Dear Dominic Goodall & All,
I think the meaning of mRtsna is clear if we read the evidence
from Tamil. Th. Burrow, The Sanskrit Language, pg. 153, 2001
gives: "mRtsna- masc. nt. 'dust, powder'".
mṛtsna m. n. dust, powder cf. Suśr.
Let us see what powder it is, and its purpose in palm leaves preparation
and preservation. mRtsnaa - is fragrant powder:
You wrote:
"Here is the passage in question, which recurs in several inscriptions:
K. 279, LXXXVII ab.
(11) riktapattraṃ maṣīṃ mṛtsnāṃ dadyād adhyetṛsādhave"
It talks of 3 things (the iron stylus is not explicitly mentioned in this line,
may be elsewhere in the inscription):
(1) palm leaf - riktapattram
(2) maSI - black soot mixed with oil
(which is used after writing/incising with iron stylus, see:
Note that this maSi is not for writing, but only to highlight what is incised.
Compare the Tamil word, macaku:
Madras Tamil Lexicon entry:
மசகு² macaku , n. cf. maṣimasaka.] Mixture of oil and burnt straw, used as grease for country carts; வைக்கோற் கரியோடு எண்ணெய்த்துளி கலந்து கட்டைவண்டியின் அச்சிலிடும் மை.
(3) mRtsna "dust, powder" of turmeric. This is used before & after writing. (See ref.s given at end.)
and in preparing palm leaves. As a preservative and also to give yellow/gold polish.
This explanation is supported by Tamil evidence.
I don't know why mrtsnaa is used in Cambodia; a hybrid-Sanskrit?
To match with maSii, mrtsnaa is used?? Sanskritists can explain to us,
mRtsnaa - fragrant (powder)
(This letter I was drafting yesterday, just reading your mail of today.The answer
is in Cilappatikaaram etc., will tell tomorrow.)
Here are two important Tamil literary references
which I gave almost 20 years ago in Indology list,
Caring of Palm-leaf Manuscripts - Tamil literature
**************************************************
Two old poems from Tamil literature come to my mind.
U. V. Saminathaiyar who edited the Sangam classics for the
first time in print edited a messenger poem on Madurai Siva.
(UVS, maturaic cokkan^Atar tamizviTu tUtu, 1930, Madras, I
edition. 7 reprints were made after).
The heroine sends "Tamil" as her messenger to her Lord.
There are few couplets describing Tamil as a girl.
One of them is,
manjaL kuLippATTi maiyiTTu muppAlum
minjap pukaTTa mikavaLarn^tAy!
மஞ்சள் குளிப்பாட்டி மையிட்டு முப்பாலும்
மிஞ்சப் புகட்ட மிக வளர்ந்தாய்
1) As for a girl, the meaning is:
When you were a baby, you enjoyed taking showers with turmeric (manjaL)
smeared all over. decorated using cosmetics (mai/anjana) and
consumed milk/juices taht are essential for healthy growth.
2) As for the sweet Tamil, the meaning is:
All your treasures/literatures in palmleaves are protected with
turmeric, the letters on palmleaves are coated with soot (mai/anjana)
to make the writing more visible, and in the early stages of life,
Valluvar's KuRaL nourished you! (muppAl is another name for the
famous TirukkuRaL because it is divided into three sections.)
The second example comes from ParanjOti Munivar's tiruviLaiyATal
purANam (16th century?). The local stala purANam for Madurai.
(Dr. William Harman translated parts of this work.)
Here the imagery is grand and beautiful.
cEya tArakai varuNamAt tITTiya vAnam
Aya ETTinai iruLenum anjanam taTavi
tUya vALn^ilA enumveN tUcinAl tuTaippAN
pAya vElaiyil muLaittanan panimatik kaTavuL.
சேய தாரகை வருணமாத் தீட்டிய வானம்
ஆய வேட்டினை யிருளெனு மஞ்சனந் தடவித்
தூய வாணிலா வென்னும்வெண் டூசினாற் றுடைப்பான்
பாய வேலையின் முளைத்தனன் பனிமதிக் கடவுள்.
Siva appears in the sea.
The crescent moon on his head sends out lunar rays to remove
the darkness of the night sky and the stars shine.
It is like
The poet using a soft, white cloth to remove the carbon (anjanam)
from the face of palmleaf manuscript and the letters look bright!
Here, the comparison is:
sky ------> palmleaf
stars -----> written letters
darkness of the night ---> carbon smear
moon's rays ----> soft cloth
----------------------------------------------------
Some references where the black charcoal mixed with oil (maSi)
and turmeric used both before writing and after writing are employed.That is
mRsnaa"fragrant powder".
Kind regards
N. Ganesan