The Taittirtyaprtiakhya As on Antjsvara

THE TAITTIRTYAPRTIAKHYA AS 密 ON ANTJSVARA 教

文 Nobuhiko Kobayasi

化

The dot at the left upper corner of an Indian letter1) represents a nasal element called anusvara (that which follows a vowel).2) The descriptions of anusvara as found in the works of ancient Indian phoneticians3) are so inconsistent and confusing that modern Sanskrit scholars are still confused. Some represented by the author of the Atharvavedapratiaakhya hold that it is a pure nasalized vowel,4) and others represented by the author of the RkpratiS'akhya say that it is either a vowel and a consonant.5) There is also another school, according to which it is a pure consonant.6)

An Indo-aryan syllable (aksara)7) is heavy (guru) or light (laghu). It is heavy, when the vowel is long8) or followed by a conjunction of consonants,9) and it is light when the vowel is short or not followed by a conjunction of consonants.10) An important feature of the phonetic element called anusvara is that it affects meter. According to the Taittiriyapratisakhya (TP), a letter with the anusvara sign represents a metrically long syllable." On the basis of this, description of the TP, Whitney adopts the view that anusvara is a lengthened nasal vowel.12) He seeks support for his interpretation from the fact that the anusvara sign is written over the vowel

-112- of the first syllable.131 So the phonetic value of vamsa is interpreted as [Qa:sa]. This interpretation seems to be supported by such Hindi develop- THE TAITTIRIYAPRATISAKHYA ON ANUSVARA ment of anusvara as in vamsa>bas. However, a metrically long syllable is not necessarily due to the length- ening of a vowel: We can as well suppose that something additional of consonantal nature is involved here, if it always comes before a consonant. Moreover, Whitney's interpretation is not compatible with the fact that the author of the AP distinguishes a nasalized vowel from an element called anusvara: On the treatment of a vowel when /n/ becomes /r/14) or others and when /m/ is elided," he gives two opposing views: One is that the vowel (svara) is nasal (anunasika) (V), and the other is that the anusvdra element comes after it (V+/rp/).16)

The author of the TP explains the conditions under which /m/ becomes anusvara. [The nasal consonant] /m/, when followed by a spar sa, becomes anunasika, with its place [of articulation] (sthana) being the same as yam kamayeta, that [of the sparsa]:17' [yam kamayeta (TS, 1.6. 104)>yam kamayeta, [Sam ca me (TS, 4.7.31)>] sam ca me. [tam to duscaksah (TS, 3.2.102)>] tam to du scakah.18) The word anunasika is primarily an adjective, as opposed to Buddha. (pure).19) It is synonymous with rakta (colored).20 Of being anunasika, he lays down a definition: "Being anunasika is due to the opening of [the passage to] the nose (nasika)."21) So the phonetic element called anusvara is different from /m/, but of similar nasal character. This nasal character called anunasikya is said to be common to both /m/ and anusvara.22) The nasal sound /m/ is understood to become another

-111- type of nasal sound before a spar S'a. In ancient Indian phonetics, the word spar a (touch) means "a sound 密 produced when a place [of articulation] (sthana) is perfectly touched by an

organ [of articulation] (karana). 23) It does not matter whether the passage 教 to the nasal cavity is closed or open. It is stops and nasal consonants that 文 come under this category. The spar. a /m/ which itself is anunasika becomes another type of anunasika sound before a stop or a nasal consonant. 化 The place [of articulation] (sthana) is where a touch is made in producing

consonants." There are five sthanas: a) the root of the [upper] jaw (hanu- mula), b) palate (talu), c) the top [of the buccal cavity] (murdhan),25' d) the roots of the [upper] teeth (Manta-nnula): The Tribhasyaratna adds e) the

[upper] lip (uttarotha).26) The sthana of /k/ is the root of the upper jaw (hanu-mula). When one says yam kamayeta, the sthana of /m/ is also the root of the upper jaw. Before a stop or a nasal consonant, /m/ is assimilated to the following sound without changing its nasal character.

