Skipping over a couple of sutras that
define species (samgñya) called ghu (applied much later in 6.4.66) and gha (applied in
6.3.43), we come to a short span of sutras led by
1.1.23 bahugaņavatud̨ati sam̨khyā
As per standard practice, we first see the case
endings of the component phrases to start understanding the relation expressed;
in this case, both are in first case, singular number,
bahugaņavatud̨ati 1/1 sam̨khyā 1/1
Next, we break the phrases up into the individual
‘words’, thus:
bahu gaņa vatu d̨ati sam̨khyā,
and we look at the vŗtti or paraphrase (presumably
from the Kāśikā, see Post 12):
bahugaņavatud̨ati sam̨khyāsamgñyā
bhavanti
or, with hyphens (little dashes) between
individual words or lexemes, for convenience in reading
bahu-gaņa- vatu- d̨ati sam̨khyā- samgñyā
bhavanti.
Of course, this itself needs an
elucidation, which is given by Rama Nath Sharma as follows:
“Items bahu ‘many’, gaņa ‘class, group’, as
well as those which end in vatU (5.2.39 yattadetebhyah…) and D̨ati (5.2.41
kimah̨…) are termed sam̨khyā”.
In interpreting this vŗtti, we may note
that the first two ‘items’ are normal words (lexemes), which actually mean something
(bahu =‘many’, gaņa =‘class, group’), whereas the latter two are bits which
serve as affixes, and not words with meaning themselves. Further, they are
denoted by the affixed it (iT)
endings in upper case letters: vat-U, D̨-ati, by which we may expect that the
actual particles under discussion are -vat and -ati-. How they enter the word
formation can be seen in the examples that follow the vŗtti or paraphrase, but
meanwhile we may also note that the author cites the relevant sutras (5.2.39,
5.2.41) that deal with the usage of these affixes, and even gives their opening
phrases for our convenience as an aid to recollection and cross-linking.
Just for our education, here is how S.C.Vasu
treats the vŗtti and explanation:
Vŗtti: bahu- gaņa- vatu- d̨ati iti ete
(ityete) sam̨khyā- samgñyā bhavanti.
“The words bahu ‘many’, gaņa ‘class’, and
the words ending in the affix vatu (V.2.39) and d̨ati (V.2.41) are called
numerals (sankhyā).”
Here also the relevant sutras are cited,
although without the opening phrases, and the particles are explicitly termed
as affixes. (Also, we note the various types of transcription followed for the
nasalized m (or n) before kh in sankhyā).
All this is fine, but it still only gives a
very formalised translation of the sutra. What does it actually signify in
practical terms? Or are the sutras just
empty spells, as a great sage imputes in one of his verses? Well, we have to
turn to the grammarians, their bhāshya or vyākhyāna, commentaries and
explanations, or at least the modern interpretations of these.
We understand that the species samkhyā
(numbers) is being defined here in order to make other rules or operations
applicable at the relevant place in the Ashtādhyāyi. Sharma, for instance,
explains that what is being referred to is not the concept of numerals on the
whole (one, two, three etc.), but specific words that are defined as samkhyā
for specific purposes. Subsequent operations mandated on samkhyā in the work, may apply only to these defined
items, and not to the generally understood category of numerals. (At least this
is how I interpret Sharma’s explanation; the wording is so involved, however,
that he may well be saying the opposite. Which it is will be known, I suppose,
only when we come to the relevant sutras that refer to the technical species
samkhyā later in the work).
Now examples of the words formed with these
(four) affixes follow:
bahukŗtvah̨ ‘many times’
katikŗtvah̨ ‘how many times’
gaņakŗtvah̨ ‘a series of times’
tāvatkŗtvah̨ ‘that many times’
Further, the words bahu or gaņa need to be
used in the sense of numbers, whereas if they are used in the more general
sense of ‘abundance’ or ‘group’, such compound words would not qualify as
samkhyā. A few examples will make this distinction clearer:
bahurodanah̨ ‘too much crying’
mahān gaņah̨ ‘very large group’ (of ascetics
etc.)
These are not by definition samkhyā, and
the operations specified will not apply. (We still haven’t dealt with the
question of what those mysterious operations are). Further, according to
Sharma, the rule is required not only to extend the definition of samkhyā to
the number words formed by these affixes, “but also to exclude words such as
bhūri and prabhūti from being designated samkhyā, even though these words are
similar to bahu and gaņa in the sense that they mean ‘much, abundant’ and so
on”. (It appears to me that Panini was perhaps aiming to provide rules to describe common usage as well as prescribe correct word formation).
Sharma cites the “scope” of the rule as “2.1.19 samkhyā vamśyena, and so on”.
Vasu seems a little more forthcoming in his
explanations. He calls samkhyā ‘numerals’, along with the ‘ordinary’ numerals
one, two, three etc., not making the distinction Sharma seems to be making (or
which I have misunderstood Sharma to be making!). Vasu explains (up front) that certain words
denoting number, formed with words like bahu and gaņa, “and those that have the
affixes vat and ati”, are of this class. Most helpfully, Vasu also explicitly
states that the letters u in vatu and d̨ in d̨ati “are it, or indicatory”, and the actual affixes are just vat and ati. He
also most helpfully clarifies up front that words with affix vatU (I am
supplying upper case U to denote an iT, following Sharma’s practice) “are
generally compound pronouns”, such as tāvat ‘so much’, yāvat ‘as much’, etāvat
‘ as much’, and similarly words in D̨ati e.g. kati ‘how many’, tati ‘so many’,
yati ‘as many’.
And what of these types of words? Vasu explains (a little more clearly than
Sharma, who at times can be cryptic -- like Panini!) that certain compounds
(samāsa) formed with these words are to be treated like numerals, for the
application of samāsa rules and the suffixing of kan kan
(All these examples and the explanations seem
to be taken from the vārttika in the traditional literature. The vārttika,
which as we saw are attributed to Kātyāyana, reads as follows:
Vārttika: ardhapūrvapadaśca
pūraņapratyayāntah sam̨khyā samgñyo bhavatīti vaktavyam, samāsakan vidhyartham.)
The next post will continue with the
succeeding three sutras in this domain of samkhyā, which hopefully will make
things clearer.
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