Endowments for Vedic studies in the Karandai plates (Re: "kaapya-" vs. "kaapeya-" (Re: Actual use of gotra (=vr.ddha) and yuvan

Wed Apr 15 11:24:24 UTC 2009

Dear Arlo,

I cannot answer your question regarding Atharvavedic brahmins
because what I find in the 1984 Karandai plates volume is:

-- a list of 1083 brahmins to whom lands where distributed (for creating 
an /agrahāra/). For each brahmin receiving a share, the grant records 
his gotra, his sūtra, his place of birth and his name. The grant was 
made during the 8th year of the king's reign (supposed to have started 
in 1012 A.D.)

-- a description of the endowments for Vedic studies: on that occasion 
Atharva veda is mentionned but specific individuals are not mentionned. 
(See below).

K.G. Krishnan, the editor, describes the endowment in the following way 
(p.63):

<Begin Quote>
Endowments for Vedic studies were also made in the following manner: for 
Mīmāṁsa - 5 /vēli/, for Vēdanta - 5 /vēli/ and for Vyākaraṇa - 4 /vēli/ 
-- these three are described as /bhaṭṭavṛitti/. The following described 
as /kiḍaippuṟam/ (/ghaṭikaippuṟam/) get each 2 /vēli/: 1) Paviḻiyam, 2) 
Taittiriyam 3) Vājasanēyam, 4) Chandōgam (Chhandōgam), 5) Atharvam, 6) 
Talavakāram and 7) Rūpāvatāram. Paviḻiyam derived from Bahvṛicha stands 
for Ṛigvēda.Taittirīyam and Vājasanēyam represent respectively the 
Kṛishṇa and Śukla Yajurvēda. Chhandōgam and Talavakāram are of Sāmavēda. 
Rūpāvatāra is a work on grammar stated to have been composed by 
Bhaṭṭanārāyaṇa and Dharmakīrti [FOOTNOTE: /History of Sanskrit 
Literature/ (M. Krishnamachariar), p. 733, note 8] Two /vēli/ of land 
were assigned to the person teaching the recital of /Smṛitimūla-grantha/ 
and to the person reciting Bhāratam.

<End Quote>

I hope this is useful

Best wishes

-- Jean-Luc Chevillard (Paris)

