[INDOLOGY] Prādyuṇaka/-ika

[Martin Gansten]

I'm sorry to harp on about this, but perhaps I was too hasty when I wrote:

> It is, of course, entirely possible that someone at some point misread 
> prāghuṇika as prādyuṇika (though it would have to have been someone 
> ignorant of the former word, like myself) and that the mistake was 
> then copied [...] it is possible that the mystery word should not mean 
> 'frequent' after all, but rather the next thing discussed, _which 
> would be someone dear or connected to the querent. But I can't see 
> prāghuṇika fitting that sense either, at least not from its etymology_. 

I see now that Turner actually suggests prāhuṇa to be the more 
correct/original form, related to the idea of hospitality, with the -gh- 
being a result of influence from a different root. That does seem to 
increase the probability of prāghuṇaka/-ika being the original word 
after all, used in the sense of 'someone welcome' rather than just 
'wanderer' or (as MW suggests) 'one who goes forth deviously' (!). If 
so, the word must then have been misread as prādyuṇika and eventually 
deteriorated into prāyaṇika, etc.

This solution seems attractive, but it does presuppose that Turner is 
right about the word having connotations of welcome, hospitality and 
even kinship (vernacular meanings include 'bridegroom' and 'daughter's 
husband'). Romain Garnier, in a paper published in JAOS 133.1, seems to 
think so: '[...] /prāhuṇa- /et /prāhuṇaka-/. Ces deux dernières formes 
sont assurément les meilleures [...]'. The solution also seems to 
suggest that the word was unusual enough not to be understood by the 
copyists, at least in some regions.

Best wishes,
Martin
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