Then the author of the TP takes up another case. [The nasal consonant /m/,] when followed by an antair.stha becomes

[a sound] which is nasal (anunasika) and similar (savanna) to the [fol- low ing antahstha]:211 [samyatta asan (TS, 1.5.11) >] samyatta asan,

[suvargam lokam (TS, 1.5.44)x] suvargam lokam, [samvatsarah (TS, 1.5.13)>] samvatsarah. 28' The term antahstha (being between) means "a sound produced from a halfway effort to have the tongue touch the place of articulation." 29) Under this category come the semivowels, /y/, /r/, /1/ and /v/ ([9]).30) We now understand that the anunasika spar t a /m/ becomes another type of anunasika sound before a semivowel.31)

-110- In ancient Indian phonetics, the term prayatna (effort) means "[the result of an] effort [to narrow the air passage in the buccal cavity]": There THE TAITTIRIYAPRATISAKHYA ON ANUSVARA are four degrees of the result; a) sprsta ([perfectly] touched), b) isat-sprsta (slightly touched), c) ?sad-vivrta (slightly opened), d) vivrta (opened)121. The prayatna of a semivowel is [the state of being] slightly touched (isad-sprsta). The term savar na (similar sound) literally means "of the same color." Panini defines it as follows: "Savarna is [a sound uttered] with the same place [of articulation (sthana) and the same result of the] effort [to narrow the air passage].33' For example /d/ is a savar na of /t/: In producing the two sounds, the place (sthana) is the roots of the teeth (danta-mula) and the result of the effort is the state of being perfectly touched (slista)." It follows that the prayatna of /m/ in this case is also the state of being slightly touched. So this is a nasal produced when the air passage in the buccal cavity is not completely closed. The sthana of this anunasika sound is the palate (talu), at which /y/ is produced. So the phonetic value of this nasal sound is interpreted here as something like [y]. As for the /m/ before a stop or a nasal consonant, the author does not use the term savar na, and only says that the sthana is the same as that of the following spar sa, the prayatna of which is the state of being completely touched (slista). Here we can confirm that the air passage is not completely closed when this type of nasal sound is produced.

This element called anusvara is written in some inscriptions as a con-

sonant: yasansi for yasamsi, kasmint cit for kasmimscit, ansuka for amsuka,

sinha for simha, etc.34) This means that the anusvara element was

considered to be interchangeable with a consonant.

On the other hand, we find another fact. In such contrasts as tam sa

-109- pasyati (He sees her.) versus tan sa pasyati (He sees them.), taz hanti (He kills her.) versus tan hanti (He kills them.) or samradhyati (It is accom- 密 plished.) versus samraiah35) (paramount sovereign). The anusvara element is not changeable with a nasal consonant. Therefore it is a phoneme 教 separate from the consonant /n/ or /m/: It is not a pure consonant either. 文 Since the phonetic element called anusv ara is neither the nasal factor of a vowel nor a pure nasal consonant, the only choice of interpretation left 化 for us is that it is a nasal consonant which is produced when the air passage is not completely closed in the buccal cavity and which is homorganic with the following stop.")

Abbreviations

AP: Atharvavedapratisakhya, ed. William D. Whitney, JAOS, 7, 1862,

pp. 333-616. PS: Paniniyasiksa, ed. Gopala S strin Nene and Sudamasarman Misra, Benares, 1929.

RP: Rkpratisakhya, Rigveda, 1, ed. Max Miiller, Leipzig, 1856, pp. i- cccxcv. TP: Taittiriyapratisakhya, ed. William D. Whitney, New Haven, 1868. TS: Taittiriyasamhita, ed. Albrecht Weber, Leipzig, 1871-1872.

