is clear that several characteristics specific of
Sanskrit phonology and morphosyntaxis are also common to the
great Post- Anatolian branch of IE. In noun, the disparition of
laryngeais, the development of a and long vowels, the creation of
'the opposition masculine/feminine; dual number (limited to a few
languages); the completion of noun flexion with the creation of
independent endings for the cases of singular and plural; several
innovations in the pronominal flexion; and m veib the creation of
a system which opposes several stems : present, perfect and aorist

(the latter only in indicative); each verb has a subjunctive and
optative stem. an

But there are other series of points where Sanskrit shares th
innovations of specific dialectal groups inside the Post-Anatol'
group of IE; in other cases Sanskrit has an independent evolution* 1
following certain inherited tendencies. To this independent
evolution some features which are usually thought archaisms should
be abscribed.

The consequence is a vision of Sanskrit as a language which
preserves many archaisms, but not the language which offers us
always the greatest archaisms. We can see a progressive differen-
tiation of IE languages, how Sanskrit proceeds from one of the
several dialectal groups created and it offers speciiic tendencies. We
can get a more realist and exact view of the history of Indo-Jranian
group and also of the Indian group in itself. Its own evolutions
are original answers to old problems of IE languages : from a certain
point of view Sanskrit represents the culmination of one of the
fundamental tendencies in this development.

Our theory coincides with that of those who postulate the
existence of an old dialectal group formed by Greek, Indo-Iranian
and, at least in some innovations, Armenian. Some of the features
attributed traditionally to oldest IE are features peculiar of this
dialectal group. But inside this group there are specific innovations
of Greek or Sanskrit: it is important to indicate which is the
innovating language. But, sometimes Greek coincides not with
Sanskrit but with languages alien to this group : the same thing
happens with Sanskrit. There arc some isoglosscs common to
Sanskrit, Baltic, Slavic, Tocharian or to some of these languages.
Finally there are already specific features of Sanskrit; they are as
we said, original answers to IE problems. ?

(1) Relations of Sanskrit with the Creek language. Here are
some of the most remarkable features of Sanskrit (and Indo-Iranian)
m one hand and Greek in the other. Some of these features are
partaken by Armenian also. We can divide them in innovations
and archaisms.

(a) New elements added to the system. Let us remark the
following :

neoh n old particle or tonic adverb,

next to wmcn verb was enclitic.

r^rf . t iS quite clear the relation f Active IE

perfect with medml hrttite presents of -hi flexion, whose endings are

-**, -to, -* All Post-Anatolian opposes stem flexionated in this
manner and frequently with other special features, let us say voca-
hsm oof the root and reduplication, to any other stem Thus a
perfect opposed to a present is obtained. It is quite clear that this
corresponds to a Hittite form which only secondarily, when opposed
to flexion in -hi, ti, -/, was considered medial: really, an IE perfect in
some languages has no voice value (as in Germanic and Slavic) and
in other languages, because of system reasons, was sometimes active
(this is the general case) sometimes medial. For instance in
Sanskrit the form in -a is active (cakara\ but the form in -e (from
-a/) is medial (cakre). But -* was not originally a medial charac-
teristic : the proof is that in Latin the form in -ai, which produces
~z is active (lat. uidi). As Latin converted vidi in active in oppo-
sition to uisus sum, Greek and Sanskrit converted -a in active
through opposition to a special form of medial voice, imitated from
medial presents. The device consists in adding to the very stem of
perfect medial present endings. So Sanskrit cakre. Greek diephtharzac
This is an innovation common to both languages.

Plusquamperfect. It is clear from Hittite that perfect did not
have originally a tense value : the -ha, ta, -a of the perfect only
through opposition to a past tense of clearly secondary origin
became present endings. The plusquamperfect, which is found in
Greek and Sanskrit and is formed adding secondary endings to the
perfect stem is a specific innovation of this group.

