The Monkey and The Weaver-Bird - Jaina Versions of A Pan-Indian Tale (Nalini Balbir)
The Monkey and The Weaver-Bird - Jaina Versions of A Pan-Indian Tale (Nalini Balbir)
The Monkey and The Weaver-Bird - Jaina Versions of A Pan-Indian Tale (Nalini Balbir)
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NALINI BALBIR
Since antiquity up to modern times, this tale has been used in the various Indian traditions as
an illustration of different teachings. The Buddhist and Jaina versions are found in disciplinary
contexts. Though neglected, the (Prakrit) Jaina versions are specially interesting because of their
probable early date and their intricate but clear mutual interrelationship. A comparison of the
Brhatkalpa- and the Avagyaka-traditions is presented below. It is followed by an edition, transla-
tion and commentary of the short vivid drama in which the nest of a patronizing weaver-bird is
ransacked by a stubborn and malevolent monkey, equated with a malicious novice or a dull
elder.
Prof. Dr. K. Bruhn who made many suggestions, to the Indo-Aryan Languages, London, 1966.
Institut fur Indische Philologie und Kunstgeschichte (Freie Erzahlungen = Ausgewdhlte Erzahlungen in Maharashtri.
Universitat, Berlin) who put at my disposal all the necessary Zur Einfuhrung in das Studium des Prakrit. Grammatik.
documents (see n. 5), and to all others who gave useful indi- Text. Worterbuch. Hrsg. von H. Jacobi, Leipzig, 1886
cations. (Prof. Dr. A. Mette, H. C. Bhayani, and Mr. K. R. (repr. Darmstadt, 1967).
119
high value for textual history because of their age.2 pp. 77-92 (Ahmedabad, 1971: L. D. Series 30). It is
He did not carry out a complete study of the problem, rather necessary to examine the individual texts (lan-
but, in his characteristic cursory manner,3 gave occa- guage, motifs, etc.), as well as their contexts of occur-
sional hints,4 especially in his unpublished notebooks rences or moral purport: it seems that "animal-tales"
where he transcribed the planned continuation of the have been specially favoured by the Jainas7 when
Avasyaka-Erzahlungen, or analysed some particular explaining disciplinary matters of the religious com-
point.5 munity and the hierarchy of various types of monks in
To this unknown but wonderful amount of work, the category of the Cheda-Texts or Jaina "Books of
almost entirely based on manuscripts collected from Discipline."8 As an example of such analysis I present
India,6 I first wish to pay here a modest tribute, as a the "micro-study" of one such short dialogue-tale I
token of deep admiration. came across while reading the Avasyaka-niryukti and
However, I do not intend in the following pages to its commentaries (see below, p. 124ff.). It is also well-
analyze all the tales concerned. A Hindi paraphrase of known from other Indian sources and runs as follows
them along with the indication of a few parallels can in its broad outline.
be found in J. C. Jain, Prakrta Jaina Katha Sahitva, A weaver-bird is sitting comfortably in the monsoon-
time in the nest she has built for herself.9 She sees a
monkey shivering with cold at the bottom of the tree
and asks him why he has not made any shelter for
2 Ibid., p. 27: "Was die Pancatantra-Reflexe in der Jaina
himself though he possesses hands and feet like a
Literatur anbelangt, so kommen da besonders einige Erzahl-
human being. Her words arouse the anger of the
ungen in Betracht, die von den Jinisten mehr oder weniger
monkey who completely destroys the nest, and leaves
wortlich in die Avai'aka-Erzdhlungen aufgenommen worden
sind. Wir besitzen diese Avagyaka-Erzahlungen in der Text-
her homeless.'0
gestalt, die sie etwa im siebenten Jahrhundert unserer Zeitrech-
nung angenommen haben, gewinnen also, da alle unsere
Pancatantra-Fassungen viel spater ihre uberlieferte Form 7 Leumann seems to have had the idea of dealing with the
bekommen haben, beachtenswerthe Facta textkritischer Art." "Thiersage" in detail: cf. "Dagavaikdlika-sfitra und -niryukti,"
3 E. Leumann was certainly a remarkable figure of his time. p. 610.
His interests were far from being limited to Jaina studies, as 8 They are traditionally called Cheya-suttas. On this type
Khotanese-specialists, among others, know well. Many of his of literature see W. Schubring, Die Lehre der Jainas nach
contemporaries refer to information given by him (see notes den alten Quellen dargestellt (Berlin, Leipzig, 1935: Grun-
in Tawney's or Hertel's books). His real achievements are far driss ... III, 7), p. 76ff.; C. Caillat, Atonements in the An-
beyond what can be seen from the work actually published: cient Ritual of the Jaina Monks (Ahmedabad, 1975: L. D.
W. Schubring, "Ernst Leumann. Ein Nachruf," ZDMG 87 Series 49), p. 13ff.; C. B. Tripathi, "Narratives in the Panca-
(1934) 69-75: "Indessen wurden wir LEUMANN nicht ger- kalpabhasya and Cognate Texts," Indologica Taurinensia XI
echt werden, wenn wir neben der veroffentlichten Forschung (Torino, 1983), pp. 119-128.
nicht auch seine stille Arbeit wuirdigten" (p. 73); C. B. Tri- 9 Infra, "Appendix" about the identification of the bird and
pathi, Catalogue, Preface, p. XIII. its English name.
4 For example, about the story of "the Blue Jackal" in the '0 Comparable to this story is the one about "the selfish
article mentioned above (n. 1), p. 29 (and infra n. 38); about sparrow and the houseless crow(s)" which, in the Marathi
the story of "the Brahman and the Mongoose" in Av. Erz. tradition, was first told by the saint Cakradhara in order to
p. 3; see also, idem, "Da~avaikalika-stitra und -niryukti nach
calm Dhanal, the obstinate young daughter of one of his dis-
dem Erzahlungsgehalt untersucht und herausgegeben," ciples. This anecdote occurs in the LThacaritra, compiled
ZDMG 46 (1892), p. 594, "Der Schakal mit dem Elephanten- about 1278 by Mahaibhata: cf. V. B. Kolte's ed. (Bombay,
Cadaver." 19822), p. 102; S. G. Tulpule, Classical MardthT Literature,
' These papers lre kept in the Seminar fur Kultur p.
und314 (Wiesbaden, 1979: A History of Indian Literature IX,
Geschichte Indiens (Hamburg). Some of them have been lent 4). It is still current in modern times: cf. V. Chitnis, An
to the Institut fur Indische Philologie und Kunstgeschichte, Intensive Course in Marathi, p. 1108ff. (Publ. Central In-
Freie Universitat (Berlin). Through the kind help of Prof. stitute of Languages). My sincere thanks go to Dr. Catharina
Dr. Klaus Bruhn and Chandrabhal Tripathi, I was able to Kiehnle (Mainz) and to Prof. S. G. Tulpule (Poona) who
have free access to the relevant ones. kindly communicated these references to me. For a South In-
6 Cf. Uebersicht, p. II-IV; C. B. Tripathi, Catalogue, dian oral version, see M. Frere, Hindoo Fairy Legends (Old
p. IOff. Deccan Days) (New York, 1881; repr. 1967), pp. 139-140.
