As far as tendencies toward archaization are concerned, I can point to the following passages, though without the use of the middle voice: In footnote 96 (p. 466 of my edition of Śrīvara
[https://uvhw.de/studia-indologica/product/211230_08-252-3.html]) there is the following remark on „the *deliberately archaic style*“ that Śrīvara sought to create through the use of the benedictive in his *Rājataraṅgiṇī* : „Śrīvara bedient sich hier [= ŚRT I.1.79] eines *gewollt archaisierenden Stils*, indem er die seltene Imperativendung °*tāt *(an die schwache Form der Wurzel √*as *gefügt) in der Bedeutung eines Benediktivs so verwendet, als segnete er hier die Kanonen. Vgl. auch oben I.1.75d (Benediktiv *kriyāt*) sowie I.1.113 (Benediktiv *kriyā**ḥ*).“ Here they are: yadanugraheṇa rājnāṃ samayo līlāvilāsamayaḥ | samayaś ca yantratantrais sthirām pratiṣṭhāṃ *kriyāt* sa Mayaḥ ‖ I.1.75 ‖ sāraṃ surītibaddhaṃ ghanaghoṣaṃ śilpikalpitam ahāryam | navam iva nagaraṃ nṛpateẖ kalpaṃ *stād* yantrabhāṇḍam idam ‖ I.1.79 ‖ tvam evākaṇṭakaṃ rājyaṃ *kriyā* dharmakriyā bhajan | vairiṇo vimukhā yāntu raṇe labdhaparābhavāḥ ‖ I.1.113 ‖ Regards, WS Am Do., 19. März 2026 um 10:39 Uhr schrieb Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY < [email protected]>: > Dear friends, > > In the opening verses (given below) of the *Abhisamayālamkāra-śāstra *(ASA), > an important Mahāyāna Buddhist treatise (said to have been revealed to > Asaṅga by the bodhisattva Maitreya), we find two instances of verbs that I > take to be examples of “precatives” or “benedictives” (*āśīrliṅ*) in the > middle voice (*ātmanepāda*) third person plural. Whitney (925) and > Macdonell (150) both flatly state that the precative middle, though current > in Vedic, does not occur in Classical Sanskrit. Renou (330-331) does not > affirm this categorically, but suggests that the *āśīrliṅ *(without > specifying voice) is commonly met with in kāvya and epigraphy, though > unknown to Buddhist usage. Edgerton, BHS Grammar, has nothing at all to say > about the *āśīrliṅ*, probably due to its absence in the corpus that he > consulted, though the ASA is not in any case written in “hybrid” Sanskrit; > its terminology is distinctly Buddhist, of course, but without peculiarly > BHS grammatical forms. > > Conze, in the vocabulary accompanying his summary translation of the ASA > (SOR VI) offers no grammatical analysis, but treats *vīkṣiṣīran* as an > aorist optative, “have been able to behold,” and *pratipatsīran* as a > future optative, “will be able to make progress.” (It seems simpler to me > to adopt a mildly benedictive reading of both, “that the wise may behold… > and that they may easily master…”) > > What I wish to ask the vyākaraṇa specialists, however, is whether I am > correct to take these verbs as middle voice *āśīrliṅ* third person > plural? And, if so, are there other instances, whether in Buddhist or > non-Buddhist works, that similarly call into question Whitney and > Macdonell’s assertions? I would welcome any other observations about this > apparently unusual form that you may be able to share. In particular, I am > wondering if it is plausible to take its use here as a deliberately > archaizing gesture. > > > sarvākārajñatāmārgaḥ śāsitrā yo'tra deśitaḥ| > > dhīmanto *vīkṣiṣīraṃs* tam anālīḍhaṃ parair iti ||1|| > > smṛtau cādhāya sūtrārthaṃ dharmacaryāṃ daśātmikām | > > sukhena *pratipatsīrann* ity ārambhaprayojanam ||2|| > > with thanks in advance for your observations and insights, > Matthew > > Matthew T. Kapstein > Professor emeritus > Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL Research University, Paris > > Associate > The University of Chicago Divinity School > > Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences > > https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein > > https://vajrabookshop.com/product/the-life-and-work-of-auleshi/ > > > https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501716218/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-i/#bookTabs=1 > > > https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501771255/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-ii/#bookTabs=1 > > https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/60949 > > Sent with Proton Mail <https://proton.me/mail/home> secure email. > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology >
_______________________________________________ INDOLOGY mailing list [email protected] https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
