George, You have an example of the first person perfect usage in your Rapid Sanskrit Method, p. 174. The quotation is from Śiśupālavadha 11.39. Spoken by a woman who had been drunk: bahu jagada purastāt tasya mattā kila aham cakara ca kila cāṭu prauḍhayoṣidvad asya viditam iti sakhibhyo rātrivṛttaṃ vicintya vyapagatamadayā ahni vrīḍitam mugdhavadhvā I used it to teach Sanskrit for 35 years and remember it well. (I separated words for easier scanning.) Jim Ryan Asian and Comparative Studies (Emeritus) California Institute of Integral Studies
> On 10/01/2025 6:55 AM PDT George L Hart via INDOLOGY > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > In classical Sanskrit as I remember it, the perfect tense is supposed to be > used for acts one has not witnessed. Obviously, this makes the use of the > first person perfect problematic. There is a passage — in Śiśupālavadha? — in > which the poet has a character describe lovemaking while he had drunk too > much, using the first person perfect to describe acts he is not sure he did. > Does anyone know where this episode appears? I asked ChatGPT and it made up a > passage it said was from the 8th canto of the Kumārasaṃbhava. When I pointed > out to it that the passage does not exist, ChatGPT apologized and gave me > something from the Ṛgveda. > > Here’s what ChatGPT said. I’m not sure “hallucinating” is strong enough. > > > The passage you’re recalling is likely from Kālidāsa’s Kumārasambhava (The > Birth of Kumāra), specifically in Canto 8. In this section, the god Śiva > recounts his experience and interactions with Pārvatī. Śiva, reflecting on > his actions, uses the first-person perfect tense in the original Sanskrit. > > > > For instance, in verse 8.33, Śiva says: > > > > > mattvā madīyāśayapūrvakāṇi > > > > > (I, being intoxicated, performed actions…) > > > > > > This verse and others capture the reflective tone where Śiva recalls his past > actions, often influenced by a state of intoxication or strong emotion. > > > > This particular use of the first-person perfect is famous for illustrating > Śiva’s introspection and human-like vulnerabilities. Would you like to > explore this verse in more detail? > > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology >
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