Dear all,

In Kannada, too, Sanskrit words are often written with a retroflex ḷ (ಳ = ळ) where we might have expected l (ಲ = ल). The retroflex ḷ in Sanskrit words is called by the name kṣaḷa (ಕ್ಷಳ) in Kēśava's Śabdamaṇidarpaṇam (1260 CE). Kēśava (or Kēśirāja, as he is also known) distinguishes this sound from the retroflex ḷ found in Kannada words, called kuḷa (ಕುಳ), which is however written with exactly the same letter (ಳ). Kēśava further notes that the kṣaḷa and kuḷa (ಳ = ळ) can serve as equivalents for the sake of prāsa (second-letter alliteration), whereas the dental l (ಲ = ल) cannot alternate with either of them.

I don't know precisely (a) why Kēśirāja felt it necessary to distinguish between the Sanskrit and Kannada retroflex ḷ; and (b) why the retroflex ḷ (kṣaḷa) occurs optionally in some Sanskrit words, in some positions, and not in others. Kittel in his Grammar of the Kannada Language pp. 14–15, §30, says: “It is often used by Kannaḍa people as a substitute for the Saṁskṛita ಲ (= ल), the sound of which in the Saṁskṛita language apparently bears a dubious character for them, one that is neither their ಲ (= ल) nor their ಳ (= ळ); this ಳ (= ळ) is Kêšava’s kṣaḷa.” I interpret this to mean: whereas Kannada clearly distinguishes a dental and retroflex lateral, Sanskrit does not, and the Sanskrit lateral is pronounced somewhere between a dental and retroflex position (kind of like the "dental" stops in most kinds of American English), with some phonotactically-conditioned variation within this range. The exact conditions of this variation remain a little obscure, but Kēśava does after all call the consonant kṣaḷa, which suggests that the retroflexion is found (among other places) in those same contexts where dental n is retroflexed to ṇ. Christophe's observation that retroflex ḷ is not used word-initially accords with my impression of Kannada usage.

Andrew

On Fri, Mar 24, 2023 at 5:08 AM Christophe Vielle via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

I was in course of stating more or less the same as Anna Aurelia about the Malayalam script manuscripts, observing the regularity of the use of the retroflex for peculiar words, which, I would add, usually preserve this peculiarity in their borrowing/inclusion within Malayalam language. The retroflex is systematically replaced by -l- in the Devanagari manuscripts which are transcripts of Malayalam script mss., with the problem that this retroflex can in fact also sometime be used for -ḍ- (see below jaḷa for jaḍa etc.).
Contrasting examples are viḷambita (cf. viḷambase in Esposito's post) with a "forced" intervocalic -l- > -ḷ- after a prefixe (lamb- alone being written with l-), versus viloḷita keeping the initial -l- of the theme after the prefixe. A more complete listing of the forms of the concerned words (from the apparatus in crit. ed. mentioning them) should be made for drawing linguistic conclusions. The references of Philipp Maas are useful in this respect.

A few samples from a text in course of edition

vilolita : viloḷita

kuntala : kuntaḷa

lalita : laḷita

pulinā : puḷinā

milatpulakakuḍmalaṃ : miḷatpuḷakakuḍmaḷaṃ

valakṣagu : vaḷakṣagu

kalakala : kaḷakaḷa

alinda : aḷinda

gala : gaḷa

antarāla : antarāḷa

pacelima : paceḷima

bahala : bahaḷa

gadula : gaduḷa

nalina : naḷina

bakula : bakuḷa

vilambita : viḷambita

jaḍa : jaḷa

From a purāṇa text:

pātāla : pātāḷa

śālin- : ṣāḷin-

tolikā : toḷikā

argala- : arggaḷa-

vyāla- : vyāḷa-

bala- : vaḷa-

karāla- : karāḷa-

pralaya- : praḷaya-

dhūli- : dhūḷi-

alakā- : aḷakā-

-viluḍī- : -viluḷī-

-jaḍī- : -jaḷī-

-vrīḍam : -vrīḷam

kṣveḍita- : kṣveḷita-

thuḍa- : thuḷa-

huḍa- :  huḷa-



Le 24 mars 2023 à 09:29, Anna Aurelia Esposito <anna.esposito@uni-wuerzburg.de> a écrit :

Dear Harry Spier,
I found the same in drama manuscripts written in Malayāḷam script. In particular Sanskrit words intervocalic l is replaced by ḷ. This usage persevers not only in all manuscripts, but also in the editions printed in Malayāḷam script (see e.g. the edition of the “Trivandrum Plays” ascribed to Bhasa of Bhāskaran, 1987).

In Cārudatta ascribed to Bhāsa we find for example ḷ in I.2a dehaḷīnām, I.13b bahaḷa-, I.13b -kāḷā-, I.26.38 viḷambase, III.8b karāḷo, III.10b -kākaḷīṣu, III.12d nīḷa-, in Dūtavākya -kaḷaṅka- 35.1, -praḷaya- 47c and *49c, -laḷitā- *47a.

So far, no one has been able to explain to me why the l has been changed to ḷ in these words, and consistently in every manuscript (and also in the printed edition). A possible explanation would be, as you suggest, that one scribe read the text and the other wrote it; but in some cases it is evident from the errors in the manuscripts that the text was copied and not written down by hearing. I am curious if someone from the list can give us an explanation.

Best wishes,
Anna Esposito

Zitat von Harry Spier via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>:

Dear list members,
I'm looking at the devanagari transcription of a south indian grantha
manuscript. most consonent l's are the classical sanskrit l i.e. ल but
some words have the letter, ळ .
Some examples are:
प्रक्षाळ्य

नाळिकेरोद्भवंपादौप्रक्षाळ्याचम्यमुकुळीकृतियपिण्गळायवामांघ्र्यब्जदळासह्रिताम्अण्गुळ्यग्रेणशुद्धविद्यातत्वव्याप्तसर्वमणळोपेतं

I'm pretty sure this isn't from typist misprints because प्रक्षाळ्य
occcurs many times always spelled with ळ

Any explanations would be appreciated. My understanding is that sometimes
manuscripts were created by one scribe speaking the text and another scribe
writing what he hears. Is that a possible explanation for the occurance of
this letter ळ . I.e. local pronounciation creeping in.

Thanks,
Harry Spier

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Louvain-la-Neuve

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