Dear Rett and group,
> The solution is simply that adjectives very often function as nouns in Skt/Pali.<
Exactly. And sometimes these 'adjectives' (and even adverbs) are at the end of bahubbiihi compounds, as I think we are all now aware. Sometimes, it appears, we *can* interpret these final elements as nouns, like you do with "asama buddha" = the Buddha without an equal. But it doesn't *have to* be interpreted this way. Warder (137) translates this example: "the unequalled" Buddha. Often, it amounts to the same thing: "unequalled" = "without an equal." Sama/sama.m, like many adjectives in Paali, has flexible nominal and adjectival usage.
I would like us to recall for a moment what brought on this whole conversation. It was an invitation by Alan a few days ago that I look over his Compound Reference Sheet and give him feedback: "Rene: Please let me know how you find this "Compound Reference Sheet," if you have the time to look at it, and I'll do some updating on it today to incorporate this latest discussion." I appreciated the invitation, though I (like him) admit to being a novice at compounds. So, I looked at the CR Sheet, and responded: "There is a point on which I require some clarity. You write, 'Bahubbiihi compounds are adjectival compounds whose posterior words are always nouns.' I wonder if this statement isn't a little too categorical." And after that, off we went to the races...
This discussion has brought focus to perhaps a more fundamental grammatical topic, namely, that the Western categories 'noun' and 'adjective' may not be the most appropriate for Paali. On p.9, Warder is able to call an adjective a noun: "...two nouns (one of them usually an adjective or pronoun) may be juxtaposed." This would be an outlandish statement if attributed to English grammar, but is consistent with what Rett wrote today about a sentence having an adjective as agent (subject), e.g. 'viiro gacchati = heroic goes. Warder is referring to a sentence without a verb, such as 'eso sama.no,' = this (is) the philosopher. Perhaps, any adjective can theoretically be put in the place of 'eso,' such as 'kusalo sama.no' = "the philosopher (is) clever" (adj.). As a noun, we can interpreted this: "the philosopher (is) a clever one." In many cases it's not always a typical usage of adjectives (that is, to use them as nouns standing alone), but it does not seem impossible theoretically.
We've come a long way in this discussion of bahubbiihis. To recap, here is a list of some of the Bh compounds that have been mentioned. I include the translations of some:
Dhp 1:
manopubba'ngamaa dhammaa
manose.t.thaa [dhammaa]
manomayaa [dhammaa]
SN XII.23:
avijjuupanisaa sa'nkhaaraa
sa.laayatanuupaniso phasso
From grammars:
paapiccho bhikkhu: monk who has evil desire
tarunavacchaa gaavi: a cow which has a young calf
antimasariiro puriso: a man who carries the last body
Gotamo samaggaaraamo: Gotama whose delight is in mutual accord (instr. Tp --> Bh)
a.t.thika-sa'nkhaalika.m sariira.m: the body with its chain of bones (gen. Tp --> Bh)
a.ngulimaala: 'fingers-garland,' as name of someone
Ending in 'adjectives,' adverbs, past participles, ordinals, etc.:
paa.nasama: lit: 'The same as life', hence: 'dear as life'
sammaapa.tipanna: rightly disposed, rightly seen
rukkhapatitaa [kumaraa] (abl. Tp--> Bh)
buddhadeyyaa [dhammaa] (instr. Tp --> Bh)
ara~n~navaasaa bhikkhuu (instr. Tp --> Bh)
aanando atta-dutiyo: Ananda with his self as second
puriso ta.nhaa-dutiyo: a man full of craving
maran.na-matta.m dukkha.m: a pain as great as death
dosantaro [manusso]: [a man] with hatred within
asama [bhagavant]: unequalled [fortunate one]
sammaapa.tipannaa ariyaa: the noble ones who have rightly seen
dhammaabhaasito buddho: the Buddha [who] has spoken the doctrine
-- Rene
----- Original Message -----
From: rett
To: Pali@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 12:02 AM
Subject: Re: [Pali] asama etc [was: Compounds]
> The books often give adjectives at the end of these compounds, as I
>showed in > my last post.
Suppose I then propose that the subject of a Pali sentence can also
be an adjective.
Viiro gacchati.
Viiro is an adjective meaning 'heroic'. Hence the above means: Heroic goes.
Does that sound a bit absurd? Of course. The solution is simply that
adjectives very often function as nouns in Skt/Pali. Viiro there just
means 'hero': the hero goes.
Similarly, 'dutiyo' in the example you brought really can be read
'companion'. To repeat my previous counterexample, dutiyo there was
no more functioning as an adjective, than does 'second' in: The
prince arrived at the duelling place at dawn with his trusted friend
as his second. The word has acquired further semantic content, far
beyond just the idea of the ordinal numeral in both cases. With pali
'dutiyo' it has acquired the idea of being something that
accompanies, with eng. 'second' it's similar, but it is further
restricted to duelling.
'Sama' in asama (lacking an equal) really does mean here 'an equal'
i.e. is functioning as a noun. By way of comparison, there is an
another use of 'asama' meaning 'uneven', as in uneven ground, which
is bad for chariots. This latter is based on the adjectival use of
sama.
Another of your examples was farther off: mattaa (f) really does mean
'a measure'. The so-called adjective -matta (ifc) is a form that has
resulted precisely from making bahubbiihis from the noun mattaa.
/Rett
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