Punctuation marks for word boundaries in manuscripts

[dhaval patel]

Respected all,

The current discussion on 'writing style' has time and again thrown an issue that the old manuscripts did not have any punctuation marks.

My questions in this regard are:

1. What kind of punctuation marks are used across India for denoting word boundaries in old manuscripts?

2. Can we trace the oldest usage of such punctuation marks in manuscripts?

My starting observations on these two points are based on one manuscript I had chance to work with.

LD Institute of Indology acc. no. 38832

An example line is attached herewith.

Ans 1 -
There are punctuation marks in at least some manuscripts e.g. the present one.
Mark 1 - Word boundaries are depicted by a '|' like sign after the word.

There are also some punctuation marks for hinting the correct split of sandhi e.g.
Mark 2 - 'S|' like mark below the word to denote that the Second member of split starts with 'A'. See the second arrow 'भव्याननतामरसेन...'.
Mark 3 - 'S' like mark is used to denote that second member of split starts with  'a'. See 'ननतामरसेनया'.

Mark 4 - avagraha like structure for 'o+a' depiction. See 'वोस्तु'.

Mark 5 - same as mark 3. But here the split is 'a+a' whereas in mark 3 it was 'A+a'. I am not sure whether there is some difference in the punctuation marks or not.

Mark 6 - ऊlike structure to denote that the second member of split has 'U'.

Mark 7 - This mark shows that the next member starts with 'i' or 'I'. In present case it is 'a+I' split.

Mark 8 - The mark is similar to mark 8. Here the split is 'i+i'.

In addition to the above punctuation marks, the numbers on top of the words denote their avyaya. The words are to be parsed in that chronology to get the correct parsing.

Ans 2 -

Such versatile punctuation marks are already in existence from vikrama samvat 1574 i.e. 1518 AD roughly as can be seen from the colophon of this manuscript.

Other scholars may also share their experience with manuscripts in this regard. So that history of word boundary punctuation marks can be put in right perspective.

--

Dr. Dhaval Patel, I.A.S

Collector and District Magistrate, Anand

www.sanskritworld.in

[dhaval patel]

Separate png files are also attached for better appreciation of the manuscript.

--
निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)
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[K S Kannan]

Wonderful revelation and incontrovertible evidence proffered by Dr Dhaval Patel regarding the prior existence of punctuation marks!

And a befitting rebuttal to those who insist that punctuations are  no more than a post-colonial phenomenon !

KSKannan

Dr. K.S.Kannan

Professor, 

Centre for Ancient History and Culture,

Jain University

319, 17th Cross, 25th Main,

6th Phase, J P Nagar, Bangalore - 560 078

(Ex-Director, Karnataka Samskrit University)

[Hnbhat B.R.]

Thanks for the specimen of devanagari manuscripts.

The function of danda delayed sentences mainly. The other numbering of the words are used for the अन्वय of the words in a verse and the interleniar space above each line is used to add gloss and the margin also used for the purpose. This is common practice in manuscripts  having gloss added. The word space is not provided at all n common with manuscripts in other scripts. The interleniar space and marginal space is used for adding the gloss and/or variants adding some marks or numbers just above or by the side of the word related to the gloss or variants or gloss. In many cases, there won't be any mark either but only we have to relate them by their order of sequence in the line to the left or right.

The same style of writing is used in शारदा script with notes, variant, gloss etc. But for the text only, there is separation with spaces or any other mark except दण्ड single or double as you can see in the images attached.

[K S Kannan]

Prof. Bhat's remarks show how many user-friendly methods were contemplated/implemented, even if there are any regional variations.

KSKannan

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निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)
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[Dipak Bhattacharya]

5.10.2015

As for traditional Bengali, Devnagari, Oḍiya and Śāradā manuscripts, word ends were not shown. Pāda ends, ends of two pādas and verses were shown.

In prose usually a unit of description was shown by a single stroke. Long accounts were shown with two strokes. These were vaguely similar to sentence end and paragraph ends. Their determination seems to have partly depended on the scribe or the composer.

In the 19^th century there occurred a competition between traditional manuscript writers (Vaiṣṇavīs) and the emerging press. It is not impossible that some signs from modern printing style had found their way into manuscript writing at that time. But that did not cause significant change in the style at that time. Currently the modern traditional ashrams and gurukuls hardly use country paper and take to the style of the printed book.

Sorry for the long lecture

Best

DB

[Nagaraj Paturi]

The image I am sharing here is of a copper plate of Telugu lyrics 1407 AD -1508 AD.

