A. CALDECOTT .

• >

The Emergency Procedure 0/ the State Council

1.

T
HE Mother of Parliaments is a remarkable old lady who has succeeded
in impressing many of her better qualities upon her numerous progeny.
Her daughters differ so widely among themselves, however, that some-
thing must be attributed to their respective fathers. The Ceylon State Council
was intended by the Donoughmore Commissioners to be a very peculiar body
having some, at least, of the virtues of the Honse of Commons, the Assembly
of the League of Nations, and the Little Poppleston Urban District Council.
In the main, the virtues of the House of Commons have proved to be dominant ..
It is essentially a legislative and not an administrative body. It never sits in
executive session. It pays little attentiou to its Executive Committees. Its
peculiarities are not in any great measure due to the Donoughmore
Com rnissi oners.
Among the more important characteristics which distinguish legislatures
is that of size. The House of Commons, on the rare occasions when everybody
is present, is not a committee meeting but a great assembly. Its members
sit in serried ranks to the r~~lt and the left of 1\<1r.Speaker, on the steps between
8
 THE EMERGENCY PROCEDCl{E OF THE STATE COUNCTL

benches, and in the Members' gallery. They like to pretcnd that they
,pose to act as the Grand Connr il of the naticn : hut they will not; they
e come really to listen to a speech, or a series 01 speeches, by eminent states-
. The individual, unless he be the eminent statesman, is a person of
great importance one of the crowd of (lIS members. At t he othcr extreme,
the dinner hour on Derby Day, when the honourable mcmbcr for the
'ppleston Division of Borcshire holds t he floor. addressing an attentive
:~.tion and a few honourable members on his favouritc subject, hc is still one
··:liJnong 615, though six hundred of them be engaged on important duties
:·Wsewhere. The procedure, the ctmosphorc, the gencral tone, of the debate
..assume that absent friends are present. Indeed, if thc word goes round that
." Winston is up " many of them will be present. They will come trooping
.in' {rom the lobbies, t hc smoke rooms, the bar, the library, the dining room,
.the terrace, and all the clubs from St. Stephen's to the Junior Constitutional.
Nobody, except the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means,
ever pretends that the House of Commons is a committee. In the State
Council sense, it never is a committee. It is always and inevitably a debating
.assembly. The cross-talk which is the normal practice of the State Council
ill corr mit tee is utterly impossible in the House of Commons, simply because
615 members, present or absent, cannot be a committee.
It is important, too, that the individual member, in a House of 615
members, is unimportant. The dignity of his office is at least as great. It
is something, after all, to be honourable member for the Poppleston Division '
~fBoreshire. Yet in thc House itsel I, where all men and women are honourable,
'he is but one of a crowd. He has not even a scat. still less a desk, to himself.
One can be a member for a Parliament and yet" meet" another member
for the first time at a county agricultural show, or at the Empress Hotel,
:Blackpool, on the occasion of the party's annual conference. When there
.are 615 members one more or Irss does not matter. Nor can the member
expect to speak of'.en .. Three or Jour speeches a session are his ration, unless
he be a minister, a member of the Shadow Cabinet, or one of the minorities
favoured by Mr. Speaker because they are minorities. It is, for instance,
unlikely that he will be able to speak in the Budget debate. Three c1ays-
or four if the Chicf Whip be in a generO\1S mood-s-arc all that the Government
.ean afford. It is true that the House sits continuously from z '45 p.m. to
:q·30 p.rn., and that speeches tend to be much shorter; but by the time that
.the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the" Shadow Chancellor." the Financial
:Secretary to the Treasury, the third party's financial expert, and the dozen
. ~'SO persons with some knowledge of the subject have had their say, there
~t much time for the ordinary back-bencher to survey affairs of State from
'~h to Overseas Trade and back.
~~~KBecause the House of Commons is a debati;g assembly, it is not milch
:~ested in petty details of administration .. ;'~he Dcnoughmore Com-
<to
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 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW
THE EMERGEl'\CY PROCEDCRE OF THE STATE COUNCIL
missioners drew attention to the different attitude of the Ceylon Legislative
Council. They did not, however, give all the reasons. The small size of the a Dominion. When the Colonial Secretary had given his explanation and
governing class in Ceylon, the close family relations, the highly personal the <; Shadow Minister for the Colonies" had blessed it in the name of the
system of public administration (hardly anybody in England has heard of Opposition, there was really nothing more to be said. Canada ceased to
Sir Robert Morant, the ablest civil servant of this century), the absence of . be a subject of debate when the Canadians settled their differences; and there
was still Ireland.
general topics of conversation like the weather, football, test matches, plays,
books and the state of business, all help to make personal questions of absorbing The greatest difft'rence of all, however, is that whereas the State Council
interest. To these general characteristics must be added the special features consists of 58 members and three Officers of State, the House of Commons
of the Ceylon Constitution, whereby all responsibility before 1931, and a consists of two parties and a few hangers-on. On one side is His Majesty's
substantial share of responsibility since 1931, have been owed in the last resort Government; on the other side is His Majesty's Opposition. They almost
to the King in Parliament. These constitutional features partly explain, monopolise the show, and they are certainly at the top of the bill. The whole
for instance, the ridiculous system of Estimates and Supplementary Estimates, procedure of the House hangs on this fact. So essential is the Opposition to
whereby a sub-head can be inserted for Rs. 300 '00 and the whole Constitution the conduct of proceedings that if there is a genuine national coalition (which
made to creak for Rs. 20 '00. In Great Britain a Supplementary Estimate, happens, fortunately, only in time of war) a " Shadow Opposition" has to
except for a definite development of policy, is one of the administrator's seven he created. The Government cannot govern unless it has a majority; but if
deadly sins .. In Ceylon the only effective way of stopping such constitutional it has a majority it governs, by arrangement with the Opposition, the House
excrescencies, a power of virement or transfer vested in the Treasury, is barred. as well as the people. The husiness of the House is arranged by the Govern-
ment in agreement with the Opposition.
In the State Council the members are usually present: in the House of
Commons they are usually absent. In the State Council there is a quorum The process is supremely simple. t The business of the House of Commons
of 20, and it is the duty of 1ir. Speaker to see that there is a quorum. In the is almost entirely legislati ve (including financial). Except for certain Wednes-
House of Commons there is a quorum of forty and, except in a division, it is days and Fridays, the time is taken for Government business. The Rome
nobody's business to see that a quorum is present. During the dinner-hour, Affairs Committee of the Cabinet is thus able to plan nearly the whole of the
., indeed, a count cannot be demanded. A vast amount of nonsense is written programme of the House for the whole session. Included in that programme,
on this subject (and indeed on most subjects) by leader-writers. The honour- however, is a substantial number of measures on which general discussion is
able member for the Poppleston Division of Boreshire is a most estimable possible--the King's speeches beginning and terminating the session, the
person. He is indeed a most useful member when the Chief Whip has a twenty days given to the Estimates, the adjournment motions at Christmas
committee upstairs, or has to keep the debate going while the Minister is and Easter, and the Appropriation and Consolidated Fund Bills. The subjects
briefed by an Assistant Secretary, or has to get his men back from the Carlton; for discussion on these occasions are settled between Government and Opposi-
but it cannot be denied that the honourable member is inclined to be tedious. tion from week to week. Every Thursday, therefore, the Leader of the House
Nothing that he will say will have any effect here or elsewhere, now or in informs the Leader of the Opposition. in answer to a question, the programme
the future. The honourable member has a conscience and must be allowed for the coming week-which has. of course, already been settled between the
to relieve it occasionally; but it is surely one of the privileges of a British Chief Whips. Thus, if the Appropriation Bill is down for next Thursday, it
subject not to have to listen to the honourable member's speeches. It is may be agreed to have a debate on social insurance. Theoretically, an~(
unfortunate that the gentlemen of the press in the gallery, having bitten their member may raise any other subject he pleases; but members are supposed
to debate, not to exhibit the bees in their bonnets, and any apiarist will be
pencils to pieces, get a sudden inspiration and count the number present.
frowned Upon by his Whip (and the House) and will find considerable difficulty
It is not that the House is uninterested in the Gold Standard or the future
in catching Mr. Speaker's eye on a future occasion. If next Thursday is
of the British Empire, but only that it is not interested in the speeches of
a Supply day, the Opposition may decide to criticise the Government's colonial
the honourable member for Poppleston. Moreover, it is frequently forgotten
policy, and so the Colonial Office vote will be put down At any time, of course,
that the interest of a debate is quite different from the importance of the
the Opposition can get a debate on a specific motion hy asking the Government
subject-matter. It was complained that the British North America Act,
to find a day or, if the case is extreme, putting down a vote of censure. If,
1867, was passed as if it were a Bill for the union of parishes. How else could
however, a matter of urgency arises, it is possible to move a motion for the
it have been passed? All parties in Canada, the legislatures of Nova Scotia
adjournment of the House th~t dav, with the result that, if the Speaker agrees •
and New Brunswick, an.~, His Majesty's Government, had agreed to create - . ..
1. Jennings, Parliament (Cambr;dge, I938), PP,"I33-q6.
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EMERGENCY PROCEDURE OF THE STATE COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW
that it is " a definite matter of urgent public importance" and a sufficient
minority agrees, the matter is debated at 7.30 p.m. that evening. People
with bees can either put down motions and ballot for priority, or utilise the
half-hour which can be devoted to the adjournment motion every evening
except Friday.
The whole procedure is at once flexible and orderly. Each member
knows several days ahead what subject is going to be debated (subject to
emergencies) and can take some trouble over the preparation of his speech.
