[INDOLOGY] Chinkara (a gazelle) (John Huntington)

Sun Feb 17 00:29:22 UTC 2019

[note: I had replied without modifying the subject with “RE:” I apologize
if both versions end up mailed to the list]

  The issue of the chinkara interested me, so I went first to Turner's
dictionary. Varāhamihira in his *Bṛhatsaṃhitā* mentions a *chikkara* in
85.20b, 38b, and 44a in the context of omens. The 1946 translation of
Subrahmanya Sastri and Ramakrishna Bhat makes a mess of the situation by
translating the first "musk rat (or civet cat)," the second as "a kind of
deer" (but reading a chimaeric *dhikkara*) and the third as "jackal?." But
Pañjābī *cakārā* and Hindī *ciṃkārā* (whence the English term) make very
likely that we are dealing here with the same animal. MW does give for
*chikkara* "a kind of animal" and for *chikkāra* "a kind of antelope," both
entries literally translated  from the big St. Petersburg lexicon of
Böhtlingk and Roth. Burrow ("Dravidian Studies VII," BSOAS 12 (1948), p.
379, §145) suggests a Dravidian origin for the Sanskrit word on the basis
of Kannada *cigari*.
  Nevertheless, although *chikkara*/*chikkāra* may have at some point
become the scientific Sanskrit term for the species *Gazella Bennettii*, I
feel that for general purposes the ubiquitous Sanskrit *mṛga* may have been
broad enough to encompass all the infra-order *Pecora* (deer, antelopes).
Perhaps our seeing *mṛga* as "deer" rather than as "antelope" is best seen
as the inheritance of a restrictive choice on the part of Victorian
translators? (as the mostly wrong "swan" for *haṃsa*, etc.). Common usage
Sanskrit seems to me rather sloppy in some departments of animal taxonomy,
with *pataṃga* being almost any flying insect except for the
hyper-fetishized bees (butterflies, moths, and even locusts) etc.
  In a passage of the *Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya* dealt with by Schopen (*Buddhist
Monks*, 232), instructions are given on the *dharmacakrapravartana* symbol
to be engraved on the monastery's seals ("in the middle draw the wheel, and
on both sides [draw] **mṛga*s: below the name of the owner of the monastery
should be drawn," *dbus su 'khor lo bris la glo gnyis su ri dgas 'og tu
gtsug lag khang gi bdag po'i ming bri bar bya'o*, Derge, 'Dul ba, Tha
8a6-7). The word given in the Tibetan is *ri dags* ("mountain beast") which
is the standard translation of *mṛga*. I sense that had the ancient
translators seen anything unusual like *chikkara* they would not have used
the generic term.
  I hope this is of any use!

  *namaskaromi*,

  Diego Loukota

On Sat, Feb 16, 2019 at 11:00 AM <indology-request at list.indology.info>
wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
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>    1. Chinkara (a gazelle) (John Huntington)
>    2. Re: Chinkara (a gazelle) (Olivelle, J P)
>    3. Re: Chinkara (a gazelle) (John Huntington)
>    4. Continuing my Krishna verses (Madhav Deshpande)
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: John Huntington <john.darumadera at gmail.com>
> To: Indology <indology at list.indology.info>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2019 13:27:42 -0500
> Subject: [INDOLOGY] Chinkara (a gazelle)
> Dear list members,
>
> I am working on a very modest terminology and illustrated list of animals
> that occur in Buddhism. Unfortunately one, the Chinkara a (small gazelle)
> which repeatedly appears to either side of the Dharmachakra in most
> sculptures oof the first turning, does not appear to have a verifiable
> Sanskrit name. In essence, it is the "deer" of the 'deer park' translation
> of "mṛgadava."
>
> The creature depicted does not (or *very* rarely) has branched antlers (a
> deer characteristic) but gently curving horns which it does not shed (an
> antelope gazelle characteristic).
>
> My sincere appreciation for any help or references.
>
> Best to all
>
> John
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: "Olivelle, J P" <jpo at austin.utexas.edu>
> To: John Huntington <john.darumadera at gmail.com>
> Cc: Indology <indology at list.indology.info>
> Bcc:
> Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2019 18:41:56 +0000
> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Chinkara (a gazelle)
> Hi John:
>
> Can you post a picture of the animal?
>
> Patrick
>
>
>
> On Feb 15, 2019, at 12:27 PM, John Huntington via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
> Dear list members,
>
> I am working on a very modest terminology and illustrated list of animals
> that occur in Buddhism. Unfortunately one, the Chinkara a (small gazelle)
> which repeatedly appears to either side of the Dharmachakra in most
> sculptures oof the first turning, does not appear to have a verifiable
> Sanskrit name. In essence, it is the "deer" of the 'deer park' translation
> of "mṛgadava."
>
> The creature depicted does not (or *very* rarely) has branched antlers (a
> deer characteristic) but gently curving horns which it does not shed (an
> antelope gazelle characteristic).
>
> My sincere appreciation for any help or references.
>
> Best to all
>
> John
> _______________________________________________
> INDOLOGY mailing list
> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
> indology-owner at list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing
> committee)
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> unsubscribe)
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>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: John Huntington <john.darumadera at gmail.com>
> To: "Olivelle, J P" <jpo at austin.utexas.edu>
> Cc: Indology <indology at list.indology.info>
> Bcc:
> Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2019 17:35:51 -0500
> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Chinkara (a gazelle)
> Thank you Patrick,
>
> They are a beautiful Gazelle/Antelope that is amazingly wide spread in
> India, pakistan and even in Iran. I have attached a picture on one that I
> have edited. I have travelled across most of the subcontinent and never
> seen one that I can recall
>
> On Fri, Feb 15, 2019 at 1:41 PM Olivelle, J P <jpo at austin.utexas.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi John:
>>
>> Can you post a picture of the animal?
>>
>> Patrick
>>
>>
>>
>> On Feb 15, 2019, at 12:27 PM, John Huntington via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>
>> Dear list members,
>>
>> I am working on a very modest terminology and illustrated list of animals
>> that occur in Buddhism. Unfortunately one, the Chinkara a (small gazelle)
>> which repeatedly appears to either side of the Dharmachakra in most
>> sculptures oof the first turning, does not appear to have a verifiable
>> Sanskrit name. In essence, it is the "deer" of the 'deer park' translation
>> of "mṛgadava."
>>
>> The creature depicted does not (or *very* rarely) has branched antlers
>> (a deer characteristic) but gently curving horns which it does not shed (an
>> antelope gazelle characteristic).
>>
>> My sincere appreciation for any help or references.
>>
>> Best to all
>>
>> John
>> _______________________________________________
>> INDOLOGY mailing list
>> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
>> indology-owner at list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing
>> committee)
>> http://listinfo.indology.info (where you can change your list options or
>> unsubscribe)
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Madhav Deshpande <mmdesh at umich.edu>
> To: Indology <indology at list.indology.info>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2019 06:36:42 -0800
> Subject: [INDOLOGY] Continuing my Krishna verses
> Continuing my Krishna verses
>
> तासामितस्तत: कृष्ण सरन्तीनां निरोधनम् ।
> यदि कुर्यां ततो गूढं तव पश्यामि सन्मुखम् ।।६५५।।
> [तासाम् = चित्तवृत्तीनाम्]
> O Krishna, if I could restrain these [modulations of my mind] crawling
> here and there, then I can see your hidden beautiful face.
>
> Madhav M. Deshpande
> Professor Emeritus
> Sanskrit and Linguistics
> University of Michigan
> [Residence: Campbell, California]
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