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Today's Topics:
1. kALidAsa daSaSlokI stuti: Sloka 1 - quiz answers (Sai)
2. kALidAsa-daSaSlokI-stuti - Sloka 1.2 - quiz (Sai)
3. Re: kALidAsa daSaSlokI stuti: Sloka 1 - quiz answers
(Ambujam Raman)
4. What do upasargas mean? (Jay Vaidya)
5. Re: What do upasargas mean? (Sai)
6. Re: What do upasargas mean? (Jay Vaidya)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:03:32 -0700
From: Sai <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Sanskrit] kALidAsa daSaSlokI stuti: Sloka 1 - quiz answers
To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I attach Raman's and my responses.
Since I don't have a book to check it against, those with a translation
are requested to correct us.
Thanks,
- Sai.
----------------------------------------------------
Ambujam Raman uvaacha:
Here is my analysis of the posted couplet.
ceTii bhavan nikhila kheTii kada.mbavana vaaTiiSu naakipaTalii
koTiiracaarutara koTii maNiikiraNa koTii kara.mbita paadaa |
kada.mbavana vaaTiiSu = In the garden of kadamba forest
nikhila kheTii = entire citizen
naakipaTalii = retinue of denizens of heaven
(naaka = heaven, naakasya paTalaH naakapaTalaH saa naakapaTalii = female
retinue of heavenly beings.
That does not fit here. Alternatively
naakiN = god (masculine) naakinaH paTalaH saa naakipaTalii = a feminized
retinue of male god (explanation follows later))
ceTii = female slave (properly the word must be ceDii)
bhavan = becoming
koTii koTiira = crores of diadem or crown
caarutara = more lovely
koTii maNiikiraNa = rays from crores of jewels
kara.mbita = inlaid
paadaa = (one who has) the feet
Devi! who has in her kadamba forest garden for servant entire citizenry of
retinue of gods;
whose feet are adorned with crores of lovely diadems inlaid with crores of
jewels emitting rays.
Explanations:
1. It is said that anyone (except Siva) who entered the kadamba
forest(pleasure garden) of Devi immediately became a female. There is a
puranic story that Narada once accidentally entered the forest and became a
woman and in that form gave birth to 60 children who became the sixty
samvatsara of the Hindu cycle.
2. The feet are the refuge of devas and Gods and hence are adorned with
their diadems inlaid with jewels emitting rays of light.
rAmaH
----------------------------------------------------
Sai's attempt:
cheTii bhavan nikhilakheTii kada.mbavanavaaTiiSu naakipaTalii
koTiirachaarutarakoTii maNiikiraNakoTii kara.mbitapaadaa |
ceTii = female servant/slave
nikhila = entire, whole
kheTa = khe aTati iti kheTaH "moving in the air", a planet.
nikhila kheTa = the entire moving world, which is the entire universe?
nikhila kheTaH yasyAH cheTii bhavati sA
cheTii-bhavannikhilakheTii?
She to whom the entire universe is a slave?
karambita-padA = having feet mixed, inlaid with
nAkin = heaven dweller (dweller of nAka, just like Jamaican or American)
paTalI = a heap, mass, multitude, train, retinue
nAki-paTalI = the multitude of heaven-dwellers (i.e., devas)
nAkinaH paTalaH
koTira = hair collected on the forehead in the shape of a horn (Sikha?)
koTiira = crest, diadem
chArutara = exceedingly beautiful
koTi = the topmost points (of the koTiiraaH), or millions/crores
maNiikiraNa-koTii = the crores of light rays emanated by the jewels
nAki-paTalI-koTiira-koTii
teShAm (their)
maNii kiraNa koTii
kara.mbita chArutara padA
Meaning:
(She, whose slave is the entire movement (i.e., jagat or universe), and whose
feet look exceedingly beautiful, crowded by the millions of rays reflected from
the crown jewels of the huge multitude of heaven-dwellers gathered around her
feet in the kadamba forest groves).
My questions:
- The way I interpreted kheTi might be wrong.
- Why is it kadamba vanavATIShu? Why the plural?
- To whom should the adjective "chArutara" be attributed? is it to the koTiiras
or to her feet?
Jewels only reflect light, but don't emanate light isn't it? So where is
all the light coming from? That light must be her own radiance??
In that case, devi's radiance looks
even more beautiful when it gets reflected back from her bhaktas.
What a beautiful bhAvana (conception)?
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:08:31 -0700
From: Sai <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Sanskrit] kALidAsa-daSaSlokI-stuti - Sloka 1.2 - quiz
To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Second half of Sloka 1. Due end of Tuesday (Mar 29, 2005).
paaTiiragandhi kuchashaaTii kavitvaparipaaTiim agaadhipasutaa
ghoTiikhuraadadhikadhaaTiim udaara-mukha-viiTii-rasena tanutaam || 1
If this pace is too slow, please let me know. I chose this pace because
each Sloka is too big. Reading the answers itself is going to take time.
Hence I'm splitting them into two postings.
- Sai.
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 15:36:04 -0500
From: "Ambujam Raman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [Sanskrit] kALidAsa daSaSlokI stuti: Sloka 1 - quiz
answers
To: "Sai" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[email protected]>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I wanted to add that according to my explanation:
ceTii bhavan is obtained by applying 'cvI' taddhita affix (Pan 7.4.32).
na cheTaH cheTaH sampadyate taM bhavati iti ceTiibhavan
(not (originally) a servant , acquires (female) servant form and hence
becomes a female servant). Of course to start with the God is masculine and
not a servant and becomes one by devi's behest!