Combined flexion of modes and tenses. The most important
innovation of this group consists in producing for the present,
aorist and perfect stems specialized forms with modal values
(subjunctive, optative) as well as a participle for each (Greek also
produced an infinitive). This happens on grounds of the existence
of an imperative for each stem, as Anatolian shows* It is clear
that it is an innovation, when we compare what happens in
languages such as Tocharian or Celt, which only have a subjunctive
for each verb, not for each stem. There are traces that in archaic
Latin, subjunctive was derived from root, not from the different
stems (Lat. attigas, aduenas). Sanskrit precative, as budhyzs from
bodhati, derived from the root, and it is clear that participle was not
necessarily from each of the verbal stems. On the other hand this
innovation is not exclusive of Greek and Sanskrit : Latin, Osco-
Umbrian and Germanic have traces of it, but in this evolution they
went farther, because they tried to confer to the modes the tense
values of indicative.

This doesn't happen in Greek and Sanskrit, which instead of
this, established an aspectual system in indicative and in the modes
and in participles (also in Greek infinitives) for all the verbal stems.

It is not sure at all that from the existence of an imperfect and an
aorist, which were two variants of past tense, it was created in all
Post-Anatolian languages the aspectual opposition present /aorist
nor that it was taken into the modes; this only can be said for
Greek and Sanskrit.

With those innovations, Greek and Sanskrit go very far in
the principle of expanding the system of categories and functions
which was developing in IE verb : only the tense system was limited
to Indicative.

Future. Another innovation common to Greek and Sanskrit
is the development of future, parting from a -s desiclcrative. This
innovation is partaken by another linguistic group, Baltic. It is
another step in the expansion of verbal categories about which we
are talking.

b) Elimination of elements of the old system.

Greek and Sanskrit eliminate from the old system of Post-
Anatolian verb not categories nor functions but several formal
elements which added complexity and ambiguity: this is an attempt to
simplify and to make a clearer relation form/content. We talk
specially of semithematic flexion about whose archaism there is no
doubt, because its appearance in Hittite and in western European
languages (Latin, Slavic, Baltic and Germanic). To these eliminati-
ons corresponded a great development of uthematic flexion,
differenciated sometimes formally through endings, and specially
through vocalism and accent displacements. There was also a
development of thematic flexion inside which two types were opposed
with a different aspectual value: bhdrati and tucldti.

Another element eliminated from the old system, not totally
in Sanskrit is the -r ending. There are no traces in Greek; in Sans-
krit it appears only as a secondary ending of 3rd plural, but not as a
medial ending (with the exception of medial ending -rJ) This
elimination is an attempt to produce coherence and regularity in
the system of verbal endings.

There are also some archaisms common to Greek and to the
Indo-Iranian group. But there are gradual differences between
both groups: sometimes an archaism is better preserved in one of
them or it is only maintained by one of them. Let us limit to the
following:

Small development of -*, ~a (old Indian -<2) stems, with the
exception of subjucntive. While several languages make wide use of

a

these suffixes with state and other values (so in Slavic, Baltic,
Germanic, Latin) and also to mark past, in Sanskrit there are no
traces of it, with the exception of denominatives and some isolated
cases with no specific value as gabhayati. Greek makes little use, but
the type exists: deverbatives as osrophao, the -e aorist, etc.

Sanskrit does not have a compound preterite as the weak past
tense of Germanic or of Latin, Baltic and Slavic imperfects. We
think that the socalled passive aorist, ended in -the-, is a compound
past tense.

Sanskrit and Greek, differently from other languages, did not
establish a verbal flexion on two stems, fusing in the second the
old imperfects, aorists and perfects. Even when both languages
proceeded in this tendance along their history, this did not happen
m their oldest stages. There was not in them (with the exception
of Greek contract verbs) what we call a conjugation: a system of
forms related to each other in an inequivocal way and which can be
deduced one from the other automatically. Greek and Sanskrit
maintain the fundamental archaism that to a present can correspond
several aorists and contrariwise; and that very often only inside
the system a form can be defined as present or aorist, indicative or
subjunctive.

It should be remarked that the closest relations of Sanskrit
and Greek la> mainly in the verb structure; that is why we have
referred to it all the coincidences exposed. In both languages the
syVtem of categories and functions of IE verb gets its utmost
expansion. They tend to express these categories systemaUcally and
clearly but they refuse to create a conjugation. They make to stand
out aspect and restrict tense to indicative.
2) Relations with other languages.

