Mr
R.Ramanathan, the Vedic scholar had been from time and again enlightening
us with rare gems from Vedas and this time he has written for us a short
article on some of the elongated vowels with particular reference to Pluta (प्लुत), which means protracted. The
article introduces us to newer horizons in understanding the oral tradition that
highlights how accents are related to the emotions and the contexts. For first
time readers, I suggest a reading of two previous articles by Mr Ramanathan to
get a better grasp of this article. The
links are
Now on to his
article on Pluta….
Objective and audience
This small write up attempts to explain
in some detail the semantics of various elongated vowels and its usage patterns
in the various portions of the Taittriya Shaka, with special reference to the
Atreya-Oukhya Shaka that is currently in vogue in most of south India. Many
concepts can be the same across various shakas of the Krishna Yajur Veda or
even other Vedic shakas. Differences and nuances of pronunciation are to be learnt
from the Praatishakya literature of that Vedic shaka under the guidance of a competent
Guru.
The intended audience are those who are
currently doing proper adhyayanam of the above mentioned Shaka or any other
shaka under competent gurus with the proper anushtanas from the Adhyayana
parampara only and not for people who have learnt from youtube, CDs or smart
phone apps, or “Self-taught”. Also, some familiarity of the Panini sutras and
the Maaheshvara sutras along with the basic four Vedic Swaras the Udatta,
Anudatta, swarita prachaya with the rules of interactions amongst themselves are
assumed.
The reason I point out people who learn
through other un authorized means is not due to any personal hatred for them.
But many of these people who learn from these other sources are found wanting
in actual practice of anushtanams and do not take the acharams seriously and
are not actually seriously bothered about right intonation.
What
are elongated vowels?
As per the Maheshvara sutras of panini
the entire set of vowels can be
abbreviated by the pratyahara अच्. This encompasses all the 16 Sanskrit vowels from now on called as swaraaksharas. Each vowel has 3 forms 1. Hrasva(Short) 2. Dheerga(Long) and 3. Pluta (Protracted). The first 2 are known commonly in all Indian languages and so the discussion will be centered around Pluta and its varieties.
abbreviated by the pratyahara अच्. This encompasses all the 16 Sanskrit vowels from now on called as swaraaksharas. Each vowel has 3 forms 1. Hrasva(Short) 2. Dheerga(Long) and 3. Pluta (Protracted). The first 2 are known commonly in all Indian languages and so the discussion will be centered around Pluta and its varieties.
In Devanagari, the representation for
the above 3 is as below the same is applicable for other varnas too,
अ -Hrasva
आ-Deerga
अ(3)-Pluta
Thus in theory there are 16 possible plutas for each swara akshara. But note that in a given shaka not all vowels have pluta forms.
आ-Deerga
अ(3)-Pluta
Thus in theory there are 16 possible plutas for each swara akshara. But note that in a given shaka not all vowels have pluta forms.
Types of elongated vowels in the Taittriya shaka
The
Taittriya has the following types of elongated swaraaksharas.
1. Ranga Dheerga: This is a form of a Dheerga which is pronounced
longer than a proper two maatra Dheerga but is stopped before a pluta. It is
indicated by आ(2) and not अ(2). Examples for these are found
in the taittriya Aranyaka first prashna. The important point is that it occurs
in words with anusvaaras(म्)
नि॒ध॒न्वेव॒ ता (2) म् इ॑मिà(Aranyaka 1st prashna 12th
anuvaka)
दे॒वा(2)म् उप॑प्रैथ्स॒प्तभिः॑->(Aranyaka 1st prashna 13th Anuvaka)
दे॒वा(2)म् उप॑प्रैथ्स॒प्तभिः॑->(Aranyaka 1st prashna 13th Anuvaka)
2. Pluta and
Ranga pluta: Pluta is
pronounced for 3 maatras and the Ranga Pluta till the breath is exhausted
though denoted by 4 in brackets. Classic example of an anuvaka that has both
the types is found in the Rajasuya prashna which is the1st kanda 8th prashna 16th
anuvaka. This is the chant of the Ritwik called the Brahma who does abhisheka
of the new Saamrat.
