Mmd-p.t passage regarding Kc 1 (1 of 3)

Dear all,

There is an interesting passage (18 lines) in the porāṇaṭīkā (11th cent.) to
Mukhamattadīpanī on Kc 1. The following is a roman transcription of the
first 8 lines or two sentences that I made from the text in the Burmese
script. It presents a question, The answer will follow in two posts.
Following the passage (in part) immediately below is my attempt at a
translation with the Pali in portions or inserted within square brackets in
the appropriate places. I would appreciate errors being pointed out or
suggestions for improvement.

etthāha kasmā panettha akkharapadanipphādanabyāpāro kato || nanu
buddhavacanassa bhagavato purimasucaritapaccayānubhāvapaṭiladdha-
sabbadhammesu pabhedagatānaññasādhāraṇacatupaṭisambhidā-
ñāṇānubhāvavaseneva sunipphannattā nipphannassaca puna
nipphādetabbābhāvatoca akkharapadanipphādanabyāpārarahitānañca
tathāgatasāvakānaṃ yathāvuttadhammesu savanuggahaṇadhāraṇādi-
paṭipattiyā lokuttaradhammādhigamupalabbhanatoca iha akkharapada-
nipphādanabyāpāro niratthakoti || [Mmd-pṭ 43,26-44,4]

     etthāha kasmā panettha akkharapadanipphādanabyāpāro kato ||

Here he said [etthāha]: why [kasmā], moreover [pana], is the work of
producing words from letters [akkharapadanipphādanabyāpāro] done
[kato] here [ettha] ?

     nanu... iha akkharapadanipphādanabyāpāro niratthako

Is not [nanu] here [iha] the work of producing words from letters
[akkharapadanipphādanabyāpāro] useless [niratthako]

     buddhavacanassa bhagavato... sunipphannattā

because of the well-produced state [sunipphannattā] of the Buddha-word
[buddhavacanassa] of the Blessed One [bhagavato]

     pabhedagatānaññasādhāraṇacatupaṭisambhidāñāṇānubhāvavaseneva

simply by virtue of [vasena eva] the power [ānubhāva] of (his) knowledge of
the four discriminations [catupaṭisambhidāñāṇa] not shared by the others
[anaññasādhāraṇa] who have gone to the breaking up (?) [pabhedagata]

     purimasucaritapaccayānubhāvapaṭiladdhasabbadhammesu

regarding all things [sabbadhammesu] obtained [paṭiladdha] with the
power [ānubhāva] of the condition of (his) past good conduct
[purimasucaritapaccaya];

[...(his knowledge) regarding... (his knowledge) obtained with...]

     nipphannassa ca puna nipphādetabbābhāvato ca

and because of the absence of what is to be produced [nipphādetabbābhāvato]
again [puna] of what is (already) produced [nipphannassa],

[what is the function of the particle 'ca' following 'nipphannassa' ?]

     akkharapadanipphādanabyāpārarahitānañca tathāgatasāvakānaṃ
     yathāvuttadhammesu savanuggahaṇadhāraṇādipaṭipattiyā
     lokuttaradhammādigamupalabbhanatoca

and because of the obtaining of the attainment of the supramundane dhammas
[lokuttaradhammādigamupalabbhanato] with the practice of hearing, learning,
remembering, and so on [savanuggahaṇadhāraṇādipaṭipattiyā] with respect to
the dhammas as spoken [yathāvuttadhammesu] to the Tathāgata's disciples
[tathāgatasāvakānaṃ] without the work of producing words from letters
[akkharapadanipphādanabyāpārarahitānañca] ?

[again, what is the function of the particle 'ca' following the first
compound 'akkharapadanipphādanabyāpārarahitānaṃ' ? The 'ca'
suggests -rahitānaṃ may not be a qualifier of -sāvakānaṃ, but indicating two
different groups]

Jim Anderson