I shall follow two lines of enquiry. 1. Sanskrit versions: Pancatantra and Hitopadesa.
1) First, I wish to point to the fact that versions of A few observations will be enough.
this narrative are available to us in the three main The first Book of the Pancatantra in all its versions
traditions, i.e., Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina, and in has the humorous and realistic fable of "The Mon-
three languages, i.e., Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit," and
keys, the Glow-worm and the Bird" (= I, 17 in the
to underline that the didactic purpose is different in Textus Simplicior recension). A herd of monkeys suf-
each case. As Hindu and Buddhist texts have long fering from cold tries to use a glow-worm as fire. In
been known, I shall not linger upon them excessively. reply to the bird's advice to give up useless efforts,
2) Secondly, I would like to illustrate the textual one of them kills her.'3 This is immediately followed
problems one has to cope with when studying the (but in two related recensions only) by "The Monkey
Jaina exegetical literature, the niryukti- and bhasya- and the Weaver-Bird," which is in fact a by-form
verses, or the prose cUrnis and tikas, all replete with ("Nebenform") of the preceding story: Textus Sim-
rich, old and little explored narrative material.'2 Thisplicior (1, 18; repeated in a less elaborate form in
perspective has sometimes compelled me to include a IV, 12), and "Mischrezension" (Kosegarten ed.). In
few philological excursuses. Pilrnabhadra's text and "Mischrezension" (Schmidt
ed.), both stories occur, but they are found in different
1. Sanskrit versions from the Pancatantra and the Hito- Books (I, 25 and IV, 9 respectively).'4 Thus there are
padesa. arguments to assume that the Weaver-Bird variant
2. Pali versions from Jdtakas and Dhammapada-atthakatha. was "late" or secondarily introduced as a doublet
3. Prakrit Jaina versions from the Ava~yaka- and theinside the Pancatantra tradition.1 On the other hand,
Kalpa-traditions. its general renown (and relative antiquity) in India
3.1. Context; 3.2. The texts and their archetype. makes no doubt: unlike the Glow-worm story which
4. The Jaina texts. is restricted to the Pancatantra corpus, it also occurs
4.1. Short Prakrit version. in Buddhist and Jaina works. The question of its posi-
4.2. Metrical Prakrit version. 4.2.1. Text; 4.2.2. Transla- tion cannot be solved with certainty but it has to be
tion;4.2.3. Expansion. raised.
4.3. Metrical Sanskrit transposition by Tilakdcdrya. The wording of "The Weaver-Bird" is similar in the
5. Conclusion. different accounts. The dispute with the monkey is in
APPENDIX: The Weaver-bird. verse; the prose gives the whereabouts of the scene
and the final development.
Some features are peculiar to the Hitopade'a (III, more marginal, or, in other terms, that the Pancatan-
1)16 and betray its secondary character, viz.: the pres- tra version was more widely prevalent in the Indian
ence of more than one bird and one monkey; the final tradition: upadeso na datavyo became a floating-verse,
episode, for the monkeys do not only destroy the nest a subhasita which could be introduced in connection
but also make the eggs fall from it; the number of with various other contexts. Many parallels can be
stanzas, two versus four in the Pancatantra, and their adduced (see n. 18): it was even quoted by the Jaina
wording. Thus the formulation in all the Indian tradi- commentator KsemakTrti at the end of a Prakrit ver-
tions of the first verse uttered by the bird is nearer to sion of our tale (below, 4.2.1). Together with two other
that of the Pancatantra than to that of the Hitopadesa: anustubh-verses similar to those of the Pancatantra
text, it is used by gubhasilagani, a Jaina author of the
hasta-pdda-sam6peto (v.1 samdvukto) drs',ase puru- 15th century, who includes them in his Prabandha-
sdkrtih . pancasati, an anthology of didactic stories written in
M7ena hhidVase (vi. sta-vdta-hato), mikdha, katharm easy Sanskrit.'9
na kuruse grham ?
and the sihgila-sakuna,22 i.e., the Bodhisatta in his paper: a) the Avagyakaniryukti dryd verse 680 supplies
former birth (3 stanzas). They include his advice the key-word vanaro "monkey." The related ciirni (by
undoubtedly colored with a Buddhist tone (as is shown Jinaddsa) as well as the t-ikds (by Haribhadra and
by the use of technical terms in Ja III 73, 28*-74, Malayagiri), both in Prakrit, and the Sanskrit com-
2*-Dhp-a II 23, 1*-4*). As for the destruction of the mentary (by Tilakdcdrya) give an extensive narrative.
nest, without which the story is not complete, it be- b) the Brhatkalpabhdsya tristubh verse 3252 is more
longs to the prose portion; further, the terms of abuse precise; it mentions both the words vanaro, "monkey,"
(rande; re, re pandita-mdnini, etc.; cf. n. 19) employed and sugehid (= Sa. *sugrhika), "weaver-bird." The
by the monkey in his reply to the bird's advice in the story is developed in Ksemak-rti's commentary. (See
23
Pancatantra sources, as well as the angry rough tone all references infra in 4.). The chronology of all these
of the Jaina versions (below) are here conspicuous by works is a difficult question which will be dealt with
their absence. Hence we are immersed in a totally dif- in the conclusion.
ferent atmosphere.24 Thus, in this particular case, the
verses seem to be peculiar to the Buddhists, whereas 3.1. The context. It relates to monastic discipline.
the Pali prose is in perfect agreement with the other 3.1.1. In the Ava'yaka texts, the story is embedded
parallels. in a section devoted to the exposition of the "Ten
On the other hand, the prose commentary invites us Rules of Monkish Behaviour" (Sa. daia-sdmdcdrT, AvN
to a more restricted interpretation of the story which vss. 666-723), as they were named by L. Alsdorf.27
relates to the life of the religious community: the story Broadly, they deal with the etiquet the monk has to
of the present tells us about two young novices (dahara, observe in his relations with his co-fellows or his super-
Ja; saddhiviharika, Dhp-a) engaged in the service of a iors.28 This etiquet is summarized in a tenfold string.
thera; one of them does it perfectly well, the other The first technical term, the only one which will con-
does not accomplish any of the tasks ascribed to him, cern us here, is icchakara, "voluntary service" (AvN
but boasts of his companion's services in front of the
Elder as if they were his own. Two such examples of
this blameworthy behaviour are narrated. Twice the
"rebellious pupil"25 is admonished by the superior;
Part l; Jva~syakaniryukti (AvN) with Haribhadra's tika
twice he feels resentment about it, and finally he sets (AvTH) (Bombay, 1916-17), Part 1, with Malayagiri's tika
the thera's hut on fire (Ja 71, 17-72, 23; Dhp-a 20,
(AvTM), Pt. I (Bombay, 1928); see infra 4.3. about Tilakd-
1-21, 25), hence the title given to the Jataka. Thus the
carya's commentary. Brhatkalpasitra and -bhdDpa (KBh)
monkey is identified with him, and the bird with the
with the commentary begun by Malayagiri and continued by
Bodhisatta.