Pluta: धृ॒तव्र॑तो॒ वरु॑णः प॒स्त्यास्वा साम्राज्याय सु॒क्रतु॒र्ब्रह्मा(३) न् त्व रा॑जन् ब्र॒ह्माऽसि॑ सवि॒ताऽसि॑ स॒त्यस॑वो॒ ब्रह्मा(३) न् त्व रा॑जन् ब्र॒ह्माऽसीन्द्रो॑ऽसि
The dheerga आ the end of ब्रह्मा(3) is elongated to 3 maatras
The dheerga आ the end of ब्रह्मा(3) is elongated to 3 maatras
Ranga pluta: In the same Anuvaka, in panchashat 32 we see a
ranga pluta with a (4) in brackets. Though it is 4 it means that you have to
elongate the vowel till the breath is exhausted. Note the anusvara/anunaasikya
part on it like in point 1.
सुश्लो॒काँ (4) सुम॑ङ्ग॒लाँ (4) सत्य॑रा॒जा ३ न्
Another example is from 7th kanda 4th prashna 20th Anuvaka
लाजी (३) ञ्छाची (३) न््यशो॑ म॒मा (4)म्
Again note the anuswaara on the Ranga. So the gist is Ranga(2) or Ranga(4) occurs only for words with Anunaasika/Anuswaara sounds.
सुश्लो॒काँ (4) सुम॑ङ्ग॒लाँ (4) सत्य॑रा॒जा ३ न्
Another example is from 7th kanda 4th prashna 20th Anuvaka
लाजी (३) ञ्छाची (३) न््यशो॑ म॒मा (4)म्
Again note the anuswaara on the Ranga. So the gist is Ranga(2) or Ranga(4) occurs only for words with Anunaasika/Anuswaara sounds.
Conditions under which Plutas can occur
Since the
pluta and Ranga versions are just vowel elongations, they do not fall into the
category of a proper swara like say Udatta or swarita. Thus, they do not have
hard rules for occurrence nor can be derived from Paninis rules as for the 4
basic swaras. But we can qualitatively ascertain the situations they can occur.
1. Discussions of various options possible in either a ritual act or
otherwise.
For example in the Agnishtoma soma sacrifice, in the 6th Kanda, 1st prashna, Anuvaka 9, a doubt occurs as to whether the soma creeper bought has to be purified.
It means “Brahmavaadis say, Should the soma be purified or not”
Purified -> वि॒चित्यः॒ सोमा (३)
Not purified: न वि॒चित्या (३)
Thus this shows the act of “Thinking out aloud”. This is a very common usage of the pluta. But remember that not all cases of Brahma Vaada or debate need to have a pluta in it. For indication of ascent or satisfaction.
2. In the 7th kanda 1st
prashna 5th Anuvaka, in a discussion between the deities Soma, Indra
and Yama in the allocation of cows, Soma first finds the cows, Indra comes
following him Yama comes later and asks that may he have a share in it too. The
other too say “So be it”. This ascent is indicated by a pluta.
सोमो॒ वै स॒हस्र॑मविन्द॒त्तमिन्द्रोऽन्व॑विन्द॒त्तौ य॒मो न्याग॑च्छ॒त्ताव॑ब्रवी॒दस्तु॒ मेऽत्रापीत्यस्तु॒ ही(३) इत्य॑ब्रूता॒॒ स:
The ही(३) indicates ascent by Indra and soma
सोमो॒ वै स॒हस्र॑मविन्द॒त्तमिन्द्रोऽन्व॑विन्द॒त्तौ य॒मो न्याग॑च्छ॒त्ताव॑ब्रवी॒दस्तु॒ मेऽत्रापीत्यस्तु॒ ही(३) इत्य॑ब्रूता॒॒ स:
The ही(३) indicates ascent by Indra and soma
3. Indication of emotions or surprise:
The most famous example being found in the Taittriya Upanisad. A rishi singing in absolute bliss. The pluta here indicates the joy here.
