XVII. the Meaning of Adhakosikya in the Seventh Pillar-Edict of Asoka
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401 XVII. THE MEANING OF ADHAKOSIKYA IN THE SEVENTH PILLAR-EDICT OF ASOKA. BY J. F. FLEET, I.C.S. (EBTD.), PH.D., C.I.E. TN the seventh pillar-edict of Asoka, inscribed on the so-called Delhi-Siwalik column,1 there is a passage which runs as follows: see IA, 13. 310, text lines 2, 3, and facsimile; and El, 2. 270, text:— Text. Devanampiye Piyadasi laja hevam aha magesu pi me nigohani lopapitani chhay-opagani hosamti pasu-munisanarii aihbavadikya lopapita adhakosikyani pi me udupanani2 khanapapitani niiiisidhiya cha3 kalapita apanani me bahu- kani tata-tata kalapitani patlbhogaye pasu-munisanam. ***** I propose to consider here, specially, the meaning of the word adhakbsikya, the base from which we have the nomina- tive plural neuter adhakosikyani. And first a remark must be made regarding the actual reading itself. The syllables kosi are somewhat damaged. But there is no doubt that they are the real reading. And no question on this point has been raised from the time when better materials for decipherment, than those accessible to Prinsep, became available. 1 This appellation would appear to be somewhat of a misnomer, as the column seems to have come from a village some fifty miles away from the Siwalik Hills (see page 407 below, and note). In any case, on the analogy of the name " Delhi-Meerut" for the other inscribed column of As'oka now standing at Delhi, this one would more appropriately be called the " Delhi-Topra" column. 2 Regarding this word, which would seem to a Sanskritist to be erroneous in the second syllable, see page 415 below. 3 The partial resemblance here to chi or chl was probably not intended by either the writer or the engraver. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. INSEAD, on 21 May 2018 at 12:53:39, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00034419 402 THE MEANING OF ADHAKOSIKYA. The penultimate syllable, kya, was originally deciphered, figured, and read, by Prinsep, as yd (JASB, 6, 1837. 600, 603). At a later time, it was deciphered and figured, by M. Senart, as kya (S.IP, 2. 79), but was read by him as kd {ibid. 82, 85, e; IA, 18. 301, 10); the apparent ky being taken as only a variant of k, both here and in other words (see fully page 407 below) including the ambavadihya which we have in this same passage. The two components k and y, however, are quite distinct. And subsequently (S.IP, 2. 424; IA, 21. 153) M. Senart took the view that the sign means literally ky, but was probably used to mark a com- promise between a correct literary form °ika and a popular pronunciation of it as °iya. Professor Biihler, reading the syllable as kya, suggested a way of accounting for it, by a contraction of kiya into kya, which will be noticed further on (page 406 f. below). ***** Two other words seem to call for comment before we go further. One of them is ambdvadikyd, translated by M. Senart by " jardins de manguiers, mango-orchards" (S.IP, 2. 97; IA, 18. 307), and by Professor Buhler by "mango-gardens" (El, 2. 272). In arabd we certainly have a vernacular form amba, identical with the Pali form, of the Sanskrit dmra, 'a mango-tree.' The lengthening of the final short a in composition— (forming practically an indissoluble com- pound)— is justified by such analogies as the following: putdpapotike, ' sons and great - grandsons,' adduced by Professor Buhler (El, 2. 274, n) from towards the end of edict 7; sakhabhariyd, ' the wife of a friend,' cited by him (ibid.) from the Jataka, ed. Fausboll, 4. 184, line 18 ; and khardpinda, ' a lump of glass,' quoted by Dr. Miiller, with some other cases, in his Pali Grammar, p. 18, from the Dlpavamsa, ed. Oldenberg, 20. 5. Regarding the word vadikyd, Professor Biihler's proposal (IA, 19. 126, note 17) was to take it as representing, through a form vattikd, vdtikd, and thence vaddikd, vddikd, Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. INSEAD, on 21 May 2018 at 12:53:39, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00034419 THE MEANING OF ADHAKOSIKYA. 403 a Sanskrit vdrtikd, feminine of vdrtika in the sense of ' surrounded by a hedge (vriti).' M. Senart, on the other hand (S.IP, 2. 87; IA, 18. 