As Greek is related to other languages, for instance as to the
development of compound past tense and of lon * ^T^T^ms
same happens with Sanskrit. We have already talked of archaisms
such as the preservation of certain endings. Another archaism is
the eStence of several present stems derived from the same root:
next to a basic verb in Sanskrit w. find a desiderate a causative
or iterative, a passive form. Really, Sanskrit has developed a

remarkable that Sanskrit has preserved the important archaism of
using these formations, as well as denominatives in present sterns
only, quite differently from Greek and other languages.

We point also as archaisms, within the verbal system, the
non-adscript ion of an infinitive to each stem (as Greek does) and
the use still independent of injunctive which in other languages
passed to imperative or disappeared.

But these relations of Sanskrit out of the group formed
together with Greek, are the more interesting when they are
innovations. Really the existence of several present stems for each
root, that is to say, of a basic verb and the socalled deverhatives,
is an innovation parting from an archaism. In Hittite it is only a
possibility sometimes used, sometimes not used: it is not systematic.
But in Tocharian, next to each basic verb there is a causative; in Slavic
to each imperfective corresponds a perfective drawn by fixed rules. In
a similar way in Sanskrit systematically from each verb a causative-
iterative, a desiderative, an intensive and a passive are derived. We
have to admit that at least there was a common tendency which
realized in the different languages in different ways.

But the greatest coincidence of Sanskrit with languages alien
to Greek are in the noun system. We think that Greek, Germanic
and Celt are even more archaizing than Hittite when, apart from
nominative, accusative and genitive they only offer a single case, the
socalied dative, derived from pure stems: the suffixes -ei and -i derived
indeed from pure stems ended in laryngeal -H l and are the final
elements which only secondarily are used as endings. If this is so
and as now it is impossible to demostrate it, we shall only make
reference to the works alluded at the beginning of this paper it is
clear that the development of special cases such as ablative, locative
and instrumental are innovations, even when some of them answer
to old tendencies: Hittite has already an instrumental. Sanskrit is in
this sense next to the Baltic-Slavic group which has certain points of
contact with Latin.

3. Innovations specific of Indo- Iranian and Greek.

We have to add to all these several innovations, sometimes of
the Indo-Iranian group, some other of the Sanskrit itself. They
refer to many details of noun and verb flexion and its main points
are: the creation of some special forms, as predicative; of certain
uses specific of noun and verbal categories, as for instance aorist
aspect; or the already mentioned system of deverbatives. But the
principal innovations refer to form more than content. Sanskrit
tries to make as inequivocal as possible this relation form/content

in noun and verbal flexion within the most archaic IE type without
surrendering to the creation of a tight conjugation. Sanskrit
created a system of endings very clear, specially in noun flexion:
each case has its own endings with no ambiguities (there are some,
such as the existence of pure stem locative or -J locative) and in
some circumstances distinguishes in flexion masculins and feminines.
So we have masculine stems in -a and feminine in -5, but also stems
in -f, -M, -r, etc.

But it is in verb where Sanskrit achieves clearer results. While
IE languages have the same only ending for 1st plural primary or
secondary, 2nd plural primary or secondary, Sanskru eliminated
totally such syncretisms. For each person, for each one of the
three numbers, has achieved, through differentiation and analogic
facts, four endings; active primary, active, secondary, medial
primary, medial secondary. This is a feat not accomplished by any
of the IE languages.

4. Conclusions,

Sanskrit follows old tendencies of Post -Anatolian; its History
reflects tendencies of later Post- Anatolian, such as the absorption
of a like value to imperfect, aorist and perfect, and the reduction of
old subjunctive and optative modes to a single mode. But in spite
of this fidelity to later tendencies we have to insist that it represents
a culminating point in its history. Coinciding sometimes with
Greek, Baltic and other languages, some others innovating by
himself, it has achieved the most complete system of cases and
verbal categories of all IE languages, expressed by words and not
by periphrasis (with some exception). That has happened within a
respect of the old independence of stems, that is to say rejecting a
system of tight conjugation. Here we are at a point of arrival, not
of origin. Sanskrit is not a counter drawing of oldest IE as it was
pretended to be. Only in not having an infinitive for each stem is
inferior to Greek: but its system of cases and deverbatives is richer,
more inequivocal the form/content relation. Greek and Sanskrit
are the culminating points of a certain type of IE; of a type ot IE
which, doubtlessely, was too nuanced and complex, too intellectual
for the speakers of other languages. These languages, on the
contrary of Sanskrit, introduced verbal two-stem flexion, reduced
the importance of aspect and mode, broadening tense; reduced the
importance of noun cases, enlarging that of positions. Concern-
ing the relation form/content, they created a rigid system, conjugat-
ion, and nullified the independence of stems with loss of sense of
the root and reduction of the role of vowel alternations and accent

