[INDOLOGY] a question about the āśīrliṅ

Sun Mar 22 13:14:38 UTC 2026

At Oxford students learn the parasmaipada of the āśīrliṅ in their second
term of the first year, and we encounter such forms rather early on
because we read subhāṣitas starting with namaskāras and *āśīr*vādas. I
provide them with a number forms that I myself have observed "in the wild"
noting, however, that the third person parasmaipada will be most commonly
encountered:

[image: image.png]

I also include links to the full paradigms in Whitney's grammar as well as
Kale's.

Incidentally, the āśīrliṅ is featured at the start of an incomplete
manuscript from the Stein collection in the Bodleian, Stein 202 the
Dhātvatāraḥ [sic] (images <https://photos.app.goo.gl/hEBFv9WZRMRNM98x7>).
In the fourth line of the first folio of text, we find edhisīṣṭa [sic],
edhisīyāstām [sic], edhiṣīran [2r4] edhiṣīṣṭhāḥ edhiṣīyāsthām edhiṣīḍhvam
edhiṣīya edhiṣīvahi edhi [2r5] ṣīmahi. Such forms were always part of a
pretty basic Sanskrit education. Just above you can also find the
ātmanepada of the "periphrastic future" (luṭ), the full paradigm of which
Whitney p. 337
<https://archive.org/details/1941sanskritgram00whituoft/page/337/mode/1up>
attributes to
the "native grammarians".

In dhīmantī vīkṣīṣīraṃs tam the long ī would also make the verse
unmetrical. If we were to accept a ma-vipulā in 5 6 7 of pāda c, the
preceding syllables should never form another ma-gaṇa, to the best of my
knowledge.

All the Best,
Victor

On Sun, Mar 22, 2026 at 12:17 PM Walter Slaje via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> 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.
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> INDOLOGY mailing list
>>>> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
>>>> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Asko Parpola, aparpola at gmail.com
>>> http://www.helsinki.academia.edu/AskoParpola
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> INDOLOGY mailing list
>>> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
>>> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
>>>
>>
>>
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>
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