एतथ्साम गा॑यन्ना॒स्ते । हा (३) वु॒ हा (३) वु॒ हा (३) वु॑ । अ॒हमन्नम॒हमन्नम॒हमन्नम् । अ॒हमन्ना॒दोऽ
हमन्ना॒दोऽ हमन्ना॒दः । अ॒ह श्लोक॒कृद॒ह श्लोक॒कृद॒ह श्लोक॒कृत् । अहमस्मि प्रथमजा ऋता (३) स्य॒ ।
पूर्वन्देवेभ्यो अमृतस्य ना (३) भा॒इ॒ । यो मा ददाति स इदेवमा (३) वाः॒ । अ॒हमन्न॒मन्न॑म॒दन्त॒मा (३) द्मि॒
4. Indicating deep philosophical thinking
This is related to point 1. But does not involve various options but
involves only the curiosity of the thinker.
उ॒ता वि॒द्वान॒मुल्लोँ॒कं प्रेत्य॑ । कश्च॒न ग॑च्छ॒ती (३) । आहो॑ वि॒द्वान॒मुल्लोँ॒कं प्रेत्य॑ । कश्चि॒थ्सम॑श्ञु॒ता (३) उ॒
Basically the question is “Where would a dying person go? Where would he stay after exiting here?” The pluta here in the boldened texts indicate the curiosity of the questioner.
5. Indication of sounds like say that of a flying object.
In the Pravargya prashna Aranyaka 8th prashna(Of Dravida paata 6th of Andhra paata)1st anuvaaka, while explaining the reason why the pravargya is performed, The devas won the war against asuras with Vishnus help with the agreement that the credits for the victory would be divided equally. But it seems Vishnu ran away from the Devas and sat with his chin on his bow gloating over this greatness. The Devas sent some termites to bite of the bow string. As the string was taut the tip of the bow on which Vishnu rested his head coiled up like a spring and cut his head off. The head flew through the air. The sound made by the head is indicated by a Ranga pluta here.
तत्प्र॑व॒र्ग्य॑स्य प्रवर्ग्य॒त्वम् । यद्घ्राँ (4) इत्यप॑तत् ।
The boldened text indicates the “Ghang” sound made by Vishnu’s head when flying through the air.
These are the typical cases when plutas and it varieties can occur.
Grammatical and shaka specific characters of
plutas
1. It is not necessary that pluta for all the 16 vowels need to occur in a shaka. In the Taittriya for example pluta forms exists for all fundamental swaraaksharas
अ आ इ ई उ ऊ
The ऋ ॠ लृ varnas do not have pluta forms in the Taittriya Shaka with only the dheerga forms being found(ॠ)
2. Among the derived vowels ए ऐ ओ औ, pluta forms exists for only ए. But it does not exist directly but is split
into its constituent vowels. For example
ए = अ(or)आ
+ इ
To give an example for this, in the 1st kanda 4th prashna is called Graha prashna. The mantras are used to fill up the soma grahas in the Soma sacrifice. The mantra is as follows (27th anuvaka)
To give an example for this, in the 1st kanda 4th prashna is called Graha prashna. The mantras are used to fill up the soma grahas in the Soma sacrifice. The mantra is as follows (27th anuvaka)
बृह॒स्पति॑सुतस्य त इन्द्रो इन्द्रि॒याव॑तः॒ पत्नी॑वन्तं॒ ग्रहं॑ गृह्णा॒म्यग्ना(३) इ पत्नी॒वा(३) स्स॒जूर्दे॒वेन॒ त्वष्ट्रा॒ सोमं॑ पिब॒ स्वाहा
Actually the word अग्ने is split into
अग्ने = अग्ना(3) + इ (ग्ने = ग्ना + इ)
The pluta is applied to ग्ना and them
after a gap (Virama of ½ matra) the इ is
chanted. This is as per Panini sutra
“Pluta
pragrihyam achi nityam”
If there is an अच्(Vowel)
after a pluta(An elongated vowel) there should be no sandhi or coalesce of
these two vowels and in the chant this absence of sandhi is shown by a small
gap of ½ matra.