[INDOLOGY] Two terms

Wed Sep 14 10:49:59 UTC 2016

> the word vāḷa means predators in other contexts too

Dear Petra,

Are there any contexts in which vāḷa could mean serpents?

Best,

Artur Karp

2016-09-14 10:51 GMT+02:00 petra kieffer-pülz <kiepue at t-online.de>:

> Dear Artur,
>
> the Sinhala Thūpavaṃsaya has been translated by S. Berkwitz, The
> Enshrining of the Relics.
> On p. 131f. you'll find the translation of this passage as follows:
>
> "Dear boy! The enshrining of the relics has been done by King Ajātaśatru.
> Create a suitable defense for them." The deity Viśvakarma, who heard those
> words, came and prepared a device outfitted with figures of wild beasts,
> and created a device in the relic chamber out of wooden forms that held
> shining swords of crystal and that whirled around with a speed equal to
> that of the wind."
>
> By the way the word vāḷa means predators in other contexts too. Thus we
> have diwans (pallaṅka) the feet of which are decorated with figures of
> beast of prey (Vin IV 299,21f.).
>
> Best,
> Petra Kieffer-Pülz
>
> Am 14.09.2016 um 08:45 schrieb Artur Karp:
>
> Dear List,
>
> Would anyone take pity on me and translate this bit of the Sinhalese text
> for me?
>
> [Sent by Rolf Heinrich Koch:]
>
> "daruva, Ajātaśatru rajjuruvan visin dhātu nidhānaya karavana lada, topi
> da īṭa sudusu ārakṣāvak karav" yi kiya.
> e bas äsū Viśvakam divyaputra avut vyālarūpa yukta yantrayak yodā daṇḍin
> neḷā karana lada dūpayan dhātu garbhayehi ävāṇa puhupat kaḍugena
> vānavēgayak hā samāna vēgayen sisārā divannā vū
> yantrayak mavā,...
>
> Sinhala Thūpavaṃsaya (2007) p. 109sq.
>
> In advance, etc.
>
> I would be especially grateful for the meaning of vyālarūpa -  as it is
> understood in the text: in the form of ferocius animal(s) [like tigers or
> lions] or serpent(s)?
>
>
> Artur
>
>
>
> 2016-09-12 17:19 GMT+02:00 Rolf Heinrich Koch <rolfheiner.koch at gmail.com>:
>
>> I am just working on Sinhalese sources of the Buddhacarita.
>>
>> Regarding *vāḷasaṅghātayantan t*he Sinhala Thūpavaṃsaya reads:
>>
>>
>> "daruva, Ajātaśatru rajjuruvan visin dhātu nidhānaya karavana lada, topi
>> da īṭa sudusu ārakṣāvak karav" yi kiya.
>> e bas äsū Viśvakam divyaputra avut vyālarūpa yukta yantrayak yodā daṇḍin
>> neḷā karana lada dūpayan dhātu garbhayehi ävāṇa puhupat kaḍugena
>> vānavēgayak hā samāna vēgayen sisārā divannā vū
>> yantrayak mavā,...
>>
>> Sinhala Thūpavaṃsaya (2007) p. 109sq.
>>
>> Best
>>
>> Heiner
>>
>>
>> www.rolfheinrichkoch.wordpress.com
>>
>> Am 12.09.2016 um 15:03 schrieb Seishi Karashima:
>>
>> Dear colleagues,
>>
>> Almost identical passages are found in the *Thūpavaṃsa*: *The chronicle
>> of the Thūpa and the Thūpavaṃsa: Being a Translation and Edition of
>> Vācissaratthera’s Thūpavaṃsa*, by N.A. Jayawickrama, London 1971: Luzac
>> (Sacred Books of the Buddhists / Pali Text Society, v. 28; Unesco
>> Collection of Representative Works), pp. 182f.
>>
>> Jayawickrama translated the passages in question as follows:
>>
>> Sakka, the king of the deities addressed Vissakamma: 'Ajatasattu, my
>> dear, has done the enshrining of the relics ; you provide protection
>> there', and despatched him. He came and set up *a contraption with a
>> number of figures of ferocious animals* and setting up inside the relic
