SV: Milindapañha or Milindapañhaa

The commentators quote Mil saying that such and such a passage is found in
Milindapanhe (loc.). This would indicate that Milindapanha (m. or n.?) was
current at the time of Buddhaghosa who quotes a (corrupt?) passage at Spk II
99, referring to Milindapanhe. However, the title must have presented a
problem to the tradition because in the Sasanavamsa it is given as converted
to a feminine noun in aa: Milindapanhaayam. Some even refer to the reading
Milindapanhaa. Interestingly Milindapanho (m.) hardly ever occurs. The
locative Milindapanhe on the other hand is frequent by comparison.
I have sometimes wondered whether the correct title should be Milindapanham
(n.). Worktitles in the neuter are not uncommon. Cf., for instance,
Kaccaayanam (n.) the grammar by Kaccaayana.

With best wishes
Ole Holten Pind

-----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
Fra: palistudy@yahoogroups.com [mailto:palistudy@yahoogroups.com] På vegne
af Nyanatusita
Sendt: 1. september 2007 06:59
Til: palistudy@yahoogroups.com
Emne: [palistudy] Milindapañha or Milindapañhaa

Dear members,

Western scholars usually spell the Pali title of this work as Milindapañha,
however this seems incorrect. Like Theragáthá, the title probably needs to
be plural because it means the "questions (/pañhá/) of Milinda" not "the
question (/pañha/) of Milinda." In the /Milindapañhá /Pali itself (p. 419)
the work is called /Milindapañhá/:

/Iti chasu kaóðesu bávìsativaggapatimaóðitesu dvásaþþhi-adhiká dvesatá
imasmií potthake ágatá _milindapañhá samattá_, anágatá ca pana dvácattálìsá
honti, ágatá ca anágatá ca sabbá samodhánetvá catúhi adhiká tisatapañhá
honti, s_abbáva milindapañhá ti saòkhaí gacchanti._ :/ "Complete are the
questions of Milinda (milindapañhá), handed down in six sections, … there
are 304 questions, all these are reckoned as the questions of Milinda
(milindapañhá). (Mil 419)

However, the text (Be) concludes with “/Milindapañho ni.t.thito/,” which is
singular masculine. In this case one needs to take /pañho/ as an action noun
“inquiring, questioning”and the compound as an instrumental
tappurisa: “The Questioning by Milinda” or “The Inquiry by Milinda” or the
“The Interrogation by Milinda.”

What is the correct Pali title?

Best wishes,

Bhikkhu Nyanatusita

Kandy
Sri Lanka





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