Re: [INDOLOGY] vekurañja, Turner's article

[Dan Lusthaus]

Once again, I am grateful for these additional sources and suggestions.

To perhaps close out this lapse into obsession, a final observation on the term juxu as used in Buddhist translations. While searching for appearances of juxu that have extant Indic parallels, I found the following.

The Chinese tr. of Dharmapāda:
《法句經》卷2〈33 利養品〉：
「芭蕉以實死，　　竹蘆實亦然，
　駏驉坐[25]妊死，　　士以貪自喪。
　如是貪無利，　　當知從癡生，
　愚為此害賢，　　首領分于地。」(CBETA, T04, no. 210, p. 571, b28-c2)
[25]妊＝住【聖】。

Verbatim rendering of that verse in the Chinese tr. of the Udānavarga:
《出曜經》卷14〈14 利養品〉：
「芭蕉以實死，　　竹蘆實亦然，
　駏驉坐妊死，　　士以貪自喪。」(CBETA, T04, no. 212, p. 687, b5-6)

and again, the same verse, this time with prose commentary, at
《出曜經》卷15〈14 利養品〉：
「芭蕉以實死，　　竹蘆實亦然，
　駏驉坐妊死，　　士以貪自喪。」
芭蕉以實死者，皮皮相裹葉葉相連，欲求其實終不可得，彼樹常宜，根生一芽樹便輒死，竹蘆實亦然。是故說，芭蕉以實死。竹蘆實亦然也。」(CBETA, T04, no. 212, p. 688, b23-28)

The corresponding Udāna-varga passage has aśvatarīṃ (f. accusative) where 駏驉 juxu appears in Chinese.

phalaṃ vai kadaliṃ hanti phalaṃ veṇuṃ phalaṃ naḍam |
satkāraḥ kāpuruṣaṃ hanti svagarbho 'śvatarīṃ yathā ||
yāvad eva hy anarthāya jñāto bhavati bāliśaḥ |
hanti bālasya śuklāṃśaṃ mūrdhānaṃ cāsya pātayet ||
(Satkaravarga Udāna-varga 13, Bernhard 1965, 13.1)

I don’t believe there is a Pali counterpart to these verses in the Dhammapada.

The Sanghabhedavastu of the Vinayavastvagama of the Mulasarvastivadin (= Vastu 17 of the Vinayavastu) cites the verse pair almost verbatim 
(differences: kāpuruṣaṃ > puruṣaṃ; mūrdhānaṃ > mūrdhno; cāsya pātayet > ’py asya nipātayat)

phalaṃ vai kadalīṃ hanti phalaṃ veṇuṃ phalaṃ naḍam |
satkāraḥ puruṣaṃ hanti svagarbho ’śvatarīṃ yathā ||
yāvad eva hy anarthāya jñāto bhavati bāliśaḥ |
hanti bālasya śuklāṃsaṃ mūrdhno ’py asya nipātayat ||

A related Tibetan verse treats aśvatarī as a female mule:

|| dre'u mo rang gi mngal gyis dang ||
'dam bu smyig ma 'bras bus dang ||
chu śing 'bras bus phung pa ltar ||
pho bśal bkur stis phung bar 'gyur ||

ji srid blun po mchod byas pa ||
de srid rab tu brlag par 'gyur ||
khyis pa'i dkar po'i cha 'grib cing ||
de yi spyi bo'ang nges par nyams ||
-
dre’u = mule, young bear (!)
dre'u mo rang gi mngal gyis = a mule’s womb
==

But curiously, where the Pali Dhammapada (322; 23.3) has

Varam assatarā dantā, 
ājānīyā ca sindhavā;
Kuñjarā ca mahānāgā,
attadanto tato varaṃ.

“Excellent are well-trained mules,
and well-bred Sindh horses,
and elephants with large tusks.
Better than these is someone well restrained.”

(varam = excellent, assatarā = mule, dantā = well trained)

The Chinese counterparts mention 新馳 “swift Sindh horse” (= sindhavā), and elephant (kuñjara, 象), but omit any mention of mule (or hinny).

《法句經》卷2〈31 象喻品〉：
「雖為常調，如彼新馳，亦最善象，不如自調。」
CBETA, T04, no. 210, p. 570, b13-14)

Also:
《出曜經》卷19〈20 馬喻品〉：
「雖為常調，　　如彼新馳，　　亦最善象，　不如自調」
(CBETA, T04, no. 212, p. 712, a20-21)

A slightly different translation, semantically identical.
《法集要頌經》卷2〈19 馬喻品〉：
「雖為常調伏，　　如彼新馳馬，
　亦如善龍象，　　不如自調者。
」(CBETA, T04, no. 213, p. 786, c17-19)

Which corresponds to Udānavarga 19.7:
Udānavarga 19.7 Aśva

yoyo hy aśvaṃ damayej jānyam 
ājāneyaṃ ca saindhavam 
kuñjaraṃ vā mahānāgam 
ātmā dāntas tato varam

Like the Chinese, this Udānavarga verse only mentions a horse (aśva) that is well-trained (damayet), of good breed (ājāneya) from Sindh (saindhava), the elephant (kuñjara), etc., but makes no mention of mule or hinny.

Margaret Cone’s Patna edition of the Dharmapada, however, more closely parallels the Pali, and mentions the mule (assatara = Skt. aśvatara) <>:

Patna 91 [6.8] Śoka

varam assatarā dāntā
ājāneyā ca sendhavā |
kuñjarā va mahānāgā
āttā dānto tato varaṃ ||

Final note: PTS Pali-Eng Dictionary on assatara:

1) Assatara (p. 90) [Vedic aśvatara, aśva + compar. suffix tara in function of "a kind of", thus lit. a kind of horse, cp. Lat. matertera a kind of mother. i. e. aunt] a mule Dh 322 = DhA i.213; DhA iv.4 (= vaḷavāya gadrabhena jāta); J iv.464 (kambojake assatare sudante; imported from Cambodia); vi.342. — f. assatarī a she -- mule Vin ii.188; S i.154; ii.241; A ii.73; Miln 166. -- assatarī -- ratha a chariot drawn by she -- mules Vv 203, 208 (T. assatarī ratā) = 438; Pv i.111 (= assatariyutta ratha PvA 56); J vi.355.

Dan



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