[INDOLOGY] scarecrow again

Sat Apr 6 13:12:44 UTC 2024

Dear Arlo,

> very literally the sense of bibhīṣikā/bibhīṣikā
I recall one proper name with a causative element of "scaring" (bhiṣāyaka)
- unfortunately not with mumaṇḍi/ mumaṇḍī - in connection with a straw
figure. The point is that a Yakṣa of this name was apparently the object of
worship in the form of a scarecrow. This is illustrated by a story of two
swindlers who relieved a naïve Kashmiri ruler (Paramāṇuka [1155-1164]) of
his precious jewellery by having a servant covered with straw take the
place of Bhiṣāyaka to accept this 'gift of jewellery' from the king and
making him disappear into the forest with it. This how the amusing story
ends:

"Today, you have satisfied Kubera by adorning him with a variety of jewels.
He gave you his blessings and then disappeared before the eyes of the
people."
[And that was not all:] the rogues thereupon caused the infantile, pitiable
ruler to make them a gift as a token of favour. In this manner, by means of
terrifying this weak king like a little child, the two bon-vivants
completely plundered his treasure  (Rājataraṅgiṇī of Jonarāja 41-47,
Pseudo-Jonarāja 1 [B 47-49]).

Best,
Walter

Am Sa., 6. Apr. 2024 um 13:21 Uhr schrieb Arlo Griffiths via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info>:

> Dear colleagues,
>
> I wish to thank the numerous colleagues who responded to my query on and
> off the list. In alphabetical order, they are Sadananda Das, Vincent
> Eltschinger, Rupert Gethin, Suhas Mahesh, Andrew Ollett, Walter Slaje,
> Harry Spier, Carmen Spiers. Forgive me if I forget anyone.
>
> Below I assemble all the data I have received or found myself, starting
> with references to Michaël Meyer's most convenient aggregation (known to
> me) of all relevant modern dictionaries.
>
> But all of this started for me with an attempt to help my student Zakariya
> Pamuji Aminullah edit the Sanskrit-Old Javanese lexicographic text part of
> the Old Javanese Candrakiraṇa (alias Chandakaraṇa) that he is editing for
> his PhD thesis. At the moment, his edition has two juxtaposed synonym sets
> (where Old Javanese ṅa means iti and introduces the Old Javanese terms
> corresponding to the Sanskrit ones).
>
> 307 Synonyms of Effigy
> cañcā, ṅa riṅgit.
> 308 Synonyms of Scarecrow
> kuṣmāṇḍī, ṅa pitakut.
>
> He has direct access to three Javanese palm-leaf manuscripts (J1, J2, J2)
> plus Lokesh Chandra's edition which was based only on a Romanized
> transcript of J1.
>
> Lokesh Chandra. 1997. “Chanda-Karaṇa: The Art of Writing Poetry.” *Cultural
> horizons of India, vol 6*, by Lokesh Chandra, 140–242. Śata-Piṭaka Series
> 390. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya
> Prakashan.
>
> Apparatus for the above passage:
>
> riṅgit] EdLC, riṅgit[... J1, ruṅgīt J2, lac. J3 (larger gap)
> riṅgit … (310.1) śiṅśapa] A gap due to loss intervenes in J1.
> kuṣmāṇḍī] conj., mumaṇḍih EdLC, mumaṇḍī J2, lac. J1 (larger gap), lac. J3
> (larger gap).
>
> Alas, we have only one ms. that gives the OJ word pitakut, which expresses
> very literally the sense of bibhīṣikā/bibhīṣikā (the base takut means 'to
> fear', the prefix pi- adds causative meaning), and the corresponding
> Sanskrit was still preserved in ms. J1 when the person who made the
> transcription used by Lokesh Chandra had access to it in the course of the
> 20th c. and read mumaṇḍih, while we find mumaṇḍī in J2. Despite all the
> data received on Sanskrit terms meaning 'scarecrow', we still seem to have
> no word that is similar enough to mumaṇḍih/mumaṇḍī that Zakariya could
> adopt instead of the unconvincing conjecture kuṣmāṇḍī.
>
> Since cañcā does seem to be standard term for 'scarecrow' while the terms
> tr̥ṇapuruṣa/tr̥ṇapūruṣa is also common in that meaning, while an authority
> like the Viśvaprakāśa combines them both in one synonym set (cañco
> nalādinirmāṇe cañcā tu tr̥ṇapūruṣe |), I am even wondering if we should
> radically intervene in the transmission to merge both entries into one and
> get two Sanskirt terms for a single Old Javanese gloss, like this:
>
> 307 Synonyms of Scarecrow
> cañcā, tr̥ṇapuruṣa, ṅa pitakut.
>
> Suggestions are welcome.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Arlo
>
>
> Dictionary entries
>
> cañcā      https://michaelmeyer.fr/sanskrit/meta/terms/ca%C3%B1c%C4%81
> cañcāpāñcajana
> https://michaelmeyer.fr/sanskrit/meta/terms/ca%C3%B1c%C4%81p%C4%81%C3%B1cajana
> cañcāpuruṣa
> https://michaelmeyer.fr/sanskrit/meta/terms/ca%C3%B1c%C4%81puru%E1%B9%A3a
> cañcāveṣā
> https://michaelmeyer.fr/sanskrit/meta/terms/ca%C3%B1c%C4%81ve%E1%B9%A3%C4%81
> jharaṅka https://michaelmeyer.fr/sanskrit/meta/terms/jhara%E1%B9%85ka
> tr̥ṇakāminī
> https://michaelmeyer.fr/sanskrit/meta/terms/t%E1%B9%9B%E1%B9%87ak%C4%81min%C4%AB
> tr̥ṇapuruṣa
> https://michaelmeyer.fr/sanskrit/meta/terms/t%E1%B9%9B%E1%B9%87apuru%E1%B9%A3a
> bibhīṣikā
> https://michaelmeyer.fr/sanskrit/meta/terms/bibh%C4%AB%E1%B9%A3ik%C4%81
> bibhīṣikā
> https://michaelmeyer.fr/sanskrit/meta/terms/vibh%c4%ab%e1%b9%a3ik%c4%81
>
> Text passages
>
> Sanskrit 1. [Carmen Spiers]
> lemma: *śakuniprapatana-.
> attestation: Paippal¯¯dsaṁhitā 19.47.8
> māṁsam ivāsinā śakuniprapatanāṁ kr̥dhi |
> mr̥gām̐ anu pra pātaya marīcīr anu nāśaya ||
> comment Carmen Spiers: "śakuniprapatanā- seems to refer to something like
> a scarecrow in Atharvaveda, Paippalāsaṁhitā 19.47.8b; though it is an
> epithet applied to a woman whom the speaker wishes to become insane or
> shunned, a masculine form meaning "scarecrow" might be the inspiration for
> it."
>
> Sanskrit 2. [Suhas Mahesh]
> lemma: tr̥ṇa-pūruṣa
> attestation: Bhallaṭaśataka 1.74
> saṁrakṣituṁ kr̥ṣim akāri kr̥ṣīvalena paśyātmanaḥ pratikr̥tis
> **tr̥ṇapūruṣo** 'yam |
> stabdhasya niṣkriyatayāstabhiyo 'sya nūnam aśnanti gomr̥gagaṇāḥ pura eva
> sasyam ||
>
> Sanskrit 3. [Suhas Mahesh]
> lemma: tr̥ṇa-kr̥ta-kr̥trima-puruṣa
> attestation: Nītidviṣaṣṭikā of Sundarapāṇdya 104
> yo na dadāti na bhuṅkte vibhave sati naiva tasya tad dravyam |
> **tr̥ṇa-kr̥ta-kr̥trima-puruṣo** rakṣati sasyaṁ parasyārthe ||
>
> Sanskrit 4. [Andrew Ollett]
> lemma: vīrut-tr̥ṇa-maya-puruṣa in
> attestattion: Subhāṣitaratnakōṣa 264
> kāmaṁ kūlē nadīnām anugiri mahiṣīyūthanīḍōpakaṇṭhē
> gāhantē śaṣparājīr abhinavaśalabhagrāsalōkā balākāḥ
> antarvinyastavīruttr̥ṇamayapuruṣatrāsavighnaṁ kathañcit
> kāpotaṁ kodravāṇāṁ kavalayati kaṇān kṣētrakōṇaikadeśe
>
> Ingalls' translation:
> By the streambank, up toward the hills,
> close by where the buffaloes are lying,
> the cranes stalk calmly through the young grass
> hunting for fresh locusts;
> the flock of doves, though hindered by their fear
> of straw-filled scarecrows set therein,
> yet manages to peck up grains of beggarweed
> along a corner of the field.
>
> Sanskrit 5. [Suhas Mahesh]
> lemma: cañcā
> attestation: Līlāvatīsāra 11.86 (L.D. Series edition)
> mahākulaṁ kalāsthānaṁ yuvānam api khecaram |
> manyate sva-guṇāhaṁyuś **cañcā**-sadhryañcam eva sā ||
>
> Sanskrit 6. [Arlo Griffiths]
> lemma: cañcā
> attestation: Amaraṭīkāsarvasva ed. Ganapati Sastri, vol. IV, p. 172
> manuṣyaḥ cañceva cañcāmanuṣyaḥ kharakuṭī nāpitaśālā | cañcā tr̥ṇamayaḥ
> puruṣo yaḥ kṣetrarakṣaṇāya kriyat
>
> Sanskrit 7. [Suhas Mahesh]
> lemma: *mr̥ga-kula-udbhēṣaka.
> See Prakrit 1 below.
>
> Pali 1 [Rupert Gethin]
> lemma: tiṇa-purisaka
> attestation: Visuddhimagga 457 (XIV.113); Atthasālinī (111)
> comment Rupert Gethin: In the Abhidhamma definition of saññā we find:
> yathā-upaṭṭhitavisayapadaṭṭhānā tiṇapurisakesu migapotakānaṁ purisā ti
> uppannasaññā viyā, 'Its footing is an object as presented, as when young
> animals have the cognition ‘people’ with regard to scarecrows.'
>
> Prakrit 1 [Suhas Mahesh]
> jahiṁ tumaṁ saccaviā viṇiaṁsaṇa-lolirī juānehiṁ |
> te tattha cciya chette **maa-ula-ubbhesaā** jāā || Śr̥ṅgāraprakāśa p. 1195
> (Josyer’s edition)
> ** Skt mr̥ga-kula-udbhēṣaka.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of Arlo
> Griffiths via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Sent:* Sunday, March 31, 2024 1:17 AM
> *To:* INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Subject:* [INDOLOGY] scarecrow
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
> Looking through NWS (search term Vogelscheuche), MW, and even the
> English-Sanskrit dictionaries at
> https://sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/simple/, it is hard to find any
> words that evidently means 'scarecrow' in Sanskrit.
>
> Would anyone be able to point me to words expressing this meaning with
> some degree of plausibility?
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Arlo Griffiths
>
>
>
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