Re: Pali "pavana" as an adjective?

Hi Rett,

> According to Apte's dictonary, pavana is an adj
> meaning 'pure' in Sanskrit, so ancient Pali
> grammarians may have considered it a valid Pali
> word even if it never happens to occur in that
> sense in the corpus of Pali literature.

My guess would (therefore) be that it is an appropriation from Sanskrit
  --and probably appears as such in post-canonical writings such as the vangsa
literature (the Maha-vangsa, etc., were among the first Pali sources
translated and published in European tongues, and, as such, were formative
in the early western knowledge of the language --in this, Mason was typical
of his generation).

>>Mason reports that there is an adjective form of the root "pu" (as in
>>"pu.naati", i.e., "he cleans") spelled "pavana".  The meaning of this
>>adjective form of "pavana" is said to be "pure".  This seems to me to be
>>plausible, but this is not related to the dictionary meaning for "pavana" as
>>a noun.
>
> What do you mean by that last bit: 1) "pavana" as
> a noun equivalent to "sodhana", or 2) in another
> sense altogether?

Strangely, the following definition is provided for _pavana_ as a noun in
A.P Buddhadatta's _CPED_:
  1. (Masculine) the wind.
  2. (Neuter) a big forest.
I can imagine that #1 is a metaphorical meaning that has derived from a base
meaning "equivalent to 'sodhana'" as you say --but it seems to me likely
that both of these meanings are predicated on a fundamentally different root
from the Sanskritic explanation provided by Mason.  I would be very much
surprised if Buddhadatta were entirely in error on this one --especially as
it seems clear that Mason is at least *partly* in error.

> Pavana is glossed as sodhana in Sadd Dhaatumaalaa:
> 1246 puu pavane
> pavana.m sodhana.m

I shall make a note of that, Mr. Pickwick, a regular note of that ...
It seems my once-reliable database has started to crack, as I tried to
conduct a computer search of Pali grammars for just such a mention, but came
up with nothing.

> Does Mason provide an actual example of the use
> of pavana in the sense 'clean' in Pali? Could you
> say more about where this occurs?

No and no; Mason provides nothing further, although, as I say, it is likely
his source was post-canonical, such as the vangsa literature.  It is also
quite possible that he explained the term by consulting a Sanskrit
dictionary, although he himself was well aware of the dangers in doing so
uncritically (i.e., he writes about the subject).

E.M.

--
A saying of the Buddha from http://metta.lk/
Get your Dhamma Books from http://books.metta.lk/
The fearless, the noble, the hero, the great sage, the conqueror, the
desireless, the cleanser (of defilements), the enlightened, - him I call a
Brahmana.
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