RE: Pacala vs. Capala
From: Chanida Jantrasrisalai
Message: 3123
Date: 2010-11-20
Respected Venerable Yuttadhammo,
There may be a confusion between editions of the Thai Tipiṭaka here.
The present Syamraṭṭha Pali Tipiṭaka is published by the MahamakutR. So I suppose what you meant by the MMR Pali is the same as the Syamraṭṭha edition. To my knowledge, the MMR does not have another Pali edition. It has only the Thai translation of the Tipitaka along with the commentaries which you refer to as ‘Mahamakut Thai Tipitaka.’ Anyone who knows more may help add up to our knowledge.
According to the preface of the Syamraṭṭha Tipitaka (MMR Pali), the present Syamraṭṭha edtion was originally published in 1927 (the editorial work started in 1925). After that, there has been no new editions but only the reprinted ones. Hence, the so called ‘1956 edition’ ‘1979 edition’ and so on are exactly the same as the 1927 edition.
The present Syamraṭṭha Tipitaka (MMR Pali 1927 edition) is the re-edited work of the original edition printed in 1893 by the King Chulalonkorn (which does not belong to the MMR). The latter employs different diacritical marks which are not used at present. If interested, you can find a copy of this version at the ‘National Library of Kandy,’ next to the Temple of the Tooth. During my visit last year, I helped rearrange the books upon the request of the librarian who cannot read Thai.
Back to your question re capala-, I found the MMR Pali uses capalāyamānaṃ and capalāyamāno throughout the Moggallana-sutta. capalāyamānaṃ is also used in Nāgita sutta. There are also other instances of capala- such as capalaṃ, capalā, capalanā, capalatā, etc. It is observed that capalā, capalaṃ, capalanā, capalatā are generally related to slyness, pretention, fickleness and so on which indicates the changeable and unpredictable nature, while the verb capalāyasi and the present participle capalāyamāna are always related to thīnamiddha – drowsiness, hence ‘nodding’ as Ven. Thanissaro translates.
A Pali-Thai dictionary gives the etymology of the word ‘capala’ in this sense as “cup calane”. Whitney’s Root&VerbForms gives ‘cup’ stir, and Monier-Williams writes ‘cup’1 to move.
Yours respectfully,
Chanida
From: palistudy@yahoogroups.com [mailto:palistudy@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Noah Yuttadhammo
Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2010 1:05 AM
To: palistudy@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [palistudy] Pacala vs. Capala
Delving deeper in the Mahamakuta translation, pacalesi is quoted at Thag.
2.4.10 as well, and yet the translation is the same as in the Moggalaana
Sutta. I'm betting that cap- is only found in that one place, and would
like to consider it an obvious error...
On Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 7:08 PM, Noah Yuttadhammo <yuttadhammo@... <mailto:yuttadhammo%40gmail.com> >wrote:
> Ole,
>
> Thank you for replying... the thing is, cap- is not used in the standard
> Thai tipitaka as I mentioned. I think I have found a strong argument to
> show that capala is simply an error. In the Naagita Sutta (AN 6.1.4.12),
> the phrase "pacalāyamānaṃ nisinnaṃ" occurs, and the Mahamakuta tipitaka
> seems to agree with the pac- reading there (I don't have the actual MMR Pali
> tipitaka, I am going by the MMR Thai language Atthakatha which quotes the
> Pali as "pacalāyamānaṃ"). It would be nice to have the actual Pali MMR
> tipitaka to look at the various instances of pacala to see whether it agrees
> on pacala in the rest as well. Based on the translation, I think it has
> cap- in the Dhammasangini under thinamiddha, but I can't be sure.
>
> Anyone out there have the Mahamakuta Pali tipitaka handy?
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Brother Noah
>
>
> On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 3:13 PM, Ole Holten Pind <ohpind@... <mailto:ohpind%40post.cybercity.dk>
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Dear Brother Noah,
>>
>> The verbal root of the word is pacala. The reading pacalāyana is derived
>> from the (quasi) denominative form of the verb. See Geiger´s Pali Grammar,
>>
>> PTS edition § 186.5. The spelling cap- appears to be exclusively Thai.
>> There
>> must be a paleographical explanation for the deviation.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Ole Holten Pind
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Noah Yuttadhammo" <yuttadhammo@... <mailto:yuttadhammo%40gmail.com> <yuttadhammo%40gmail.com>
>> >
>> To: <palistudy@yahoogroups.com <mailto:palistudy%40yahoogroups.com> <palistudy%40yahoogroups.com>>
>> Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2010 9:54 AM
>> Subject: [palistudy] Pacala vs. Capala
>>
>> Dear Friends,
>>
>> Greetings from Sri Lanka. I'm slowly settling down here, maybe for the
>> long
>> term. Just wanted some advice on a loose end I'm trying to tie.
>>
>> On Access To Insight, there is a sutta here:
>>
>> http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.058.than.html
>>
>> The title is given as "Capala Sutta", which means "the discourse on
>> trembling". The translation of the title on ATI however, is "Nodding",
>> which follows the VRI Pali title of the sutta, "Pacala Sutta", and the Sri
>> Lankan Pali title, "Pacalāyana Sutta". Contacting John Bullit, however,
>> garnered this response:
>>
>> *I think Capala and Pacala are both correct. The Thai Tipitaka, on which
>> this particular translation is based, does in fact name it "Capala Sutta".
>> According to PTS Dic, capala = "moving to & fro, wavering, unsteady,
>> fickle"
>> and pacala = "shaking, trembling, wavering". So the words are very close
>> in
>> meaning. *
>> *
>> *
>> *Perhaps the compilers of the Thai Tipitaka were trying to be witty, by
>> shaking and wavering the spelling of the title. Or perhaps they were
>> simply
>> nodding off. There's no way to know.*
>>
>> The standard Thai tipitaka does not in fact have "Capala" as the title,
>> the
>> Pali one doesn't have titles AFAICS, and the Thai translation has
>> "Moggalaana Sutta". I also pointed out that there is some easy way to
>> know,
>> specifically that the sutta reads "pacala" throughout, not "capala". When
>> I
>> told him this, he contacted the translator, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, and
>> responded:
>>
>> *I just spoke with Ajaan Geoff about this. As we spoke, he looked up the
>> sutta in his 1978 edition of the Mahamakuta Thai Tipitaka. According to
>> him,
>> the sutta reads "capala" -- not pacala -- throughout. Are you also looking
>> at the 1978 edition, or one that was printed in some other year?*
>>
>> So, I'm wondering if anyone can shed some light on this... I am highly
>> skeptical in regards to the idea that capala might be correct, so I am
>> specifically wondering what the relative worth of the Mahamakut tipitaka
>> is
>> relative to the standard Thai "Siam Ratth" tipitaka? And of course whether
>> anyone can verify whether the latter does indeed have "capala".
>>
>> Thanks in advance,
>>
>> Brother Noah
>>
>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>
>> ------------------------------------
>>
>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>
>>
>>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
_____
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]