Ksemakirti. Ed. Muni Caturvijaya and Punyavijaya, Pt. III,
We shall see that a similar connection was estab-
pp. 908ff. (Bhavnagar, 1936). For this part the commentary
lished by the Jainas in one of the two passages where
was written by Ksemakirti. I use the same symbol, KBh, for
our story appears.
both verses and prose. For an exhaustive survey of the Jaina
commentaries see M. L. Mehta, Jaina Sahitya k? Brhad
3. Prakrit Jaina versions.26
Itihasa, bhhg3: Agamika vyakhyaJ (Varanasli, 1967: Prs'-
Both of them belong to the Prakrit exegetical texts
vanatha Vidyadrama Granthamala 11). For further biblio-
on the Canon, alluded to at the beginning of this
graphical details see C. B. Tripathi, "The Jaina Concordance
in Berlin," in Studien zum Jainismus und Buddhismus.
22 See below "Appendix" about this word. Gedenkschrift fur L. A lsdorf (Hamburg, 1981), pp. 301-329
23 Textus simplicior 1, 18, vs. 392; IV, 12 vs. 100; Piarn-
and K. Bruhn, "Avasyaka Studies" (ibidem), pp. 13ff. Verses
abhadra IV, 9, vs. 58, etc. are referred to by their numbers, prose passages by page and
24 Note however that the Dhp-a (11 22, 25-26) throws a line-numbers.
doubt on the perfect gentleness of the bird: evary-passa tava 27 L. Alsdorf, The Arya Stanzas of the Uttaraj~jhaya. Con-
katham gharhviiso ijjhissatF 'W garahanto singilo.. . iha. tributions to the Text History and Interpretation of a
25 This is the title given to the story by E. W. Burlingame, Canonical Jaina Text (Ak. der Wiss. u. der Lit. Mainz, 1966,
Buddhist Legends. Translated from the Original Pali text of Nr. 2), p. 27: A part of the 26th chapter of Utt. is also devoted
the Dhammapada Commentary, vol. 11, p. 111 (1921, repr. to this theme.
1969: Harvard Oriental Series 29). 28 Their enumeration and treatment form a familiar topic
26 Editions and abbreviations of Prakrit texts are as fol- of Jaina disciplinary works: cf. A. Mette, Pind'esana. Das
lows: jvaiyakacierni (AvC) by Jinadasa (Ratlam, 1928-29), Kapitel der Ohani/jjutti uber den Bettelgang, Wiesbaden, 1974,
vss. 668-681).29 Here we get a glimpse of the contro- hierarchy and the necessary duties it implies from a
versies which may have arisen regarding the religious lively dialogue between an ordinary sadhu and his
dcarya. The former refuses to serve the young and old
monks, does not practice icchakdra, and thus attacks
the basic agreement by which the Community lives,
pp. 4ff. But the verses where these ten constituents of "cor-
viz., the distribution of the tasks, according to which
rect behaviour" are listed employ various metrical schemes.
the ordinary monk has to serve the elder, and not the
In the Uttarajjhaya we have three 9lokas (26, 2-4; cf. n. 27).
reverse! The text goes:
The Malacara IV (vs. 125) collects the ten terms in a differ-
ent order in one gi-ti:
"He does not willingly serve the younger and elder
'iceha- 2miccha-karo 3tadha-karo ia 4dsia 5nisihT
monks, and when he is invited to do so by the acarya,
6apuccha 'pa~dipuccha 8chandana 9sa-nimantand va
he replies: "and who serves me?"
'0uvasampa.
AvN vss. 666-667 give the standard-form of the list, but they
And further, the pupil dares to retort rudely to his
are mixed from the metrical point of view:
superior:
666. iccha-miccha-1aha-kdro, dvassyiia ya nisThiiva
apucchana va pa(Iipuecha, chandana ia nimantana,
"If you know what service is, why don't you do it
667. uvasampay' Ya kale, sdma parT bhave dasaviha u
yourself?"'30
(v.1. dasaha);
drstanta about two merchants will not be considered gantavvae sTsaga, kamci kalam, aham pi td hol/a
here).33 pura-ssard te!"
(KBh vs. 3247).
3.1.2. Let me now turn to the Brhatkalpa-bhasya,
whose contents can be compared with those of the The former tries to justify the existing state of things
Vinaya of the Buddhists (see n. 8). Here several devel- by showing what disaster would befall if the tail did
opments are embedded in which our story appears. lead, as it does not have the right knowledge to do so
The arya verses (3240ff.) comment the siltra I, 51 de- (vss. 3248-55), but finally it fails to convince the blind
fining the so-called dr'a-ksetras, the only places where tail which comes to the front; and both immediately
monks and nuns are allowed to wander.3' They are get destroyed being crushed by a cart:
interrupted by a set of fourteen tristubhs which pos-
sibly formed an independent tract (vss. 3247-3260).35 sa manda-buddhT aha sTsakassa, sa-cehanda mandl
These tristubhs are meant to develop the idea ex- vaivanam akium
pressed in the arya verse 3246 that "if the acarya does "pura-ssard hotu muhutta-mettam"; apei'a-cakkhui
not know the right path, or, knowing it, does not sagadena khunnd.37
show it, he goes to destruction (along with those he (KBh vs. 3256).
leads)". Two examples are introduced:
The arguments presented by the head are in the form your own strength? Silly one, have you never heard
of comparisons or illustrations mentioned in the last what the monkey did to the weaver-bird?"
pddas of the bhdsya-verses (3251; 3252; 3254). In two
cases we find them developed in KsemakTrti's prose 3.2. The texts and their archetype.
commentary. The first of these developments is a E. Leumann's papers show that he had minutely
Prakrit prose version of the "Blue Jackal" (ad KBh studied the story of the monkey and the weaver-bird
vs. 325 1).38 The second is the story of the monkey and
from the standpoint of textual criticism. He had pre-
the weaver-bird, which the bhdsya-verse (uttered by pared a critical edition following the principles adopted
the snake's head) introduces in the following manner: in his Ava'yaka-Erzahlungen (p. 1-3), on the basis of
all the manuscripts he could collect of AvC and AvTH,
ullattiyi bho mama kim kares, thimam sayam sutthuto which he also added one MS of AvTM (not used for
ajdtnamdnT? the edition of Av. Erz.) and one of KBh. This story
sujam tayi kin na kayli, madhe, jam vinaro kisi served him as a starting-point for evaluating the rela-
sugehiycde? tionship between the MSS he had at hand, of which he
(KBh vs. 3252). proposed a "Stammbaum."40 His analysis drew atten-
"If you change your place with mine,39 my dear, what tion to the following points:
are you going to do to me, for you do not know well 1) the fact that versions of the story are available
in both the Ava'yaka- and the Kalpa-traditions is
important. The existence of such parallels could be The further words of the bird, the reaction of the
useful for editing the text and for compensating for monkey and the destruction of the nests are described
the inadequacies of the MSS in the absence of a palm- in prose.
