Dear Herman,
Thank you very much. I've just looked at Sayana (in Weber's SBr).
He says "because by eating either [cow or ox] the body becomes strong, therefore I would
eat the anna of both".
So Sayana seems to be understanding
amsala as "strong", and treating ced
as if it meant
"because" instead of "if".
Odd that he should say "anna", because that usually means grain, or else food in general.
The SBr text just uses the genitive, leaving mAMsa or the like to be understood. Perhaps
Sayana was too squeamish to say mAMsa.
With best wishes,
Dermot
On 25 Jun 2016 at 15:43, Herman Tull wrote:
Dermot,
I worked on this 30 years ago, and I remember asking the exact same question. If memory
serves correctly (and it may be
unreliable
here), I believe Sayana's commentary
ishelpful here
in getting to Eggeling's definition
.
(I'm away from my library right now, and I cannot check
.
)
Herman Herman Tull
Princeton, NJ
Can someone help with a bit of brAhmaNa interpretation?
Monier-Williams and Mayrhofer both say aMsala means "strong", connecting it with
aMsa
"shoulder". Mayrhofer adds that it's used mainly with reference to cattle and meat.
In xatapatha brAhmaNa 3.1.2.21 Eggeling translates it "tender".
The context is a prohibition on eating beef -- apparently not for everyone at all times,
but for
someone undertaking dIkSA. After an arthavAda justifying the prohibition, YAjnavalkya
is
quoted as saying "axnAmy evAham aMsalaM ced bhavati."
Eggeling: "I, for one, eat it, provided that it is tender."
Is there any evidence for a meaning "tender", or is Eggeling taking a liberty to give
YAjnavalkya a good punch line?
I realise that ancient Indian diet can be a sensitive issue, but the question here seems
to be
about YAjnavalkya's culinary preference.
I'd be grateful for any clarification.
Dermot
--
Dermot Killingley
9, Rectory Drive,
Gosforth,
Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 1XT
Phone (0191) 285 8053
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Dermot Killingley
9, Rectory Drive,
Gosforth,
Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 1XT
Phone (0191) 285 8053