On Corresponding Sanskrit Words For The Prakrit Term Posaha: With Special Reference To Śrāvakācāra Texts
In Brahmanism the purification rite called upavasatha has been practiced on the day before the Vedic ritual is performed. For example, we can see the description about such purification rite in Taittirīyasaṃhitā 1.6.7.3, Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 1.1.1.7, etc. Jainism and Buddhism have borrowed the rite in...
| Published in: | International Journal of Jaina Studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
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| Published: |
2017
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| In: |
International Journal of Jaina Studies
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Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | In Brahmanism the purification rite called upavasatha has been practiced on the day before the Vedic ritual is performed. For example, we can see the description about such purification rite in Taittirīyasaṃhitā 1.6.7.3, Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 1.1.1.7, etc. Jainism and Buddhism have borrowed the rite in different ways and called it posaha or uposatha, etc. in Prakrit and Pāli. Buddhism mainly has developed the rite as a ritual of the mendicant group. On the other hand, Jainism mainly has developed the rite as a practice of the layperson. The article surveys the corresponding Sanskrit words of Prakrit posaha and its etymological meaning seen in the Śrāvakācāra texts. In this field, the study of Robert Williams (Jaina Yoga 1963.) is the most excellent work which has to be referred to initially. However, it has been over fifty years since its publication, so it should be corrected in some respects. Firstly, his two opinions will be examined as follows. One is that there have come into existence a number of false sanskritizations pauṣadha, proṣadha, poṣadha for the Prakrit posaha. The second point is that the word form poṣadha seems to have attained the most general currency. On the first point, his opinion is mostly right. But we can add that the word form upoṣadha is seen in the printed text of Vratodyotanaśrāvakācāra as the only exception. The word form upoṣadha can be seen in the Buddhist texts like Divyāvadāna too. As to the second point, his assumption is not sufficient. Nevertheless, many modern scholars (for example, P. S. Jaini, Willem Bollée, Kristi Wiley etc.) seem to consider that the word form poṣadha have attained the most general currency. By investigating about sixty kinds of Śrāvakācāra texts, it can be said that the word form proṣadha has attained the most currency. Furthermore, we can precisely point out the tendency according to the sect. That is to say, Śvetāmbara uses poṣadha or pauṣadha and Digambara uses proṣadha. The article also investigates the etymological interpretations of the respective word forms seen in Śrāvakācāra texts, especially focusing on texts which Robert Williams did not deal with. In Jainism, the original word form upavasatha has been re-sanskritized via the Prakrit form posaha, so they have lost the sight of the preverb upa and assumed that √puṣ etc. are the etymological origin. Here, the article examines the etymological meaning included in the respective word forms, comparing it with the etymological interpretation seen in Brahmanical texts and Buddhist texts. |
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| ISSN: | 1748-1074 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: International Journal of Jaina Studies
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