The programme is planned in such a way that all the subjects of topical interest
are covered. Urgent questions can always be brought up, and the inter-
vention of the Opposition whips makes certain that the real function of the
House, to criticise Government policy, is properly performed. Every debate
is in truth a debate, a discussion in which a small number of members, usually
those with the ideas or the knowledge or (in rare cases) both can take part.
I The vote is neither here nor there, for it is always in favour of the Government:
\ but the "feeling of the House," as expressed in the debate, is extremely
valuable. Being ordinary people with some genuine interest in the matter,
dure essentially British in its origin, has produced an impressian....J;)f
y-org~n~d assembly. In some measure the impression is exaggerated,
is due to a comparison with a legislature ten times the size, working a party
'em with almost mechanical precision, and exercising functions of control
wider in their extent and closer in their content. The State Council,
ithe House of Commons before modern social controLdeveloped in industrial
. unities, had timg, to waste_and. c,SJUldthe¢ore afford ~jlaphazard
edure.
II.
lt must be emphasised that the arrangement of the business of a legislature
Institutionally a very important subject. One does not get democracy
ely by having a representative system and a wide fra~chise. Though
bers of all legislatures, like most other people, exaggerate their own
»""';portance, they are very ordinary people acting, or trying to act, as re-
entatives of public opinion. It is therefore essential that their procedure
uld enable debate to exercise two functions, to educate public ~pinion, and
1 '"express public""'Opinion. The Honse of Commons, in spite of the defects
I
j

1.
'''''hiS procedure= and its composition.e fulfils both of these important functions.
members express the doubts and hesitations of ordinary people. They are , 'State Council, under its ordinary procedure, does not perform either
not experts, and nobody except themselves ever pretends that they are. They ction as well as it ought. There is here no question of limitation of powers,
represent that illusive "public opinion" which lies hidden somewhere in State Council has not the legal power, under the present Constitution,
popular government. The Government, in turn, can explain; and it is do all that it wishes; but there is nothing to prevent it from debating
remarkable how frequently the uninformed criticism which appears in the ything it pleases. '
trains and the newspapers melts away when a Minister makes a plain straight- The Standing Orders provide+ that, unless the Council otherwise decides.
forward answer to the repetition of these criticisms in the House. Mr. Churchill the Council shall meet on Tuesdays Wednesdays, Tbursda)[s and Fridays in
once explained his difficulties in the coalition of 1915, when he was less popular alternate weeks, each meeting beginning at 2' 30 p.m. or at such other time as
than he is now. "I was not attacked (r.e., in the House) ; therefore I could the Council may from time to time determine. A sitting of the Council shall
not defend myself." With an Opposition on the Bench opposite, there is end not later than 7.30 p.m. unless the Council, on a motion made for the
usually no lack of opportunities for defence. .' purpose with the consent of the Speaker, otherwise resolves. This is a relic
It is of course impossible to apply this system in Ceylon. Not only are .,< of the famous" eleven o'clock rule," designed to prevent the Irish from
there no parties and therefore no Opposition, but also the Donoughmore Con- keeping the House of Commons up all night, and still used to prevent the
stitution is so framed that it is difficult to have a Government. T: is true Opposition from obstructing the Government. In fact, there was often diffi-
that a substantial part of the Dononghmore scheme, that relating to the culty in keeping a quorum late in the evening, and when the blackouts,
executive powers of the State Council, has for practical purposes disappeared, restrictions were imposed the Council decid~ !.O adjourn earlier. .
and also that the power of the purse has enabled the BQ!,!rd..,ofMinisters to It is by no means easy to interpret the Standing Orders relating 'to the
~ exercise some control over the actions of Executive ComElittees-. Neverthe- organisation of business. Certain preliminary matters-swearing in of
less, the British system implies not merely coll~ye resPQDsibility for finance, members, messages from the Governor. announcements, laying of papers,
but collective responsibility for e~ing, and this in turn implies a homo- petitions, notices of motion, and questions-are placed first on the orders of
geneous Cabinet in a sense quite different from that in which the term has ,., the day.e The" notices of motion" are oral notices. They really have no
hitherto been used in Ceylon. 2. Jennings. Parliamentary Reform (J933).
The British system is, of course, not the only system of government WhiC~ ,,'-'.
3. Jennings" Parliament must be Reformed (1941) .
has worked well; but the Standing Orders of the State Council contain provl \
l~;' 4. S.O. {State Council) 23-25.
sions which remind one irresistably of Charles Stuart, James Stuart and Charle. 5. s.o. (State Council) 35(1). r'
~\,: .
Stewart Parnell. The resuk, of the differences noted above, applied to a: '
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 -iTHE EMERGENCY PROCEDl'l{E OF THE STATE COtTKCIL
UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIE\V ·I~.

,(3) A report f:-om an Exe~uti\"C Committee p~esented .in accordance

effect except to give publicity to the member and his motion (often a de~irable , with Article .;b or Article 47 of the Order-in-Council shall be con-
procedure), for an oral notice of motion is not effective unless written notice sidered in Council upon the day appointed by the Board of Ministers,
be given to the Clerk,6 and notice may be given to the Clerk without oral unless the Council shall defer the report to another day.'s
notice in Council." Order 41 provides that "all motions, of which notice s the Council now operates, this list includes none of the most important
has been received by the Clerk not less than five days before a meeting, shall of the agenda. There are very few reports from Executive Committees
... be included in the order of the day, but unless the Council otherwise orders, Articles 40 and 4~' of the Order-in-Council, and most business may be
no debate thereon shall take place unless five c1,IYS have elapsed since the ified as follows:
appearance of the notice on the order of the day."s What this probably means JE. (i) The Appropriation Bill and Supplementary Estimates;
is that, when the Clerk receives notice of a motion, he shall place the notice ~-, (ii) Motions by Ministers fOI- the allocation of loan funds ;
with the order of the day and that, when it has appeared on the order of the -.- . (iii) Government Bills;
day for five days, debate on the motion may take place. Moreover, Standing (iv) March resolutions and other motions by Ministers on behalf of
Order 35(2) says that the order of the day shall include the specified matters .:--' Executive Committees;
mentioned above "and also such other business as may conveniently be .~ . (v) Motions to approve regulations.
dealt with on such day in the order in which they will be transacted." The Qiwemment has not priority for any of these, unless they can be said to be
only way to make sense out of Standing Orders 35 and 41 is to assume that the ~~,jugent," and for that purpose a motion has to be moved and passed. 16
latter refers not to motions but to notices of mot.ions. That is, when notice .,it appears that any member may have a motion put down for any part i-
of motion has been given for five days, the motion may be put down on the ·"day.17
order of the day if there is time for it. In practice most private members' ~.. The consequences of this liberty-or licence--are important. First,
motions refer to matters within the jurisdiction of an Officer of State or an _~ may be considerable delay in Government bu .iness, due to the insistence
Executive Committee and muse be referred to the Office or Committee without 4i,;private members that their motions and Bills be taken first. Tn time of
••. gency such delay-s-in spite of the safety-valve in Standing Order 38-
discussion.9
The •• other business" referred to by Standing Order 35 is the main Giilht be serious. Secondly. Mr. Speaker has the function of arranging business
. l>usiness of the Council. Consideration of that business may be postponed, ~ the Standing Orders contain no provision.>" This compels him to
•••• between Government business and private members' business and to
however, for any of the following reasons :-
(a) an urgent motion concerning privileges is moved ;'0 or ••• (:tority among private members' Bills, though private motions have
(b) a motion for adjournment on a definite matter of urgent public , • ~iIe moved according to priority in a ballot.w It is a well-known principle,
-,.hich the Speakers of the House of Commons adhere firmly, that Mr. Speaker
importance is moved ;"
(c) a member of the Board of Ministers moves to take the time of the •••• exercise no function which may lead to controversy or accusations of
~hip. Thirdly, business ought never to be arranged on the floor of
Council for urgent business. r
~.Jegislature. The State Council, being small, is less likely to be stampeded
If the Council proceeds with the order of the day the following rules as
a larger legislature; nevertheless it is clear that business cannot be
to priority apply :- ed by large committees and in the heat of debate. Moreover, the
(I) Consideration of private members' motions shall ordinarily commence
'3 is apt to be determined not by the importance of the subject-matter
at 5 p.m. on Thursdays, unless the Council otherwise determine.
the popularity or unpopularity of the member. Fourthly, business
(2) The order in which private members' motions shall be taken shall
'curanged in the Council itself only by lengthy and sometimes confused
be decided by ballot.':' or cross-talk. The State Council in normal times wastes a considerable
it of time through members-s-including Ministers-drawing attention
6 .. Ibid. ,p (2).
7. Ibid. 41(1).
. motions and begging that they be taken up. Fifthly, there being
8. Author's italics.
'~:Ibid. 96(1).
9. S.O. (State Council) 57·
:·lbicl. 38.
10. Ibid. 43· . This seems to follow from S.O. 36.
11. Ibid. 42. S.O. 1.54.
12.
13.
Ibid. 38.
Ibid. 58(2).
14. Ibid. 58(1). ",,,
Ibid. .58(1).
