Dear Simon,
The form
phalaśruti, with the meaning offered by Aleksandar and Andrew, is most widely used and surely the original form, but for what it is worth a certain number of texts (some mss and some editions) actually have
phalastuti instead (e.g., Bhāruci’s Manuśāstravivaraṇa; the colophon the
Devīmāhātmya 12; Nāradapurāṇa). This may be a case of a gloss supplanting the glossed.
Best,
Tim
Timothy Lubin
Jessie Ball duPont Professor of Religion, and Adjunct Professor of Law
Head of the Law, Justice, and Society Program
204 Tucker Hall
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, Virginia 24450
https://timothylubin.net/
http://wlu.academia.edu/TimothyLubin
https://ssrn.com/author=930949
https://dharma.hypotheses.org/people/lubin-timothy
From:
INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> on behalf of INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Reply-To: "Uskokov, Aleksandar" <aleksandar.uskokov@yale.edu>
Date: Friday, November 22, 2024 at 9:49 AM
To: INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>, Simon Brodbeck <BrodbeckSP@cardiff.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Phalashruti
Dear Simon,
I don't have litterature to suggest, but phala-śruti should just mean "(direct) statement of the result," following Mīmāṁsā
practice where śruti, in use, means primarily "individual statement" within the Vedic corpus, and phala is the general term for the result that a ritual or meditation is supposed to bring; for instance, the attainment of non-return in the 8th of Chāndogya
is often discussed and debated as such a statement of result.
Your corruption suggestion is interesting, as Mīmāṁsakas often--but not always--interpret such statements of results
as arthavāda, explicitly glossed as stuti, praise with practical value, but without truth value. In practical terms, then, phala-śruti is phala-stuti, even without the need of corruption.
Best wishes,
Aleksandar
Aleksandar Uskokov
Senior Lector and Associate Research Scholar
South Asian Studies Council and Department of Religious Studies, Yale University
203-432-1972 | aleksandar.uskokov@yale.edu
"The Philosophy of the Brahma-sutra: An Introduction"
https://www.amzn.com/1350150002/
Office Hours Sign-up: https://calendly.com/aleksandar-uskokov
From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> on behalf of Simon
Brodbeck via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2024 9:37 AM
To: indology@list.indology.info <indology@list.indology.info>
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Phalashruti
Dear colleagues,
I noticed that there is a Wikipedia entry for “phalashruti”, where it is claimed that “Phalaśruti is a Sanskrit compound word ... literally translating to, ‘fruits of listening’”.
Firstly, I would welcome any comments on this claim, which at first glance would seem to be better explanation for the word
śravaṇaphala than for the word
phalaśruti. Is phalaśruti perhaps rather a corruption of phalastuti?
Secondly, I would welcome suggestions for secondary literature discussing such verses. I think all I know of so far is an article by McComas Taylor in the “Journal of Hindu Studies”, and a section
of James Hegarty’s monograph (both 2012).
Many thanks in advance ... Yours truly, Simon Brodbeck (Cardiff University).