leaf MS of the AvC. In fact, correspondences of nar- 2) A quoted metrical version, "Nebenversion" as
ratives between these two works are fairly numerous, Leumann called it (infra, 4.2.). Jinadasa and Malay-
and the comparative method was fruitfully applied by agiri, but not Haribhadra, explicitly refer to "another"
E. Leumann, as can be seen from the Av. Erz. (p. 10, tradition by the comment kei annam pi bhananti, or
n. 1; p. 20, n. 1, etc.). the like, i.e., "some say otherwise," which introduces
2) In the present case AvC (or AvTM) and AvTH two series of aryas (vss. 1-5; 5 bis-10). We do not
disagree.4' Let me now describe the texts. know which are the (contemporary) authors and the
The Brhatkalpa-bhasya commentary simply records (lost?) works implied by such phrases.43 In the present
one Prakrit metrical version composed of ten aryas of case we can only observe that, except for one stanza
the classical type and a concluding prose sentence, fol- consisting of literary amplification (infra, 4.2.3.), the
lowed by the quotation of the subhasita upadeso na two groups of aryas are precisely the same as those
datavyo (infra, 4.2.). which are preserved by Ksemakirti in his commentary
As for the Avasyaka literature, the (non-critical) on the KBh, also as a quotation (introduced by atra
modern editions show a more intricate situation. As a katha nakam); thus the tikakara's only contribution
matter of fact, both Jinadasa's cirni and Malayagiri's probably lies in the Pancatantra quotation upadeso
tika evidently hand down simultaneously TWo differ- na datavyo appended at the end of the account. And
ent traditions of the complete story, the texts of which it can be reasonably assumed that the source for the
are interwoven. However the parallel version in the ten verses is one of the two as yet unpublished Brhat-
KBh induces to disentangle them, and confirms the kalpacurnis in Prakrit, or some other work lost to us.
independent character of the verse-version as preserved As a matter of fact, Ksemakirti often quotes them ex-
by AvC and AvTM. pressis verbis when dealing with dogmatical matters.44
Thus we have: When adducing stories he usually does not mention
1) A short account specific to the Av. cluster (infra, any source, but it is highly probable that, living in the
4.1). It consists of an introductory sentence followed 13th century, Ksemakirti did not himself compose
by one drya, in which the bird stresses the contradic- Prakrit stories. Thus we have to search for their ori-
tion between the human-like aspect of the monkey gins. However, the lack of material in this field com-
and its being without a house: pels me for the moment to remain satisfied with
hypothetical remarks.
"You are a man, o monkey: there is no use in your As had already been noticed by Leumann (supra),
carrying long arms Haribhadra's tTcka here clearly disagrees with Jinaddsa's
as you do not build a hut or a roof 42 on the top of curni in that, except for its concluding verse, it
the tree." does not quote the metrical "Nebenversion": alone
(4. 1., vs. 1). among the Ava'yaka-writers, he gives only the short
account. Such a situation adequately illustrates Har-
This was certainly an old nucleus-verse in the story, as ibhadra's method of composition. More than once,
it forms the basis of the discussion between the two
animals. It is the only one really common to Hindu,
Buddhist and Jaina traditions, though the wording is
43 This is not the only occurrence of such "anonymous" ref-
unfortunately too different to be compared in detail.
erences in narrative passages: see, for instance, Av. Erz. p. 7,
vs. 10; AvTH pp. 341b, 342a, etc. (illustrations about the dif-
ficulty of gaining human birth); AvC 11, 155-AvTH 667b;
4' E. Leumann also drew attention to the specificity of 714a (32 yoga-samgrahas); etc. Cp. the reference to vrddhava-
Malayagiri's tTkd which, in the present case, preserves the dah and piirvaprabandhah in Devendra's commentary to the
story in Prakrit. Uttarajjhayd, on which see L. Alsdorf, Kleine Schriften,
42 Pk. padallT is a deg-i word, cf. Paia-sadda-mahannavo, pp. 1 12f. The minute study of such expressions can be re-
(Varanasi, 19632) s.v.; CDIAL 7694; 7695. The word occurs warding: see 1. B. Horner's illuminating article: "Keci, 'some'
in Gujarati with the same meaning, cf. M. B. Belsare, An in the P5li commentaries," JPTS IX (1981), pp. 87-95.
Etymological Gujarati English Dictionary (Delhi, 19812): "a 44 Cf. Index of works quoted in vol. VI of the Brhatkal-
roof, a shed." pabhasya ed. (Bhavnagar, 1942).
indeed, elements belonging to other traditions are not variantes grammaticales dans le D.," Indological and
retained in his commentary and this procedure of Buddhist Studies in Honour of Prof. J. W. de Jong
selection finally results in a new text. Here verses which ( . . . ), Canberra, 1982, p. 71). On the other hand,
are clearly stamped as being quotations are omitted; R. Pischel (Grammatik ? 203) and A. N. Upadhye
elsewhere the elaborate Canonical prose style of the (Kuvalayamala, Pt. 2, Bombay, 1970, p. 13ff.) gener-
curni (vedhas, etc.) which may have been felt to be ally suppress it. I shall follow their example.
outdated by his time has been left aside or adapted.45
The various texts represent different steps in the
It is, however, possible that he faithfully followed a
literary development of the story. These do not neces-
source other than the curni in the state in which it is
sarily correspond to chronological stratification or
available to us to-day.
criteria.
As for the unpublished Avasyaka commentary of
Tilakacarya (13th cent.; see 4.3.) it contains only one
4.1. The short Prakrit version specific to the Av.
Sanskrit remake in slokas. The existence of two ver-
tradition is the simplest stage of the narrative; it may
sions could not have been deduced from it alone.
also be the earliest, but this cannot be proved beyond
doubt: AvC 1, p. 345-346; AvTH p. 262b; AvTM 1,
4. The Jaina texts. p. 345ab.
As Leumann did in his Av. Erz., I take Haribhadra's
I refer to Leumann's readings (L) when they differ text as a basis and collect other readings in footnotes.
from the editions available to-day. The following rules Some of them are interesting from the linguistic point
of transcription are observed: initial nasal is written of view: e.g., abhidduijjamano M which is perhaps a
n-; intervocalic nasal is written -n-. All eds. make a present passive participle of the stemm abhiddava-, or
more or less abundant use of inorganic -t- between secondarily built on abhidduya- (Sa. abhidruta-) "at-
vowels. This question has been variously solved by tacked by"? Words put between brackets are those
scholars: the editors of the Jaina Agama Series (vol. I which do not appear in the C.