IS
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 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW
EMERGENCY PIW(Efll'HJ,: OF TJlE ~TO\'IE <(JL':\'('JL
no organised body like whips authorised to settle the phrasing of motions
and the most convenient order, an effective debate even on urgent and im- ing stages, thou.rh 011 1\' after ~l di";Cll,.;-ioll on t l:c mell r of busine~s
portant problems may not be held. ingfour colurnns.« On t lu: ,;,·th 1licn' \\';IS a t\\'()-colllrnn discussinll
Two illustrations, widely separated in time, of the last difficulty may be ,iness,z5 but cvcnt unliv St;!lHlilig' Orders were suspended to allow a
on two motions, 1'a!;('J] 1(Igl'lh('r, on the <"losing of schools and
mentioned. Between September and November, H)28, the Legislative Council
debated the Donoughmore Report. A large number of motions was put down tion. The debate Was ;Idjollilled t-o the H,tit FclJnwrv, Leave to
by unofficial members. In large measnre they overlapped and in some ,.he adjournment to allow (If a st atcmr-n t on civil cldcllCC was granted

measure they conflicted. An unusual procedure was adopted so as to get t day, and the subseq\l(,nt debate lasted .rll da,',o& 'lite tivhale on the
some sort of order into the debates, but there were several unnecessary dis- of schools was continued OJ] the lIt11 FclJru;lIY and the motion to
r
cussions about procedure, and in the end a logical order W:IS not developed. he schools \\',:S I a ricc1.=7 '11:(' llllilioll fllr ('\';[cu;lling pcople was form-
Had a similar question arisen in Canada or Australia there would have been "ovedand cq.rrinl.°>i The lliotion for (,(,llsuriJj:'~ the Board (If Ministers
conferences between the whips as to the most convenient set of prepositions, ack of prcp.untion w~:s t.lu.n m: nul i il()ugh 110t wi t I .ou: protest from
and their arrangement in logical order, so that the whole field open for debate o'er member who h;:cl ;[ moti'ln d,)\\ 11.=9 An :,llll('Jl<II1lCl1t
t o change t lu-

could he covered in a. logical orderly manner. These motions would then on from one of censure to "IlC of I](J-('I'ldidc)'Jcc h('ing mo\'ed and aft or
have been put down" officially" hy Ministers, Opposition leaders, or private ' ussion about prrW('dl:rc 1'(,C1Ip~·ill.~/""11;'('flh:1l111S, t l:c debate was
members. Naturally, this system cannot be worked where there are no urned.s> AnGtll(:r member then \\-i~l(d to 'I\<;jl"ncl St:iPcJing Orc1ero:,
parties, but it is clear to the reader that the Legislative Council did not make "-,e agreed to pllt it uti'. Ordinary <;"\('lElIlI'lIt and pri\;:te members'
its points as effectively as it could have done if somebody had planned the !pess was then taken. On tile L ell Fcbru<!ry tl:l.' \'II\.e of censure was
~ted and tho motion 111s1'Y
debates.
At the end of 1941, when the Japanese entered the war, the Governor /:To one accustom.sj to r hc pr('ci~;i()n of HI)II~C of C"ml11()n:';procedure, all
addressed the State Council. which then passed wrth commendable promptitude iappears very cOl1fu,,ing. \\'cslmimlcr i,: l" course mOIC accustorno.I
a Supplementary Estimate for Rs. 20,000,000 '00. In the debate the general '" :Colombo to alarums and e.\:cup.ic)]1s, and once more rhe party system
• question of the impact of war on Cevlon was discussed. The Council next ~have made all the differcnrr-, If is not possiblo to say what would han:
met on the 27th January, 1942, when oral notice was given of nineteen private - 'the British procedure because t l:c p!'(.blcm would hav« been viewed ill
members' motions.s? At the end of questions a motion for the adjournment a:~.erent light. The reactions of public opinion in :-;eptcmhcr, 1939 and
of the Council to discuss a definite matter of urgent public importance was ~I940 Were quitc clifi'l'rC'nt from tho~c in Crvlon in J;U:l::',ry. I942- How-
moved. Mr. Speaker ruled the motion ont of order, and a discussion as to -';·the procedure would i.avc been "om(what ,~s Iollows. The Covcrnmenr
whether it could be raised in some other way was carried over five columns ~d have informed t ho Op'positiol1 ",hil's t l.at it rcquircd a vote of credit
of Hansard;" Next followed a discussion occupying four columns on the, certa.in as legi~!ati()n P<tSS( d ifllml'di,~tcJy. The Opposit ion would have
time of meetings.v- Supplementary Estimates arising out of the emergency ..,lied that it would :;i\'c all a~si"ta1;('c for \ Ilc!,(' purpo;(;o;, but would ;lh'o
were discussed for the rest of the sitting, the debate ranging over the whole . lequire a debatc on tile C;()\,(Tlll1ll'llt's p()lil'\', with wili( h it w.» di-satisficd.
'problem of the defence of Ceylon.ss There were on the order paper a War ~ Government would olTer a day for tlI'is pUJ po-c, and the Opposition
0isks Insurance Bill regarded as urgcnt, and a censure motion which would Ittd
state that three c1;I\'~ would be required to debate (u) civil defence,
normally be regarded as taking precedence. The Bill was read a first time •• .~oluntary c\'acl1ati(;1l and (e) food. TIll: ,t!\crnati\'cs would then be
J!issed. Thev. would be.--
~.,
on the z Sth January and was followed by an adjournment motion for the
discussion of food policy. It is a little difficult to see how this debate wag Ij' (r) A motion for the adjol1rnmcl1t which would, ()f courso not lead to a
in order, but Mr. Speaker undoubtedly gave way to the wishes of the Council "'.,.....------
division_ Thi-, wOllld hI.> illc(lIl\'clli('nt, sincr ill fact three such
in allowing it to be moved. The motion was carried nemine contradicente, Ibid. pp. 73-74·
but the vote meant nothing whatever since it merely terminated the sitting,
On the 29th January the War Risks Insurance Bill was taken through its
Ibid. p. 106,
Ibid. pp. [36-168,
,
Ibid. p. 171·
20. In respect of 12 of these notice of intention to suspend Standing Orders was given, '. /1;id.
p, I75·
2 (. State Council of Ceylon, Debates, 1942, Pl'. IO- [3, Ibid. I'P· [75-185,
22. Ibid, PI'· 13-15. Ibid. p. 185.
23. Ibid .. pp. I6-40.""
Ibid, pp, 27J-3[8.
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 .. UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW
EMERGENCY PROC.EDURE OF THE STATE COU~CIL
,.~.'
·~t~'1:heGeneral Purposes Committee of a small local authority. The Emergency
m-:>tions would be moved. Also, the Opposition wonld probalJly
;,:Standing Orders appear to be designed to enable the Board of Ministers to
wish to press to a division . ::liiiDovernin emergency conditions, while at the same time to enable members of
.(2) A Government motion to which the Opposition could move a reasoned
he State Cou~cil to carryon - their guerilla
.. warfare with fewer discussions
amendment.
(3) A vote of no-confid,nce 0<, if the Opposition felt stmngly on the r • bout the order in which they shall shoot.
It is now provided that, unless the Council otherwise decides, the Council
matter, a vote of censure. 1-
all meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m. and on Fridays
The second would probably be chosen. On the first day the debate would
.t 10 a.rn.es The proceedings on any business under consideration at noon on
be opened by the Minister of Home Security, on the second by the Pre"ident
ridays shall, unless the Council otherwise decides, be interrupted, without
of the Board of Education nnd on the third by the Minister of Food, the Prime
uestion put, and shall be resumed at 2 p.m.as This is in accordance with
Minister winding up on one of the three days. Under this procedure, it will
e general practice of the Council to adjourn for meals. The House of
be seen ommons sits continuously. For a short period early in this century there
(a) that-
The time of the Honse is not wasted by wrangles about the order of
as an interval for dinner known as" the Speaker's chop." Strangely enough,
business. was found easier to " keep a House " during dinner than to " make a House "
(b) The Go\'ern gets the money and the power for Whitehall to carry
ment ter a dinner interval. The House may not be counted out, however, between
on the war while \Vestminster is talking. 'IS p.m. and 9.15 p.rn.s-
(c) Criticism is preceded by explanation, so that there is no justification
for a hare-hnnt beginning with a story of the" I hear that" type. At 6 p.m. on every Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and at 5 p.m. on
ery Friday, the Speaker shall adjourn the Council without question put.35
(d) Each subject is debated separately and in a single debate.
his avoids an adjournment motion and prevents a debate. Then comes
(e) The listeners to the nine o'clock news and the readers of the morning
e first change of substantial importance36:-
newspapers hav Co both sides of the case before them.
".A t 5·30 p.m. on every Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday and at
U) The Government is either supported or turned out. In the former
4.30 p.m. on every Friday, the proceedings on any business then under
case it pays some attention to the" feeling of the House "; but no
government hesitates to ignore the opinions of members of Parlia- consideration shall be interrupted; and, if the Council shall be in Com-
mittee, the Chairman shall leave the Chair and make his report to the
ment where it thinks that they are hasty and ill-informed
Council; and if a motion has been proposed for the adjournment of the
The last point is perhaps the most important of all. If members of Parliament
Council, or of the debate, or in Committee that the Chairman do report
in June, I()40, when the enemy was occupying the coast from Brest to Narvik,
progress or do leave the Chair, every such dilatory motion shall lapse
had shown signs of panic, the Government wol1ld not have given way. To
without question put:
do so would have been to make itself contemptible in its own eyes and, eventu-
Provided always that, on the interruption of business, the closure
ally, in the eyes of the people. Since members of Parliament are ordinary
may he moved under Standing Order 66 and. if moved. or if proceedings
common people, however, the fact that they are ill-informed shows that
under the Standing Order be then in progress, the Speaker or the Chairman
sections of the people are ill-informed. Instructions wOl1kl tberefore be
shall not leave the Chair until the question consequent thereon and on
issued to the Ministry of Information to release more of the official infor-
any f urther motion as provided in that Standing Order has been decided."
mation about the effects of air raids; and Ministers would take every
is further provided tha137 "after the business under consideration at
opportunity of allaying panic and appealing to the ~.ense of responsibility of
,30 p. m. (or 4.30 p.m. on a Fr iday) has been disposed of, no opposed business
the ordinary citi'lcn. Meanwhile, government would be carried on coolly 11 be taken."
and expeditiously, if necessary in defiance of a hasty and gronndless panic.·
These are Westminster rules,38 copied exactly except for the" exempted
~ iness ' which would be irrelevant under tile State Council's financial
Ill.