Notes 1) This sign is not included in the Paninian varnasamdmnaya. Mahabhasya ad Sivasutra 5: ke punar ayogavahah. visarjaniyajihvamuliyopadhmani- yanusvaranunasikyayamah. katham punar ayogavahah. yad ayukta vahanty vahanty anupadistas ca sruyante. 2) TP, 21.6: anusvarah svarabhaktis ca [purvasya svarasya]. "Also anusvara and svarabhakti belong to the preceding vowel. Panjika ad PS, 5: svaram anu bhavati. Allen's literal translation "after-sound" or "subordinate sound" is erroneous (Phonetics in Ancient India, 1953, p. 40). The term svara here does not mean "sound," but "vowel." And the Sanskrit prefix anu, unlike upa, is not used in the sense of "subordinate."

-108- 3) The ancient genre of treatises dealing with phonetics is called prati sakhya. The word means "that which belongs to each school [of the Veda]" (Tattva-

THE TAITTIRIYAPRATISAKHYAbodhini ONad ANUSVARA Siddhantakaumud i, Pan. 4.3.59: pratisakham bhavai bhavam pratisakhyam ity madhavah). Siddheshwar Varma found a passage of the Taittiriyapratisakhya (22.9-10) as cited in Patahjali's Mahabhasya (ad Astadhyayi 1.2.29-30). The Rkprati sakhya, the oldest, quotes Yaska, whose date is around 500 B. C., according to Sarup (The Nighantu and the Nirukta, p. 54). Varma asserts that most of the prati sakhya literature range between 500 and 150 B. C. (Critical Studies in the Phonetic Observations of Indian Grammarians, Delhi, 1961, pp. 20-28). 4) They describe this phonetic phenomenon as the elision of /n/ or /m/ and the consequent nasalization of the preceding vowel. A representative follower of this view in later ages is Bhattojidiksita. 5) RP, 1.11. 6) The interpretation of anusvara as a consonant is found only in later treatises of phonetics such as the Vaidikabharana and the Sarvasammatasiksa. Vaidikabharana ad TP, 2.30: anusvaro 'pi uttamavad vyan-janam evasmac- chakhayam. ardhagakararCipatvat. "Anusvara is also nothing but a consonant like the nasal consonants, as it has the form of half /g/." 7) The original meaning of the word aksara seems to have been "what does not perish." Cf. Mahabhasya ad Sivasutra 7-8: aksaram na ksaram vidyat. na ksiyate na ksaratiti vaksaram. As a term of phonetics, it is defined as follows. RP, 18.32: savyanjanah suddho vapi svaro, ksaram. "The aksara is either a vowel accompanied by a consonant or a pure one." On the syllabic structure, AP, 1.55-57: parasya svarasya vyan-janani. samyogadipurvasya. padyam ca. "A single consonant belongs to the following vowel (-CV-). The first of a consonant conjunction (samyoga) belongs to the preceding vowel and the remaining to the following vowel (-VC-C[C]V-). A consonant at a pause belongs to the preceding vowel (-VC)." 8) The measure for vocalic length is called mats (instrument for measuring). The length of a short vowel is said to be one mats and that of a long one two. While the Western mora is for syllabic length, the Indian mats is in

