Metrical shortening
From: Chris Clark
Message: 2843
Date: 2010-05-17
Dear all,
Has anyone come across metrical shortening along these lines?:
svā- to su-
The passage in question is from the Apadana (PTS: p. 56, verse 11):
tatrāpi bhavanaṃ mayhaṃ sattabhūmaṃ samuggataṃ
This reading is from the Burmese printed edition and is straightforward; however the Syāmaraṭṭha Thai edition has sulaṅkataṃ instead of samuggataṃ. I am wondering if this might stand for svālaṅkataṃ (“well adorned”) prior to metrical shortening, however I can’t remember ever coming across a metrical change like this (it seems rather drastic). Or perhaps initial a- has been elided in the second component of the compound (Edgerton’s grammar 4.11 has a parallel example in BHS)? Or perhaps it's simply an “incorrect” reading?
Many thanks for any guidance on the best interpretation.
Regards,
Chris Clark