deplacement They expanded periphrastic forms, They
tialvadif

We did not rat to present here the history of Sanskrit, to
only its principal characteristics. We thinl that those characteristic
sled light on its history, Sanskrit is a harmonious and
building, fit to give expression to all adventures in (hinting and R
aU human

SANSKRIT AND GERMAN
LANGUAGES, LITERATURE AND THOUGHT

DR. B.H. KAPADIA.

Reader and the Head of the Department of Sanskrit,
S.P. University, Vallabh Vidyanagar.

Sanskrit and German, both belong to the Indo-European or
the Indo-Germanic group of languages. They are thus two sister
languages belonging to the same family of languages. Both the
languages and literatures have contributed immensely to world
thought, culture and civilization. The stamp which marked history
and public life in both the countries was intellectual. Both the
peoples, the Germans and the Indians, have had their own experience
with nationalism and with the world of modern political confronta-
tion, in recent times. Indo-German relations are among the note
worthy encounters between members of two great peoples. Indo-
German ties have grown close and it is hoped that co-operation
between India and Germany will grow further.

Sanskrit and German, belonging to the group of Indo-
Germanic languages, have word similarities and certain syntactical
similarities. In both these languages words of kinship and numerals
have similarities which can be philologically illustrated. To illustrate
a few we may note the following as examples :

matr Mutter', Pitr Vater; Bhraty Bruder; Svas? Schwester; dvi
zwei, tri drei, paiica fiinf; sat sechs; sapta sieben; atam acht; navm
neun;etc. In Sanskrit the numerals after twenty are formed as
ekaviinSati, dvavimsati, trayovhnsati, saptavimsati, paficapancasat, ;
in German we have einundzwanzig, zweiundzwanzig, dreiundz-
wanzig, sibenundzwanzig, fuenfundfuenfzig, etc. We have also words
like Natnan and Name.

Sanskrit and German are inflectional languages. As a result
of this one has the facility and freedom to start the sentence as om
likes, e.g. in Sanskrit we can say Govindo grSmaip gacchatj

( 445 )

( 446 )

gramam gacchati Goviiidah, gacchati Govindo gramarp, etc
without in any way obstructing the sense of the " sente
In German also, one can say : Der Lehrer kommt jetzt in '
Klasse, Jetzt kommt der Lehrer in die Klasse. In die Kl I
kommt der Lehrer jetzt. But, there is a point to be note
In the German language, though one c^an begin the sentence in t
way shown above, still, in this sort of construction known as t]
"inverted sentence construction", this small rule is to be strict
adhered to viz. that in this type of "inverted construction." the ve
must be second and this is to be followed by the Subject i.e. the Su
ject should be the third. In the Rg^veda* a verb with a prepositic
may not come together i.e. in between them some few words mj
intervene e.g. para me yanti dhltayafr 1.25.16, sam nu vocavahi
1.25.17, paSam madhyamam crta J. 25.21, pra vam andhanx
madyanyasthub 7.68.2. In Kalidasa also we have patayam pratl
mam asa. In German, in a simple sentence, the preposition of th
verb known as the trennbar comes last at the end of the who,
sentence. In Sanskrit the preposition is first or last and the wor
or words intervene. In German, on the other hand, the main ver
is always second the preposition is always last. This will becom
clear by the following examples:

Herr Alsdorf fahrt von Delhi ab.
Herr Alsdorf kommt in Delhi an.
Herr Alsdorf steigt in Delhi ein.
Herr Alsdorf steigt in Delhi aus.