32• Em. S.O. 2(1\.
It is; of course, not possible to reproduce this system in Ceylon. The ns
33· Em. S.O. 2(2).
Donough Constitution does not permit the formation of a homogeneo ,4· SO. (House (If Commons) 25.
more
Government, and the absence of a party system prevents the formation of an 35· Em. S.O. 2(3\.
Opposition. The 'result is, inevitably, that members do the best they can in 36. Em. S.O. 2(4).
a sort of gnerilla warfare. Ne\'ertheless, it is clear that the Board of ~1inisterS 37· Em. S.O. 2(5).

has tended, since the outhreak of war, to 100k more like a Cabinet and less like
3S. S.O. (House of Commons) I (3) to c,;.
19
18
 l'\]\'El~SlT\" OF (EYI.OI\ I{EVIE\\' EMERGE:\C\' I'JW( EI it In: (IF TIlE ~TXIT (CJl":\C1 L

pror.-durc. Tile purposc will not l.c: .it all cvidcur from <l ca~\1;:l reading. 'ly quite u!ln('c('s~;[ry t(, 1:;1\'e a quorum of 0\'('1' onc-t l.ird anr! it is
The-re ;IH' r('alh" two ideas hch ind t \,c rules. First, there i~ of tell :t CilnsideraLle to see why that or till' "Lite C(lItr\C'il ,;IwlIld he one-half of t hat bid
amount "f nu-rrlv lorma l blbilless which llc('et Il"( tal«: lip t l.c time of the ,r a body ten timc« its ,;iz(', Also, thOllt;II there i~ ~oJl~('(J!iJlg to he
toinui l hcrausc IH;hucly wishes to oppose, Iu t Ill' I !<lll"C of Conunons. lor keeping membe-rs (lJi th« l'r(,llli~c;;, t lJ('r(' i" not IliJlI~ to he "aid for
instance, nr.urv I-\ill,; (c;,pcciaI1y piiv.rr c mcmlxrs ni:l~) go t luough ;IS ,ing them to liste-n to I he 11C01l(>Ilr;i1lkm('mh;r for Pupple',ten, ln tile
"1I11OP1)(1';:'.1 Illl';ille~:i" \I it hour ;IllY dc!J<ltc \1 1i:[ls()('\'(;r.3'l Tllc].'1 ;\ctice is , ,f Commons the quorulll clCf'l'nds !'olel.\' (Ill ;1 rcsol'llioll p;,~,('d h\ t l.o
for the nlcllIhc.:r I" propo"e forlllally. I f any member »houts " ohjcr'l " it is 'on the 5th .Tanl:arv, J(q(\-~I, ;In<1 IlC) at t cnt ion i~ p;lid (0 t li« ;Ih"ellcc
defence! ; i r I\Ol, it goc,; thro\lgil to it:i IjI'X! ,;ta.'~<.', The ocld half-hour. het \\('(;11 ,orum after the TI,'II;'(' is ill ""SSi(11l «'.'\C('pt Oil a di\'i~i(\r!) lll1!c~" -ornc-
5'30 p,m, :[,,<1 (, P,Il1, (or ,t'30 p,m. a.ndS P,ill, <>11Fri(l:Iy~) i,; t l.c t imo lor mands a count II is n(\( t l.t- l'r;'.ctjc'c It) cio ,0 except for "h:-Irllcti\'e
purely jlll'lll,cl Ill\>iI1C,'S, It c<llIld liC u-cd, Ior il1~1;I!1Ce, ior ]lli\ au' m.n.lx:rs' s. Accordiru, lv, t ln 11 ()l!~(' cr Corum. lib lICY<'r 1;;10 difficul: ic' rxcr-pt
bl1,;iliC~S wh icl: I:as to be rckrr('(l tu ;L11 UllinT of ~~latc or all E"('(,lIt;I'e .ate mernbcr-.' hu~iJl(-~~, wl«.n Jlobody (except I he rnr-mhor] (',:n', much.
Committcc.r" Secolldl,:, tliis l.n lt-hour i-. t l:c oPl'ultllnity for nu-mbers to ':ylon Order-in-Counc-il. ho\\'c\'('r, speci [!cally prcyidl''' tkl t no lm-inc-ss,
raise quest ions 1'f S()llh' illtnc;'i: \\ liich do not ,,(,r<l l():l:~ dcll:ltc, or for which 'that of acljournmoru , :-hall 1)(' Ir,III~;lrt('(1 IInl(,,;; II quorum is p"(Ccnt,
time cannot I)e Iouucl during r.ormal businc-s. It i-, in truth, the time for ,t no amendment of St;mding Orders can rcrnox c t 1;(' cli HindI y, h,l1e '\\'jng
wh.it the I Io.i-e of'COl11lliOl~:i, hy long tr.uli: ion, c;db " grie'l'anreo: "-,~:('nclaLr{ ,ptish practice, it \\';IS sUggc:,;tl d I hat t l:~ :-iu illV rnigl;t he !"u')I(,I1(1cd for
complaints ag,linst ('lw COHTlln,cnt Dr c\',~n (tltol1:dl t hcsc arc uncommon in t! '- utes only in the jir,:t in:-.tall('e : IJllt this was I( j ..,ctcd Ly 111e Committee
the House of Commous) s])r'('ii;c ('<.)1l1jlhinb; (Ill hchalf of const it vcnts or other nding Order" ],CC\1I"(' it \I'ilS "J1(1t Iikrlv t o ;!lhicH' (be ohjc'ct in viow "
private l'el:',oll:" Fe;r 1.'l1St<:I1CC,i,f, a lllen.1bCI' i,': not '<ctist'lcd wit h the an';\IU!:
to a qucstton , he an110111lC(:S: 1 lwg to gl" c nor.cc t har I will rur- c I he'
r,·~'would undulv inC(II1Ycniencc mcml xr-, who were pre-c-ut."
place of this provision, the Cornmit n-r- r('((,rnn:cnclul that Mr. S]'( aker
question on t ho w:jou, .incnt at a convenient OP1'ortllnity," 1\0 such ~ power, on representation by t lic Board oi ;\Iinistcrs, to sumrn..n the
announcement i:,; IIC, (o''':tl'\', lp,t 11'1;(;11t l.c Minister's priv.u« seen-tar: .. reads during an adjournment. This has b('('11 British practice -ince 19,;8,
Hansard next morninr+' Ill' k now-. thai he has to prepare a brief for the" i~ has net been ern L'orji('d in Standing Ollle!:-.43
Mi+ister. As a matte-r of court c-y. the Minister is informed of the dutc on
. main purpo:o:e of the Emerg<'ncy Standing Orrkrs, l:o\\'C'y( r. i, to ~(Cllre
which the member PWjJO;",l'S to :,pcak on the adjoumrncnt. The mcmuer
,,[~tter regulation of businos., Primal il~' the problem is t« make certain
speaks for T5 or 2() minutes and 1'1:c Minister follows cAplaining t l.c partic\llar
overnment business can be taken, Ac('rlrdin!~ly, Emcrg('nr~' Standing
problem which is t rouhlin., till: member. i\S wo: ked in i l.« Unwe I)f Com-
,6 provides that, after t he business ml'ntiol<ccI in Standing OHler ~)S (I)
mons it is a most cllect ive method which, w}:<:11combined wit h 1l.e q\lc~li(jning
.,en disposed of ii.c. the prclirnin.nv h\l~i)l( ~s lip to the end of questions),
system (which docs not Iuuction well in i l.e State Council), enable:; t l.e HU\I,:el:
c-_nment business ,;hall have )!Il'cedcn cc on c\'cry c1;1 Y (' X('C'pt \\ 'ccll1c"c!<: y,
to exercise control mer ministerial ;:cl ion. Few members of i he SUIte Cmlllcil
j:Jhall have preccrk-nrr- on \\'ednesday if tile ('UIIJ1cil o"i decides, This is
ha vc yet discovc:r,'d 11(:\'/ to use the weapon t h.rt l he Emcrgcncv pro''('dJll'l~.:'"
.::,fr()m the Britisll rul«, wll('r(' (;e,\'eTIlI11(:llt Ililsincss Ila~ precedence on
has placed III their hands. Members of the Board of Ministers would pr"habl '
i, days a week throughout ti-c session, (In a Iourth (by for part of t hc
prefer its use to t h« numerous private members' motions on minor p"int ' "
, and on the Jifth day (!lIriW: lite last few "'('t''';.; «I t he scssion. Tt
which IlOW l.ttcr the order paper and the i'!;enda o] Executive C(J!11n;itlccs.'
~;ofcourse be rcalisc«! that Cm:crnrncllt 1!lI"incss is 1:uI'inc:-s put do\\ II l.y
A private mcmlx.rs motion ougiJt riot to Ie used: according to t l«: ti ('or
vernment. At Wcst minsi, r ::11 Govcmnu-nr business is di~( u-sed
of representative go\'crnmcnt, except for a definite matter of ~1l1)"tanti.a
, Opposition, though t h:- (;ovcrnnwnt dccides, ;\h" if Ihe Opposition
public importance, One oll!:lit not to use a sledge-hanHl1l'J' to crack a nut
,. reasonable request for t.imo (c,,!,, for a V(lte of cellsurc) the CO\'('rD-
The third Elllcrgcncy Standing Order, as proposed by the Hoarel 0
!ways gives it. ] I i" irnp(,:;sihk to llav(' any soIt of order \\here the
Ministers, conbined new rules to apply to the qllorum It is not possible t
4 ;ure arranges bl\~,irl<:s;,;, \\'r<!ngks arc inevitablc in stich condilions.
change the quorum ;IS !',Hcll, h;c;:use it is hid dl)\\'\1 I,y the Order-in-Cou\1cil.