Nandisuttam and Anuogadddram, Bombay, 1968,
p. 86) put forward a qualified opinion and sometimes AvN vs. 680 (arya):
retained the ta-gruti out of respect for the old manu- abbhatthanae MARUO VANARAO ceva hoi
script tradition. Whatever its linguistic value, this dit hanto,
orthography may have accounted for verbal puns guru-karane sayam eva u VANIYAGA DONNI
(cf. C. Caillat, "Notes sur les variantes dans la tradition ditthantd. (see above, p. 124f).
du Dasaveyaliyasutta," Indologica Taurinensia VIII-
IX, Torino, 1981, n. 16 & n. 40; idem, "Notes sur les ego VANA ROi rukkhe acchai, (vdsdsu) sTa-vdenai
jhadijaiii
tahe sugharae sauniyae bhanio:
45 See, for instance, the description of the birth-consecra- 1. "vdnara, puriso si tumam,111 nir-atthayam vahasi
tion performed by all categories of gods on the occasion of bahu-dandaim,
Rsabha's birth: AvC 1, pp. 136-151 depicts them lengthily jo payavassa sihare na karesi kudim pa~dalim
in the elaborate Canonical style, explicitly quoting the Jam- va!" (trsl. p. 7).
buddTvappannatti and the Rdyapasenaijja (cf. L .Alsdorf, so evam tTe bhanioi' tunhikko acchai. tahe so doc-
Ki. Schriften, pp. 136-159). On the other hand, AvTH, cam pi (taccam pi) bhanai. (tao) so ruttho (tam)
pp. 121a-125a, summarizes them in ordinary Prakrit prose in- rukkham duruhium adhatto."' sa nattha. tena tlse
termingled with a few enumerative verses. Another similar tam gharam sumbam sumbham vikkhittam.i
case is mentioned in A. Mette, Indisehe Kulturstiftungsber- bhanai ya:
ichte und ihr Verhdltnis zur Zeitaltersage (Wiesbaden, 1973), 2. "na vi si mamam mayahariyd, na vi si mamam
p. 9; ubi alia. This had been rightly stated by Leumann in his sohiya va niddhd va,
handwritten analysis of our story: "Im Allgemeinen wird sughare, acchasu vighard, ja vattasi loga-tattrsu
schon von Haribhadra an von allen Benutzern der Curni die (=infra, 4.2, vs. 10).
Diction derselben dem ublichen Sanskrit ndher gebracht";
idem, Uebersicht, p. 15a: "Die Clirni bringt -um es kurz zu suham idanim accha. " "
sagen- in Sprache und Anlage die erste Traditionsperiode
zum Abschluss, wahrend Haribhadra's Tik5 eine zweite i) vanarago C; ii) jhadijjanto C; v. sliya-vaehim abhid-
eroffnet." duijjamano (L abhiduijjamano) sugharae sauniyae
bhanio M; iii) vanaraga, vanaraga nir- C; vanaraga, vdnara, tume a-suhie, amhe vi dhitim na vin-
puriso M; iv) so tfe evam vutte ta. C; evam so tle bh. damo."
t. a. M; v) araddho M; vi) t.t. ya C; tena tlse ghara- a) dhara-pahare KBh; b) geham a. KBh.; d) ratim KBh;
gam suyam2 vikkhittarn M; vii) nibbhagge, iyanim 4-5ab are confused in M ed. where we read: hattha tava
suham accha M. manusage jarisa tdrisa hiyammi vinnanam
jTviya ca 'mmoha-phalam tu vi sahasi dhara-vatehim
4.2. The metrical version is broadly a versified account (chindeuna tanaim) icchasi vasahim na appano kaum.
of 4.1.: Brhatkalpabhasya commentary (vol. 111, p. 909- Leumann's transcript has for M:
910 at vs. 3252); "Nebenversion" of AvC 1, p. 345-346 hattha tava manusaga [ssa] jarisa hiyayammi vinnanam.
and AvTM 1, p. 345ab. [hattha vinnanamJ jTviyam [ca] moha-[p]phalam tujj[h~a;
However, two lines of expansion or amplification visahasi dhara-vate, icchasi . . .
can be seen:
(i) vss. 2-3 form a development emphasizing the In AvC and AvTM eds., the end of 4.1. comes between
cleverness of the weaver-bird. They are found in the vs. 5 and vs. 6. The sentence anne bhananti (C) or anne
three passages. evam bhananti (M) introduces the remaining portion
(ii) On the other hand, AvC and AvTM elabo- of the verses.
rate with an awkward insistance upon the anger of the
monkey: cp. vs. 6 in 4.2.1. and 4.2.3. The narrator:
The reader will find a discussion of philological 6. taha doccam taha taccam; rosavio tTW vdnaro pdvo
details in the footnotes 46-58. rosena dhamadhamento, upphidio tam gao salam.
ab) so in KBh; see 4.2.3. for AvC and AvTM; d) u.
4.2.1. Text. bhangium malam M ed.; Leumann's transcript: u. bhan-
In AvC and AvTM editions, where both 4.1. and gato malam. We should probably read salam "a branch."
4.2. are mixed together, vss. 1-5 are preceded by the In the Jaina nagari script, signs for ma and sa can be
beginning of 4.1. up to paTdalim va then by the sen- very similar.
tence kei annam pi bhananti (C) or kei puna evam 7. akampiammi to padavammi phiridi tti niggaa
bhananti (M). sughara;
annammi dumammi thia, jhadijjae sra-vaenam.
The narrator: b) phiradi tti KBh.
1. vasena ihadijjantam rukkh'agge vanaram tharath- 8. iaro vi ya tam necd/dam ghettunam padavassa siha-
arantam rao
sughara nama sauniya bhanai tayam neddae santT: tanayam ekk 'ekkam anchiuna to u/jhaT kuvio.
b) datthulnarm v. M; tharatharentarm M, KBh.; d) bh. c) kuflam e. C; miularn e. L. suiyam . .. chindiuina M;
tayanim vaesantT C ed.; taya niddae santT L. cp.4. 1. sumbam.
In presenting the following provisional translation, 7. As soon as the tree was shaken, the bird flew
my hope is that the reader will appreciate, as I did, away, pfuit! with a flap of its wings.54 Sitting
the unpretentious achievement of the anonymous on another tree she was tormented by the cold
story-teller in the staging of this little drama, the vivid wind.
description of the monkey's anger, and the sarcastic 8. Meanwhile the other one took the nest from the
tone of its words (vs. 10), as well as the precise sense top of the tree, pulled the twigs one by one,"
of observation which the suggestive picture of the
weaver-bird's behaviour reveals.
