[INDOLOGY] a question about the āśīrliṅ

Thu Apr 16 14:21:36 UTC 2026

Dear Christophe,

thank you! This enlarges my collection. I found the juxtaposition "of the
*rarely* used" aorist passive with the phrase "it is *frequently* met with"
to be a intriguing subject :-). Because I fear we are falling into a cliché
here. It is probably all down to the genre. In Kāvya, one cannot really
speak of ‘rarity’ in this regard, whereas in epic-Purāṇic and Bhāṣya
Sanskrit, one presumably can. It seems to be a matter of generalising a
probably too often cited rarity and applying it without further ado to all
types of text.

Best wishes, Walter

Am Do., 16. Apr. 2026 um 15:57 Uhr schrieb Christophe Vielle <
christophe.vielle at uclouvain.be>:

> Dear Walter,
>
> This abundance of usage is also found with the (9th c.?) Keralan poet V
> āsudeva to whom are ascribed four *yamaka-k**āvyas *(see Kunjunni Raja,
> CKSL pp. 19-30
> <https://archive.org/details/swcr_the-contribution-of-kerala-sanskrit-literature-by-k.-k.-raja-1980-university-of-madras/page/18/mode/2up>
> ).
> Here attached the page from Suneson's ed. of the *Śaurikathodaya* listing
> the aorist passive forms in this work. Like the *Yudhiṣṭhiravijaya *and
> *Tripuradahana*, the *Nalodaya* possibly also by the same displays
> several examples too, see for instance 1.2 below with no less than two
> forms.
>
> yo ’jani nāgopītaś  cacāra yo vallavāṅganāgopītaḥ |
>
> bhūr yenāgopītaḥ  kaṃsād yo dveṣam eva nāgo ’pītaḥ || NaU_1.2 ||
>
> yaḥ – ajani – nā – agopītaḥ – cacāra – yaḥ – vallava+aṅganā-go-pītaḥ — bhū
> ḥ – yena – agopi – itaḥ – kaṃsāt – yaḥ –dveṣam – eva – na – āgaḥ – api –
> itaḥ | NaU_pch_1.2 |
>
> *y**a* eṣa bhagavān *a**gopīto* vasudevabhāryāyā devakyākhyāyā na yaśod
> āyā gopyā nandagopagṛhiṇyā *n**ā* puruṣo *’**jani* prādurbhūtaḥ, *ya**ś*
>  ca *cacāra* parivavṛte *vallavāṅganāgopītaḥ* - vallavavadhūnāṃ gopīnāṃ
> gobhir netraiḥ pītaḥ parītaḥ sānurāgaṃ kaṭākṣitaḥ, yad uktaṃ śaurikathodaye
> (1,2): “papuś ca gopyo dṛśā yadūrvābhogam” iti; *yena* ca *bhū**ḥ*
>  pṛthivy *a**gopi* rakṣitā, *ya**ś* ca *ito* ’smāt *kaṃsād* devakībhrātuḥ
> kṛṣṇamātulād *dveṣam* aprītim *eva* kevalam, *na* tv *ā**go* ’parādhaṃ
> pratyakṣam abhighātam *api*, *itaḥ* prāptaḥ | NaU_ad_1.2 |
> Best wishes,
>
> Christophe
>
>
>
> [image: IMG_7854.jpg]
>
> Le 16 avr. 2026 à 15:00, Walter Slaje via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> a écrit :
>
> Just a brief follow-up comment on the ‘rarity’ of the passive aorist. Personally,
> it did not strike me as being really that rare, but without an objective
> basis I did not wish to remark on it. In the meantime, however, I extracted
> instances of the passive aorist from Thomas Jachertz’s dissertation “Das
> finite Verbum in Kalhaṇas Rājataraṅgiṇī alphabetisch und nach
> Wurzelparadigmata geordnet” (Cologne 1986) and noted a surprising abundance
> of such usage in Kalhaṇa. A subsequent, mere cursory search among also his
> successors Jonarāja (JRT), Śrīvara (ŚRT) and Śuka (ŚuRT) revealed that the