'already been explained, it is l'onstitution;dly improrer for 1\11', ~rcakcr
39, St.'l: JCllning~, Pd,rlianlCJlt, p .. ~-t(.). ,ked to do it, For these reasons, and beCilll:ie C;on.:rnment business
,\0,
41.
SO, (state Conncil) 57,
Ii ::I. debate! ellcl, 'I.t I [' 30 1'.111, Hansard
~!ay.
is ;Jsdilablc in London at <) a.ln. ne -,ost important, it is inevitahle that the fllnction should be exercised

~,
4~' Art, 2.1.
21
2U
 l;NIVE1<SITY OF CEYLON REVIE\\' El\JER(~E~CY PI<OCEDl'I,E OF THE STAlE COC0:CJL

by the Board of Ministers. The order of Govcru mcnt bll~il:e".s al:-;()is deter- ension. The rules relating to the order of business arc not suspended.
mined by the Board of Ministcrs.v' r, no Standing Order (an be suspended in the HOl[,'(' of Commons
The precedence of Covcrnrncut business mig!lt, l.owcvet, be disturbed by e Government agree", for it:; m.ijoritv votes down ;1l1y n.ot ion to do -\l.
a motion for the adjoulJ1ment. Accorliill!-;ly, iL i" prClyi<led by Emergency cv Standing Order R provides that no motion shall be made for the
Standing Order -+, that on a day on which Government business has precedence ,~of any of the Emergency Standing Orders except by a member of t I:c
no motion for the adjournment of the Council shall be made before 5' 30 p.m, Ministers. In t he State COl111Cilthere was S0111(' criticism of t his
(or 4' 30 p, m. on a Friday) except (0) a motion by a rnem bcr of the Board (If "'n
the ground that it prcvcntc.I private members irom I)ringin,::; urgent
Ministers, or (Ii) a motion under Standing Order ::q or under Standing Order 32. ' to the attention of rho Government The Legal Secretary correctly
Standing Order 2() refer" to a motion lor t IH' adjnllmmult of <l ddJate or of .out that private mcrnl.er« had the whole of Wcdnosd.iv (whereas in the
the Council during a deha(e, or U:<lt t.l:c «h.urmnn do report pro~Tcs:-; or d,~ ;,f Commons all private members' t in.c h;l~ been suspended since the
leave the chair. On SUC!Ia motion the debate mu-st be COlifined to thc mat tcr of war) an-I that an IIrgent matter could be raised (r) on the evening
of the motion, so that it i~ not pcruris-iblc to rni-,c general questions of policy 'ment and (2) at anv time if it related to a definite matter of urgrnt
by moving the adjournrncnt du: illg a debate. St;\I1din:~ Order 32 dc.ils with "mportan~e within the mc.ming of Standing Order :';7,
motions for the adjournmellt Ior the discussion "I' a definite matter of urgent Emergency C;tandin,~' Orders we're Oli!;in;illy in operation for three
public importance. This is a necessary safcty-yaln: and is part icularly nccc-- lis, but the period has been extended and they are still in force. They
sary to prey em: individual cases of oppression or the performance of action "t) have worked succcsslullv. Government busines" h:l~ been expedited
which might be regarded as I,rejlldicial to t 1]('national interest, Xlr, Speaker ly in respect of matters arising out of the war but also in respect of
has interpreted" definite matter ()llllgent public importance" rather libcrallv, ., of social reform liko the Univcrsitv Bill--it may be doubted whether
perhaps too liberally: in Creat Britain it b;ls certainly been interpreted too would have been passed in April, 1912. if the Elllergenc.v Orders had
rigidly.« In Great Britain, if permission to move the motion is obtained, tile in force, At t hc same time the number of :'!'ivate members' motions
motion stands over Hill il !.30 p, m. jlcanwh lr- Government bus.incss can be sed of has rapidly decreased, and it appears jrobablc that during the
continued and the Minister can prepare his bi ie l. The latter function is par, i- }6f the next few m-onths the State Council will be, for the first time for
eularly necessary because \'cr)' often the Minister knows nothing about the ~-abreast of its business. It can remain abreast and gin' itself time fOJ:
facts, the trouble haying aii-cn. probably, through the action of a subordinare ~ussion of major issues lil,:e post-war reconstruction if the number of
officer. In t he famous Sa \'idgt' rase,46 for instance, the Home Secreta ry ~motions is suh;tantirlllv reduced. This can be effected hv two methods,
knew nothing whatever about the matter until his attention was drawn to it in hhe technique ()f questioning might be developed so as to a~()id " !1shiag "
the House (,f Commons. TIIC Emcrgcncv Stundiru; Orders adept something I" s. At present, most" questions" are not questions but qnestionnaires.
like the British rule, The motion stands over until 3' .)0 p,m. on Tuesday, .... Iy, the adjournment motion can he used. These methods are not only
Wednesday or Thursday, or 3 p.m. OJl Friday. This gi\'c~ two hours' debate ,-.·convenient bitt ,li,o more effective A private mcm ber's motion has to
before the debate ends under Emergency St anding Order.!. Iilf\ilthe order paper-\\'h:ch takes Jive days: it then has to be referred to all
Finally, these rules would he of no value at all if it were jl(J,,:-;iIJlefor the ~ive Committee. where it get': placed at the foot oi a Jong agenda: the
Council to suspend them Oil 1I1e mot ion of any member. The process of ,_._.~ive Committee has to take' :l decision and report under Standing Order
\ suspending Standing Orders had become a re!~lIlar part of the procedure of the Y. the report ha-, t« lind ,t place on the order of the (by. A question
Council. It is almost true to say that they were more often su-.pcudcd tiJan be answered within 4K homo:. \Yhere the member has to state a case,
obeyed; and it has already been pointed 011t that, ill respect of twelve of tJle , tUrnment motion provides ample opportunity. \\'edne,c1ays can then
nineteen motions of which oral notice wa= given on the 27th January, H).l:2, ~;for private members' mot ion-, of major in-ipOft<!I1Ce,
it was notified that the members would move to suspend Standing Orrl-rs- "'~e past much of the nractice of the State Council has been based on a
Suspension should be resorted to only ill the gravest emergencies, and it neve ~herent in the DnllO\;ghmorc system, that it is the function of a legis-
is used ill the House of Commons except ill the first few days of a war or i ihave a policy, A collection of sixty-one iridividu., Is, however eminent,
a serious crisis. Certain rules, like the eleven o'clo.k i ule , provided [or t l.ei ,lave a policy: except within the narrow limits of a policy. The London
44. Em. S.O. 7· '
uncil can have a policy within the framework of a mass of legislation
45, Jenning;;, Pnrli amcniarv Reform, />. I 3'<; ; and see Jennings, Parliament, pP' duties, conferring powers, and creating- control by superior authorities.
101-.104,

46. Jennings, Pal'liam~nt, I'P, 95-96. State Counril of Ceylon Debates lIH2, PI', 572'574,.

22 23

.;."
 l'\'\'I~HSITY OF CEYLO?\ REYIE\\

The policy of tIle' London County Council ill respect of publi« asrist ancc IS
determined prim.ui lv IJY the Poor Law Act s. which set out 11':<.' JWLc:v Iorrnulatt-d
by His Majest y« Ccvcrnrncnrs from r.;t'n(·ratioJl to i~fncrati('·n over t lic last
:)60 years and approved from time to time ],y Parliament. '11:0:'(' ,\(t,; confe-r
power of control upon the Minister of Health. exercised by officials on his
.:;'.1~
behalf and subject, if need be, to the control of the Cabinet. Wit hin t h«
narrow boundaries of the Acts: and suhjcrt to tl:c restriction" implied in tlu:
Minister's powers, the London Count vCouncil elll cxcrcisc a discretion. There
is, of course, no dist inct ion excf'pt «nc «f clczrcc bet ween a Iegi~'lative and an
administrative ac t,48 hilt ill point of <legrc·: the function- (,f the Stale Council
(even on " executive " business ;IS t lu- Const it ut ion is opcr;llrd) a rc Ic!,(!slati\"('
and those of the London ("Ulllll\' Cnunr il are n drniu is t r.u ivc. T\;(,1"(; is rcallv

no comparison between tilt' "tate: Council and rl:« London County C')11J1ci!.
Though the latter " g()\"cnl~ " nearlv a~ many people, it docs so over a narrow.
range of functions and cxtrci-rs rigidly rc"tl ictcd discrctionary powers. ;\
broad policv can be formulated only b\ a small ~';rnllp.u,ing the whole apparatus
of administrative gOYCl mnent and Jilting the policy of administrative
authorities together bv the- ;'P1'1i( arion of consistent p'il'ciplcc. The functic.n
of a le~islature is to pr'li~(' t l.c :'I!ini~t(-1":--,crit ici-c tl:c Minister», check t1.e
Ministers and, if ncc.cl 1,{' 'urn (Il't tilt' :\lin:ster..;. \\'itl,in t l.r- limits laid down
by the Constitution, t hc Emcr~~('ncy Standing Orders enable the-e functions
to be exercised fur more (;!<il\"' and ("ill-din'!\" t han t hc Couucil's p(';,("(~-tiJl:c
proccd 111e.
\\.'. IYOR .1 E:\:\r~c;:;.
