tad yathA

[McComas Taylor]

Dear Friends

May I ask for guidance again?

After the invocation, PUrNabhadra's PaJcatantra opens with the phrase `tad
yathAnuzrUyate'. `tad yathA' reminds me of the introduction to certain
mantras. Can one argue that by beginning the text with these words, its
creators are (consciously or unconsciously) using a scriptural formulation
that lends the text a particular authority? Is this stretching the point?
How common is `tad yathA' as an opening device in Sanskrit lit? Does it add
authoritative gravitas to the discourse, or it is just a textual device?

Yours in gratitude

McComas