In both the languages, an interrogative sentence begins witl

the verb. e.g. gacchasi tvam gramam ? Gehen Sie nach dem Dorf.

Pafhasi tvam Ramayanam ? Lesen Sie das Ramayaiiam ? But, whei

an interrogative Pronoun begins the sentence in both the language

generally the verb occupies the second place. Kim Karosi tvam '

Was tun Sie ? In Sanskrit we have eight cases including the vocative

whereas in German we have only four cases viz. the nominative, th<

accusative, the dative and the genitive. In Sanskrit, we have the rul<

gatyarthe dvitiya e.g. ahani gramam gacchumi. In German also w<

have, "Ich gehe in die Schule". Ich gehe in das Hotel. Ich gehe ix

den Garten. Both the languages have three genders and two number;

in German and three in Sanskrit. The latter has in addition the dual

number. In German, too, we have compounds but not so long as in

Sanskrit. We have: e.g. Wdrterbuch, Hausttir, Haushaltswarenges-

chaft, in German we have certain verbs like anbieten, bringen,

diktieren, schreiben, zeigen, geben, nehrnen, sagen erklren, erz&hlen,

etc. which govern two objects the Dative and the Accusative. Wt

have certain verbs like antworten, danken, ghedren, helfen, schaden

( 447 )
governing two objects as is shown in the following couplet :

and roots like da, rue, 6am, Slagh, sprh, krudh, druh, radh, iks,
pari and kri which govern the Dative case. Cf, also kri, krl vi and
kaufen, verkaufen, etc.

The Upanisads are well known for their philosophy, The Upa-
nisadic philosophy has greatly influenced the German thought and
men of letters. Schopenhauer has praised the Upanisadic philosophy.
"The philosophy of ihe Upaniads will be the solace of my life and
will be the solace of my death." The Indian Yoga also has attracted
peace loving souls from the West. In Russia, there are persons
who are endeavouring to learn Yoga, practise Yoga and propagate
Yoga. Goethe has showered encomium on Kalidasa's Sakuntala.
He was so much enamoured of the play that he danced in joy after
reading the translation of it. In his FA UST he has written the
prologue to the drama exactly after the prastavana" of the Sanskrit
plays. Goethe's friend Schiller too was led to copy the theme of
Meghaduta in his 'Maria Stuart'. In the former, the cursed Yaksa
sends a message through the medium of the cloud to his beloved.
In Maria Stuart the captive Queen of Scotts sends through the
medium of the cloud a message to his beloved. Examples like this
can be multiplied. All this goes to show that languages and litera-
tures can act and react.

Thus, the Germans have done pioneering work in the field of
Sanskrit, both classical and Vedic. They have done monumental
work in Indology. Even in the present century, in more than ten
Universities in Germany, there are Chairs for Sanskrit and Indology.
Max Miiller brought out an edition of the complete text of the ^g-
veda. It was a surprise to the Indian Pandits. He came to be
called c moksa-mula*. To pay homage to this veteran scholar of
Indology, eight German Institutes in India are known after his
name as "MAX MULLER BHAVANS".

Germany is one of the few countries in the Western hemisphere
where Indology has found a permanent abode. Indology, which
implies a study of Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina as well as Islamic philoso-
phy took its birth in the 18th Century. Friedrich von Schiegel
became one of the founders of Indology in Germany. His translation
of the Hitopadesa was as remarkable as his work "Ueber die Sprache
und Weisheit der Inder". It bore a scientific stamp than of a
literary character. It was followed by his three books, "Oa

( 448 )