 ~
r,~*M
H natumque [uiens quid [emina possii JJ
: ...•
.~
If;:
~
\il~;]

E!,\ F,\S \\'as il,'cill,:'; fro III C,nll;Il:,l' ;i1:(1 Did». ;Il~d hi-,

A
of the national
wnt chcd the
fo),(,;l>odings,
11:I111(S

hero of 1\:(, Rllman,;,

Tlui «
that ro-c from
"yn~lJolic in this C,c;lpa,
\";IS pcrllaps
Did,,',;
":,()lllctllin,:'
It wa-. a prc,:;:gc uf their 0\\'11 c\cotin
pyre was full or ,::100

"The rulers of the worll," ',lid ('at!) t lr- ('l'IEO]', "\\'L're ruled b~' w.uncn
And it i,; in [act j'o""iblc to "hol" tl:at t hc Roman", who ubtainrr! tlcir \Iom
originally by capture, lir~t ,'E( I '\lLII2;'ll ;\l'd SI)(,ill i l..-m, \\Tn~ t \;('-]1 (\oll,inat,
by them, and at last :'OIl:.;!1l to l.'Sl';'jI'.' \ IU)I, .w nca-. csclr",'d h is Int c. l.ut no
the Hom;nb,
The c\'idcllcl.' from HI.,1l1;Ul lin-rut urc :'l1l!,i;,Sl,< a ,;tron,:: tr:ldi' ion of klllini
influence in public Ii fe, It 1J('!~iw, ;:,; far lxuk as ,\Cll(';I', about wl)(11l1 it
not without "ignilicanc\' t hat II is des iuv \\';\" !!()\ crncd by t lc ~';l]ll'il'l' of t••i
t

17, One ot m v st u.k-n t s pointe',,1 out to 111etill' n ia n v sil1,ibriti~, Lt't\\",,'J] (il" IlaUp,
on his 110n;('--11['11/,)' 1", Ac t III, ~;(', \ii- an,] TI:,' Il'ill"""'!'/" l t is l'l'rital"; on
level of vaunt ing SI'lf-pride that t lu. pod id,:ntifl-i,',!! hi mscIf wi t h the l iirrl , ,,'('S hi
as a curvetting
If and c.uacol iru; kl1i~ht-crrant." in C;:!rdllcr':-; phr;t:;c, SI'e \Y. }I. c;ard:
The Rcl igi.rus i'rol.lc.n ;n (;, -'t. 11. ),/1/.iIlS. S':1'lftii!.",
1 J~IIW, 11)37·

1~, Sn'<'11 Types of ,'IlIIbi:::rit\': \Y, Emp"nn, p, ,:'~'I, loll, H" r"<liI, The lI'illdil
as" a more evident CX<l.lnple of the US(' o l p(wtry tIJ convvv an indc-cisic.n ."
ro. E. E. Plia rc S\\g~"'::it:~ t ha t " t hc poet's s t atc of rniurl is one in whicl: t\\'O
tradictorv 111()oc.1S arc iwId in l'quipcisl' and t l:« nurh-r CClIl mak c one. or t lic other
<lOll111l;tt(: as he ch()()c:.,<,~.'· \\'ith r his it is ;, 1itt:l' dilfll'1I1t in rv(oncil{' hl'l jl,:~cfl'ieta'
of the !n.3'lt lines as the P()~,t ';-::saying " 1l1"·~'1:1y(lIHI l·t·~i~,I1l.'dl:·,Lu t not sorrowfldly,
that i, alway, so," The J'oe1ry o] (;1 run) IIJallley I l o p]: iII,' : E, E, l'harc. 1', I y,

3!
 "NOTUMQUE FURENS QUID FEMINA POSSIT"

goddesses, Venus and Juno. Dido herself came very near to wrecking the
Roman Empire even before its inception. But there was another woman
who caused Aeneas infinitely greater trouble, Amata, wife of Latinus whose
daughter's hand Aeneas sought in marriage. Latinus consented, but not
Amata, who preferred Turnus for son-in-law, and whose opposition forced
Aeneas to fight a long and bitter war before he reached his goal--a war which
• was in fact a war for a woman and the state. It was not the only one either.
When next we find the Romans at war it is again for women and the state.
Romulus and his followers, to find themselves wives. raped the Sabine women
and went to war with their men. And once again Livy (3. 44 ff) makes
Verginius' daughter the proximate cause of the secession of the Roman plebs.
But-lest I create the impression that women's influence at Rome was entirely
for evil-it was the Sabine women who made peace between their abductors
and their fathers, and it was Veturia, Coriolanus' mother, and Volumnia, his
wife, instigated by the Roman matrons, who induced the rebel leader to with-
draw his armies from the very gates of Rome. (Livy, 2. 40).
One might multiply instances of feminine influence in Roman public life,
but the few already cited are sufficient to indicate a very real importance
enjoyed by Roman women, and that, too, at a time when they were not yet
emancipated. For Livy (34. 3) tells us of women's status in early Rome:

" maiores nostri nullarn ne privatarn ouidem rem agere Ierninas sine tutore
auctore voluerunt: in manu esse parentium, fratrum, virorurn."

Legally, in fad, their condition was little better than that of slaves. And
there is here a strange contradiction between the legal subordination and the
virtual power of women. Or, perhaps, the contradiction is only apparent
and man's respect for women is in inverse proportion to the degree of emanci-
pation she enjoys.
However, it is evident that women, unemancipated, enjoyed considerable
power at Rome. And it was not long before they began to make capital out
of their menfolk's complaisance. As early as 450 BiC, the form of marriage
. sine in manum conoeniione ' allows the bride to remain under her guardian's
I authority instead of passing into her husband's. This meant in Effect that on
. the death of her guardian a woman was independent and could divorce her
husband. She would also inherit property. The Lex Voconia of 1c9 B.C.
which sought to limit the amount of wealth a wcrnan might inherit, indicates
that Women had become dangerously rich and independent. The Emperor
Hadrian later allowed women to dispose of property by will. The' ca-ptaicres •
throve on this.
One Wonders whether such emancipation could have been obtained by
women without agitation, since men do not willingly relinquish their powers.
Evidence from Roman literature again suggests the possibility of 'suffragettes.'

33

L~,(l51-C
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIE\V

Virgil (8. 397) in an inspired passage, describes Arnata, driven mad by her
husband's opposition to her wishes. inciting the women to rebellion: ~,-.

·aJWl
.. .......4 .
ipsa inter medias flagrantem Iervida pinum ~a
sustinet ac na+ae Tur nique canit hymenaeos . abc>tr
sanguine am torqucns acicrn, torvumquc: repente
clamat, " io ma tres. aud ite ubi quue'luc: Lat.inae. "
the )
si qua piis animis rnane t inlelicis Amatae sijliJ
gratia, si iuris materni corda remordet, AiD&1
solvite crinalis vitt as. capite orgia mecum."

Had Virgil witnessed such scenes at Rome? Bur even if Virgil's account
is mere poetic fancy, there is Livy 3· 47 :

"Verginius sordidatus filiarn secum obsoleta veste eomitantibus aliquot matronis

cum ingenti advocatione in forum ded ucit."

and Livy 3. 48: Th

"sequentes elamitant matronae , carnne liberorum proereandorum condicionern,
ea pudicitiae praernia esse ?"

Also Livy 34. 1 (the best of them all) when women demanded the repeal of
the Lex Oppia which sought to restrict extravagance in feminine wear:
T
langu
" matrona.e nullo. nee auetoritate nee vereeunclia nec imperio virorum contineri
theyl
limine poterant : ornnes vias u rbis ad itusque in forum obsidebant, viros deseendentes sound
ad forum orantes, ut., fiorente re publica, crescente in dies privata omnium fortuna, 1
matronis quoque pristinum ornaturn reddi paterentur."
thatt
\
This is Cato's .comrnent ~ with l
along
"si in sua quisque nostrum matte familia ius et maiestatem viri retinere
sound
instituisset, minus cum universis feminis negotii haberemus : nunc domi victa libertas
nostra impotentia muliebri hie quoque in foro obteritur et calcatur, et quia singulas 14 is al
non compescuimus, universas horrernus." (3) a
Thef(J
Women are emancipated, and the fruit of their emancipation was not
entirely good. There was a growing disregard for the marriage tie which
provoked from Seneca the dry comment: ~
It
"illustres quaedam ac nob-les feminae non consulum numero sed maritorum which
annos suos computant , et exeunt matrirnonii causa, nubunt repudii." (Sen. de ben
3. 16).
norma
Your
There was also a reluctance on the part of women to marry, which the Emperor ---...-.
Augustus attempted to remedy, firstly by legislation (in his' lex de maritandis 1.

ordinibus ' and seondly by propaganda through his mouthpiece Horace. 2,

(d. Horace, Odes 1. 13). Women begin also to take part in blood sports@,'taken3~
in the arena, and Juvenal paints a lurid picture of feminine licence in his day, UtIIe«
.a picture which, though exaggerated perhaps, cannot be dismissed as mere J-oIJ4Pl
' ~
iictlon.. . ~:
34
 THE E?\l':'\CIATlVE VOWEL 1:\ DR.:\\,IDIA?\

;'{'omen have in fact after their emancipation begun to run riot at Roms,
"is not too fantastic to see in their emancipation one of the causes of the
ii-decay which set ill at Rome by about the first century n.c. It brought
~adisintegration of the family, which in it patriarchal society like that of
the R,omans could not fail to ha vc evil effects. And perhaps this was the
;iSJIificanc~ of Virgil's treatment of the quarrel between Latinus a~d his ~ife
I\mata which led to the madness of Iaction and war. It was a poet s warn mg.

c. W. A\IERASl~GHE.

- --- ._- --- -----~-.

