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Laksanacandrika

Laksanacandrika

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Laksanacandrika (A Commentary On The Taittiriya Pratisakaya By Mahadeva Ramacandra Gadre)
 
The tradition of the Taittirlya Pratisakhya is very much important in the field of ancient Indian phonetics. The TaittirIya Pratisakhya is survived today with nine commentaries, out of which only three are published. The Laksanacandrika is one of such unpublished commentaries on the Taittiriya Pratisakhya written by Mahadeva Ramacandra Gadre at the beginning of the 19th century. The present volume brings a critical edition of it based on four complete manuscripts. We may call Laksanacandrika an abridged edition of another famous commentary Tribhasyaratna. Yet it shows its peculiarities in many places. It does not accept the usual adhyaya-sutra arrangement of the text accepted by the other commentators. It follows the adhyaya-anuvakasutra division. It is peculiar to Laksanacandrika that it quotes many verses from various Siksa texts. Today many siksas are not available even in & form. Texts like the Laksanacandrika provide us with much material for the restoration of at least fragments of some lost siksas, particularly of the Atreya Siksa and the Mahesvara Siksa. Besides it also quotes from the known Sanskrit texts on phonetics, uses widely the terminology of Panini, explains the sutra in brief, and gives its examples. Texts like Laksanacandrika are helpful to trace the wide extent of ancient Indian phonetics.
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SKU: 9788180900464

  • PRODUCT INFO

    AUTHOR NIRMALA RAVINDRA KULKARNI
    PUBLISHER BHARATIYA KALA PRAKASHAN
    LANGUAGE

    SANSKRIT TEXT WITH TRANSLITERATION

    AND ENGLISH TRANSLATION
    EDITION 2004
    ISBN 8180900460, 9788180900464
    PAGES 236
    COVER HARDCOVER
    OTHER DETAILS 8.5 INCH X 5.5 INCH
    WEIGHT 430 GM
    YEAR       2004

    COUNTRY OF     

    ORIGIN

    		 INDIA                                                                              

  • AUTHOR INFO

    NIRMALA RAVINDRA KULKARNI

    Dr. Mrs. Nirmala Ravindra Kulkarni is working as a Research Scientist in the Center of Advanced Study in Sanskrit, University of Pune since 1988. She teaches Veda, Linguistics, and Manuscriptology and has widely published on various other subjects in reputed journals.

    Major Achievements :

    * First Class first (with distinction) in M.A. (l980) and won the coveted B.J. Patel Gold Medal.

    * Ph.D. (1984) on "A Grarnrnatical Analysis of the Taittiriya Padapatha" (Pub. in 1995, Indian Books Centre, Delhi).

    . * She has completed the following projects for the fulfillment of the award of the Research Scientist :

    1. Laksanacandrika : A Commentary on the Taittirlya Pratisakhya by Mahadeva Ramacandra Gadre.

    2. Salvation and Women in Jainism with special reference to Strimuktivada of Prabhacandrasuri.

    3. Srikarrnani in the Atharvanika Tradition.

  • PREFACE

    Somewhere in 1988-89, a pair of mss caught my attention while I was casually going through the manuscript catalog of the Vaidik Samshodhan Mandal, Pune. It was the Laksanacandrika (LC), a commentary on the Taittirlya Pratisakhya. This particular text was not recorded by the then-authentic sources. I observed that it quotes many important yet lost Siksa texts. For this reason, I planned to edit the text critically. I worked on the Taittirlya Padapatha for my Ph.D. degree. Working on the Taittiriya Pratisakhya was certainly a beneficial boost for me in understanding the ancient Indian tradition of phonetics and phonology as well as methods of preserving the sacred texts. The results of the same are presented here in book form.

    1. The first part is introductory and gives general information about the development of phonetics and phonology in ancient India. The contributions of the texts like the Siksas and Pratisakhyas are spelled out in comparison to modern phonetics. Besides, the Taittirtya tradition of the Pratisakhya and commentaries is briefed along with some notable features of the same. Peculiarities of the commentary Laksanacandrika and its relation to the other texts are discussed in detail.

    2. The second part presents the critically constituted text of the Laksanacandrika. This particular edition is based on six mss. The text is appended with two appendices- sutra-index, and bhasya passages quoted by the LC-besides bibliography. I did not include notes and translations of the Taittiriya Pratisakhya in this volume. These will be included in my forthcoming edition of the Vaidika- Bharara, a commentary on the Taittirlya Pratisakhya.

