Just a brief follow-up comment on the ‘rarity’ of the passive aorist. Personally, it did not strike me as being really that rare, but without an objective basis I did not wish to remark on it. In the meantime, however, I extracted instances of the passive aorist from Thomas Jachertz’s dissertation “Das finite Verbum in Kalhaṇas Rājataraṅgiṇī alphabetisch und nach Wurzelparadigmata geordnet” (Cologne 1986) and noted a surprising abundance of such usage in Kalhaṇa. A subsequent, mere cursory search among also his successors Jonarāja (JRT), Śrīvara (ŚRT) and Śuka (ŚuRT) revealed that the passive aorist remained in ordinary use from the 12th well into the 16th century:
āji (aj) 1x āśi (aś) 2x; ŚRT āpi (āp) 12x eṣi (iṣ) 3x aikṣi (īkṣ) 1x akāri (kṛ) 7x; JRT, ŚRT, ŚuRT agāmi (gam) 1x; ŚuRT agrāhi (gṛh) 8x; JRT acchedi (chid) 1x ajani (jan) 1x; ŚRT; ŚuRT ajñāyi (jñā) 15x; ŚRT, ŚuRT [atyāji (tyaj) ŚRT] adāyi (dā) 4x adhāyi (dhā) 5x; ŚRT [adhāri (dhṛ) JRT] apādi (pad) 1x abhoji (bhuj) 2x abhāvi (bhū) 5x; JRT amāyi (mā) 2x amoci (muc) 1x ayoji (yuj) 4x arambhi (rambh) 3x alekhi (likh) 1x avāci (vac) 1x avādi (vad) 4x avadhi (vadh) 2x avāri (vṛ) 1x aśāsi (śās) 1x aśrāvi (śru) 1x; JRT, ŚRT aṣedhi (sidh) 1x astambhi (stambh) 1x asnāyi (snā) 3x; JRT; ŚuRT asvāpi (svap) 1x; JRT; aghāni (han) 1x ahāsi (has) 1x ahāri (hṛ) 1x Regards, WS Am So., 22. März 2026 um 13:34 Uhr schrieb Uskokov, Aleksandar < [email protected]>: > The benedictive is taught in Deshpande. In my teaching practice at an > American university, student will not be introduced to it in the > introductory course, along with other rare forms like the passive of the > aorist; they WILL learn in when first encountered in a text, which is > likely to happen in high intermediate, for instance in a course on Vedic, > or advanced Sanskrit. > > Best wishes > Aleksandar > > Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef> > ------------------------------ > *From:* INDOLOGY <[email protected]> on behalf of > Walter Slaje via INDOLOGY <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Sunday, March 22, 2026 8:16:58 AM > *To:* Matthew Kapstein <[email protected]> > *Cc:* Indology List <[email protected]> > *Subject:* Re: [INDOLOGY] a question about the āśīrliṅ > > Inspired by David Reigle’s insightful article, which suggests that it is > unlikely to encounter the benedictive in Sanskrit programs at (presumably > American?) universities,* I decided to browse through some German-language > textbooks. > > The benedictive mood is evidently taught there, but most thoroughly by > Bühler.** He, in turn, draws on Kielhorn’s grammar, where the rules of > benedictive formations are described in great detail (§§ 380–385).*** > > > > What is interesting here, particularly regarding the question of whether > *vīkṣīṣīraṃs* could be a variant worth considering at all, is that both > authors explicitly point out that the interposed vowel of *seṭ*-roots in > the Ātmanepada appears as a long -*ī*- exclusively in formations from the > root *grah* (e.g., *grahīṣīṣṭa*), but must otherwise always be short > (Kielhorn § 382c; Bühler p. 95, 20). > > > > As if to confirm Riegle’s observation regarding the exclusion of the > benedictive from English-language Sanskrit programs and textbooks, > Perry—who otherwise bases his textbook strictly on Bühler and follows him > even in the exercises****—also excludes any treatment of the benedictive > with the following words: > > “[...] it is so rare that its formation need not be explained here.” (p. > 188). > > > > As said, this is merely an observation regarding trends in Sanskrit > textbooks from different scholarly traditions. > > > > Regards, > > WS > > > > * > > “It is possible to go through university Sanskrit programs without ever > encountering the benedictive. […] Readings in classical Sanskrit texts > typically follow this in the programs, so that unless one specifically > takes up Pāṇinian grammar (or Vedic texts, where a few benedictives do > occur), one is quite unlikely to encounter the benedictive.” (Reigle 1997, > p. 127). > > > > ** > > https://uvhw.de/studia-indologica/product/200922_08-228-8.html > > > > *** > > https://uvhw.de/studia-indologica/product/200921_08-227-1.html > > > > **** > > “The Primer [...] is based upon an excellent little work by Professor > Georg Bühler of Vienna: Leitfaden für den Elementarcursus des Sanskrit, > Vienna 1883. I became acquainted with this book while in Germany, and after > using it with a class at Columbia College was convinced of its great > practical value.” (Preface to the 1936 edition). > > > > > > > Am Fr., 20. März 2026 um 10:48 Uhr schrieb Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY < > [email protected]>: > > Dear Harry, > > I was following the text given by Amano: > Abhisamayālaṃkārakārikāśāstravivṛti by Haribhadra. Skt. > ed. Koei H. Amano, Kyoto: Heirakujishoten, 2000. > and consulting the earlier editions as well. > > I think that the readings you find in GRETIL are simply typos and not > genuine variants. > > 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. > > On Friday, March 20th, 2026 at 12:51 AM, Harry Spier < > [email protected]> wrote: > > Dear list members, > > Matthew Kapstein and ( David Reigle using edition 1929 by Stcherbatsky and > Obermiller) spell the word as *vīkṣiṣīraṃs* . Same text in GRETIL > (different editions) spell it *vīkṣīṣīraṃ*s and *vīkṣiṣiraṃs* > > Are these misprints or alternate spellings in GRETIL? *pratipatsīrann* is > spelled the same in these etexts > > *Matthew Kapstein and ( David Reigle)* > > sarvākārajñatāmārgaḥ śāsitrā yo'tra deśitaḥ| > dhīmanto vīkṣiṣīraṃs tam anālīḍhaṃ parair iti ||1|| > > smṛtau cādhāya sūtrārthaṃ dharmacaryāṃ daśātmikām | > sukhena pratipatsīrann ity ārambhaprayojanam ||2|| > > -------------------------- > > *GRETIL abhisamayālaṃkaranāmaprajñāpāramitopadeśaśāstram * > > > https://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/corpustei/transformations/html/sa_maitreyanAtha-abhisamayAlaMkaranAmaprajJApAramitopadezazAstra.htm > input by Christian Coseru (no source book given) has; > > sarvākārajñatāmārgaḥ śāsitrā yo 'tra deśita / > > dhīmantī vīkṣīṣīraṃstamanālīḍhaṃ parairiti // Abhs_1.1 // > > smṛtau cādhāya sūtrārthaṃ dharmacaryā daśātmikā / > > sūkhena pratipatsīrannityārambhaprayojanam // Abhs_1.2 // > > -------------------------------------- > > GRETIL Abhisamayālaṃkāra > https://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/corpustei/transformations/html/sa_abhisamayAlaMkAra.htmData > entry: members of the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Input Project > Based on the ed. by Ramsankar Tripathi: Abhisamayalankaravrttih Sphutartha. > Sarnath : Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), 1977. > grānthārambhaprayojanam sarvākārajñatāmārgaḥ śāsitrā yo 'tra deśitaḥ / > dhīmanto vīkṣiṣiraṃstamanālīḍhaṃ parairiti // asa_1.2 //smṛtau cādhāya > sūtrārthaṃ dharmacaryāṃ daśātmikām / > sukhena pratipatsīrannityārambhaprayojanam // asa_1.3 // > > Harry Spier > > > On Thu, Mar 19, 2026 at 5:30 PM Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY < > [email protected]> wrote: > > Many thanks to all who replied on- and off-list. I am sorry that I was not > aware of David Reigle's paper, addressing my query so precisely, > beforehand, and I am grateful to him and to Asko Parpola for sharing it. > Walter Slaje's helpful remarks lend some support to my thought that the > benedictive form may have had an intentionally archaic nuance. > > 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. > > On Thursday, March 19th, 2026 at 3:39 PM, Asko Parpola <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Dear Matthew, David Reigle ha written a paper (attached) on these very two > occurrences of the benedictive. > With best wishes, Asko > > On Thu, Mar 19, 2026 at 11:39 AM Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY < > [email protected]> wrote: > > 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 > > > > -- > Asko Parpola, [email protected] > http://www.helsinki.academia.edu/AskoParpola > > > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > > > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > >
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