पृष्ठम्:Birds in Sanskrit literature.djvu/९५

Birds in Sanskrit Literature 3. The r in addition to explaining far as the nourisher and regaler of his mate ("वपुषो [स्त्र्यपुषो?] रञ्जकस्तु प्रियात्मज:"), has two verses for two different varieties of the bird:- 160 . "नीलग्रीवो रक्तशिराः शुक्लपक्षो वनेचरः । कुरुवाहूः कुरुकुरुः स च वार्धीणसोऽय च ॥ स स्यात्कृष्णोदरशिरा वर्णतः कृष्णकर्बरः । पन्थालकः पुंसि भवेत् स्त्रियां स्यादवगण्डिका"॥ The first corresponds to the following verse from the frer g quoted in the शब्दकल्पद्रुम I. 118.50. 2. 2.22.48. "नीलग्रीवो रक्तशीर्षः कृष्णपादः सितच्छदः । बाघ्रणसः स्यात्पक्षीशो मम विष्णोरतिप्रियः ॥" The verse below is also quoted by the same authority from some commen- tary on the मार्कण्डेय पुराण:--- "रक्तपादो रक्तशिराः रक्तचञ्चुविह्ङगमः । कृष्णवर्णेन च तथा पक्षी वाघ्रणसो मतः ॥” It will be seen that the colour-patterns of (i) the Great Hornbill which is principally a black and white bird with black head and neck and some yellow and orange on the bill and (ii) the Rufous-necked Hornbill with a rufous or Chestnut (red) head, neck and lower parts, yellow bill with chestnut grooves on it and naked skin, blue round the eyes and scarlet at the throat, have been mixed up in these verses but there is no doubt that they refer to these birds. The legs of no Hornbill are red. The quotations however make it sufficiently clear that the particular varieties of fre sacred to God fry are the Rufous-necked Hornbill, and the Great Hornbill. The name for the latter given by appears to be a wrong reading for some other word, probably are. f for the female is with reference to the casque on her head being regarded as a sort of tumour or growth. 4. u would seem to be specific for the Great Hornbill as the bird makes the nearest approach to the description of the mythological as a weapon of God Siva. It is described as a staff the upper part of which resembles the human skeleton... ..cross pieces in the upper half for ribs and a skull at the top. The bird in flight, over four feet long, with its long tail, black and white wings and the head-assembly including the casque and the large massive bill, offers quite a comparable picture to Siva's weapon. Vernacular names like कुडांग, कुड्रांग, and हिवांग (विवांग) common in Assam are probable corruptions of खट्वाङ्ग खट्वाङ्ग is one of the Himalayan birds listed in मत्स्य पुराण खट्वाङ्ग बन the name of a region in the Himalayas mentioned in the Puranas, e.g. gfn, is evidently named after the Great Hornbill which was apparently very common there. Hornbills The Common Grey Hornbill (24 inches) of the plains south of the Himalayas is a slim grey bird whose tail constitutes nearly half its total length. The small casque with a point in front has given it names like fret ('a tip cat' on the head) or ferfere (a nail on the head) in Hindi and पतियल धनेश (पत्र वास; cf. पत्रशुक for the smallest Paroquet, Loriquet) in Bengal. It must therefore have been afre in Sanskrit. 6. The flesh of the Great and Rufous-necked Hornbills is said to be very good eating ("far superior to any fowl or pheasant"-Hume), and hence their selection as offerings to God fire and manes of ancestors: "बाधणसस्य मांसेन तृप्तिदशवार्षिकी।" 161 मनु' The commentator has explained as a very old and weak goat also called "fafra" i.e. with such long ears that when the animal bends down to drink, his ears and muzzle touch the water at the same time. A farfa variety of goat may be called for but why should the flesh of a wretched old goat be held in such high esteem when on all accounts. it is very unpalatable and almost uneatable. It is therefore suggested that arefore in the above context is no other than the Hornbill. If its flesh is dear alike to God for and man, why not to the manes of the depar- ted as well? The farefa indeed contains a statement by the manes themselves as to what exactly they would like to have at a . and the menu includes the flesh of for rendered incorrectly as a Crane of that name in the S.B.E. Vol. 52. "कालशाकं महाशाकं मांस वाघ्रणसस्य च । विषाणवर्ज्या (श्र? ) खङ्गास्तांस्तु भक्यामहे सदा ॥ "" The idea in Manu (3.271) therefore is that once fed with such a delicacy as the flesh of a Hornbill, the manes not only feel happy but would also not like to spoil their taste for a long time to come with anything inferior. 7. Finally it may be noted that alleged bird-names like "go- कर्बुरवर्णं" and "कृष्णोवरशिरस्" given by M. Williams on the authority of Galanos' Dictionary are not substantive names at all but merely descrip- tive adjectives taken from the definition of we in the g or some other glossary. 1. 3.271. 2. "वृद्धानां दोषलं मांसम्"-भावप्रकाश. 3. 80.14