Arlo Griffiths a écrit :
> Dear Jean-Luc,
> I do not have the bibliographic resources at hand here to investigate the matter much further, but I can report that the gotra-name Kāpyasa (sic) is one among the handful of gotra-names current nowadays among the Atharvavedic brahmins of Orissa. I don't know how things stood for Pāṇini and the pāṇinīyas, but at least the Atharvavedic tradition itself is replete with self-references as Āṅgirasa.
> For the complete list of gotra-names prevalent in the modern Orissan Atharvavedic community, see the article "A List of Paippalāda-AtharvaVedin Settlements", contributed by M. Witzel and myself to Abhijit Ghosh (ed.), Ātharvaṇá (A collection of essays on the AtharvaVeda with special reference to its Paippalāda tradition), Kolkata: Sanskrit Book Depot, 2002, pp. 167-179. For a sample of medieval Atharvavedic gotra-names, see A. Schmiedchen, "Epigraphical Evidence on the History of Atharvavedic Brahmins", in A. Griffiths & A. Schmiedchen (eds.), The Atharvaveda and its Paippalādaśākhā, Aachen: Shaker Verlag, 2007.
> I had never realized the illustrious authority upon which the name Kāpyasa ultimately rests, having always considered it a surprising metathesis from one of the other common Atharvavedic gotra-names, viz. Kāśyapa, pronounced Kāsyapa in Orissa. I now guess it is rather a contamination of Kāpya with Kāśyapa, or derived from a genitive form Kāpyasya [gotra].
>
> As I noticed last fall, the Karandai plates also happen to list Atharvavedic brahmins, whose mention is otherwise very rare in South Indian inscriptions (see again Schmiedchen's paper, in which the evidence of the Karandai plates had regrettably escaped attention). Do any of them bear the gotra-affiliation Kāpya?
> Arlo GriffithsÉcole française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO)Jalan Ampera III, no. 26Jakarta Selatan 12550Indonesia
>
> ----------------------------------------
>   
>> Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:10:18 +0200
>> From: jean-luc.chevillard at UNIV-PARIS-DIDEROT.FR
>> Subject: "kaapya-" vs. "kaapeya-" (Re: Actual use of gotra (=vr.ddha) and yuvan
>> To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
>>
>> Dear Professor Cardona,
>>
>> thank you very much for this clarification. I shall try to find the 1963
>> book by V.S. Agrawal.
>>
>> I have a related question, concerning another sūtra, namely PS_4,1.107:
>>
>> kapi-bodhād āṅgirase || PS_4,1.107 || {{Vasu: "The affix 'yañ' comes in
>> the sense of a Gotra descendant, after the words /kapi/ and /bodha/,
>> when the special descendants of the family of the Angiras are meant."}}
>> {{Boehtlingk: "Von /kapi/ und /bodha/, wenn ein Âṅgirasa gemeint ist"}}
>> {{Renou: "(Le suffixe secondaire 'yañ' est valable pour former un
>> patronymique restreint) après les noms /kapiḥ/ et /bodhaḥ/ quand il
>> s'agit du clan des Aṅgiras." [NOTE EXPLICATIVE: /kāpyaḥ/ 'petit-fils de
>> kapi, des Aṅgiras', /baudhyaḥ/ 'petit-fils de Bodha']}}
>>
>> I see in the 1953 book by John Brough (/The Early Brahmanical System of
>> Gotra and Pravara/, Cambridge University Press), on p. 30 (fn. 1) and on
>> p. 33, that the "kapis" oscillate between the the /Kevala Angirases/ and
>> the /Bharadvājas/ (exogamous unit VII, subset of "Aṅgirases" [according
>> to page 29: "both the Gautamas and the Bhāradvājas [are classified]
>> under the Angirases"]).
>>
>> I see in the notes by Vasu (p.668 in the 1988 reprint) that the
>> specification "āṅgirase" (inside PS_4,1.107) seems to be a criterion for
>> choosing either the form /kāpyaḥ/ (if Angiras) or /kāpēyaḥ/ (if not
>> Angiras?).
>>
>> Is it known in which part of India the form /kāpyaḥ/ was found and in
>> which part of India the form /kāpēyaḥ/ was found?
>>
>> I am especially interested in the case of Tamil Nadu brahmins, because
>> the inside /Karandai Tamil Sangam Plates/ (of king Rajendrachola I)
>> [Archaeological survey of India, 1984, K.G. Krishnan (ed.)], 10
>> different brahmins (among the 1083 brahmins who are enumerated) have
>> "kapi" as their gotra, namely the Brahmins numbered 167, 201, 225, 237,
>> 239, 306, 439, 906, 937 & 954.
>>
>> I would be grateful for any comment on actual usage.
>>
>> -- Jean-Luc Chevillard (Paris)
>>
>>
>> George Cardona a écrit :
>>     
>>> Dear colleague, The "suutras" are clearly not part of the original A.s.taadhyaayii text as known to Kaatyaayana and Patanjali. *4.1.166: v.rddhasya ca puujaayaam is vaarttika 3 to 4.1.163 (jiivati tu va.m'sye yuvaa. *4.1.167: yuuna's ca kutsaayaam is included as part of the suutra text of the Kaa'sikaav.rtti but is identified as not part of the original text by Kaiya.ta in his Pradiipam (Rohtak ed. III.617) on 4.1.162 (apatyam pautraprabh.rti gotram) vt. 2 (jiivadva.m'sya.m ca kutsitam), where Kaiya.ta cites yuuna's ca kutsaayaam and remarks that this statement shows the suutra in question does not stem from the sage: yuuna's ca kutsaayaam iti suutram anaar.sam iti vacanam. In his Bhaa.sya on 4.1.162 vt. 2 (Kielhorn-Abhyankar ed. II.265.5-8), Patanjali remarks that someone whose father is still alive but is independent is addressed using a gotra term; such an offspring bears the technical name 'gotra' out of scorn, as when one addresses one who should be called gaargyaaya.na (using a yuvan term) is addressed as gargya. Conversely, an elder who rspresents his line and is properly referred to using a gotra term like gaargya may affectionately be addressed using a yuvan term like gaargyaaya.na, now used as an honorific, since youth is something desirable (Bh. on 4.1.163 vt. 3, II.265.23-25). There is a very old but still informative pamphlet by V. S. Agrawal, 'Gotras in Paa.nini'(Varanasi, 1963), but I don't know of a detailed study of the usage in the domains you mention. I hope this helps. George Cardona
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>
>>>       
>>>> From: Jean-Luc Chevillard 
>>>> Sent: Apr 9, 2009 4:47 AM
>>>> To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
>>>> Subject: Actual use of gotra (=vr.ddha) and yuvan
>>>>
>>>> Dear list members,
>>>>
>>>> I would like to have information regarding the actual use of /gotra/ (or
>>>> /vṛddha/ ?) and /yuvan/ for referring to individuals or for adressing them.
>>>>
>>>> I would like to have a clear understanding of the purport of the
>>>> following two sūtra-s (found among the sūtra-s of Pāṇini but said to be
>>>> in fact vārttika-s):
>>>>
>>>> vṛddhasya ca pūjāyām || PS_4,1.166 || {{Vasu: "The Gotra is sometimes
>>>> optionally regarded as Yuvan, when respectful reference to him is
>>>> intended"}} {{Boehtlingk: "Auch statt des Geschlechtsnamens kann man das
>>>> zweite Patronymicum brauchen, wenn man Jemand ehren will."}} {{Renou:
>>>> "(Le nom technique de /yuvan/) peut être le substitut (du patronymique
>>>> restreint) dit /vṛddha/ quand il y a intention d'honorer."}}
>>>>
>>>> yūnaś ca kutsāyām || PS_4,1.167 || {{Vasu: "The Yuvan is optionally
>>>> spoken of as Gotra, when contemptuous reference to him is intended"}}
>>>> {{Boehtlingk: "Auch den Juvan kann man mit dem Geschlechtsnamen
>>>> bezeichnen, wenn man ihn schmähen will"}} {{Renou: "(Le nom technique de
>>>> /vṛddha/) peut être le substitut du nom de /yuvan/ quand il y a
>>>> intention de critiquer"}}
>>>>
>>>> Has anybody written (in English, or French, or German, ...) on the
>>>> actual use as seen in literature, in inscriptions, etc.?
>>>>
>>>> I would be grateful for any bibliographical pointer or for comments.
>>>>
>>>> -- Jean-Luc Chevillard (Paris)
>>>>
>>>>         
>>>       
>
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