    Many persons have helped me cordially to bring this particular commentary in book form. At the very outset, I must pay my sincere thanks to the U.G.C. authorities for selecting me for the award of Research Scientist. Because of it, I got an opportunity to work tension free in my favorite field of research, besides enjoining all the necessary facilities.

    I would like to pay my sincere thanks to my teacher, Prof. Y.N. Jha, Director. C.A.S.S. for guiding me from time to time for my Ph.D. dissertation as well as for the present volume. I would be ever grateful to him for his valuable guidance and would like to repay his gururna by contributing to my capacity in the field of research. I am also thankful to him for allowing me to study and teach 'Ancient Indian Phonetics and Phonology' in the inter-disciplinary M.A. Course of Sanskrit Linguistics. It helped me in comparing the Eastern concepts with those of the modern ones. Because of it, I could understand the text of the Taittirlya Pratisakhya in a better manner. Many of my basic doubts are removed by Dr. Sharma and by Dr. Patyal. I am very much thankful to both of them.

    I would like to acknowledge the help extended by the late Prof. M.P. Rege, the then President, of Prajna Pathasala, Wai, for providing me the Xerox copies of the manuscripts. I am also thankful to Dr. T.N. Dharmadhikari, the then Director, Vedic Samshodhan Mandal, Pune, and to Shri M.K. Kulkarni, ex-librarian, Deccan College, for allowing me to handle the original mss and for providing the xerox copies of these. It is the cooperation of all the authorities of various libraries in Pune, which has transformed these manuscripts into a book.

    I would be ever grateful to my teacher Prof. S.D. Joshi (former Director, C.A.S.S.) and Prof. S.D. Laddu (Curator, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune) and Dr. Goswami, ex-librarian, C.A.S.S. I am also thankful to all my friends and staff of C.A.S.S., who always encourage a lazy person like me.

    Lastly, I extend my sincere thanks to my family members, especially my in-laws who encourage me by appreciating and helping me now and then. I would be ever grateful to my father, Prof. D.A. Ambiye, as he has encouraged me to pursue Sanskrit studies despite many adverse situations.

    At last, I must thank Mr. C.P. Gautam of Bharatiya Kala Prakashan for printing this book neatly and on time.

  • INTRODUCTION

    1.0.0. The Oral Tradition: Analysis of language appeared in Indian thinking in the Samhita period itself, as the Rgvedic poets were busy analyzing the creative process of poetry. (cf. Rgveda 10.71) Later on because of the growth in the Samhita material and mainly because of changes in the phonemic system of the language, the preservation of these Samhitas became a pressing need. Besides, such literature was a sacred heritage and cultural asset to Aryans. Therefore, it was necessary to take all possible efforts to preserve these texts. It was achieved mainly by oral transmission of the texts from one generation to the other. Learning of the Vedas was made compulsory for a Brahmin that too only with oral instruction. The learning of the Vedas without oral instruction was condemned as brahmasteya. The ancient Aryans were aware of the fact that a text may get corrupted even involuntarily. To overcome such natural limitations of the human brain, they invented various modes of recitation. This was the immediate step taken toward the protection of the Samhitas.

    1.1.0. The Pathas: The mode of recitation is called the path. The samhitapatha (Sp) is the original text recited continuously showing word-boundary features such as euphonic combination, compounding, prolongation, etc. Understanding and preservation of that were made easy by another mode of recitation called the padapatha (Pp). A Pp removes the word boundaries and morphemic features and presents the Sp without making any change in the word order. Such an analysis enables a reciter not only in remembering each word of the text in its original form and order but also guides him in the reconstruction of the Sp. The third step towards such an exercise is the kramapat ha in which a unit of two serial words is presented. Such a method shows the samhita as well as the pada form of the word in the same text. These three types of texts never change the word order of the text. Over and above these texts, a chain of paths was invented using similar techniques. These are called vikrtipathas as the word order is changed to some extent. The purpose of all such exercises was to strengthen the intact preservation of the Vedas. This is how the text was preserved intact by using various methods based on the oral transmission of the text.