1. A monkey tormented by the rains46 was shiver-
ing at the top of a tree. A bird known as the 51 vilambemi= Sa. vidambayami. On I for d see Pischel
weaver-bird (sughara)47 who was sitting in her ? 226. Thus either: "I mock at the spring-month," i.e., as I
nest said to him:48 can swing at will in my nest, I need not wait for the spring,
2. "Having cut grass-twigs which I have brought or, rather, "(even during the rainy-season) I imitate (the
to the top of a tree, I have made a home, free behavior I would have) in the spring." I owe this convincing
from the wind; here I live without anxiety.49 interpretation to Prof. H. C. Bhayani. It is also supported by
3. Here I have a good time and enjoy myself, and Tilaka (infra 4.3) vs. 4cd: andolayvami dola-sthadhunapi
during the rainy-season I do not get in the least surabhav iva. (An explanation referring to the verb vi-lamb-
wet; swinging,50 monkey, I act as if during the can give nothing satisfactory).
52 rosena dhamadhamento: cliche expression with redupli-
cated expressive word (cp. vs. I tharatharantam): see Erzdh-
lungen 72,2*; 71, 38* kovena dh. See for other similar
46 jhadi;.jai, cf. CDIAL 5328.2 *jhatayati "shakes down"; formations H. Jacobi, The Kalpasiitra (Leipzig, 1881), p. 104.
*jhatati "falls"; 5329 *jhadt "rainstorm." 5 upphadai (v. 1. upphidai) also said of a monkey in Das
47 See below, Appendix. Saptafatakam des H6la, hrsg. von A. Weber (Leipzig, 1881;
repr. 1966) stanza 171cd:
48 tayam: enlarged form of the demonstrative pronoun (not
recorded by Pischel); cf. Jacobi, Erzdhlungen 85, 37*; J. J. upphadai makka~do khokkhei a pottam ca pittei.
Meyer, Hindu Tales, (London, 1909), p. 286, n. 1; J. Deleu- "(er) springt in die Hbhe, knurrt und schldgt sich den Bauch"
W. Schubring, Studien zum MahdnisTha (Hamburg, 1963) (Weber, ZDMG 28, 1874, p. 391).
? 19 and Glossary; = Digambara Prakrit tago = Jaina Skt. 54 phiridi ti (Av); phiradi tti (KBh). I cannot find this word
taka-, cf. A. N. Upadhye, The Brhatkathakoga (Bombay, recorded either in the usual dictionaries or in K. Mitra,
1943), intr. p. 98; M. Bloomfield, "On Diminuitive Pronouns "Onomatopoeia and its use in Middle Indo-Aryan (Jaina
in Jaina Sanskrit," Indian Studies in Honour of C. R. Lan- Literature)," Indian Linguistics 8 (1940-44), pp. 406-417. It
man (Harvard, 1929), pp. 7-25. According to Prof. H. C. probably refers to the particular twitter of the weaver-bird,
Bhayani, the reading of AvC could mean: "advising at that or, rather to the sound of its wings when it flies away. Cp.
time" (vaesantT uvaesantT= Sa. upa-diS-); Leumann's read- CDIAL 9038* phat "sudden movement." It also reminds of
ing: "(the bird) who was then sitting in her nest." the adverbs like jhadatti, taditti, etc.: cf. L. A. Schwarzschild,
49 vasamim AvC, L, KBh; vasamT TM: -im or - as alterna- "Notes on some words meaning "immediately" in Middle
tive spellings of a metrical lengthening (cp. Pischel ? 75)? Indo-Aryan," JRAS 1961 (1-2), pp. 39-44 and M. Hahn,
50 I retain the lectio difficilior andolamaini (C,L), a pos- "Iti als Adverbialbilder," ZDMG (Suppl. 111, 2), 1977,
sible form of the Middle Feminine Present Participle, for pp. 854-863, where it is however not listed.
-atya]miinT against the Present Sg. I andolayimi (TM, KBh; ss Pk. amchai, Sa. anichati, Pa. afichati: CDIAL 1099;
Tilaka 4.3, vs. 4). CPD 1, s.v. Take note of the lectio difficilior kulam (C). It
and full of anger let them (fall). "As the first time so she spoke a second, a third and a
9. As the nest was lying on the ground, the wicked fourth time. At the fifth time he had been admon-
monkey said: Weaver-bird, just listen with an ished,59 the wicked monkey got wild.
attentive mind,56 you are shameless! Angry, biting his lips-like Hanuman during the
10. You are not my boss,"7 nor my companion, nor burning of Lanka-panting with wrath he went jump-
my friend; o nice-housed one, remain without a ing to the branch."
house (sughare. ... vighard), for meddling in A few details may point to an interpolation: the
other people's affairs.58 insisting tone with five provocations from the bird,
instead of three in KBh; the uncertainty of the word
4.2.3. Expansion. sandattho which may have been influenced by the fol-
Instead of KBh vs. 6 describing the monkey's anger, lowing verse and which is rather obscure; and, last but
AvC and AvTM offer a typical case of literary ampli- not least, the highly formulaic evocation of vs. 6ab
fication in one arya and a half. and the facile comparison with Hanumdn. Biting one's
own lips (Pk. sandatth'ottho = Sa. samdastaustha-)
5bis. jaha padhamarm taha biiyam taha taiyarm taha is listed as one of the conventional manifestations
cautthayam bhaniam, of the "furious sentiment" along with frowning, etc.,
pancamiarm rosavio sandattho vinaro pa-vo in the treatises of dramaturgy.60 Numerous occur-
6. kuddho sandatth' ottho Lankii-ddhe va jaha ya rences of such stereotyped expressions with the verb
Hanumanto (sam-)DAMS- are found in the description of epic
rosena dhamadhamento upphidio tam gao salam.heroes.6' On the other hand, the chapter showing
Hanuman setting Lanka on fire with its tail ablaze
5bis a. taha p. L; c. pancamayam M; d. sandittho M; is clearly a later interpolation in the Hindu Ramd-
6b. - dahe ya jaha sa M. yana.62 As for the Jaina recensions, from Vimalasuri's
Paumacariya to Hemacandra's Trisasti onwards, they
generally do not include this marginal incident.63
could be a metrical form for kula which reminds of kulaya- 4.3. Metrical Sanskrit transposition by Tilakacarya in
"nest" (Pancatantra versions), kutava "idem" in the Pali his still unpublished Ava'yaka commentary.