language'% "On philosophy", and "Historical Ideas". This start of
Indology in Germany was enriched by Max Mliller. Lamprecht's
"Alexander Lied" in which the flower girl bears similarity with the
daughters of Mara (Lalitalistara 23). In Fraunlob of Hugo von
Trimberg the roots of the theme are found in old Indian folk tales.
Barthlomaeus Ziegenbald drew accounts from Siamese Buddhism.
Herder described Kalidasa's Sakuntala as "essence of perfection".
That Goethe went lyrical in praise of Kalidasa's Sakitntala is very
widely known. For his Paria triology (1824) Goethe took a theme
frdm the Mahabhdrata and the Bhdgavata Puratia, and made it into
a redemption mystery. A.W. Schlegel, who held the first Chair
of Indology, was responsible for many translations from the
Sanskrit Literature, Ruekert knew besides Sanskrit Tamil too. His
translations are: c Nala and Damayanti% *Savitri% Raghuvamsa of
Kalidasa, and Kirdtdrjuniya of Bharavi. Heine's Indological studies
cast a spell on works which did not touch India directly. Koppens
Buddhismus (1857-58) provided a stimulus to German Literature,
which is evident even to-day. He was followed by Richard Wagner,
whose theme for the drama "Der Sieger" was love of the cabala
girl c prakrti- for the Buddhist monk Ananda. Again Wahnheim and
Wunschheim are of Indian character. Religious poetry of P. Dahlke
and H. Much are of Buddhistic nature. Karl Bleibtreu in his dramas
'Karma* (1901) and 'Heilkonig' attempted to portray Buddhism as
perfection of religion. Gustav Meyrink Franz Werfel, Josef Winkler
and Stefen Zweig enriched German literature by taking recourse to
themes on Buddha legends.

Jainism too attracted German Indologists. W. Schubring
worked mainly on Jaina canons and doctrines. Helmuth von Glas-
enapp commented on almost all aspects of Indian religions
including Jainism. Leumann also wrote on Jainism. Hermann
Hess was attracted by Yoga. Thomas Mann, his contemporary,
found fulfilment in giving new literary shape to themes which
before him were handled by Goethe. Mann dealt with psychoso-
matic problems embodied in his "Die vertauschten Kopfe."

Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Paul Deussen, Hermann Keyserl-
ing Max Scheler, Karl Jaspers are a few of the illustrious German
Philosophers. It is not possible to review and note all the German
Indologists from the beginning upto the end in the scope of this
paper in view of the limitations time etc. and therefore I undertake
to give a kaledioscopic view of the representative scholars in
the different fields of Indology. Thereby, there is a scope to leave
out some of the best scholars. This paper aims at giving the trends
of Indological study in the different fields and hence cannot be
exhaustive.

( 449 )

Max MuIIer moved to Oxford where he rediscovered the
Vedas. His 'Sacred Books of the East' in 50 vols. won him
recognition throughout the world. His book ''India, What can it
teach us" is well known in the field of Vedic studies. We may
mention Heinrich Zirnmer, Hermann Oidenberg, Alfred Hillebr-
andt, K.F. Geldner, Hermmann Lommel, Wilhelra Rau, Hermann
Berger, Grassmann, Ludwig, Adolf Kaegi, Alsdorf, Bruhn,
Waldschmidt, Poul Thieme among the few past and present
German Indologists.

In the field of Vedanta we may mention Paul Deussen, in the
field of Epics i.e. the MahSbharata and the Ramayana we refer the
names Oidenberg, Jacobi, Holtzmann, Garbe, Schroder, Otto, etc.
German poet Schlegel wrote a Latin version of the Ramayana.
Regarding the Puranas we may mention Paul, Kirfel and regarding
Arthagastra Jacob Meyer may be mentioned.

The study of Indology in Germany is well organised so that
every important library has a special collection of books on India.
They have Journals of repute like Z D M G, Tndo-germanische
Forschungen etc. Besides libraries and Journals there are institutes
like Indian Institute in Munich, German -Indian Society in Stuttgart,
East- Asia Association in Hamburg, In do-German cultural societies
and Max Miiller Bhavans all over India (eight in number) do
remarkable work to bring the two cultures nearer.

Bonn was the first University to have a Chair of Indology in
1818. In 1856 in Tuebingen the second chair was founded. In 1862
in Gdttingen another chair was established, then in Muenich*
Marburg, etc. In Germany the professors of Sanskrit deal with
language, literature, religion, philosophy, teach Sanskrit, Pali,
Prakrit, and occasionally Avesta and Tibetan. There, the professors
pursue several fields such as Veda, Vedanta, the Epic study, dramas,
Law, Samkhya, Advaita, Yoga etc. Many German Innologists
like Helmuth von Glasenapp came and lived in India to quench
their thirst for knowledge.

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