Dear all,

Speaking of jñāna (with pranams to young Edith Fuller), I am trying to find the original Sanskrit for the etymological definition of jñāna given by Candragomin in his commentary on the Mañjuśrī-nāma-saṃgīti, verse 84, or verse 8 of chapter 8. This commentary seems to be extant only in its Tibetan translation, where this reference is found in the Comparative Tengyur, vol. 24, p. 1426, line 5. There, in commenting on the compound term jñānābhiṣeka, Candragomin gives what appears to be an etymological definition of jñāna: ye shes ni ye nas gnas pa’i don shes pa’o. The sense of this Tibetan phrase was given by the late Edward Henning as: “the cognition of the primordial nature/reality” (http://kalacakra.org/kalaskt.htm, side box midway down).

Here, jñāna is taken in its meaning as a Buddhist technical term, for higher knowledge or wisdom or cognition or awareness. Thus it is translated into Tibetan as ye shes, as opposed to its common meaning as knowledge in general, where it is translated into Tibetan as shes pa. The definition begins with ye nas, for which I have not found a Sanskrit equivalent. It means “from the beginning,” or "primordial." The next word, gnas pa, typically translates Sanskrit words from the root sthā, so means something like “established, existing.” The following word, don, usually translates the Sanskrit word artha, and here probably means “object” rather than “meaning.” The last word, shes pa, as already said can translate jñāna as knowledge, or other Sanskrit words from the root jñā and their synonyms. This includes verbals such as jñāta and verbs such as jñāyate.

I have checked the several existing Sanskrit commentaries on the Amarakośa, where jñāna occurs at 1.5.6. They had nothing close to this. I would be very glad to have the original Sanskrit for this definition of jñāna.

Best regards,

David Reigle

Colorado, U.S.A.