28.4.12
Dear Dr. Palaniappan
I do not know of physicians being called
Maṅgala
in North India, but the hymns to the fathers are called Maṅgalā in the Orissa tradition
of the Paippalāda-Saṃhitā of the Atharvaveda.
Those Paippalāda
hymns (AVP 18.57-82) have been termed Māṅgalikas in the Śaunaka-Saṃhitā of the
Atharvaveda (AVŚ 19.23). The same hymns appear with variants in the AVŚ (18) too but the name Maṅgalā does not appear
for them in this branch. They appear also in the Ṛgveda and the Taittirīya Āraṇyaka. Here
too the name Maṅgalā is missing for
them.
If it could be of any help to you, I
request you to note that a relatively elaborate treatment of the origin and
nature of the hymns and of the name Maṅgalā given to them may be found in the Paippalāda-Saṃhitā of
the Atharvaveda Vol. Three, Asiatic Society, (2011), Introduction §6, pp.lxxxiii
– xc (also §7, partly). Unfortunately the book has been temporarily
withdrawn from circulation after the detection of some recurrent errors. The
press is expected to rectify the defect in a month when it can again come into
circulation.
Among others, the Mars is Mangala in Indian astrology.
Astrologers, in Bengal at least, make a fuss of any Mangala ‘defect’ in the
bride whatever that may mean.
Best
wishes
DB
From: Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan <palaniappa@AOL.COM>
To: INDOLOGY@liverpool.ac.uk
Sent: Saturday, 28 April 2012 8:49 AM
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Mangala- title for brahmin physicians
In Tamil inscriptions, one notices that brahmin physicians are given titles with the first component being maGkala- as in maGkalappEraraiyan2. Is there any
Sanskrit/Prakrit inscriptions or literary texts that show any physician in north India with the title maGgala-?
Thanks in advance
Regards,
S. Palaniappan