Manuscript glosses

[Dipak Bhattacharya]

Greetings!
As for the Paippalāda-Samhitā, corrections may indeed be found at any place near the original reading, but I do not remember having found small comments eg. the commomly found rak.sāmntrā.h above or below the line. They occur either in the left margin or in the right.
When it is not a running commentary but only occasional gloss of the vrtti type small lines may occur above the object line with some distinguishing features in late medieval Navya-Nyāya manuscripts of Bengal.
Best wishes for all
DB 
--- On Wed, 3/6/09, Michael Witzel <witzel at FAS.HARVARD.EDU> wrote:


From: Michael Witzel <witzel at FAS.HARVARD.EDU>
Subject: Re: Manuscript glosses
To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
Date: Wednesday, 3 June, 2009, 3:07 AM


Corrections are written on any margin: left, right, top or bottom and usually marked by a small cross (looks like this +), kakapada, or also some other sign(s).

This can be found from Kashmir to Comorin, whatever the script.  (Not to be confused with secondary word dividers or Vedic accents).

Sometimes also found above the word, especially as small glosses, tippani. In old MSS and in more recent ones. (I have seen it in those from c. 1150-1800, don't remember it for older ones such as the Skandapurana from Nepal, early 9th c., or Gandhara and Xinjiang MSS).

Paleontologists have discussed this before, since Buehler. A nice list is found in a local Nepalese paleography which I do not have at hand now.

Cheers,
Michael


On Jun 2, 2009, at 1:27 PM, Ashok Aklujkar wrote:

> In the name avacuur.ni/nii used for a commentary or subcommentary type, the
> intention behind using the prefix ava could originally have been to suggest
> that the glosses are written below -- below the lines or in the lower parts
> of pages. I recall seeing mss where the avacuur.ni was written in the lower
> parts of pages, but I do not recall if the mss concerned were old or recent.
> 
> The avacuur.ni/.nii type seems to have been more common among the Jains and
> in the central-western part of India (Gujarat-Rajasthan area).
> 
> My impression, however, is that corrections, additions and glosses are more
> commonly written in the left and right margins.
> 
> ashok aklujkar

============
Michael Witzel
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