-107- principle for vocalic length. 9) TP, 22.14abe: yad vyanjanantam yad u dirgham samyogapurvam ca tathanunasikam/ etani sarvani guruni vidyac "It should be known that [a 密 syllable] which ends with a consonant (vyan jana), one which has a long vowel (dirgha), one which precedes a conjunction [of consonants] 教 (samyoga) and which is nasal, are all heavy." 文 10) Ibid., 22.15: avyanjanantam yad dhrasvam asarnyogaparam ca yat/ an- anusvarasamyuktam etal laghu nibodhatai tal laghu nibodhata// "You 化 should know that [a syllable] which does not end with a consonant, one which has a short vowel, one which does not precede a conjunction [of consonants] and one which is not combined with anusvara are light." 11) Ibid., loc. cit. anusvarayuktam etal laghu "[A syllable] which is not combined with anusvara is light." Therefore, a syllable which is combined with anusvara is light." 12) Whitney, The Taittiriyapratisakhya and Tribhasyaratna, pp. 66-70. 1.3) Ibid.: "If it had seemed to the framers of this alphabet to be a something interposed between the vowel and the following consonant, they would doubtless have found for it a sign to stand between those of the other elements." 14) TP, 6.14: tarhams tasmim lokan vidvams tams trin yusman urdhvan ambakanrtun asman krnvan pitrn anan kapalams tisthan nadyudatte nemir devant savane pasum takaraparah sakaram prakrto nitye prakrto nitye// "[In the words] tarhan, tasmin, etc., an original /n/ followed by /t/, becomes

/s/, when /t/ is a constant one." 15) Ibid., 13.2: rephosmaparah [makaralopah]// "[The sound] /m/ is elided, when followed by /r/ or a fricative." pratyustam raksah-pratyusta raksah [> pratyusta or pratyustam] 16) TP, 15.1-3: nakarasya rephosmayakarabhaval lupte ca malopac ca purva- varo nunasikah// naikesam// tatas tv anusvarah// "When /n/ becomes /r/, a fricative, when /y/ is elided, and when /m/ is elided, the preceding vowel becomes nasal (anunasika). [But] not so, according to some: [They say that] anusvara comes after the [vowel]." 17) TP, 5.27: makarasparsaparas tasya sthanam anunasikam. Tribhas yaratna ad loc.: sparsaparo makaras tasya sparsasya sasthanam anunasikam bhajate. 18) Tribhas yaratna ad loc.: yatha yam kamayeta,.

-106- 19) AP, 4.121. 20) RP, 1.36: raktasarjno 'nunasikah. Ibid., 13.5: rakto vacano mukha-

THE TAITTIRIYAPRATISAKHYAnasikabhyam. ON ANUSVARA The term raga is used in later treatises of phonetics such as the Sarvasammatasiksa. An impressive description of vocalic nasality is found in the Sarva- sammatasiksa, ed. A.O. Franke, Gottingen, 1886, 48: kamsyadhvanisamam rangam, hrdayad utthitam bhavet/ yatha saurastrika nari takra4 ity abhibhasate/ evam rangah prayoktavyah/"Like the sound of a gong, a colored sound has arisen from the heart. Just as a Saurastra woman says, takraaac (butter-milk!)." The numeral "4" after takra indicates that the length of the vowel is of four matras. 21) TP, 2.52: r asikavivaranad anunasikyam. This is a general description of the nasal character of a sound, which is applied not only to pure nasal consonants (anunasika spar sa), but also nasal vowels (anunasika svara) and anusvara. 22) Ibid., 2.30: anusvarottama anunasika. Tribhasyaratna ad loc.: anusvaro cottamas canunasika bhavanti. nasikam anuvartanta ity anunasikah. "Anu svara and the last [of each sparsa group] are nasal (anunasika). They are nasal, because they go through the nose (nasika)." 23) TP, 2.32: [svaranaram] yad upasamharati tat karanam// "In the case of vowels, that which approaches is an organ [for articulation 2.34: yena sparsati tat karanam// "[In case of consonants,] that with which one touches is an organ [for articulation]." Generally three places [of articulation] are known: the root of the tongue (jihva-mula), the middle of the tongue (jihva-madhya) and the tip of the tongue (jihvagra). The Tribhas yaratna adds the lower lip (adharostha): He regards it as an organ (karana) because it is at the lower position, as opposed to the upper lip, which is, according to him, a place (sthana). 24) TP, 2.33: anyesam to yatra sparsanam tat sthanam. "On the other hand, in [producing sounds] other [than vowels], the place [of articulation] (sthana) is where a touch is made." 25) The word murdhan means "highest part"/"head." As a term it means "the highest point of the buccal cavity. Tribhasyaratna ad TP, 2.37: murdha- sabdena vaktravivaroparibhago vivaksyate. This is the sthana at which retroflex sounds are produced. TP, 2.37: jihvagrena prativestya murdhani tavarge.

