पृष्ठम्:Birds in Sanskrit literature.djvu/९८

Birds in Sanskrit Literature अश्वघोष refers to दुर्बल as a bird that loves to be constantly on the wing and makes use of its nest merely as a resting place:: “धारणार्थं शरीरस्य भोजनं हि विधीयते । उपस्तम्भः पिपतिषो दुर्बलस्येव वेश्मनः ।" सौन्दरनन्द 166 The mentions the Swift, gif, as a bird of augury. The Hindi names and art for the House Swift are from Sanskrit f(having a defective body) and refira (living on the air, as the birds seem to eat nothing). The first corresponds to gier and the second to a certain type of ascetic. 4. The शब्दार्थचिन्तामणि defines बलिल as a kind of bird that is constantly flying in the sky ( सतसं गगनचारिणि शास्त्रप्रसिद्धे पक्षिविशेष) and cites the following verse from some Vårtika on a treatise on Vedanta: "अलिलः पक्षिणः पुत्रो गगनाद् याति भूतलम् । स्वबोधाभावतः स्वस्य बोधे यात्यम्बरं पुनः ॥” The habit of the bird afere is used here to illustrate the nature of the 'atman' who can enjoy a state of ecstatic happiness only in a high spiritual plane. Now the only bird whose habits fulfil the above description is the Common House Swift which not only takes its food, drink and nesting materials on the wing but even mates and feeds its grown-up young in the air. It resorts to its nest either for a momentary rest during the day or to sleep in at night. It does not voluntarily descend to the ground and if by accident this does happen, it manages to fly back into the air. The name पलिल like चरिल्ली is most probably after the bird's call and Prak अडिल्ल is merely a variant according to the rule डलयोरैक्यम्. Prakrit अडिल्ल said to be derived from बटिल (अटल not moving ? ) is defined in afas fer" i.e. a kind of bat, probably the small house-bat, which also finds it rather difficult to take to the air once it has landed itself on the ground; Cf. (not coming to the ground) for the larger fruit-bats. Little bats, however, do not fly even half as high as Swifts and can certainly not be described as गगन-or अम्बर-चारी. Moreover, it is highly improbable that such an unclean looking thing as a bat, occupying stinking nest-holes and blind by day, should be chosen by the Vedāntic philosopher to illustrate one of their principal doctrines. Sansk. sfe may therefore, stand apart 1. 14.15. 2. 87.7 & 28. 3. प्राणक जातक and प्राणिभूत are obscure bird-names in महाव्युत्पत्ति, Section 213. If means 'wind or air' the first may mean 'a bird that is begotten in the air', and forge may be an allied form 'begotten in the ordinary way'. This is, of course, pure guess-work. 4. गौतम स्मृति Ch. 17; आश्रम पन्थावलि No. 61, Poona. Swifts 167 from Prak. af in spite of their close affinity. Nevertheless, it is possi- ble to reconcile and connect the two through two different meanings of the Marathi term as given in the gr, viz., (i) a small bat and (ii) a kind of small bird, evidently the Swallow or Swift both of which are popularly known in Marathi by that name and are not distin- guished one from the other. The Chief reason why the bat and the Swift share a common name seems to be the fact that in their daily routine of life they are complimentary, as it were, to each other. If the Swift is on the wing all day and returns to the nest for the night, the bat keeps flying all night. and spends the day in its nest-hole. Both are however, seen flying at dusk and often returning to their nests to feed the young. This makes it easy to reconcile old survivals like चामचिकि ( ( चमंचटी ? ) in Bengal for the Palm Swift and TH (bird with wings of skin, cf. Hindi a bird) in Sind for the Pale Brown Swift as alternative names for them. It follows, therefore, that afere and afere are merely different forms of the same word, but while the former means the House Swift in Sanskrit the latter has been confined to the small bat in Prakrit. 6. The name चटक in the प्रवुद list of चरकसंहिता stands probably for both Swallows and Swifts for चक्रपाणिदत renders it as देवकुलचटक: F: i.e., little birds living in temples, and we know that both these build their nests. there. Te is also a common name for Sparrow- like birds but has mentioned separately the House and other Sparrows as far and song-Sparrows as fg. The interpretation of the commentator must, therefore, be accepted as correct. 3 चटक, देवकुल चटक, and fufeet or feet thus seem to be general names for both Common House Swallows and Swifts, but it must be remembered that strictly speaking and are the Swallows and want the Swifts according to धन्वन्तरि निषण्टु (Art. 25). 7. The औणादिक पदाणंव of पेसूरि 4.163 gives the equation "जीवि: " and the name off (fre speedy or quick, and fa a bird) is an exact equivalent of "Swift" as a specific bird-name, and the aptness. of the name for the Swift would be appreciated when it is recalled that the normal speed of a Swift on the wing is 75 miles as against 35 miles per hour of the Swallow. These speeds are very much higher when the birds are pressed by danger, and though hundred miles per hour for a Swift is definite, that accurate observer of bird-life, E.C. Stuart Baker, has actually timed a Swift with a stop-watch flying at the tremendous speed 1. Ed. by Y. R. Date (1933). 2. सुश्रुत has distinguished them as कुलिङ्ग and वेश्म-कुलिङ्ग. 3. Just as the common terms शकुन, शकुन्त, and पत्नी mean both 's bird in general and particular birds of prey, the word also means 'a sparrow' and 'a swallow or swift' according to the rule सामान्योऽपि विशेषे वर्तते--अभिधानचिन्तामणि.