The grammatical rule requires that the final 'a' (of ceTa) be changed to 'i'
and finally lenghtened to become ceTii.
Regarding Sai's explanation I have some comments and questions.
I am also troubled by the derivation of the word kheTii.
khaM = heaven, khe aTaH will be khe'TaH (aluk saptami compound ) and Apte
gives it the meaning a planet, Rahu.
kadambaani vanaani vaaTyaH teShu kadambavanavaaTiiShu is OK.
Slow pace is fine with me!
rAmaH
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 08:09:06 -0800 (PST)
From: Jay Vaidya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Sanskrit] What do upasargas mean?
To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I hope this message adds without contradicting the
excellent discourse by rAma.
> In words starting with ...(particles)... one should
> know whether
> 1. It is part of the word
> 2. It is an upasarga
> 3. It is an avyaya
> 4. in a contracted form in a tatpurusha (praadi) or
> bahuvrIhi compound.
The question of the meaning of particles ("nipAta")
has vexed sa.nskR^ita scholars for a long time. The
general consensus of grammarians is that "nipAta" do
not have have meaning (as in "dictionary meaning"=
vAchakatvam). Rather, they illuminate (=dyotakatvam)
the meanings of other words. "Illuminate" means that
they help select between alternative dicationary
meanings.
Why then, do many current students of sa.nskR^ita
forget this consensus? This is because of the
description of prAdi samAsa compounds so ably
discussed by rAma. The resolution of the compound
'vikarNaH' = 'visheshhaH karNaH' suggests that 'vi' is
a short form of 'visheshha' and means the same thing.
If we do that, inevitably, there is confusion when
particles are used as upasargas.
As upasargas, these particles behave in an unruly
manner.
'vi' was discussed by vishveshvara and others. Here
are examples of 'pra':
It sometimes intensifies
(i) gataH - pragataH : gone - progressed
or makes the meaning opposite
(ii) sthAnam - prasthAnam : position - leaving one's
position
Sometimes the modification makes no sense at all
(iii) nayaH - praNayaH : taking away - wooing (Where
did that come from!)
As correctly stated by rAma, we should look up the
meaning of the joint upasarga-verb in the dictionary.
It is best not to give in to the temptation of looking
for a meaning of the upasarga. Since many of the list
members use English fluently, let us look at English
examples. In English there are post-position
particles:
(i) stand - stand up (meaning 'to rise'). 'Up' sounds
like an intensifier.
(ii) made - made up (= false). Sounds like 'up' makes
the meaning opposite of 'really made'
(iii) put - put up (=to wager) - (iii a) put up with
(=tolerate). Where do all of these meanings come from?
As fluent English users we do no try to guess the
meanings of these verbs using the individual meanings
of 'put', and 'up', and 'with' etc. If we are unsure,
we just go to the dictionary.
Similarly for sa.nskR^ita nipAta particles.
dhana.njayaH
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------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:39:33 -0700
From: Sai <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [Sanskrit] What do upasargas mean?
To: Jay Vaidya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
But we are told that sanskrit is a very structured language unlike
english, which picks "up" every colloquial usage into the mainstream.
That's why it is hard to think of sanskrit like english.
- Sai.
Jay Vaidya uvaacha:
> As fluent English users we do no try to guess the
> meanings of these verbs using the individual meanings
> of 'put', and 'up', and 'with' etc. If we are unsure,
> we just go to the dictionary.
>
> Similarly for sa.nskR^ita nipAta particles.
>
> dhana.njayaH
>
>
>
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------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:28:59 -0800 (PST)
From: Jay Vaidya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [Sanskrit] What do upasargas mean?
To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
sAdhu vadati sAyI yat: (Sai correctly says that):
> ... it is hard to think of sanskrit like
> english.
True, one must not transfer the grammar peculiarities
of one language to another.
However, the discussions of sa.nskR^ita grammarians
regarding the "non-meaningful, illuminator qualities"
of the "nipAta" particles are quite esoteric. It just
"coincidentally" happens to apply very, very aptly to
English post-positions. So I chose the English
examples. (I also gave Sanskrit examples, and the list
members know many more already...)
> But we are told that sanskrit is a very structured
> language unlike english, which picks "up" every
> colloquial usage into the mainstream.
Sanskrit is not more or less structured than English
in its grammar. A lot of rule-based structure in
Sanskrit is within the word-formation (morphology),
while in English the rigorous rules are for word order
(syntax).
We have the erroneous notion that Sanskrit does not
pick up novel usages. This is because it has not been
a native language for many people for two millenia.
There are great differences between vedic and
classical Sanskrit. This suggests that it must have
been a variable language during its widely-spoken
heyday, between vedic times to classical times.
We have the erroneous notion that English grammar is
very variable because its dictionary is promiscuous.
The dictionary may have picked up 'amok' and 'byte'
and 'chill out' from foreign, technical, slang,
respectively. But its grammar
(subject-before-verb-before-object, order of
particles, etc.) have barely budged since the time of
Shakespeare.
Sometimes we see similarities between the two grammars
that are rigorous in two completely different
directions. One wonders if these are no longer
language-specific peculiarities, but rather, more
fundamental rules. Perhaps it is not "coincidental" at
all!
Dhananjay
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End of sanskrit Digest, Vol 24, Issue 16
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