-105- The term cerebral ([sound] of the brain) is due to the mistranslation of Sanskrit scholars of the 19th century: They took the term murdhan (the highest point [in the buccal cavity]) in the general meaning "head." 密 26) Tribhasyaratna ad TP, 2.39: atrottarostha[h]sthanam uttarasamyad esam sthananam. 教 27) TP, 5.28: anta[h]sthaparas ca savarnam anunasikam. Tribhasyaratna ad loc.: cakaro makaram anvadisati. anta[h]sthaparo makaras tasya anta[h]- 文 sthayab savarnam sadrsam anunasikam anunasikadharmavisistam bhajate. 化 28) Tribha syaratna ad loc.: samyatta asan 29) Uvata explains this term as sparsosmanam antah madhye tisthatiti antahsthah (ad RP, 1.9). Cf. Whitney, JAOS, 7 (note on AP, 1.30). 30) TP, 2.43: osthantabhyam dantair vakare. "When /v/ is to be produced, one should cause the two edges of the lower lip to touch at the teeth." Tribhasyaratna ad loc.: vakare karye dharosthantantabhyam uttara- dantagraih saha sparsayet. So this is a labio-dental non-fricative con- tinuant. 31) However, there is a special exception to this. TP, 529: na rephaparah "[But /m/ does] not [become a sound which is nasal and similar to the

following sound], when followed by /r/." 32) There are two types of prayatna, abhyantara (inner) and bahya (outer). Inner effort (abhyantara prayatna) is associated with articulation in the buccal cavity, which is, according to Patanjali, the area from the lips (ostha) to somewhere before corresponding to the] protruded part of the neck (kakalaka). Mahabhasya ad Astudhyayt 1.1.9:. osthat prabhrti prak kakala- kat. Kaiyata ad loc.: grivayam unnataprades'ah. The protruded part of the neck or Adam's Apple (grivayam unnatapradesah) as seen from outside is nothing but the hole of the throat (RP, 13.1-2, kanthasya khah) or the glottis. The area of inner effort ends somewhere before the glottis, which belongs to the area of outer effort. It is only inner effort that makes two sounds similar (savarna). Outer effort (bahya prayatna) makes a sound voiced (nada), aspirated (maha prana), nasalized (anunasika) and pitched (ud atta). The area involved with nasalization is said to be the nose. And the RP says that the air (vayu) becomes breath (svasa) or voice (nada) according as the hole of the throat is open or closed (13.1-2). As for pitching, ancient Indian treatises do not specify the area.

-104- 33) Astadhyayi, 1.2.9. tulyasyaprayatnam savarnam. 34) Kielhorn, "Duddhapani Rock Inscription of Udayayamana," Epigraphia

THE TAITTIRIYAPRATISAKHYAIndica, 2,ON ANUSVARA1894, pp. 343-347) This inscription belongs to the 8th century. 35) This is a special exception to TP, 5.28 (See note 26). Tribhasyaratna ad TP, 5.29: yatha pra samrajam prathamam adhvaranam (1.6.123), sam- rajyaya 36) Allen's association of anusvara with the Japanese syllabic /N/ (Phonetics in Ancient India, p. 46) is misleading. It is true that the Japanese /N/, like the Indo-aryan anusvara, has no fixed place of articulation, but it is essentially different from anusvara in forming a syllable: Thanks to its continuative and resonant nature, it has not lost the function of its original form /nu/ to form a syllable in spite of the loss of the vowel /u/ and can stand at pause. On the other hand, the Indo-aryan anusvara is nothing but an additional element: It is said to be dependent on something else (PS, 5: parasraya) and cannot stand at pause.

-103-