codes

[leona anderson]

>Thanks for your reply.  I was thinking more along the lines of
>methods of encryption employed to ensure that information remained
>within a particular group.  this could be for military purposes, of
>course, but also in the context of transmitting information within
>particular religous groups (I guess I am thinking monastic here).
>Actually, any sort of "secret" information.  The Kamasutra uses the
>term mlecchita vikalpaa and advises women acquire it to keep secret
>their private liasons (this is number 45 in the list of 64 arts).  I
>have yet to check this citation but it comes from siman Singh's book
>"Code."(p. 9)  In any case, this is the sort of material that I am
>looking for.

You raise an important point, though, re: Sanskrit/oral
traditions/etc.  thanks leona anderson





>I am not sure if this is what you are asking, but there is one thing used
>very extensively, that is a small circle superscript that indicates a word
>(assumed known by the reader) precedes the following text. Monier Williams
>and Kane's History of Dharma Shastra also use codes/abbreviations
>extensively, and you can find them listed there.
>
>There are also "key" technical words used in virtually every branch of
>literature that have specific unique meanings for that piece of literature,
>just as you find in technical literature in English. Perhaps one of the
>basic misinterpretations of Sanskrit is that it is almost ALL "technical"
>literature referring to specific things assumed known by the reader. This is
>quite different than a more "spoken" type of language that has extensive
>literature like newspapers and novels where there is kind of "general"
>vocabulary that almost everyone knows.
>
>Claude Setzer cssetzer at mum.edu
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "leona anderson" <leona.anderson at UREGINA.CA>
>To: <INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK>
>Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2000 3:29 PM
>Subject: codes
>
>
>>  I am doing some research on the use of codes in the Indian
>>  subcontinent and would appreciate any information on
>  > codes/cryptography/ciphers,  etc as found in Sanskrit literature.
>  > many thanks, leona anderson
>  >