पृष्ठम्:Birds in Sanskrit literature.djvu/६९

27 THE LARKS I. The Larks of India proper are small grey-brown birds closely resembling the Pipits. They are less nimble and have a more crouching gait. Not all the members of the family are good singers, and only the true Sky-Lark, the Crested Lark and the Singing Bush-Lark are appreciated for their song and favoured as cage-birds in India. The others have only a few sweet notes which can hardly be dignified by the name of a song. The rhapsody of the Sky-Lark is world-famous and it is not to be wondered at if one of the ancient Vedic singers been named after this bind— भरद्वाज v.1., भारद्वाज Next comes the Crested Sky-lark which sings high up in the air like the true Sky-lark and takes the notes of several other birds in its sweep. The singing Bush-Lark also has a full and sweet song but not at all comparable with that of the Sky-Lark or even the Crested' Lark. It sings both on the wing and on the ground. About the song-flight of the Sky-Lark, Smythies remarks: "In the song-flight the bird mounts vertically or obliquely with a vigorous fluttering action to a great height in the air, the song commencing a few feet from the ground. The bird remains poised, head to wind, the wing beats momentarily interrupted at intervals. It presently sinks gently down with wings inclined upwards till it suddenly completes the descent by an abrupt drop to the ground....The song..may be heard from October to April at all times of the day but specially at dawn long before it is really light." 2. w (fr. wt, 'song of praise', or 'what is carried away' and ar, strength, power of wings, i.e. a bird which sings during flight, or which is carried high on wings), भारती and ब्राह्मी चटी (धन्वन्तरि निघंटु) referring to its beautiful song as a prayer, are names for the Himalayan and Indian Sky-Larks. Its song high up "at Heaven's Gate", is well described by वसन्तराज "प्राप्य स्थिरत्वं चिरमन्तरिक्षे, नानाप्रकारं मधुरं स्वनन्ती" - 8.55 3. The excellence of the sustained, varied, and vigorous song of the Sky-Lark has been well recognized in which lays down that a baby-boy six months old should be given solid food at a special w ceremony at which the first feed should consist of the flesh of certain birds according as the parents desire him to develop certain qualities in his adult The Larks life. Thus he should be given the flesh of the wrrt or the Sky-Lark, if he is to excel in eloquence:- भारद्वाज्या मांसेन वाकुप्रसारकामस्य 1.19.7 Compare "स्वरवंचित्यं सर्व भारद्वाज्याः शुभ प्रोक्तम्" - बृहत्संहिता, 87.13. half verse. from far The following with alternative readings. would seem to refer to two different birds, a Quail and a Sky-Lark. Both the readings are set out below:- (1) 109 ( 2 ) फालखेला गरुदयोधी भारती व्योमलासिका फालखेला गरुद् गोधा भारती व्योमनासिका Now (frequenting cultivated land) is certainly applicable both to a Quail and the Sky-Lark, but it is very doubtful how far wret for at Quail si correct and here lies the main difficulty. हेमचन्द्र, मेदिनी and विश्वप्रकाश give art for only one kind of bird, which is evidently the Sky-Lark, and no other lexicon, to my knowledge, gives wrt for a quail exc.pt probably on the basis of No. 2 above. The epithet (winged-lizard) is clearly a wrong reading for a (fighting with wings), since the Quails, when they fight, strike each other with their wings. Similarly, the epithet fire, though it may refer to the Quails' habit of roosting on the ground at night with the bill pointing upwards, would seem to be a wrong reading of anfer (sporting, dancing, in the sky) which is perfectly true of the Sky-Lark. merferit in Prakrit for 'a kind of bird' (from , the sky, and are, dancing) is clearly the same as t-afer, and, there- fore, the Sky-Lark. It would be seen, therefore, that the original synonymy of far was the one set out as No. 1 above, and in this the first half "फालखेला गरुद्द्योधी" refers to a Quail, and the second half "wratenfer" to the Sky Lark. It is incorrect, as the commentators, have assumed, to treat all the four terms as relating to a single bird. 4. The Rufous Shcrt-toed Lark belonging to genus Calandrella is known as a and a in Hindi which at once reminds one of Sanskrit व्याघ्राट. It is also the वार्तीक of चरक and सुश्रुत, which has been explained by डल्हाणाचार्य with a quotation from some Glossary: "वार्तीका: वतिचटका: स्वल्पाः संघातचारिणः बगेड़ा इति लोके"; comp.-"वर्तीको बतिचटको वार्तीकश्चैव स स्मृतः:" (भावप्रकाशनिषष्ट्) Now the Rufous Short-toed Lark as a resident bird occurs here and there in small numbers, but in the winter these are greatly augmented by very large flocks migrating from outside into the plains of North India and they are then netted in large numbers for food. Thus this Lark is ein Sanskrit and in Hindi, and the synonymy of war with arre is not quite correct. The शब्दापंचिन्तामणि equates वर्तकी, वर्तिका, वर्त्तक, and बलंका, with व्याघ्राट and gives भारइ as the vernacular equivalent of वतंक, and भारइ of भरद्वाज. The शब्दकल्पद्रुम also has confused these names and equated वर्त्तक and afer with the vernacular wrt. This mix-up is due to the fact that the Rufous Short-toed Lark is me, aff, and also afar (Quail-like sparrow).