parallels (Ja III 74, 2*; Dhp-a 11 23, 4* kutika-), explained as In this work, which was composed in Sam. 1296
kulhvaka in the prose; cp. CDIAL 3340; 3227.2. ( 1239 A.D.), all stories are narrated in Sanskrit 'lo-
56 avahiya-hiyaa-, also with irnoti, for instance, in Erzah- kas. It was already known to E. Leumann who referred
lungen 77, 14*: to one MS in the British Museum and another one in
... nisuinasu avahiya-hiyao kumara hou~nam. Cambridge, and gave the date as 1239 A.D. (Ueber-
anuhia-hidae of AvC is not clear to me: "nice-hearted?" sicht, p. 14a, lines 65ff., and p. 15a; idem, "Da'avaika-
"Well-disposed"? lika-sutra und -niryukti," p. 582, n. 2). Other manu-
57 I take Pk. mayahariyi (fem. of mayahara "a village scripts have been recorded by P. Peterson, Detailed
head-man," a degl word) in its technical meaning of "a senior Report of Operations in search of Sanscrit Mss in the
nun, an abbess" (cf. Erzahlungen 36, 13; 37, 27; S.B.DEO,
HistorY of Jaina Monachism, p. 471 and n. 42). Here the 59 M sandittho = Skt. samdista, PSM s.v.; or: "at the fifth
word is obviously used in an ironical derogatory way, may time the monkey was seen furious" (= Skt. samdrrstah)?
be alluding to the moralizing tone of religious people? More 60 See Naftyasi'stra Vll, 16 (ed. Baroda, 1956: GOS 36,
generally it can refer to "a superior lady" to whom respect is p. 352); Dasariupa IV, 81 (ed. G. C. 0. Haas, Delhi, 1962),
owed (cp. 4.3. vs. 8 me mahatT tvam na). etc.
58 tatti "anxious thought, entire devotion to a thing"; e.g., 61 The Pratlka-Index of the Mahabharata vol. 6 (Poona,
R. N. Shriyan, A Critical Study of Mahapurana of Puspa- 1972), p. 4171a s.v. sandastostha-. Hemacandra, Trisastiiala-
danta (Ahmedabad, 1969), p. 254 with references: a "deAT" kapurusacarita VII, 2, l8ab; VII, 6, 399, etc.
word often explained by cinti. CDIAL 5683 seems to relate 62 Baroda Critical Ed. V, p. 52. See H. Jacobi, Das Rumii-
it to tapti "heat," while DegTndmamali (ed. R. Pischel, Bom- yana. Geschichte und Inhalt nebst Koncordanz nach den
bay, 1880) refers to tat in the Glossary. See also A. Weber, gedruckten Recensionen (Bonn, 1893; repr. Darmstadt, 1970),
Das Saptafatakam des Hala on stanza 2. Tilaka's text (4.3, pp. 34f.
vs. 8) has para-tapti = Pk. para-tatti (Saptapatakam vs. 866; 63 See for instance K. R. Chandra, A Critical Study of
Manipaticarita vs. 234; etc.). Paumacariyarm (Vaishali, 1970), pp. 85ff., 239.
Bombay Circle, 1882-83 (Extra No. of the Journal of 7. sakrd uktah sthitas tasnrm. dvis-trir ukto 'tha
the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, so 'kupat.
vol. XVI), p. 60ff., with extracts from the text and its tam druhya tarum vegid abhdhks!t sugrhd-
colophon. An important palm-leaf MS with a few grham.
refined paintings (copied in Sam. 1445 = 1388 A.D.) is 8. ace: me mahatT tvam na, na snigdha va, suhrn
mentioned in Muni Punyavijaya, Catalogue of Palm- na via.
Leaf Mss in the Simntinitha Jain Bhandara, Cambay, sugrhe! vigrhd tistha! para-taptim karosi yat.
Pt. I (Baroda, 1961: GOS 135), No. 63, pp. 86-88 =
U. P. Shah, Treasures of Jaina Bhandiras (Ahmeda- 5. Conclusion.
bad, 1978: L. D. Series 69), No. 410 of the Appendix I have purposely refrained from mentioning any
on MSS. chronological indications for the Jaina texts I have
The text given below is cited from a fairly modern referred to. As they are composed of different layers,
MS kept in the L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad, we always have to distinguish between the approximate
No. 9016, foll. 103b-104a (in Catalogue of Sanskrit date of the entire work and the date of a particular
and Prakrit Manuscripts, Pt. IV, Ahmedabad, 1968, piece. Thus the Ava'yaka-niryukti is usually ascribed
L. D. Series 20, pp. 16-17, Serial No. 108; prasasti to the first centuries A.D. In the case of the story
ibid., Pt. I, pp. 66-67). I had access to it through a studied here, we have no means to prove that the
photocopy prepared and kept in the Institut fur In- drya (680) where it appears is so old. The same is true
dische Philologie und Kunstgeschichte, Freie Univer- of the Brhatkalpabhasya tristubh (3252). On the other
sitat, Berlin. Though much later, Tilaka's version hand, we know that Malayagiri and KsemakTrti lived
represents a compromise between the short version in the 12th and 13th centuries. However, the diction
(4.1) and the metrical text analysed in 4.2.1. The and the style of the metrical version (4.2.) suggest an
description of the monkey's anger is rather tossed earlier time of composition, perhaps around the 7th
down, vs. 7 being nearer to the sobriety of KBh (vs. 6) or 8th centuries A.D. Thus it may have been contem-
than to the poetical emphasis of AvC and AvTM (in porary with the era of the curnis from which it was
4.2.3.). At the same time, it includes the verse stress- borrowed. The short account (4.1.) is written in a plain
ing the human-like aspect of the monkey, which style, but this fact does not necessarily point to a high
appears in the short version but is less clear in the antiquity; it may have been contemporary with the
versified one: Tilaka vs. 2-vs. 1 in 4.1. Thus, in this metrical text. Nevertheless, the existence of the story
particular case, chronology of the works and literary in the Pancatantra and the Jaina/ Buddhist traditions
affinities are two different things: the place of Tilaka's may prove that it was known in India at a fairly early
account is in fact between 4.1. and 4.2. date. There is no evidence that, in this case, the Pali
verses are particularly old, or that one version is more
lcd. !Tta-vdtdrdito varsdsv eko 'bhat vinaras "original" than the other.
tarau. We have seen the difference of contexts between
2. gakunih sugrh6ce tam: tvam vinara! naro na the Jataka, the Ava'yaka and the Brhatkalpabhdsya
hi? commentaries. However, both the Buddhists and the
aparthau te bhuji-dandau, svasrayam na Jainas show the same type of specialization: the mon-
karosi yat. key and the weaver-bird story is used in a disciplinary
3. chittvanTya trndny atra !ikharantas taroh context as an illustration of the conflicting relations
svayam between monks who do not take for granted the reli-
krte nide nivite 'smin nir-udvigna vasdmy gious hierarchy as it is. The Ava'yaka texts put face
aham. to face a superior and a novice, whereas the Brhatkal-
4. varsasv api na timyami, hasami ca ramami ca, pabhasya intends to demonstrate the shortcomings of
mndolaydmi dola-sthadhunapi surabhav iva. some senior monks. Would all this explain the fact
5. manusyasyeva te hastau, vij/iinaqm hrdaye 'pi that no version of the story can be traced in the Jaina
ca, narrative literature of the Middle-Ages, which is
sarvam nir-arthakam markha!; fivitam te tatha mostly devoted to encouraging the layman's virtues?
