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

Hi Khristos,

Thanks for your blank verse rendering which makes the passage sound more
beautiful. Thanks also for taking the time to look at the introductory
verses of the grammar and Kc 1 (the first sutta). There is quite a lot of
commentary (about 165 pages!) on those two introductory verses which I have
hardly touched so far.

I know my rendering of the passage is far from perfect and can be much
improved upon. I like your "Just" at the beginning where I have "For". I
originally had "solid" before I changed it to "strong". There are several
locative absolute constructions with a past participle and I wonder if
"tasmiṃ thire" can still be translated as "when this is solid" even though
there is no participle in the phrase.

I'm puzzled by tadabhidheyyaṃ in the passage -- your "what’s named therein,"
and my "the named (of the phrasing),".  At Abh 785 "saddābhidheyye" (loc.)
is given as one of nine meanings of "attha". This is the definition for
"meaning". It's what the word(s) is/are referring to or pointing at. I take
it that "tadabhidheyyaṃ" is an adjective qualifying "attharatanaṃ" and take
byañjanakaraṇḍako as the referent of "tad". The relationship between
"byañjanaṃ" and "attho" is that of the "name" and the "named".

I take "solid-heartwood" (maybe solid hardwood?) to be the letters only even
though the word "akkhara" does not occur in the third part of our passage.
That can be taken from the first and second parts. Around the end of last
year we had quite a discussion about the meaning of akkhara (a sound, a
letter, or both?). A study of its etymology does explain the root meaning as
something that is imperishable. It is also a synonym for ṇibbāna. An
interesting way to look at it is: the 41 akkharas, at the beginning, serves
as the solid ground or foundation on which to walk towards the realization
of Akkhara (nibbāna).

Best wishes, Jim