यावत् yāvat
यावत् yã-vat rel. a. (with its following cor. tãvat, so great etc.=) as great, much, many, far, long, manifold, or frequent as: yâvak karma dâru ka, (as much as=) nothing but skin and wood; yâvat tâvat, how much soever; iti yâvat, as much as, that is to say (frequent in commentators); n. yãvat, indc. as far, much, or often as, to what amount (gnly. w. following cor. -tâvat, so far etc.); as long as, while; meanwhile, just (w. 1 prs. pr. or 3 impv., to denote an intended action); till (w. pr., pot., ft., impf., aor., or ellipse of copula); as soon as (w. pr., pot., pf., aor., or ellipse of copula): na yâvat – tâvat, scarcely – when, no sooner – than; yâvan na, while not=till (w. pr., pot., ft., impf., or ellipse of copula); also=if not, whether not; na pa- ram or kevalam – yâvat, not only – but even; yãvad yâvat – tãvat tâvat, as gradually – so; prp. w. (gnly. preceding) ac. during, for (e.g. a year); up to, as far as (e.g. one's house; sts. nm.+iti instead of ac.); till (e.g. the evening): adya yâvat, till to-day; w. following ab. till (rare); in. yâvatâ, as far or long as; till (pot.); as soon as (pr.); inasmuch as, since; w. na, while not=till; lc. yãvati, as far or as long as (cor. tâvati).
कियत् kiyat a. [cf. किमिदंभ्यां वो घः P.V.2.40] (Nom. sing. कियान् m., कियती f., कियत् n.) 1 How great, how far, how much, how many, of what extent of qualities (having an interrogative force); कियान्कालस्तवैवं स्थितस्य संजातः Pt.5; N.1.130; अयं भूतावासो विमृश कियतीं याति न दशाम् Śānti.1.25; ज्ञास्यसि कियद्भुजो मे रक्षति Ś.1.13; कियदवशिष्टं रजन्याः Ś.4; गन्तव्यमस्ति कियदित्यसकृद् ब्रुवाणा S. D. -2 Of what consideration, i. e. of no account, worthless; राजेति कियती मात्रा Pt.1.40.; मातः कियन्तोऽरयः Ve.5.9. -3 Some, a little; a small number, a few (having an indefinite force); निजहृदि विकसन्तः सन्ति सन्तः कियन्तः Bh.2.78; त्वदभिसरणरभसेन वलन्ती पतति पदानि कियन्ति चलन्ती Gīt.6. -Comp. -एतद् of what importance is this to; कियदेतद्धनं पुंसः Ks.3.49. -एतिका effort, vigorous and persevering exertion. -कालम् ind. 1 how long. -2 some little time. -चिरम् ind. how long; कियच्चिरं श्राम्यसि गौरि Ku.5.50. -दूरम् ind. 1 how far, how distant, how long; कियद्दूरे स जलाशयः Pt.1; N.1.137. -2 for a short time, a little way. -मात्रः a trifle, small matter; कियन्मात्रे कृतोऽनेन संरम्भोऽयं कियानिति Ks.65.139.
in mind while mentioning the phrase
yāvantaḥ kiyantaḥ. with the meaning "as many as "
Such expressions are used in contemporary north Indian languages to mean some/indefinite number of entities or persons
It is not unusual to have such expressions meaning 'some/ indefinite number of entities or persons' as the subject of a sentence.
Dear list members,
In the Āyāraṃgasutta a phrase is found corresponding to Skt yāvantaḥ kiyantaḥ. MW gives as its meaning "as many as". I am not a native speaker of English, but as far as I know this phrase is specifically used with numbers ("as many as a hundred people ...). In the passage concerned there is no number. It functions as a subject to either a verb meaning "they commit violence" or nouns/adjectives like araṃbhajīvī and pariggahāvaṃtī.MW refers to TBr, without, however, a place or an example.I hope someone on the list can provide me with an (or the) example from the TBr or any other text.
With kind regards, Herman
Herman TiekenStationsweg 582515 BP Den HaagThe Netherlands00 31 (0)70 2208127
website: hermantieken.com
The Aśoka Inscriptions: Analysing a corpus, New Delhi: Primus Books, 2023.
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