Re: Witzel and Sautsutras (was: Mapping the Origins and Expansion of

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott" <bm.brian@...> wrote:

> At 10:24:43 PM on Tuesday, October 16, 2012, shivkhokra
> wrote:
>
> > --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Rick McCallister
> > <gabaroo6958@> wrote:
> >
> > > It's easy to find insignificant errors in book sized
> > > texts. I've found an error or two in Witzel -- e.g. he
> > > refers to a reference about a "spotted animal" that was
> > > a major carnivore. He thought it referred to a dog, when
> > > it was obvious that it referred to a cheetah, leopard or
> > > snow leopard. But Witzel, despite minor errors, has
> > > overwhelming evidence on his side
>
> > These are not insignificant errors!
>
> Rick was being generous: we still have no reason to think
> that Witzel made an error here. We have no evidence that
> you're competent to judge whether he did.
>
> > Dr Witzel's translation made him say that Sanskrit corpus
> > of India "remembers" an "arrival" into India from the
> > west!

I think Rick had this note of Witzel's in mind:

http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/C._ASIA_.pdf
<< Note that Steinkeller 1982: 253 considers the "speckled 'dog' of Meluhha" (ur gun-a, not: 'red dog' as often quoted!), a diplomatic
gift from Marhashi, to be a leopard (Panthera pardus). One wonders, however, why one would send such a common animal as the leopard to Ibbi-Sin, the last king of the Third Dynasty of Ur" (p. 25 in the pdf, note 138). >>

Cf. also D.R. Frayne, The Ur III Period, p. 374 (who, like some other scholars, considers the reading <gun-a> not entirely certain) at

http://tinyurl.com/ca4rqv7 (item #9)

This could refer to either a speckled or spotted 'dog' (actually a leopard) or to a multi-coloured or dappled (real) dog. However, I don't see any "error" in Witzel's footnote, but only an openness to different interpretations of the term "ur gun-a".

Regards,
Francesco