[INDOLOGY] Phalashruti

[Lubin, Tim]

Dear Simon,
The form phalaśruti, with the meaning offered by Aleksandar and Andrew, is most widely used and surely the original form, but for what it is worth a certain number of texts (some mss and some editions) actually have phalastuti instead (e.g., Bhāruci’s Manuśāstravivaraṇa; the colophon the Devīmāhātmya 12; Nāradapurāṇa).  This may be a case of a gloss supplanting the glossed.
Best,
Tim

Timothy Lubin
Jessie Ball duPont Professor of Religion, and Adjunct Professor of Law
Head of the Law, Justice, and Society Program
204 Tucker Hall
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, Virginia 24450
https://timothylubin.net/
http://wlu.academia.edu/TimothyLubin
https://ssrn.com/author=930949
https://dharma.hypotheses.org/people/lubin-timothy


From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
Reply-To: "Uskokov, Aleksandar" <aleksandar.uskokov at yale.edu>
Date: Friday, November 22, 2024 at 9:49 AM
To: INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>, Simon Brodbeck <BrodbeckSP at cardiff.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Phalashruti

Dear Simon,

I don't have litterature to suggest, but phala-śruti should just mean "(direct) statement of the result," following Mīmāṁsā practice where śruti, in use, means primarily "individual statement" within the Vedic corpus, and phala is the general term for the result that a ritual or meditation is supposed to bring; for instance, the attainment of non-return in the 8th of Chāndogya is often discussed and debated as such a statement of result.

Your corruption suggestion is interesting, as Mīmāṁsakas often--but not always--interpret such statements of results as arthavāda, explicitly glossed as stuti, praise with practical value, but without truth value. In practical terms, then, phala-śruti is phala-stuti, even without the need of corruption.

Best wishes,
Aleksandar


Aleksandar Uskokov

Senior Lector and Associate Research Scholar

South Asian Studies Council and Department of Religious Studies, Yale University

203-432-1972 | aleksandar.uskokov at yale.edu

"The Philosophy of the Brahma-sutra: An Introduction"

       https://www.amzn.com/1350150002/



Office Hours Sign-up: https://calendly.com/aleksandar-uskokov

________________________________
From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of Simon Brodbeck via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2024 9:37 AM
To: indology at list.indology.info <indology at list.indology.info>
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Phalashruti


Dear colleagues,



I noticed that there is a Wikipedia entry for “phalashruti”, where it is claimed that “Phalaśruti is a Sanskrit compound word ... literally translating to, ‘fruits of listening’”.



Firstly, I would welcome any comments on this claim, which at first glance would seem to be better explanation for the word śravaṇaphala than for the word phalaśruti. Is phalaśruti perhaps rather a corruption of phalastuti?



Secondly, I would welcome suggestions for secondary literature discussing such verses. I think all I know of so far is an article by McComas Taylor in the “Journal of Hindu Studies”, and a section of James Hegarty’s monograph (both 2012).



Many thanks in advance ... Yours truly, Simon Brodbeck (Cardiff University).
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