'0

Vowel in Dravidian
seems to be two grol1r~ or words in the Dravidian languages
"'which the vowel endings /I and 1/ occur. III one group these vowels

, ve in the same way a~ the re-st of the vowel sounds of the

..-hen they are combined with other sounds. Hilt, in the other group
ve differently. An <I ttempt is made here to prove that these vowel
;ills occurring in the second group are later additions.
~ppiyam, the earliest extant grammar of the Tamil language, states
.1.., sound joined to a plosivc. coming at the endofwords is pronounced
U,
'-wftIt:;-. quantity of sound than the normal it, if the plosive is preceded by
a~'~l1able or polysyllable.' In classifying the words which have this It
•• 1t says that they are those words in which t hc plosive, to which the
.• is:~, is immediately preceded by (1) a long syllabic, (2) polysylla hie,
(3) ·.:.emi-vowel, (4) the aspirate l.t (liyfltfli), C'i) a plosive, or (6) a nasal."
no "TbetQllowing examples may be .~i\·en for these six different classes of words :-
'.
licH na-ku " a cow, " 7'arll k"
dt a ki
-1Il( If'
f) gram, " fr. lk I/. " '-' "I en k 11 " s t ee I"
a Ilea, ,
~" " a crane" and kuro.nku " a monkey."
.•. ~.:a&o states in another siit ra that in the noun denoting relationship,
w~~s with the syllable nil, the quantity of the It sound is less than
~~, The commentator Naccinarkkiuiyar gives the word ntnuui meaning
nr~Y~ father" as the example.
"d· ••.. Tol E' .'
n . ""'" . -~. Sui. 36.
ace .,;;". Tol. si. sat. 406.
ort : .."".Tol. Ei, Sui. 07. The' expression 1IlltYaippeyar used in the slitra may also be
fa ~a~; i~ which case it should be translated as "nouns denoting rl>lationship."
8810n IS taken as plural, it would mean that there existed in the time of
'am Several words denoting relationship beginning with the syllable nu. But
mator takes the expression as singular. Is it to be inferred from this that
IUch Words except nuntai, mentioned by him. were lost in his time?
35
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW THE ENUNCIATIVE VOWEL 11\ DRAVIDIAN

The old grammarians held the view that the full quantity of the soun
speaker is unconsciously reminded that the preceding word had the
of the vowel u was one miUra, whereas the quantity of the u, thus shortened.
antal ending and he simply joins to it the initial vowel of the succeeding
was half. Evidently the difference of the quantity of the sound between tb
In this circumstance he entirely forgets the u sound.
two was determined by the ear. Naccinarkkinivar thinks that the differenc :~.
between the 1t sounded fully, and thel~ sounded less than the quantity ap:"'~~~ Again, in the chapter ~n prosody in Tclkiipp1:vam, the plosives attached
portioned, is due to the fact that the former is pronounced with the lips round.·iI.@e reduced 11 are so~etJmes counted for purposes of metre and sometimes
ed fully whereas the latter is not. He gives the following words as examples: ~. 'In the examples given under the siitras :148-352 which give the number
kiittt, katiu, kattu, murukkn and teruttu. In these examples when the final .ifsjUa~les that have to come in each line, the commentator Peraciriyar takes
is pronounced without properly rounding the lips, the words are nouns; > ~plosl~es attach~d. to the reduced 11 as consonants. Under sfitra 3565 also
whereas when they are pronounced properly rounding the lips, then the T.ol1tapp~yam P:OhlbltS the short 11 being counted for purposes of metre.
. . -n.•..:~ th penod f T lk -pp . . .
become imperatives.s .&JlUu,g. e .. a 0 a iyam, grammanans were wavenng as regards
_ . . tbe plosives joined to the .re~uced u sound as to whether they should regard
Reduced Sound. ruu Sound. them as consonant" or distinct syllables. This fact also roves th hi
katu " a ear" " (you) dig" . c . . . .. p at t IS
k a tt
.. u
"Ia (no t " •. ('
you ) t'
ie " " sound was a later addition,
kattu "a cry" " (yOU) cry" In the grammar Nannul it is mentioned that he th .
murukku "a kind of tree" " (you) destroy" . . - - '. w en e semi-vowel y
teruttu "informing" " (you) inform" consonants other than y, an euphonic
·follows words ending m vowel i is some-
times joined to these
consonants.6 Examples:
Tolkiippiyam says that words of this kind vary in meaning in accordance _[ + _
. u.: _
. .. . . . ve. yavan >
uet-i-yauan. "who is th V-I;>"
with the way III which the final e IS pronounced. But III the noun of relation- + _,- . . ~ " . . e e ..
'. . . . .. ma'fj yall:> mann-t-yatu which IS the : z , il ;>"
ship shown before, where the u occurs m the initial syllable WIth the dental n. .. . .. ~, ..
there will be no difference in meaning due to the way in which the u is pro. ~. In 'a similar connection Tolkiippiyam says that when the semi-vowel y
tnounced. Tolk{ipp1:yam gives only this word with the reduced sound of It in follows a.w~rd ending in <~ short u, the short u sound disappears. and an i sound
he first syllable. Frem this it rray be conjectured that many more word. appears In Its place." This i sound is called short i. Example:
with the short u in the initial syllable existed before the time of Tolkappiyam, -~ .• niiku + yiitu :> niill-i-yatu " which is the cow?"
But all of them except the word nuniai are lost. kurank~t + yatu :> kuraid,-i-yiitu " which is the monkey?"
I~ is clear from this that there existed two groups of words in the langua~e . ~rom these statements it is clear that the words ending in short u were
wherein . . . the reduced sound of 14- occurred.
. One group had the reduced 1l 11 •consIdered
. . as having consonant
. endings, when the.. s e mi-v
I-v owe 1 y comes alterr
the initial syllable, and the other had It at the end of the word. In the first It. ThIS also shows that the words now havi g th hort di .
. . ed • • • . c 11 e s 101 ~t en mg were
group of words the reduced quantity of the 11 sound might have result. ()ngmally consonantal endings.
through laziness of pronunciation. L .
. et us now see what happens to this sound when it is foll d b
Let us now analyse the reduced u sound which occurs at the end of words. Sonant. It has bId h I h . owe y a con-
. . .... . 1 '. een a rea y sown that t e quantity of sound for thi h t
ThIS tt disappears as soon as a word beginning WIth a vowel immediatell u IS half a miitr - B' d . . -. IS S or
f o IIOWSI. it E I' a. ut in a wor wherein the plosive to which it is J' oined is
xamp es . preceded b .
Y another plosive (No.5 of the classification shown above) the
naku + aritu > nak-aritu " the cow is precious." sound of thi . Li '11 f
be' . . ~s vowe IS sti urther reduced, when it is followed by a word
p ati« + a~ai > pa~~-a~ai " the silk-cloth." glnnlng WIth a pi . 8 Th . .
te~ku + ilJ.tu > telk-ihtu " this is flea." oSIVe. e commentator gIves the following examples:
kokku-k-ka!itu " the crane is tough."
When a word beginning with a vowel follows them, these words behave as U kokku-k-ka~u»lai " the toughness of the crane."
they ended in consonants. In fact it is possible that words of this kind might
have originally ended in consonants, and the It may be a later addition. II 5· Tal. Ceyyu~iyal.
is owing to this fact that, when a word with initial vowel comes after it, t 6. Na?1?1ul. SiU. 206.
'7· Tot, Et. Sut, 4IO.
4. See comm. of Nac. under Sat. 68 of Tal. El, 8. Tal. E/.. Sui. 37 and 409

36 37
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW THE ENUNCIATIVE VOWEL IN DRAVIDIAN

But, in other cases, when a consonant follows it, there is no reduction 0

"iare in the Sangam Texts a few instances of words ending in this vowel
its half miUra. Examples: it is joined to consonants other than plosives. Examples:
naku haritu " the cow is black." IOpatJtJu-" melody."
naku cir itu " the cow is small." IIpullu-" encircling."
naku tit« c the cow is bad."
[.~',
naku perit u " the cow is large."
naku na'2~u .. the cow is good." -Ies like these are not many in the Sangam Texts. But in the later
nahu malLi .. the greatness of the cow," e they are frequently met with. Examples:
niik u uatitu " the cow is strong."
.,'.po?!:!}U"gold," villu "bow," ka'lf'lfu "eye," kallu "stone," vi'lf'lfu "heaven,"
As regards this vowel, Caldwell think" that it is a very weak vowel, whic ':~tJu " earth."
is largely used at the end of words, for euphonic purposes or as a help t it in the case of words in which the short ,It is attached to the plosive,
enunciation. If it is an enunciative vowel it has to be analysed as to when i
could have been added to these words, Perhaps the Dravidian language, th .'words also the It disappears when it is followed by a vowel'. Examples:
.
villu + otiniatu > uill-ctintatu "the bow broke."
ancestor of the present Dravidian group of languages, might have ha
kallu + e?::inta~ > kall-erinta~ "he threw a stone."
words ending in plosives=a phenomenon which is against the rules of all t ., , vitJ'lfU + alaintay!:' > vi'lf'lf-a~ainla!!" he reached heaven."
present cultivated Dravidian languages. Rut, this fact is still to be foun
the other cultivated Dravidian languages also the use of this vowel is
in some of the ruder dialects of the Dravidian group.
In Telugu every word ends in rl, vowel. But if the word does not
Kota: tinalih, the infinitive of the roottin-" to eat." .y end in a vowel, then the u is suffixed to the last consonant-
Gond: ork-" they." les :
andurk-" they are" or " they were."
niitnorl«, tammurh-c-" my brothers." gunu " a humped-back."
selark-" my sisters." kolanu " a tank."
amal-"we." penu .. a louse."
imal-" ye." illu " a house."
Rajmahal : art, 01't_'1 one." kannu "an eye."
