beginner's question about the letter's name

[Guest guest]

THIS LETTER ISSPOKEN AS LLRA-kARA,BUT AS THIS WORD AND THA RA ALSO

HAD THEIR EXISTENCE IN Y GROUP,MUCHIMPORTENCE WAS NOT GIVEN TO

THEM. EARLIER WHEN BRAHMANISM WAS IN ITS REGULAR PRACTICE,TO MUCH

IMPORTENCE WAS BEING GIVEN FOR CORRECT PRONOUNCIATION OF THE WORDS,AND

CONCENTRATING ON THE UPPER OF LOWER PART OF THE THROAT WHILE

SPEEKING.

NOW AS THE IMPORTENCE OF PRONOUNCIATION IS REDUCED,THERE ARE SO MANY

WORDS,SYLLABLES AND INDECLINABLES WHICH HAD LOST THEIR EXISTANCE.

SPSHARMA

[Guest guest]

Madhav Deshpande said:

 

"The usage of the word repha to refer to the r-sign written on top of

a character is a relatively recent usage, unknown to the authors of

PrAtizAkhyas and Sanskrit grammars. ... In these early texts, repha

refers to all occurrences of the consonant t, with no reference to any

written ligatures."

 

I wonder if this specialization of 'repha' to refer to the written

sign for consonantal r but only in certain contexts may be a very

modern thing, caused by the development of typography and by

20th-century discussions on the possibility of script reform, which

make it convenient to refer to different graphemes of the same phoneme

in different positions by specific words. What is the earliest

evidence for this specialization in the word 'repha'?

 

Allen Thrasher

 

Library of Congress

[Guest guest]

INDOLOGY, "Allen W Thrasher" <athr@l...> wrote:

> Madhav Deshpande said:

>

> "The usage of the word repha to refer to the r-sign written on top

of

> a character is a relatively recent usage, unknown to the authors of

> PrAtizAkhyas and Sanskrit grammars. ... In these early texts, repha

> refers to all occurrences of the consonant t, with no reference to

any

> written ligatures."

>

> I wonder if this specialization of 'repha' to refer to the written

> sign for consonantal r but only in certain contexts may be a very

> modern thing, caused by the development of typography and by

> 20th-century discussions on the possibility of script reform, which

> make it convenient to refer to different graphemes of the same

phoneme

> in different positions by specific words. What is the earliest

> evidence for this specialization in the word 'repha'?

>

> Allen Thrasher

>

> Library of Congress

 

Allen,

 

This is a wonderful history, not fully recorded or understood.

However, there are some indications. I can cite two such indications.

First, there is the folk etymology of the word dvi-repha referring to

a bee, where the word repha possibly refers to a hook-like shape. But

more appropriate evidence comes from the Saarasvata-Vyaakara.na of

Anubhuutisvaruupaacaarya (7th edn. 1952, Nirnayasagara Press).

 

In this work, we see intrusion of writing into grammatical

descriptions of Sanskrit sounds.

 

Rule 32 (p. 4), var.nazirobindur anusvaara.h, defines the

Anusvaara as the dot on top of a character-sign.

 

Verse 7 (p. 5), describes .rvar.na as being gaja-kumbhaak.rti.h

 

Now coming more specifically to the description of repha, the

text is describing the sandhi sequence gauryatra:

 

tumbikaa t.r.nakaa.s.tha.m ca taila.m jalasamaagame /

uurdhvasthaana.m samaayaanti rephaa.naam iid.rzii gati.h //11//

jalatumbikaanyaayena rephasyordhvagamanam

 

"like a gourd in water, the repha goes over a character." What are

the conditions for the up or down movement of repha?

 

repha.h svarapara.m var.nam d.r.s.tvaarohati tacchira.h /

pura.h sthita.m yadaa pazyed adha.h sa.mkramate svaram //12//

"Seeing a (following) consonant followed by a vowel, the repha climbs

to its top. When it sees a vowel following, it moves below (the

previous consonant character)."

 

Thus, we see grammatical texts beginning to pay attention to

orthographic behaviour of r-signs under different circumstances. The

more restricted meaning of repha as referring only to the r-sign on

top of a consonant character could be later than the Saarasvata-

vyaakara.na.

 

Madhav Deshpande

[Guest guest]

>INDOLOGY, "MM Deshpande wrote:

 

>> "The usage of the word repha to refer to the r-sign written on top

>>of a character is a relatively recent usage,

 

>evidence comes from the Saarasvata-Vyaakara.na of

>Anubhuutisvaruupaacaarya (7th edn. 1952, Nirnayasagara Press).

 

> jalatumbikaanyaayena rephasyordhvagamanam

>"like a gourd in water, the repha goes over a character."

 

Please consider that this type of script (Gupta) indeed had the r- "on

top" of a character (r+C), i.e. higher than the character itself, but

written as a *horizontal* line, just below the top notch (later expanded to

the Nagari top line), thus: rka =

 

*

- (= r )

ka

 

etc. The present vertical r-hook developed only with Nagari, post- c.1000

CE.

However, C+r is written in Gupta similar to Nagari, i.e. at the lower end

of the consonant. Thus Candra's description fits Gupta/Siddhamatrika script

perfectly :

 

a gourd swims, well, horizontally.

 

In short, the usage can be as old as Gupta script.

 

(and, I think, even in Brahmi, the -r- of -rC- was already written

(vertically) ON TOP ... have to check; this from memory only)

 

Best Michael

 

========================================================

Michael Witzel

Department of Sanskrit & Indian Studies, Harvard University

2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138, USA

 

ph. 1- 617-496 2990 (also messages)

home page: http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/mwpage.htm

 

Elect. Journ. of Vedic Studies: http://nautilus.shore.net/~india/ejvs/