Re: [INDOLOGY] Translation of yaṣṭihastaya

[Nityanand Misra]

The *Viśvaprakāśa* lists one of the meanings of *yaṣṭi* as flagstaff (
*dhvajadaṇḍa*, as opposed to a simple staff or *daṇḍa*).
*yaṣṭirhāralatāśastrabhedayordhvajadaṇḍake* (*ṭadvikam*, verse 23)

Unless a usage or *Kośa* citation can be traced, the meaning of “sacrifice”
given by Böhtlingk for the word *yaṣṭi *needs to be taken with a grain of
salt. The Nyāsa, a commentary on the Kāśikā, has the example as *kāmiṣṭim* and
not *kāṃ yaṣṭiṃ *(see attached) under A 3.3.110. For the “sacrifice”
meaning, one needs a suffix in *bhāva. ktin *is such a suffix, but due to A
6.1.15 (*vacisvapiyajādīnāṃ kiti*), *yaj* + *ktin *will result in *iṣṭi*.
It is possible that there was a scribal error or an error on part of
Böhtlingk which led to *kāmiṣṭim* being mistaken as *kāṃ yaṣṭiṃ *in the
commentary he referred to.

The *Śabdakalpadruma* has this to say on the derivation of *yaṣṭi*:
*yaj* + *bāhulakāt
tiḥ*, *iti uṇādivṛttau ujjvaladattaḥ* (4.179). This makes sense, as with
*tiḥ* the *samprasāraṇa* by A 6.1.15 would not take place.

On 29 October 2016 at 23:35, Harry Spier <hspier.muktabodha at gmail.com>
wrote:

>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Corinna Wessels-Mevissen <corinnawessels at yahoo.de>
> Date: Sat, Oct 29, 2016 at 12:31 AM
> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Translation of yaṣṭihastaya
> To: Harry Spier <hspier.muktabodha at gmail.com>
>
>
>
>
> Hello Harry Spier,
>
> I did my PhD on the early iconography of the aṣṭadikpālas (book is
> available on Academia: https://www.academia.edu/30295
> 35/The_Gods_of_the_Directions_in_Ancient_India_Origin_and_
> Early_Development_in_Art_and_Literature_until_c._1000_A.D._), and Vāyu is
> very often seen as holding a flagstaff. This is in fact his most prominent
> attribute. As far as I remember, *yaṣṭi* was not mentioned in those
> texts, but only dhvaja or patākā, and the respective images show the god
> with a banner – mostly with the flag portion being a long streamer.
>
> Hope this helps somehow.
>
> Corinna Wessels-Mevissen
> ------------------------------
> *Von:* Harry Spier <hspier.muktabodha at gmail.com>
> *An:* Indology <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Gesendet:* 2:22 Samstag, 29.Oktober 2016
> *Betreff:* [INDOLOGY] Translation of yaṣṭihastaya
>
> Dear list members:
>
> A gāyatrī mantra mantra to Vāyu is:
> sarvaprāṇāya vidmahe
> yaṣṭihastāya dhīmahi
> tan no vāyuḥ pracodayāt
> I've seen a translation of yaṣṭihastāya as "holding the mace" but are
> statues or pictoral representations of Vāyu, and if so  with a mace?
> but Monier-Williams also  has a meaning of yaṣṭi as "sacrificing" which he
> says comes from a commentator on Panini 3-3-110 .
>  By any chance could someone point out the commentator and point me to the
> passage MW refers to.
> Also based on that definition of yaṣṭi does a translation of yaṣṭihastāya
> as "to the one who sacrifices with his hands" make sense. refering to the
> wind fanning the flames of the sacrifice.
> Thanks,
> Harry Spier
>
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-- 
Nityānanda Miśra
http://nmisra.googlepages.com


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