>> chamber (another contraption) which made the wooden figures bearing crystal
>> coloured swords revolve with the speed of the wind, he had it all joined
>> to one pin, had a rampart of granite in the form of a 'brick-hall' 6 built,
>> and having it covered on top with a single (stone-slab) had earth thrown in
>> and the ground levelled and had a granite thiipa established upon it. (*ibid.
>> *p. 46).
>>
>> Cf. also *Dīghanikāyaṭṭhakathāṭīkā Līnatthavaṇṇanā*, ed. Lily De Silva,
>> London 1970: Luzac, vol. 2, p. 246, ll. 14ff. *vāḷasaṅghātayantan ti **kakkhalaṃ
>> paṭibhayadassanaṃ aññamaññapaṭib{h}addhagamanāditāya saṅghāṭitaṃ
>> rūpakayantaṃ** yojesi. ten’ āha “kaṭṭharūpakānī”ti ādi*.
>>
>> With best regards,
>> Seishi Karashima
>>
>> 2016-09-12 21:42 GMT+09:00 Madhav Deshpande <mmdesh at umich.edu>:
>>
>>> Hi Artur,
>>>
>>>      I checked Google Images for "Nagayantra", and there are several
>>> interesting diagrams and designs for such Yantras, some of which are
>>> evidently found in Thai Buddhist temples.  Here is a link:
>>>
>>> http://www.sak-yant.com/archive/108yant/payanakarach/yantpay
>>> anakarach.jpg
>>>
>>> Madhav
>>>
>>> On Mon, Sep 12, 2016 at 8:32 AM, Artur Karp < <karp at uw.edu.pl>
>>> karp at uw.edu.pl> wrote:
>>>
>>>> > contraption
>>>>
>>>> :)
>>>>
>>>> any image of ?
>>>>
>>>> 2016-09-12 14:29 GMT+02:00 Madhav Deshpande < <mmdesh at umich.edu>
>>>> mmdesh at umich.edu>:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Artur,
>>>>>
>>>>>      It probably refers to some contraption surrounded by a host of
>>>>> serpents.  Serpents as guardians of hidden underground treasures is a
>>>>> reasonably common idea in Indian literature.
>>>>>
>>>>> Madhav
>>>>>
>>>>> On Mon, Sep 12, 2016 at 8:24 AM, Artur Karp < <karp at uw.edu.pl>
>>>>> karp at uw.edu.pl> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Dear Madhav,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The PTS,s Pali-English Dict.:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *Vāḷa* - [cp. late Sk. vyāḍa, see Geiger, *P. Gr*. § 54⁶] I. a snake
>>>>>> Vism 312 (so read for *vaḷa*).- 2. a beast of prey [...] *vāḷa-miga*,
>>>>>> a beast of prey, predaceous animal, like tiger, leopard, etc. [...]
>>>>>>
>>>>>> When in search for the Elixir of immortality Garuda enters the
>>>>>> underworld, he kills *two serpents* hidden under the [eternally]
>>>>>> revolving wheel. (Mbh. I, 29. 3-9).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> When the relics of the Buddha are hidden by Ajatasattu in the
>>>>>> underground chamber, Vissakamma places over them, for their defence the
>>>>>> [eternally] revolving *vāḷa–saṅghāṭa–yanta.*
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If *vāḷa* would mean "snake, serpent", then this could be one of the
>>>>>> tropes linking both the narrations.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *Yanta *means "contrivance, artifice, instrument, machine,
>>>>>> mechanism" - in what way could it be constructed/pegged together - using
>>>>>> serpents? Ataching it to serpents? Giving it a serpentine look?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Artur
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
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