Re: [INDOLOGY] kṛtti

Thu Oct 15 14:36:36 UTC 2020

Dear Johannes and Rolf,

I am not familiar with the Vivekavilāsa aside from the bare bones facts: its author is Jinadatta Sūri (1280-1332), a Jain work I believe. So the following is offered tentatively.

This verse struck me as slightly ironic, passive-aggressively demeaning - several of the terms he uses (for which other, more respectful terms could have been employed) either have Śaivite connotations (being descriptors of Śiva), or they are allusions to animals, blood, etc. I’m not sure that kṛttiḥ kamaṇḍalur can be treated as a compound, since kṛtti is feminine and kamaṇḍalu is masculine.

Kṛtti, according to Monier-Williams, is also “the hide or skin on which the religious student sits or sleeps, (usually the skin of an antelope)” as well as “the bark of the birch tree (used for writing upon.” So it could refer to a meditation mat (an Indian zafu / zabutan); tantrics in that period might have used an animal hide for that. Or it could be a reference to the literary productivity of Buddhists.

As for kamaṇḍalu, a Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamandalu) reports “The kamandalu may be made of various materials, including metal, clay, wood and dry gourd.” It doesn’t mention leather. It also provides some detail on how the water symbolizes asceticism for Hindus, the water it contains considered amṛta. But, adding to the ironic possibilities of the verse, it also states the following:

“Buddhists pour water from the kamandalu onto the palms of people, before rituals, where the water symbolizes elixir of life.[24] It is also called bhumba.[25] Bodhisattvas like Maitreya and Avalokiteshvara are depicted carrying the kamandalu.[26][27] The kamandalu was initially imported from Brahmanical Hinduism to Buddhism, through god Brahma to Maitreya; it later was incorporated in representations of many Mahayana Buddhist deities.[28]
Jain Digambara sages use the kamandalu for storing water for "toilet purposes".[29]”

The footnotes:
24 Blau, Tatjana; Mirabai Blau (2002). Buddhist Symbols. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 256. ISBN 9781402700330. Retrieved 2008-08-21. p.225

25 Jansen, Eva Rudy; Tony Langham (1990). The Book of Buddhas. Binkey Kok. p. 110. ISBN 9789074597029. Retrieved 2008-08-21. p.28

26 Wong, Dorothy C. (2004). Chinese Steles. University of Hawaii Press. p. 226. ISBN 9780824827830. Retrieved 2008-08-21. p.93

27 Donaldson, Thomas E. (2001). Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of Orissa. Abhinav Publications. p. 792. ISBN 9788170173755. Retrieved 2008-08-21. p.195

28 Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin (1974). Acta Iranica. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-03902-5. ISBN 90-04-03902-3. Retrieved 2008-08-21. p.97

29 Jaini, Padmanabh S. (2000). Collected Papers on Jaina Studies. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 428. ISBN 9788120816916. Retrieved 2008-08-21. p.164.

Dan

> On Oct 15, 2020, at 9:53 AM, Rolf Heinrich Koch via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> 
> kṛttiḥ kamaṇḍalur:
> I guess this is a "cut" drinking vessel (made of a piece of leather).
> 
> kṛtti < 1 kṛt "cut" (Whitney roots)
> 
> There is a picture of a mendicant with his kamaṇḍalu from Ajanta (5th century CE)
> Schlingloff/Zin (2007): Saṃsāracakra p. 103 fig. 56.
> 
> Best
> 
> Heiner
> 
> Am 15.10.2020 um 14:17 schrieb Johannes Bronkhorst via INDOLOGY:
>> Dear friends,
>> 
>>  
>> The Vivekavilāsa (8.275) mentions kṛtti as one of the characteristics of Buddhist monks:
>> 
>> kṛttiḥ kamaṇḍalur mauṇḍyaṃ cīraṃ pūrvāhṇabhojanam/
>> 
>> saṃgho raktāmbaratvaṃ ca śiśriye bauddhabhikṣubhiḥ//
>> 
>> kṛtti means "skin, hide" and other such things. Does this make sense in connection with a Buddhist monk? Any help or explanation will be appreciated.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Johannes Bronkhorst
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> 
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> -- 
> Dr. Rolf Heinrich Koch
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