Re: Pacala vs. Capala

Dear friends,

Your discussion got me interested, and so I dug around a little in the
reference works I have at hand.  In case it might be of some use to you,
here is a summary of the information I found.  These notes are purely
'etymological', and make no reference to the textual aspect of your
discussion.

The most important point is that the two words pacala and capala (and their
various other forms) appear to be quite unrelated etymologically.



Pacala = Skt pracala, derives from a root CAL, calati, which appears to be a
later variant of the root CAR, carati.  But the senses of pra-carati and
pra-calati (with the prefix) are rather distinct.



Capala, on the other hand, according to MW and Böthlingk and Roth, derives
from a root KAMP, kampate, kampana.  However, there is another connection
possible if we consider the Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit capalaṃ, which in
meaning is linked to the Sanskrit cāpala, and which might therefore be
related to a root CUP, copati.



Here is some more background detail to fill out these points.



I. About pacala



1.  In the Pali context, according to PED:



pacala (pa + cala): shaking, trembling, wavering

pacalati (pa + calati): to dangle

pacalāyati (as was said earlier, quasi-denominative or causative from
pacala, pa + cal): to make (the eyelid) waver, to wink, to be sleepy, nod,
begin to doze



cala: moving, quivering; unsteady, fickle, transient

calati (PED here rightly supposes a possible connection with CAR, carati) to
move, stir, be agitated, tremble, be confused, waver



2. In the Sanskrit context, Whitney describes CAL, calati, to stir, as a
later variation of CAR, carati, ‘to move’.  Coulson defines the two forms
thus:



CAR, carati, move, go; depart; behave, act; do, effect

CAL, calati, stir, move, go away



Edgerton glosses both forms as ‘to move’, and Apte includes the sense ‘to
move’ as second in his definition of calati.



3. Moving on now to P. pacalati / Skt. pracalati:



Monier Williams (echoing, of course, Böhtlingk and Roth) defines:



pra-CAL, pracalati, to be set in motion, tremble, quake; to stir, move on,
advance, set out, depart; etc

pracalayati (caus.) to set in motion, move, jog, wag

pracalāyati (caus.) to cause to shake or tremble, to stir up



pracala (mfn), moving, tremulous, shaking



These may be compared against:



pra-CAR, pracarati to proceed towards, go or come to, arrive at; to come
forth, appear; to roam, wander; etc.



pracara (m.) a road, path, way; usage, custom, currency



The following definition of Edgerton is of note:



pracalāyati (=  Pali pacalāyati): to nod (the head, in sleep, while sitting
upright)



This sense is of course also cited by Geiger at §186.5 (cf. Th 200), and
Oberlies §51(b): shakes the head (in sleep), nods; as was noted earlier in
the discussion.



Edgerton also lists -pracālaka (at end of compounds), shaking, moving.





II. About capala



1. In the Pali context, according to PED:



capala: moving to and fro, wavering, trembling, unsteady, fickle



PED links capala to Skt. cāpa, bow, and posits an IE root *qep, to quake or
quiver.





2. In the Sanskrit context



capala: moving to and fro, shaking, trembling, unsteady, wavering; wanton,
fickle, inconstant; inconsiderate, thoughtless, ill-mannered; etc.



MW and Böthlingk and Roth cite a root KAMP, kampate, kampati: to tremble,
shake; kampayate, kampayati (causative) to cause or make to tremble, shake;
kampana, trembling, shaken, unsteady; causing to tremble, shaking



Edgerton lists an adverb capalaṃ , noting that it is “rare in Sanskrit, not
recorded in Pali, but [in] Ardha-Māgadhī , capalaṃ, cavalaṃ: quickly”.



Through meaning, this would link Edgerton’s Ardha-Māgadhī  capalaṃ with the
Skt cāpala: mobility, swiftness; agitation, unsteadiness; fickleness,
inconsiderateness, insolence.



MW cites for this cāpala a root CAP, but the only root CAP he actually lists
is (cl. 1) capati, to caress, soothe, console, (cl. 10) capayati, to pound,
knead.


This raises the question of whether a relationship to the root CUP (Whitney:
copati, cupita, to stir; MW: copati, to move) might somehow be plausible.




On 21 November 2010 03:48, Noah Yuttadhammo <yuttadhammo@...> wrote:

>
>
> On Sat, Nov 20, 2010 at 1:36 PM, Chanida Jantrasrisalai <
> jchanida@... <jchanida%40googlemail.com>> wrote:
>
> > 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.
> >
> Thank you, I realize my mistake now... indeed I see capala in the Siam
> Rattha Tipitaka. Now that I know they are the same, I looked up the
> definition of middha in the Dhammasangani, and the Siam Rattha Tipitaka has
> pacalaayikaa.
>
>
> > 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.
> >
> I still find pacalāyamānaṃ in the Nāgita sutta for the Siam Rattha
> tipitaka. Can you check again to be sure?
>
>
> > 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.
> >
> I am not convinced of this... can you give me other instances of capalāyasi
> and capalāyamāna in the Siam Rattha tipitaka used in the sense of
> drowsiness? I hope the electronic version I have is accurate in giving
> pacala both in the Nāgita sutta and the Dhammasangani.
>
> Best wishes,
>
>
> Brother Noah
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
> 
>


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