Tibeten~Sanskrit Idiom Query

[Dorji Wangchuk]

Dear Stephen, dear colleagues,
Assuming that the Sanskrit equivalent of *nyan du mi/ma btub pa* is not recorded in Negi’s Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary, which I do not have at hand at the moment and which you may have already consulted, I am tempted to suggest *aśravaṇīya* or *aśrāvya,* that is, not in the sense of *inaudible* but rather in the sense of *unfit to be heard* (MW, s.v. aśrāvya). Compare also MW (s.v. śravaṇīya), which has also the meaning of *worth hearing.* The adjective in Tibetan seems to mean precisely *unworthy of hearing or listening to.*
Best wishes,

Dorji

_________________________

Prof. Dr. Dorji Wangchuk
Universität Hamburg 
Asien-Afrika-Institut
Abteilung für Kultur & Geschichte Indiens & Tibets 
Alsterterrasse 1
D-20354 Hamburg 

Tel.: +49-40-42838-3383
Fax:  +49-40-42838-6944


On 22.06.2011, at 11:22, Stephen Hodge wrote:

> Dear Tibetanist Colleagues,
> 
> I have the expression "nyan-du mi-btub/ma-btub" which occurs about a dozen or so times in the Kanjur, particularly in the 'Dul-ba section.  Has anybody come across or can suggest a reliable / attested Sanskrit origin for this ~ contextually it seems to mean "disregard / ignore" something said.  I have looked in all the obvious sources, but cannot find anything.
> 
> Many thanks,
> Stephen Hodge 



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