> passive aorist remained in ordinary use from the 12th well into the 16th
> century:
>
> āji (aj) 1x
> āśi (aś) 2x; ŚRT
> āpi (āp) 12x
> eṣi (iṣ) 3x
> aikṣi (īkṣ) 1x
> akāri (kṛ) 7x; JRT, ŚRT, ŚuRT
> agāmi (gam) 1x; ŚuRT
> agrāhi (gṛh) 8x; JRT
> acchedi (chid) 1x
> ajani (jan) 1x; ŚRT; ŚuRT
> ajñāyi (jñā) 15x; ŚRT, ŚuRT
> [atyāji (tyaj) ŚRT]
> adāyi (dā) 4x
> adhāyi (dhā) 5x; ŚRT
> [adhāri (dhṛ) JRT]
> apādi (pad) 1x
> abhoji (bhuj) 2x
> abhāvi (bhū) 5x; JRT
> amāyi (mā) 2x
> amoci (muc) 1x
> ayoji (yuj) 4x
> arambhi (rambh) 3x
> alekhi (likh) 1x
> avāci (vac) 1x
> avādi (vad) 4x
> avadhi (vadh) 2x
> avāri (vṛ) 1x
> aśāsi (śās) 1x
> aśrāvi (śru) 1x; JRT, ŚRT
> aṣedhi (sidh) 1x
> astambhi (stambh) 1x
> asnāyi (snā) 3x; JRT; ŚuRT
> asvāpi (svap) 1x; JRT;
> aghāni (han) 1x
> ahāsi (has) 1x
> ahāri (hṛ) 1x
>
> Regards, WS
>
> Am So., 22. März 2026 um 13:34 Uhr schrieb Uskokov, Aleksandar <
> aleksandar.uskokov at yale.edu>:
>
>> The benedictive is taught in Deshpande. In my teaching practice at an
>> American university, student will not be introduced to it in the
>> introductory course, along with other rare forms like the passive of the
>> aorist; they WILL learn in when first encountered in a text, which is
>> likely to happen in high intermediate, for instance in a course on Vedic,
>> or advanced Sanskrit.
>>
>> Best wishes
>> Aleksandar
>>
>> Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of
>> Walter Slaje via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
>> *Sent:* Sunday, March 22, 2026 8:16:58 AM
>> *To:* Matthew Kapstein <mattkapstein at proton.me>
>> *Cc:* Indology List <indology at list.indology.info>
>> *Subject:* Re: [INDOLOGY] a question about the āśīrliṅ
>>
>> Inspired by David Reigle’s insightful article, which suggests that it is
>> unlikely to encounter the benedictive in Sanskrit programs at (presumably
>> American?) universities,* I decided to browse through some German-language
>> textbooks.
>> The benedictive mood is evidently taught there, but most thoroughly by
>> Bühler.** He, in turn, draws on Kielhorn’s grammar, where the rules of
>> benedictive formations are described in great detail (§§ 380–385).***
>>
>>
>> What is interesting here, particularly regarding the question of whether
>> *vīkṣīṣīraṃs* could be a variant worth considering at all, is that both
>> authors explicitly point out that the interposed vowel of *seṭ*-roots in
>> the Ātmanepada appears as a long -*ī*- exclusively in formations from
>> the root *grah* (e.g., *grahīṣīṣṭa*), but must otherwise always be short
>> (Kielhorn § 382c; Bühler p. 95, 20).
>>
>>
>> As if to confirm Riegle’s observation regarding the exclusion of the
>> benedictive from English-language Sanskrit programs and textbooks,
>> Perry—who otherwise bases his textbook strictly on Bühler and follows him
>> even in the exercises****—also excludes any treatment of the benedictive
>> with the following words:
>> “[...] it is so rare that its formation need not be explained here.” (p.
