Addition: [palistudy] Question on Sumaṅgala-Vilāsinī, Sv 1, 9

just looked into Margret Cone's Dictionary of Pāli. She notes s.v. "nipāta, m." as a second meaning "settling; ? or coming together"; she also lists nipāta-tittha, refering to nipātana and atinipāta. The latter is not interesting in this connection, but s.v. nipātanatittha she states: "°-tittha, nipātatittha, n. [but perhaps associated with √pā, cf S. nipāna; or with sannipāta], a place for going down into the water, for drinking". As references she gives all those mentioned already in my previous mail.

Am 18.12.2014 um 18:37 schrieb Bryan Levman bryan.levman@... [palistudy]:

Dear Pāli friends,

I am looking at the intro to the Sv (DN-a) where Buddhaghosa describes the pavilion (maṇḍapa) King Ajātasattu sets up for the recitation of the discipline and dhamma by the 500.

On page 9, lines 6-12 is the following:

rājā ajātasattu vissakammunā nimmita-sadisaṃ suvibhatta-bhitti-tthambha-sopānaṃ nānā-vidha-mālākamma-latākamma-vicittaṃ abhibhavantamiva rāja-bhavana-vibhūtiṃ avahasantam iva deva-vimāna-siriṃ siriyā niketanam iva ekanipāta-tittham iva ca deva-manussa-nayana-vihaṃgānaṃ loka-rāmaṇeyyakam iva sampiṇḍitaṃ daṭṭhabba-sāra-maṇḍaṃ maṇḍapaṃ kārāpetvā…

I am wondering about the meaning of two compounds ekanipāta-tittham iva ("like a fording place with one descent"?) and deva-manussa-nayana-vihaṃgānaṃ loka-rāmaṇeyyakam iva ("like a lovely place in the world where birds (? vihaṃgānaṃ) bring gods and men"?).

Neither translation quite makes sense to me as similes to describe the pavilion which Ajātasattu is having built. There is some confusion in the tradition of the word vihamgānaṃ which has several variant readings: vibhaṅgānaṃ (< vibhaṅga, "division, distribution"), and vibhagānaṃ (= vibhaṅgānaṃ ?), and vihaṅgānaṃ (birds).

The piece is also found at Vin 3, 287, 19-25.

Possible translation:

Then King Ajātasattu, caused a pavilion to be erected as if it were fashioned by Vissakamma, with a stair, pillars and well divided walls, with diverse coloured mural drawings of flowers and creepers more splendrous than a king’s palace, as if mocking the glory of a heavenly palace, like a residence of majesty, like a fording place with only one descent (ekanipāta-tittham iva?), like the lovely places in the world where birds attract gods and men (deva-manussa-nayana-vihaṃgānaṃ loka-rāmaṇeyyakam iva), (a pavilion) whose essence is visible in one whole mass (sampiṇḍitaṃ).

Any help with these compounds would be appreciated,

Best wishes,

Bryan