Syntax of the cases in the Pali Nikayas

324 Pages·2016·1.87 MB·English

Postgraduate Institute of Pali & Buddhist Studies
Publications

Syntax of the Cases
in the
Pali Nikayas

By
O.H. de A. Wijesekera, M.A., Ph.D., Dipl. O.A.S. (Lond.)

A Thesis presented to the University of London for the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 1936.

© Copyright Reserved 1993

ISBN 955-9044-10-9

Originally Published by
The Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies,
University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Reproduced in digital form with permission from the publisher.
2
Contents

Foreword ................................................................................................ 4
Introduction ........................................................................................... 6
Abbreviations ......................................................................................... 8
1. General And Grammatical ..................................................................... 8
2. Titles of Books, Periodicals, etc. ............................................................ 9
References ............................................................................................ 10
An Abstract Of The Thesis ................................................................. 12
Case-Forms In The Nikāyas ............................................................... 14
Chapter I The Nominative Case ........................................................ 39
Chapter II The Accusative Case ........................................................ 58
Chapter III The Instrumental Case ................................................. 108
Chapter IV The Dative Case ............................................................ 156
Chapter V The Ablative Case .......................................................... 192
Chapter VI The Genitive Case......................................................... 225
Chapter VII The Locative Case ....................................................... 265
3
Preface to the Digital Edition

I am very grateful to the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist
Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka and particularly to the
Director Venerable Professor Kotapitiye Rahula for permission to
reproduce this important work on Pāli Grammar by one of the
leading Pāli and Sanskrit scholars in Sri Lanka in recent times.

I am also grateful to Ashin Sopāka who corrected the ocr-ed text,
which lacked diacritics and had many problems in the text. It was a
lot of patient and hard work to produce a usable document.

In some places Prof. Wijesekera omitted titles to his sections, and
just had a number. I have included titles for these sections to indicate
content and have placed those titles in square brackets. They do not
appear in the original text. Also in square brackets are the pages of
the original edition of this book which was published by the
Institute.

The text is as written in the original book, but some formatting has
been changed to bring it into line with the conventions used on this
website. In particular, in the html edition the examples have been
separated onto their own lines to make them easier to identify and
read.

I did the final proof-reading, and in such a complex document it is
possible that there are still some mistakes. If anyone notices any and
can send them to me I will include corrections in a future edition.

Ānandajoti Bhikkhu
April 2016
4
Foreword
[v]
The work here presented is the first in a series of publications
sponsored by the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies
of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, as a further extension to its
on-going curricular and research programmes. Authored by the late
Professor O.H. de A. Wijesekera, an eminent authority on
Indological and Buddhistic Studies, this comprehensive and
well-documented monograph on the Syntax of the Cases in the Pali
Nikayas is one of his major contributions to an important aspect of
Pali grammar and philology which had hitherto not been as
exhaustively dealt with as it is here. The present work is Professor
Wijesekera’s doctoral thesis which was submitted to the School of
Oriental and African Studies of the University of London in 1936.
Although a little more than half a century has passed since its
completion, it still remains unmatched for its thorough analysis and
exhaustive treatment of the subject.

Professor Wijesekera held the Chair of Sanskrit at the University of
Ceylon, in Colombo and later at Peradeniya from 1949 to 1967, and
served for a period as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and also of the
Faculty of Oriental Studies. He reached the peak of his academic
career when he was appointed the first Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Colombo in 1967.

I would like to record here our deep sense of gratitude to the
members of the family of the late Professor Wijesekera for readily
giving us permission to sponsor this publication and for the kind
assistance offered throughout the preparation of the manuscript for
its final printing. I would also like to express our grateful thanks to
5
Professor L.P.N. Perera for the initiative he took in publishing this
thesis and Mr. Sanath Nanayakkara, Deputy Editor of the
Encyclopaedia of Buddhism for his [vi] assistance in proof reading
and in preparing the Index. Our thanks are also due to Messrs
Karunaratne and Sons Ltd., for printing the book with great care.

Professor Y. Karunadasa
Director,
Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies.
6
Introduction
[vii]
The scope of the following treatise is a detailed analysis of the
syntax of cases in the Pāli Nikāyas. With the latter we refer mainly
to the prose section of the Sutta-Piṭaka, that which is usually
designated by “the older Nikāyas”. When necessary either for
illustration or for explanation (especially in instances where
examples are not found in prose attesting to a normal or historical
construction), the gāthā literature has been drawn upon.

It is sufficiently clear from these investigations that the Pāli Nikāyas
represent an idiom which in its general outlines bears close affinities
to Vedic syntax, thereby showing a nearer relation to Indo-European
than Classical Sanskrit; a fact that may be considered as further
support for Franke’s contention that “certain appearances exclude
the possibility that (Classical) Sanskrit and Pāli (in growth and
development) belonged to one and the same region” (Z.D.M.G. 1892,
pp.315 et seq.). At the same time, however, there are conspicuous
divergences in Pāli from Vedic as much as from later Sanskrit, (vide
§§45,65,106,122,164 etc.). The fact of its being a Prākritic dialect, as
distinct from the refined speech (saṃs-kṛta), also explains the
marked influence of the popular idiom on its syntax, which is due in
most cases to psychological reasons (vide §§26,45,76,114,135; also
22,23,24).