>> 188).
>>
>>
>> As said, this is merely an observation regarding trends in Sanskrit
>> textbooks from different scholarly traditions.
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>> WS
>>
>>
>> *
>> “It is possible to go through university Sanskrit programs without ever
>> encountering the benedictive. […] Readings in classical Sanskrit texts
>> typically follow this in the programs, so that unless one specifically
>> takes up Pāṇinian grammar (or Vedic texts, where a few benedictives do
>> occur), one is quite unlikely to encounter the benedictive.” (Reigle 1997,
>> p. 127).
>>
>>
>> **
>> https://uvhw.de/studia-indologica/product/200922_08-228-8.html
>>
>>
>> ***
>> https://uvhw.de/studia-indologica/product/200921_08-227-1.html
>>
>>
>> ****
>> “The Primer [...] is based upon an excellent little work by Professor
>> Georg Bühler of Vienna: Leitfaden für den Elementarcursus des Sanskrit,
>> Vienna 1883. I became acquainted with this book while in Germany, and after
>> using it with a class at Columbia College was convinced of its great
>> practical value.” (Preface to the 1936 edition).
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Am Fr., 20. März 2026 um 10:48 Uhr schrieb Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info>:
>>
>> Dear Harry,
>>
>> I was following the text given by Amano:
>> Abhisamayālaṃkārakārikāśāstravivṛti by Haribhadra. Skt.
>> ed. Koei H. Amano, Kyoto: Heirakujishoten, 2000.
>> and consulting the earlier editions as well.
>>
>> I think that the readings you find in GRETIL are simply typos and not
>> genuine variants.
>>
>> 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, March 20th, 2026 at 12:51 AM, Harry Spier <
>> vasishtha.spier at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Dear list members,
>>
>> Matthew Kapstein and ( David Reigle using edition 1929 by Stcherbatsky
>> and Obermiller) spell the word as *vīkṣiṣīraṃs* . Same text in GRETIL
>> (different editions) spell it *vīkṣīṣīraṃ*s and *vīkṣiṣiraṃs*
>>
>> Are these misprints or alternate spellings in GRETIL? *pratipatsīrann*
>> is spelled the same in these etexts
>>
>> *Matthew Kapstein and ( David Reigle)*
>>
>> sarvākārajñatāmārgaḥ śāsitrā yo'tra deśitaḥ|
>> dhīmanto vīkṣiṣīraṃs tam anālīḍhaṃ parair iti ||1||
>>
>> smṛtau cādhāya sūtrārthaṃ dharmacaryāṃ daśātmikām |
>> sukhena pratipatsīrann ity ārambhaprayojanam ||2||
>>
>> --------------------------
>>
>> *GRETIL abhisamayālaṃkaranāmaprajñāpāramitopadeśaśāstram *
>>
>>
>> https://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/corpustei/transformations/html/sa_maitreyanAtha-abhisamayAlaMkaranAmaprajJApAramitopadezazAstra.htm
>> input by Christian Coseru (no source book given) has;
>>
>> sarvākārajñatāmārgaḥ śāsitrā yo 'tra deśita /
>>
>> dhīmantī vīkṣīṣīraṃstamanālīḍhaṃ parairiti // Abhs_1.1 //
>>
>> smṛtau cādhāya sūtrārthaṃ dharmacaryā daśātmikā /
>>
>> sūkhena pratipatsīrannityārambhaprayojanam // Abhs_1.2 //
>>
>> --------------------------------------
>>
>> GRETIL Abhisamayālaṃkāra https://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/corpustei/transformations/html/sa_abhisamayAlaMkAra.htmData entry: members of the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Input Project
>> Based on the ed. by Ramsankar Tripathi: Abhisamayalankaravrttih Sphutartha.
>> Sarnath : Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), 1977.