vrthd. The study of the Prakrit texts has helped us to
6. megha-dhdrd-prahdrdn yat sahase tvam nir- analyze the intricate material handed down by the
asrayah, Avagyaka tradition which appears to be composite.
vdnara! tvayy asukhite labhe 'ham api no We have here one of the many cases where related
dhrtim. versions are preserved side by side in one and the
same text. The Brhatkalpabhasya parallel proves the version (4.2) vividly depicts its using the nest as a
existence of an independent metrical account, probablyswing.
derived from the short one in mixed prose and verses. A zoological identification is not impossible. The
It should be added that the task of tracing more commentator on the Su'ruta-samhita (XLVI, 64) ex-
Jaina parallels is not an easy one in the case of such plains that the sugrhF has a yellow head and is com-
stories where no proper name occurs. And their monly known as the "weaver" (sugrhF pitamastako
amount-and interest-in all the Prakrit commen- vayd iti loke; CDIAL 11298 vaya "weaver"; hence
taries is far from negligible. The Dictionary of Prakrit
Hindi bayi). Similarly the old Indian names are kept
Proper Names proves to be insufficient in such a in the western Neo-Indian languages: Gujarati sugharF
situation. The only solution might be to prepare de- and sugaro, Rajasthani sughara (see respectively
tailed tables of contents (or indexes) of the works in H. R. Kapadia, "The Jaina Records about Birds,"
order to extract all the narrative material.64 ABORI 43, 1962, p. 93; M. B. Belsare, An Etymolog-
ical Gujarati English Dictionary; RdjasthanT sabad
APPENDIX: The weaver-bird. kos, Jodhpur, 1978). All refer to the "weaver": Ploceus
philippinus (cf. Salim Ali, The Book of Indian Birds,
It is well-known that animals' names and their iden-
Bombay Natural History Society, 1979", No. 245; ubi
tifications are often a stumbling-block of Indology. alia).
On the other hand, familiar folk-tales, like the one The bird actually associated with our story in the
studied above, may supply valuable information on oral tradition is the baya: cf. John Lockwood Kipling,
the realia. Beast and Man in India. A Popular Sketch of Indian
The different versions do not pay the same atten- Animals in their Relation with People (London, New
tion to the bird. The Hitopadega tradition does not York, 1892), p. 22: "A popular rhyming proverb con-
mention any specific name (paksinah sukham varsdsv trasts the house-building talent of the baya bird with
api nivasanti 111,1). The Pali texts call it singila-sakuna the helplessness of the shelterless monkey, which, hav-
(Be sihgala; singdla) or singila alone, but do not give ing human hands and feet, is yet incapable of protect-
any particular indication about its habits. I cannot ing itself against the weather. This verse is often quoted
propose anything satisfactory for this word which for the benefit of idle boys and girls who object to
seems to occur only in the present context. It is ex- learn."
plained as "a kind of horned bird" by Rhys Davids & Thus for all these reasons Boehtlingk-Roth's identi-
Stede (Pali-English Dictionary, s.v.), i.e., a hoopoe- fication of sugrhT and cognate terms with the "tailor-
bird? It may be formed on Pa. singa (Sa. srnga-) with bird" (Sylvia sutoria = Orthotomus sutorius) in the
suffix -i/a-, as in kokila "the Indian Cuckoo" (cp. Petersburg Dictionary and the Abhidhanacintamani
Wackernagel- Debrunner, A /tindische Grammatik 11/2, (ed. Boehtlingk-Rieu, St. Petersburg, 1847, vs. 1341,
? 231a). It may also stemm from Pa. singin (Sa srh- p. 251) is most probably inaccurate from the ornitho-
gin) with extension -1- (CDIAL 12595)? See moreover, logist's point of view: indeed both birds have in
W. Norman Brown, "The Pancatantra in Modern common the practice of sewing elaborate nests: every-
Indian Folklore" (India and Indology, Delhi, 1978, body remembers the charming "Darzee's chaunt" in
n. 36, p. 141). Kipling's Book of the Jungle. Nevertheless, they belong
On the other hand, the Pancatantra tradition and to entirely different families and the modern Indian
the Prakrit versions lay emphasis on the bird's skill- names of the "tailor-bird" are quite different from
fulness in building a sophisticated hanging nest; hence those mentioned above (Sdlim Ali's personal letter
its name of sFicimukh& (-ii) "needle-mouth," sugrhT dated 3-11-1983). Hence here the equivalent "weaver-
(Pk. sughara, suharli, sugehili) "nice-housed," hence bird."
also the pun sugrhT/ni(r)grhT. The Prakrit metrical Finally the reader can refer to Anand Krishna,
"Illustrated Leaves from a Paficatantra Manuscript,"
in Aspects of Jaina Art and Architecture (Ahmedabad,
1975), p. 410 and plate 10, where he will find a realistic
representation of the shivering monkey and the weaver-
64 For example, I found by chance that an allusion tobird
our peeping out from its hanging-nest. Another less
story is included in JIidnapancamlkathah 7.29cd (I Ith cent.;
characteristic illustration is the third one of those
late Prakrit; ed. Bombay, 1949: Singhi Jain Seriesanalyzed
25): by S. Kramrisch, "A Painted Ceiling," Jour-
sughari-makkad-ayanam saccavio vaivaro esa. nal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art, VII (1939),
pp. 175-182.
vasamim. n. 49
amchai n. 55 vilambemi n. 51
anuhiya-hidae (voc.) n. 56 veyavacca ? 3.1.1.; n. 31
andolamani n. 50 sandatth'ottha ? 4.2.3.; n. 60-61
avahiya-hidae (voc.) n. 56 (dasa-)sdmdcari ? 3.1.1.; n. 27-28
icchakara ? 3.1.1.; n. 28-29 Pa. singila(-sakuna) ? 2.; "Appendix"
upphadai n. 53 Sa. sugrhi ? 1.; "Appendix".
ullattiya n. 39 sugehia ? 3.; "Appendix."
kei bhananti p. 128, no. 43 sughara
jhadijjai n. 46
(para-)tatti n. 58 MAIN MOTIFS OR STORIES
taya (Sa. taka-) n. 48
(rosena) dhamadhamento n. 52 Blue Jackal n. 4; n. 38
nijjara ? 3.1.1. Burning of Lanka ? 4.2.3.
paddl! n. 42 Quarelling limbs ? 3.1.2.; n. 36-37
phiridi tti n. 54 Selfish sparrow and houseless crow(s) n. 10
mayahariya n. 57