Other points under consideration which also throw light on the
understanding of Pāli (and Indo-Aryan) syntax are: (1) The remarks
of indigenous grammarians as well as of commentators on Pāli cases.
Although on the whole Pāli grammarians make it a point to adduce
examples from the canonical books themselves, in laying down rules
Introduction – 7
they merely follow the precedence of Sanskrit writers, particularly
[viii] of Pāṇinī. It must be stated, however, in favour of Kaccāyana
that he pays more attention to what may be called ‘exceptional
usages’ (cp. §76) than Moggallāna, the prominent feature of whose
observations is that he takes a wider view than the former. For the
most part they repeat the conventional illustrations of Pāṇinī. One
notable deviation in the terminology of commentators from that of
the grammarians is found with reference to the terms used to denote
the cases (kārakas). This is particularly seen in the case of
Buddhaghosa’s designation of the nom., acc., abl. and loc. (see
Appendix). An effort has been made to do justice to their point of
view and bring it into line with our comparative and psychological
methods. (2) The morphological aspect of the cases in its bearing on
their form and function in relation to Sanskrit (especially Vedic) and
also Prākrit. This is also important for developments in Pāli
concerning case affinities and substitution. A special (the
introductory) chapter has been devoted to this question.

It has further been endeavoured to show the importance of an
understanding of syntactical relations for a correct interpretation of
the Pāli texts. A considerable number of wrong translations
(sometimes doctrinally important) have been found to contain errors
which could only be detected through a more intense study of the
Pāli case syntax.

O.H. de A.W
London 26 Jan. 1936.
Abbreviations – 8
Abbreviations
[ix]
1. General and Grammatical

Abl. = abl. ablative loc. locative
Acc. = acc. accusative loc.cit. in the place cited
Adj. = adj. adjective m. (masc) masculine
Adv. = adv. adverb nom. nominative
Balt. = Slav. Balto-Slavic nt. (neut.) neuter
c. with (cum) obj. object
Comy. Commentary para. paragraph
cf. cp. = cp. [Compare] pl. plural
Dat. = dat. dative p.p.p. past passive
Dict. Dictionary participle
Eng. English Prk. Prākṛt
et. seq. and the following R. (Rem.) Remark
ex. example sci. being understood
f. (fem.) feminine (scilicet)
f.n. foot-note sg. singular
gen. genitive Skr. Sanskrit
ger. gerund subj. subject
Gr. Grammar s.v. under the word
ibid. ibidem (sub voce)
I.E. Indo-European Vārtt. vārttikā
inst. instrumental (V.) verse (gāthā)
kaś. Kāśikā (on the Ved. Vedic
sūtras of Pāṇinī) voc. vocative
lit. literally
9
2. Titles of Books, Periodicals etc.
[x]
Dial. Dialogues of the Buddha (in S.B.B. ed. Rhys Davids)
HKS Untersuchungen zur Kaussyntax der indogermanischen
Sprachen von Wilhelm Havers, Strassburg 1911.
J.A.O.S. Journal of the American Oriental Society.
J. P.T.S. Journal of the Pāli Text Society.
J.R.A.S. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Kac. Kaccāyana-vyākaraṇaṃ ed. M. Guṇaratana, Colombo. 1913
KVG Kurze vergleichende Grammatik der indoger, Sprachen
von Karl Brugmann, Berlin and Leipzig 1933.
K.Z. Kuhn’s Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung
Mog. Moggallāna-pañcika ed. Sri Dharmānanda, Colombo, 1931
Pāṇ. Pāṇinī’s Aṣṭhâdhyāya.
PLS Pāli Literatur und Sprache von W. Geiger, Strassburg 1916.
Prk. Gr. Grammatik der Prakrit-Sprachen von R. Pischel,
Strassburg 1900.
P.T.S. Trans. Pāli Text Society’s Translation.
Skr. Gr. Sanskrit Grammar by A.A. Macdonell, Oxford 1927.
SS Sanskrit Syntax by J.S. Speyer, Leyden 1886.
VG Vedic Grammar by A.A. Macdonell, Strassburg 1910.
VGS A Vedic Grammar for Students by A.A. Macdonell, Oxford
1916.
VSS Vedische und Sanskrit-Syntax by Speyer, Strass. 1896.
Z.D.M.G. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländ. Gesellschaft.
ZfB Zeitschrift für Buddhismus.

Abbreviations of Pāli Texts appear in the form used by the Pāli Text
Society (see P.T.S. Dict.). To these add:

Pj Paramatthajotikā Sum Sumaṅgalavilāsinī.
Pps Papañcasūdanī.