>> grānthārambhaprayojanam sarvākārajñatāmārgaḥ śāsitrā yo 'tra deśitaḥ /
>> dhīmanto vīkṣiṣiraṃstamanālīḍhaṃ parairiti // asa_1.2 //smṛtau cādhāya sūtrārthaṃ dharmacaryāṃ daśātmikām /
>> sukhena pratipatsīrannityārambhaprayojanam // asa_1.3 //
>>
>> Harry Spier
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 19, 2026 at 5:30 PM Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>
>> Many thanks to all who replied on- and off-list. I am sorry that I was
>> not aware of David Reigle's paper, addressing my query so precisely,
>> beforehand, and I am grateful to him and to Asko Parpola for sharing it.
>> Walter Slaje's helpful remarks lend some support to my thought that the
>> benedictive form may have had an intentionally archaic nuance.
>>
>> 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 Thursday, March 19th, 2026 at 3:39 PM, Asko Parpola <
>> aparpola at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Matthew, David Reigle ha written a paper (attached) on these very
>> two occurrences of the benedictive.
>> With best wishes, Asko
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 19, 2026 at 11:39 AM Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>
>> Dear friends,
>>
>> In the opening verses (given below) of the *Abhisamayālamkāra-śāstra *(ASA),
>> an important Mahāyāna Buddhist treatise (said to have been revealed to
>> Asaṅga by the bodhisattva Maitreya), we find two instances of verbs that I
>> take to be examples of “precatives” or “benedictives” (*āśīrliṅ*) in the
>> middle voice (*ātmanepāda*) third person plural. Whitney (925) and
>> Macdonell (150) both flatly state that the precative middle, though current
>> in Vedic, does not occur in Classical Sanskrit. Renou (330-331) does not
>> affirm this categorically, but suggests that the *āśīrliṅ *(without
>> specifying voice) is commonly met with in kāvya and epigraphy, though
>> unknown to Buddhist usage. Edgerton, BHS Grammar, has nothing at all to say
>> about the *āśīrliṅ*, probably due to its absence in the corpus that he
>> consulted, though the ASA is not in any case written in “hybrid” Sanskrit;
>> its terminology is distinctly Buddhist, of course, but without peculiarly
>> BHS grammatical forms.
>>
>> Conze, in the vocabulary accompanying his summary translation of the ASA
>> (SOR VI) offers no grammatical analysis, but treats *vīkṣiṣīran* as an
>> aorist optative, “have been able to behold,” and * pratipatsīran* as a
>> future optative, “will be able to make progress.” (It seems simpler to me
>> to adopt a mildly benedictive reading of both, “that the wise may behold…
>> and that they may easily master…”)
>>
>> What I wish to ask the vyākaraṇa specialists, however, is whether I am
>> correct to take these verbs as middle voice *āśīrliṅ* third person
>> plural? And, if so, are there other instances, whether in Buddhist or
>> non-Buddhist works, that similarly call into question Whitney and
>> Macdonell’s assertions? I would welcome any other observations about this
>> apparently unusual form that you may be able to share. In particular, I am
>> wondering if it is plausible to take its use here as a deliberately
>> archaizing gesture.
>>
>>
>> sarvākārajñatāmārgaḥ śāsitrā yo'tra deśitaḥ|
>>
>> dhīmanto *vīkṣiṣīraṃs* tam anālīḍhaṃ parair iti ||1||
>>
>> smṛtau cādhāya sūtrārthaṃ dharmacaryāṃ daśātmikām |
>>
>> sukhena *pratipatsīrann* ity ārambhaprayojanam ||2||
>>
>> with thanks in advance for your observations and insights,
>> 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.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Asko Parpola, aparpola at gmail.com
>> http://www.helsinki.academia.edu/AskoParpola
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
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>
> –––––––––––––––––––
> Christophe Vielle <https://www.uclouvain.be/en/people/christophe.vielle>
> Louvain-la-Neuve
>
> [image: GraphiqueCollé-2.png]
>
>
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