    1.2.0. The Dawn of Indian Phonetics: Formation and implementation of these methods were certainly a challenging task for the Vedic priests. It gave rise to the analysis of language on various levels, especially on the phonetic level. Precur ors of such analysis are found in the Sarnhita- Brahrnana period. The word "akkhalikrtya pitaram na putrah' (Rgveda 7.1.3) probably is the earliest reference to the oral tradition as well as to the prakrtised form of the word assara. The Vajasaneyi Sarnhita" uses the word avasdnya for the last syllable of pada; which is very much important from the phonological point of view. The Brahmanas use the terms aksara (syllable), varna (phoneme), and avastina and varna- saniamnyava (alphabets) in the technical sense. P The Aitareya Brahmana" refers to a special type of pronunciation called nyunkha in which a syllable has to be uttered in sixteen varieties. Thus, leaving ample room for the presumption 1Jhat oral tradition and phonetic analysis were in vogue. The Tandya-Maha-Brahmana uses the word 'aksaresthah' i.e. consisting of syllables. The Aral).yakas and the Upanisads have further developed these concepts with a precise phonetic point of view. Here one cannot ignore the contributions of the Chandoya Upanisad," the Aitareya Aranyaka? and the Taittiriya Upanisad. The Chandogya Upanisad tries to map the differences among vowels, consonants, and spirants.

    1.2.1. The Contribution of the Aitareya - Aitareya Arayaka: The Aitareya Aral).yaka (700 b.c.) records a significant number of linguistic discussions by the first generation of linguists such as Hrasva Mandukeya, Sthavira Sakalya, Suravira Mandukeya, and Kauhalcya, etc. These discussions though are garbed in the mystic explanations giving an idea of the depth of linguistic thinking. The text tries to find out the relation between two subsequent words II and thereby describes the nature of Sarnhita as a unit to be uttered in the duration of a single breath. This is the background for the Taittiriya Pratisakhya rule' atha satithitayam ekaprdnabluive' (TPr 5.1). It further explains the nature of the samhitdpatha, the padapatha, and the kramapatha by using the oldest terminology nirbhuja, pratrnna, and ubhayam antarena respectively. 12 Thereby, they arrived at the rules to form Sp based on the Pp. It classifies the sounds into two main categories as vowels (svara) and consonants (vyaiijana). It further groups them as sparta (contact sounds), ghosa (voiced) usman (spirants or hissing sounds). In addition to these for the first time, Hrasva Mandukeya recognizes the class of the antahsthas i.e., of the semivowels.

    The main contribution of the text seems to be in identifying the similarity of human phonetic apparatus with that of musical instruments. It calls the human phonetic apparatus daivi vina (divine lute) and says that the manusi vina i.e., lute invented by human beings is modeled on the divine one and further shows the similarity probably by taking into consideration three factors energy, oscillation, and resonance as in any musical instrument the sound is produced because of this three-factor. To quote the text verbatim,

  • CONTENTS

     

    Preface                                                           vii

     

    Introduction

     

    1.0.

    The Oral Tradition and the Pathas

    1-2

    1.2.

    The Dawn of Indian Phonetics

    2-4

    1.3.

    The Laksana Texts

    4

    1.4.

    The S iksas

    5

    1.5.

    The Pratisakhyas & Their Contributions

    5-15

    1.6.

    The TPr and its Commentaries

    15-18

    1.7.

    The Laksanacandrika

    18-19

    1.8.

    The Critical Apparatus

    19-22

    1 .9.

    The Author

    23-24

    1.10.

    The LC and the Siksa Literature

    24

    1.11.

    The LC and the Atreya Siksa

    25-33

    1.12.

    The LC and the Mahesvara Siksa

    33-41

     

    Laksanacandrika

     

  • CONTENTS

    Anuvaka 1                                                                          45-55

    Anuvaka 2                                                                          56-63

    Anuvaka 3                                                                          64-69

    Anuvaka 4                                                                          70-80

    Anuvaka 5                                                                           81-89

    Anuvaka 6                                                                          90-94

    Anuvaka 7                                                                          95-97

    Anuvaka 8                                                                         98-106

    Anuvaka 9                                                                        107-112

    Anuvaka 10                                                                      113-117

    Anuvaka 11                                                                       118-123

    Anuvaka 12                                                                       124-127

    Anuvaka 13                                                                       128-132

    Anuvaka 14                                                                       133-141

    Anuvaka 15                                                                       142-144

    Anuvaka 16                                                                       145-150

    Anuvaka 17                                                                        151-152

    Anuvaka 18                                                                        153-154

    Anuvaka 1                                                                           155-156

    Anuvaka 20                                                                        157-159

    Anuvaka 21                                                                         160-166

    Anuvaka 22                                                                         167-176

    Anuvaka 23                                                                         177-180

    Anuvaka 24                                                                         181-188

    Select Bibliography                                                         189-191

    Appendix I-Sutra Index                                                   192-215

    Appendix II-The LC and the Tribhasyaratna            216-221

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