[INDOLOGY] meaning of tantu

[François Patte]

12 septembre 2025 à 21:40 "Buchta, David" <david_buchta at brown.edu mailto:david_buchta at brown.edu?to=%22Buchta%2C%20David%22%20%3Cdavid_buchta%40brown.edu%3E > a écrit:


> 
> Thanks for the reference, Victor. It looks like the citation in François's sentence might be a collapsing of this entry from the Vaijayantī, especially, since the plural ending on āvṛtti-tantuṣu doesn't really make sense, since as cited it only lists two meanings.
> 
> François, where is the sentence you mentioned from?
> 
Thank you for answering.

This sentence comes from a commentary on the Bhāskarācarya's Līlāvatī. The commentator explains the multiplication (guṇana).

On https://www.wisdomlib.org/sanskrit/segments/tantu%E1%B9%A3u we can read: 

“tantuṣu” in the Sanskrit language represents a word or a combination of words (such as Nouns, Adjectives, Pronouns, etc.)

Is there some reference to sanskrit technical works on language in which the word "tantu" (tantuṣu) could express nouns, text, etc.? 

Regards.

F.P.

> 
> --
> David Buchta, PhD
> Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit
> Department of Classics
> Brown University
> 
> On Fri, Sep 12, 2025 at 12:27 PM victor davella <vbd203 at googlemail.com mailto:vbd203 at googlemail.com > wrote:
> 
> > 
> > Dear David and François,
> > It's similar to Vaijayantī dvyakṣarakāṇḍe puṃliṅgādhyāyaḥ 20cd (p. 215 in Oppert's edition)
> > 
> > guṇas tv āvṛttiśabdādijyeṃdriyāmukhyatantuṣu 
> > 
> > All the Best,
> > Victor
> > 
> > On Fri, Sep 12, 2025 at 5:15 PM Buchta, David via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info mailto:indology at list.indology.info > wrote:
> > 
> > > 
> > > Hi,
> > > 
> > > The first part of the sentence you quoted (guṇas tv āvṛtti-tantuṣu) is from a lexicon, though I am not sure immediately which one. So, rather than āvṛtti and tantu being coordinated meanings like "warp" and "weft," they are simply two unrelated meanings in which the word *guṇa* occurs, namely "repetition," i.e. "multiplication" (āvṛtti) and "thread" (tantu), with no particular specificity in the latter case of which kind of thread in a woven fabric.
> > > 
> > > "Thread" is, of course, a simple sense of *guṇa*, and one sees in mathematical literature that *guṇa* is the word used for multiplication. 
> > > 
> > > I hope this helps.
> > > 
> > > Best,
> > > Dave
> > > --
> > > David Buchta, PhD
> > > Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit
> > > Department of Classics
> > > Brown University
> > > 
> > > On Fri, Sep 12, 2025 at 10:55 AM Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info mailto:indology at list.indology.info > wrote:
> > > 
> > > > 
> > > > Dear colleague,
> > > > 
> > > > I believe that the tantu should be the warp of a woven textile and the āvṛtti the weft; the thread, guṇa "referred to in this case" atra being the latter.  
> > > > 
> > > > but perhaps others will have a better understanding of it,
> > > > Matthew
> > > > 
> > > >  
> > > >  
> > > > Matthew T. Kapstein
> > > > Professor emeritus
> > > > Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL Research University, Paris
> > > > 
> > > > Associate
> > > > The University of Chicago Divinity School
> > > > 
> > > > Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
> > > > 
> > > > https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein
> > > > 
> > > > https://vajrabookshop.com/product/the-life-and-work-of-auleshi/
> > > > 
> > > > https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501716218/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-i/#bookTabs=1
> > > > 
> > > > https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501771255/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-ii/#bookTabs=1
> > > > 
> > > > https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/60949
> > > >  
> > > >  
> > > >  
> > > >  Sent with Proton Mail https://proton.me/mail/home  secure email. 
> > > > 
> > > >  On Friday, September 12th, 2025 at 4:31 PM, François Patte via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info mailto:indology at list.indology.info > wrote:
> > > >  
> > > > > 
> > > > > Bonjour,
> > > > > 
> > > > > Is there a technical meaning for the word "tantu"? I came accross this word in this sentence:
> > > > > 
> > > > > guṇas tv āvṛttitantuṣv ity abhidhānād guṇaśabdo 'trāvṛttau vartate
> > > > > 
> > > > > Thank you.
> > > > > 
> > > > > François Patte
> > > > >  
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> 

François Patte
tél : +33 (0)6 7892 5822
https://www.pingala.homelinux.org/
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