babhuuva sa hi saMvegaH
shreyasas tasya vRddhaye
dhaatur edhir iv' aakhyaate
paThito 'kShara-cintakaiH
12.9
The shock happened
For the growth in him of ultimate good --
Just as the verb "grow" is listed [after "happen"]
In the lexicon recited by grammarians.
COMMENT:
Linda Covill adds, in an extremely helpful footnote (without which I would be in the same mire as EH Johnston):
in the Dhatupath, Panini's lexicon of Sanskrit verbal roots, the root edh "to increase" occurs immediately after the root bhu, "to exist."
In general Ashvaghosha's writing, and particularly his use of metaphor, seems remarkably non-cultural-specific. This verse also, though at first sight the reference to Panini strikes us as a bit highbrow, is not so much specific to Indian culture as it is specific to formal study of the Sanskrit language. And that, surely, is fair enough. Sanskrit was and is a language that is studied, rather than a language whose music people begin to learn in their mother's womb. Ashvaghosha was writing in Sanskrit for students of Sanskrit, who might be expected to be familiar with Panini's lexicon of Sanskrit verbs -- even if only at one remove. Perhaps, indeed, this verse should be received by a translator of Ashvaghosha as a stimulus to study Panini's lexicon first hand, not taking anybody else's word for it.
In any event, what is truly close to home for all of us is the second line with its three pivotal words vRddhaye (for the growth), shreyasas (of the ultimate good), and tasya (of that individual).
Being concerned with that kind of growth, a couple of years ago my wife did a course with Alexander teacher and midwife Ilana Machover on using Alexander's discoveries to help the process of pregnancy and childbirth. After the course, she reported back with some information that I found awe-inspiring: As a baby emerges from a natural birth, its immune system is shocked into action by the stimulus of the smell of its mother's shit. Hearing for the first time this explanation of an event I had twice experienced with my own eyes, made me reflect on how very little -- practically nothing -- I understand of the wonders of the growth of a human individual.
Facts like that, alongside facts like the successive emergence and inhibition of the four main vestibular reflexes, it seems to me, are not a cause for pessimism or for optimism; but they are a cause for wonder.
EH Johnston:
For that agitation enured to increasing his tendency towards the highest good, just as the root edh is said by grammarians to take vRddhi in its verbal form.
Linda Covill:
For the shock existed for furthering the increase of Excellence in him, just as, for the grammarians, the root "to increase" is listed among the verbs after "to exist."
VOCABULARY:
babhuuva = perfect of bhuu: to be, exist, become, arise, happen
sa: that, the
hi: for
saMvegaH = nominative singular of saMvega: agitation, shock/panic
shreyasas = genitive of shreyas: n. the better state , the better fortune or condition; (= dharma)
tasya (genitive of sa): of him
vRddhaye = dative of vRddhi: f. growth , increase , augmentation ; the second modification or increase of vowels (to which they are subject under certain conditions e.g. aa is the vRddhi of the vowel a ; ai of i , ii , and e ; au of u , uu , and o)
dhaatuH = nominative, singular of dhaatu: element, grammatical or verbal root or stem
edhiH = nominative, singular from edh: to prosper , increase, gain ground, swell
iva: like
aakhyaate (passive of aa-√khyaa): to be named or enumerated
paThitaH = nominal, singular of paThita: recited , read , studied , mentioned
akShara: a syllable, letter, vowel, sound, words
cintakaiH = instrumental, plural of cintaka: mfn. ifc. one who thinks or reflects upon , familiar with; m. an overseer
5 comments:
Hi Mike,
Certainly no Panini pandit, me. So I checked out his dhatupatha, which you'll know is not arranged alphabetically.
I'm not sure that it was clear from your comments that 'bhu' is the very first entry, 'edh' is the second. So of the 2200 roots listed, these two, I imagine, would have been very familiar to Ashvaghosha's educated, reciting, readership.
A bit like "as 'b' follows 'a'", I guess.
Many thanks for this clarification, Jiblet. Now it makes more sense.
I don't know anything about Panini or his dhatupatha, but I have a nagging feeling that I ought to.
How did you check it out? Online? Or is there a reference book that you would recommend?
Thanks again,
Mike
ERRATA:
On reflection further to jiblet's comment, I changed the translation of babhuva from "existed" to "happened."
Hi Mike,
It took me a while, but I found an online copy of "The Dhatupatha of Panini" (which I understand is the last section/appendix to his Ashtadhyayi), by Pt.Kanakalal Sarma at http://www.archive.org. (free registration). Unfortunately, there's no translation and the text is in devanagari only.
I too am a tad nagged by Panini. Finding the Idiot's Guide to The Ashtadhyayi is not proving easy, although I haven't looked seriously yet.
One resource which I've found pretty useful is http://www.sanskritlibrary.org which inludes the Ashtadhyayi and much else, but I couldn't find P's Dhatupatha there, only the ubiquitous "Roots, Verb-Forms, and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language" by Whitney. The site was primarily developed and is maintained by Peter Scharf, Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit at Brown University, Rhode Island. I emailed him when I was having difficulty accessing the site (turned out I needed Firefox), and he replied, very helpfully, within 24 hours. Seems like a good bloke and a very clever one. He may be willing to help ( Scharf@brown.edu ).
Many thanks again, jiblet.
I have been using the sanskritlibrary.org site to look up the conjugation of verbs, but did not know the background.
The world of Sanskrit scholarship seems to be a very benign place. I think a lot of it might be traceable back to the generosity of Richard Gombrich, a true Brahmin if ever there was one.
Thanks again,
Mike
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