Re: another odd form

Dear Ole,

<< That would certainly make sense if the general semantics of paraa
would support that solution. In fact, the verb paraasthabnaati is
found in the brahmanas. But it is there used in the sense to hold
back, and paraa in Sanskrit means away, off, aside etc., cf. Pali
paraajika (< paraa and the root aj) "deserving to be expelled." >>

I think you mean 'paraastabhnaati' (under 'paraa-stambh' in MW's
dictionary) not 'paraasthabnaati'. It is quite possible that there are
other meanings but one would have to go searching for occurrences in
various Vedic and Sanskrit texts and also to consult commentaries on
these for the meanings. It is interesting that in the Ja VI 181 verse
it is a brahmin who is using the word in his questions to the sage
'...kismi.m vaa tva.m paratthaddho...' The answer to 'kismi.m' (in
what?) is 'mante' (in a mantra) which gives some clue as to what the
meaning of 'paratthaddho' might be. In Paa.nini's Dhaatupaa.tha the
root meaning of 'stambh' (.stabhi) is given as 'pratibandhe' (binding,
fastening). Look under the verb for 'prati-bandh' and several possible
meanings come to mind for 'paraastabdha' such as 'firmly fastened to,
fixed on, or engaged in (the mantra)' or it could relate to the
stiffening of the body during mantric practice.

<< bhusattha is given for several prepositions in Abh. I wonder what
the source is because there are no parallels in Amarakosa. In
addition, Padarupasiddhi does not record this sense for paraa, but
mentions only examples supporting the general semantics of paraa. Pa
(< pra), however is taken bhusanatthe. Interestingly, upatthaddha
hardly ever occurs in the canon. I keep an open mind, but I must admit
that I am slightly sceptical. >>

MW doesn't give much on the prefix 'paraa' but Apte gives 10 senses
according to the Ga.naratnamahodadhi that includes: "--6 excess
(paraajita)," but unfortunately he leaves out the Sanskrit meaning. I
checked another list that gives 'ati"sayaartha' (under paraa) which is
similar in meaning to 'bh.r"saartha' (= P. bhusattha) which is given
under 'upa'. Neither MW nor Apte give the latter sense for 'upa' as
far as I can tell. The Sanskrit list can be found in the Sinhalese
etext version of Abh from the JBE website but it's not clear what text
the list is drawn from.

I still think the case for reading a prefix 'paraa' in 'paratthaddho'
remains a possibility. And I haven't ruled out your solution as
another possibility.

Jim

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