[INDOLOGY] Examples of very ambiguous devanagari Sanskrit sentences

[Madhav Deshpande]

Different interpretations of the Bhagavadgita verses by different
commentators often are a result of different ways of splitting the words.
A good example is: nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ.  This is
interpreted by Śaṅkara to mean that there is no bhāva for asat, and there
is no abhāva for sat.  Other commentators have read the line differently by
punctuating it in a different way: nāsato vidyate 'bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate
sataḥ : There is no abhāva for either sat or asat.  The phrase
traiguṇyaviṣayā vedaḥ nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna has similar different
readings.  One reading says that the Vedas have the three guṇas as their
domain (viṣaya), but, O Arjuna, free yourself from these three guṇas.  If I
remember correctly, Madhva says traiguṇya-viṣa-yā vedāḥ : traiguṇyam eva
viṣam, tad yāpayanti apagamayanti.

Madhav Deshpande

On Mon, Feb 9, 2015 at 3:10 AM, Elliot Stern <emstern at verizon.net> wrote:

> Here’s an example as explained in nyāyakaṇikā:
>
> yathā śveto dhāvatītyekasmādeva vākyādarthadvayamavagamyate śuklo
> nirṇektīti ca kauleyaka ito drutaṃ  gacchatīti ca
>
>
>
> Elliot M. Stern
> 552 South 48th Street
> Philadelphia, PA 19143-2029
> United States of America
> telephone: 215-747-6204
> mobile: 267-240-8418
> emstern at verizon.net
>
> On 08 Feb  2015, at 15:25, Matthew Kapstein <mkapstei at uchicago.edu> wrote:
>
> well, there's always the famous prahelikaa verse:
> *eko**nā* *viṃśati* *strīṇāṃ* *snānārthaṃ* *sarayūṃ* *gatāḥ* | *viṃśati*
> *pratiyātāḥ* *ca* *eko* *vyāghreṇa*
> *bhakṣitaḥ*
> where it all changes if you read:
> *eko** nā*
>
> Matthew
>
> Matthew Kapstein
> Directeur d'études,
> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
>
> Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies,
> The University of Chicago
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-- 
Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor of Sanskrit and Linguistics
Department of Asian Languages and Cultures
202 South Thayer Street, Suite 6111
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1608, USA


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