303), preferring to read the last syllable as led, has proposed to find in mdikd, for vddikd, a popular spelling of vdtd, vdti, ' an enclosure.' Agreeing practically with M. Senart, I take vadikyd as a local'form of vadikd for vadikd as representing the Sanskrit vdtika, 'an enclosure, garden, plantation.' For the shortening of the long a of the first syllable of vdtika, we have at any rate the analogy of khara, = kshdra, ' glass,' which has been cited on page 402 above in the compound khardpinda, = kshdra-pinda; and doubtless other similar instances in Pali might easily be found.1 For the softening of the t to d, I will offer an explanation further on (see page 415). In the form ambdvadikd, without the y, we have the same word in the Queen's edict on the Allahabad column (IA, 19. 126, line 3, and plate). There, we have the nominative singular. Here, we plainly have that form of the nominative plural feminine which is identical with the nominative singular. The insertion of the y is to be taken as a local dialectic peculiarity or writer's affectation, as in the case of °kosikya (see page 410 below). ***** The remaining word is nirhsidhiya, in respect of which the following observations must be made. In the syllables sidhit/d, the si and the yd are intact and unmistakable. In the dhi, the consonant is somewhat damaged; but no doubt really attends the decipherment. Between the si and the dhi, there is a space capable of holding three syllables. But on part at least of that space nothing was engraved. And there is really no reason for declining to follow Professor Biihler in his explanation of the matter (El, 2. 270, note 72). It was necessary to separate the syllables niriisi and dhiyd because of a flaw in 1 The cases of shortening given by Mtiller in his Pali Grammar, p. 17, may or may not be taken as analogous. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. INSEAD, on 21 May 2018 at 12:53:39, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00034419 404 THE MEANING OP ADHAKOSIKYA. the stone, a fissure, which necessitated also the separation of dhamma-yu and tarn in the preceding line, and of dhamma- vadhi and yd in the line above that. The dhi was engraved beyond the fissure. And then some blow to the stone caused the crack to extend upwards through the dhi of dhamma- vadhiyd, and also brought away some of the surface of the stone, thus damaging the dhi of nimsidhiya and four syllables, tarn devdnam, in the preceding line. I follow all previous decipherers in taking the first syllable of this word as nim, with an Anusvara.1 But it may be at any time decided to adopt nisidhiyd, without the Anusvara. There certainly is in the original a mark, exactly resembling an Anusvara, precisely where an Anusvara would be placed. On the other hand, as may be seen from the facsimile (IA,, 13. 310, plate), there are at that part of the stone various other marks, equally resembling Anusvaras, but not capable of being taken as such. There is nothing in the etymology of the word to account for an Anusvara. And there is no very particular analogy or other such authority for the introduction of an Anusvara.8 And another form of the same word, nishidiyd, without an Anusvara, occurs clearly in at least one of the NagarjunI hill cave - inscriptions of Dashalatha-Dasaratha (IA, 20. 364, D). Professor Biihler (El, 2. 274, h) explained nimsidhiya,, nishidiyd, as Pali forms of the Sanskrit nishadya, from ni + sad, ' to sit.' It appears that according to the Kosas the meanings of nishadya are (1) a small bed or couch;; (2) a market or shop (Amarakosa, 2. 2, 2, apana ; Abhidhana- chintamani, 1002, panyasdld). And the latter meaning would be admissible here. It is plain, however, that in the inscriptions of Dashalatha the term vdsha - nishidiyd means ' a place of abode during the rainy season;' vdsha 1 Prinsep, also, figured this syllable with the AnusvSra (JASB, 6, 1837. 600),, though he transcribed it without it (see note on page 405 below). 3 The nearest approaches to an analogy seem to be the forms mahimsa, = mahisha,^ ' a buffalo,' and Mahimsakamandala, the name of a country, given by Miiller in his Pali Grammar, p. 22. The first of these words waa cited by Professor Biihler, in support of his acceptance of tile reading nim. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. INSEAD, on 21 May 2018 at 12:53:39, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00034419 THE MEANING OP ADHAKOSIKYA. 405 standing evidently, not for vdsa, 'residence, habitation/ but for vdsa = vassa, = varsha, ' the retreat during the rains (rarshdh).' And I therefore follow Professor Biihler in taking nimsidhiya as meaning, with at least equal appro- priateness for the passage which we have in hand, a place of temporary abode in the shape of ' a rest-house;' in other words, a Saral, a Dharmsala.