A single vertical line indicating paada end and two such lines indicating verse end. 

Pallavi and Charanam are also marked through bracketing the words pallavi charanam between marks made of  two vertical lines.

But word boundaries are not marked. 

Nagaraj Paturi

 

Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.

 

Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies

 

FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,

 

(Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA )

 

 

 

[Hnbhat B.R.]

Here is the image a Sharada Manuscript, without any gloss or variant:

Only double danda is used throughout to denote the end of sentences. or verses. The above is from the Sharada manuscript of the drama Balaramayana of of Rajashekhara.

This is an image of a complete verse from the same manuscript:

The Devanagari transcription is like this:

निर्माल्यं नयनश्रियः कुवलयं वक्त्रस्य दासश्शशी

 कान्तिः प्रावरणं तनोर्मधुमुचो यस्याश्च वाचः किल । 

विंशत्या रचिताञ्जलिः करतलैस्त्वां याचते रावण-

स्तां द्रष्टुं जनकात्मजां हृदय हे नेत्राणि पात्रीकुरु । ।बालरामायणम्. १. ४० । । 

 Here is a Telugu manuscript of कुशकुमुद्वतीय drama of Atiratra Yajva,  using "danda" for ending sentences and two verses included:

The same style as in the copper plate in Telugu, but only this text is of a नाटक. Sorry I could not reproduce the portion of a single verse:

Here is a complere verse:

कल्याणावसरे सह स्मरजिता कल्याणपीठे

स्थिता

सख्या पार्श्वगया तदात्वपुलकस्वेदौ निरीक्ष्यात्मनः।

भूता किं परिभूषणोरगततेस्तन्मौलिगङ्गाम्भसा 

सिक्ता किं त्वमितीरिता गिरिसुता नम्रता पातु वः॥

There is no numbering of the verses, except a vertical line as in Devanagari manuscript without any double danda.

There are no variants or gloss in either manuscripts. I have given the wordspace and the paada break spaces in devanagari.

[Dipak Bhattacharya]

Thanks for the illuminative postings!

A page from the Śāradā ms (1619 AD)of the Paippalādasaṁhitā was reproduced by Whitney in his translation of the AV (2005).

It occurs also in the Paippalādasaṁhitā Vol.3, Asiatic Society, Calcutta 2011, p.cxxviii and on the jacket. If a good scan is possible

I shall share some pages from the said ms.

Best

DB

[Nagaraj Paturi]

Numbering is there in the copper plate of Telugu lyrics of 15th century I shared.

 

Numbers are bracketed between 'double danda' marks, at the end of respective verses.

 

An interesting marking found here is a horizontal line between two double dandas. It appears to be similar to a big space between paragraphs.  

 

 

[Dipak Bhattacharya]

Dear Professor Paturi,

Thanks for the notes. A copy of a page from the AVP ;Saradaa MS is attached. Note that the given hymn no. is that in the anuvaaka but not in the kaa.n.da. The verse no is not given. But one never knows.

Best

DB

[Hnbhat B.R.]

Here is another specimen of the same Rajashekhara's Balaramayana, with a sort of टीका, with the Text noted in the interleniar space and maginal spaced:

The verse in the space margin above has this verse of quoted in Vamana:

अस्पृष्टा दोषमात्राभिः समग्रगुणगुम्फिता । विपञ्चीस्स्वरसौभाग्या वैदर्भी रीतिरिष्यते || and some more explanation for प्रसत्ते ‍^ प्रसादाख्यगुणस्य‌^ र्यः पात्रं तिलकयति‍ ^तिलकं क....ति‍‍^यः,   above the first line of the verse.

 This portion adds in the margin, the छाया in Sanskrit for the text of Prakrit passage above the line. 

where the last word is copied as in Prakrit; भावो for भावो in Prakrit, which should be भावः as it is the last word in the Sentence. But it is not corrected.  The second sentence the Sutradhara, the correction has bheen added above the letter : अन्यमु<दु>पक्रान्तम्. The same followed through out this manuscript. 

 

[K S Kannan]

Dear Prof. Bhat, 

The specimens you have provided are very illustrative of the pains taken by the scribes to help users. 

They illustrate at the same time, the efforts you have taken to provide the actual text contained therein, as not all can figure out the same easily. 

A note on the date of the manuscripts, if possible, will further enhance the value of your efforts.

Regards

KSKannan 

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निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)
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[dhaval patel]

Really happy to see these evidences pouring in.