Oraon : nach- ' four." mullu " a thorn."
Brahui: hutik-" horses" kalu "a leg."
irat-" two."
asit_'t one," well says that though the zt is written in Telugu, it is often dropped
musit-" three."
·,\Ulciation. In combination with another vowel, as in Tamil, the u is
pahlt-" milk."
lelt-" scorpion." Example:
Ramurju + iccenau > Ramud-iccenau,
The ending of the words in plosives when the plosives are preceded
a long syllable or polysyllable might have synchronised with the period of t the Tulu language also this enunciative u is frequently met with.
Aryan language when it was possible for words to end in plosives, But wh lIes :
the Aryan language moved on to its Prakrit stage, it was not possible for it
"medicine," jivc<Ju "in life," belegu " to
have the plosive ending any mOl,e.9 All the plosive endings were changed
vowel-endings. Since the two languages Aryan and Dra vidian were in the sa
is u is dropped when a vowel follows it. Examples:
linguistic field this change might have affected the Dravidian language ids
Therefore, when the Dravidian language split up into various dialects such ~. tudu + itte > tad-itte
gontu + ijji > gont-ijji.
Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu and others, similar changes mig baredu + atJ<Ju > bared-a'lf<Ju.
have taken place. But Tamil seems to have preserved the final plosive wit
out any change by suffixing this vowel. Kannada language too has words with the enunciative u. Examples:
The suffixing of this enunciative vowel though it at first originated matu
avanu
Tamil to preserve the final plosives, was later on extended to all consonan
Patirruppattu : Stz. 65, line 15.
9· See p. 76. L'Indo-Aryan-J. Bloch. Kalittokai : Patai, Stz, 3, line 13.
38
39
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW

This u is elided when it is followed by another vowel. Examples:

miitu + iiq,u :> miit-iiq,u
avanu + ill a ;> auan-illa.
Originally, Malayalam seems to have had the enunciative u attached to
the plosives. Examples:
neppu .. fineness."
noccu .. minute."
paka~u .. a small bit."
panku .. a share."

This seems to have been extended later on to other conscnants.]'.

Examples: f
,
no~t:tu "gums."
novu ,.,pain."

This u is elided when a vowel follows it. Examples:

t
veytu + ilia ;> ueyt-illa. (
avannu + alla ;> avann-alla. c
So far we have discussed the u used as the enunciative vowel. From the <
earliest times the VOWl: "' also seems to have been used as the enunciative vowel.~-
In the sutra No. 389 in El.uttatikiiram in Tolkap-piyan» the last line ends
with the word iiciriyarka. The term aciriya!.ka means "to the author."
Also in another sutra in Collalikiiram Tolkappiyam says that the post-position
k« denoting the dative may also have the form ka in pcetry.v When this
post-position ltu is added to a word, the expression naturally becomes one
with the short u ending. In the same way, if ka is permissible as a dative
post-position, then the expression will also become one with a short a ending.
To!kappiyam says that it is a poetic form; hence it must be older than ku.
This kind of vowel a used for enunciative purposes in place of the vowel
1t is very often met with in Tamil literature. There are examples in the
'SaIigam as well as in the Medieval texts. In the following examples the final
a is elided when a vowel follows it :
tuvaitta + ampi?: :;. tuuaitt-am pir: (Puram 4).
taruka + en a ;> taruk-ena. (Pati':.~uppattu 38).
titaruh a + e?!:a ;> titaruka-en a. (Cilap r , line 62). .:

unta + it ani ;> umt-itam, (TirukkOvai 233).

inta + it am ;> int-it am . (Tirukkovai 223).

Along with these examples the following colloquial forms are worthy -
consideration :- I
citara + a~itta?!: ;> citar-atittan,
anta + ania ;> ant-ansa.
enta + enta ;> ent-enta,

12. Tal. Call. r09.

40
 " ..
THE CAUSES OF COMMUNAL CONFLICT IN CEYLON

The enunciative vowel a exists in Tulu also. It is elided when a vowel

followS it. Examples:
pritita + iiku(a ~ pritit-aku(u.
belcd a + aku(u ;.. beied-ickul u,

In Malayalamalso this reduced sound of a exists. Caldwell observes

that the short a sometimes replaces the short "U of Tamil. This process is
peculiar to the people in South Malabar. In the following examples the short a
is elided when another vowel follows It :-
ceyka + ttpakaram ;> ceyk-u-p akaram,
panna + atu ;> pann-atu:

•• nalla + ant am ;> nall-a ntam .

amma + accan :> amm-accan.
il aya + a-p pur :> il ay-ap p a»,

Though u was the enunciative vowel used by Tolkiippiyam, we find from

these instances that the vowel {/.also was used for that purpose. This may be
due to the fact that t.he original vowel that was used for the purpose of enun-
ciation might have been a type of vowel sound which was capable of being
contused as "II Of a.
K. !:ANAPATHI PILLAI.
 Vitalism and Becolning: A Comparaiioe Study

,
T HIS p.apcr i.s genclCl.lIy il.ltCllclcd as a prolegomenon to a f\lll(:r study .of
Indian Vitalism 111 relation to tile corresponding vitalistic t l.eorics
' of the \Vest. All important aspect of this subject has already becn
alluded to by students of Indian thought and exponents of Buddhism such
as Prof. S. Radhakrishnan and Mrs. C. A. 1'. Rhvs Davids.' and has even
I

been discussed at S0111e lcnrrt h by a Western philosophical writer, C. E. M.

joad.3 The problem involved relates to the vitalistic t l.corv or a Life Force
-
as a meta,6hyq'cal
.
ultimate with its important...
cornllarv~ of the conception of

1. Indian Phil oso-phv, Vol. T., pp. 3(;7-3/;').

B 2: Il irth. of Tndian Psychology and its Dcurlop-nrc nt ill Huddh.isni, Pl" 297, 398;
14ddhIS»I (1918), p. 22(;.
3· Matte,', Life and Value. pp. 3<), 369-375.

49
~551_D
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW ALISM AND BECOMING: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Becoming as developed mainly by Bergson, and, the early Buddhist nttit1,d ., variations.'· The important fact is that Bcrgson identifies the
to the phenomenon of ~ife, particularly il~ relation t~ its concept of .b1Iavanit life force with consciousness in the individual.rs "If our analysis
becoming). J
The identification of Buddhist bhaua with the Bergsoman not n,
• • • • • - ,J'
" savs Bergson ,
"it is consciousness
• • ,
01' rather
' .•
supra "'0
-,.
.
nSClousness,
of Becoming, as found Ill. the ~utho:ltlc~ r~ferred to, r~lses several tmport nn at the origin of lifc. Consciousness, or supra-consciousness, is the
issues on which the ensumg discussion, It IS hoped, WIll throw some Jight , .. the rocket whose extinguished fragments fall back as matter: con-
lt is necessary to remark at the very outset that .in commO!: with th ~_,again, is the name f.or that which subsists of the rocket itself, passing
Western vitalistic theories early Buddhism holds that life as COnSClO\lSneS~i -the fragments and lighting them up into organisms. "'4 It is not
not a mere epiphenomenon of matter.s In this, early Buddhist thought is a~to discover behind the veil of this picturesque metaphor a strong
one with the vitalists and would definitely condemn any form of materialisti ... bias assimilating Bergson's philosophy to western pantheism such
or purely mechanistic interpretation of lifc. This is, indeed, if we acccplmplied in the Voluntarism of Schopenhauor and von Hartrnann.is
Driesch's definition of Vitalism, the chief difference between vitalists and thei ·t we have preferred to call the" dynamic pantheism ,. as found in
opponents. "The main question of Vitalism is not whether the process.'the l!panishads to which we shall refer below. According to Bergson
of life can properly be called pnrposive : it is rather the question if the pur.. ate Ideal of hf~ or the goal of evolution is to be reabsorbed in Hie
posiveness in those processes is the result of a special constellation of factor -.,.Of<:e, or, to use hIS own words, to " place our<;elvcs ... by an effort of
known already to the sciences of the inorganic or if it is the result of an allta., m the concrete flow of duration. ",6
110my peculiar to the processes themselves."> As we shall attempt to sho thi~ v.iew of Vitalism, broadly speaking, most vitalistic philosophies'
I

later, early Buddhism, too, posits a vital factor at least in man and animals· "monistic type would unhesitatingly subscribe, though there may not
which by the very nature of its derivation cannot be considered a mere off-shoo '; .'<"uch~gr:-ement as to the conception of the goal of th~ vital process and
of matter. The mode of derivation, however, differs radically from the on·t . od of Its achievement. j oad, however, in the book alreadv referred
ascribed to their own vital force by Driesch, Bergson and other vitalists #- t . "~~. ag:-eeing with B(:'rgson that there is such a Vital Force in trle'uni verse,
particularly of the monistic school. As typical of the advanced philosophies •.. }?DP~IeS ceaseless ~hange and activity, refuses to subscribe to a purely
view of Vitalism we shall take up the Bcrgsonian concept of the elan vita ,;~ VIew of the umvcrsn, but goes on to postulate a pluralistic view in
espe~ially in its dyna~ic aspect," and try to ~isco\'er ~ts nature both in relatio 'of ·':...e ~ontinu~s as a process, wjt~ matter as that which it becomes aware
to hIS 0:vn metapbyslc. and pS'ychology-~hj~'h .for him should be: on~ anel th I' .,~.nscI~usness,_ and, further posits a .world of values as an.other reality.
same thmg--and also m relation to the vitalistic theory of the Upanishads, '.; 9penm~ paragraph of the work cited he says, "I believe that the
For Bergson the flux of the elan vital is the sole reality and matter is an.» r.,. CO?tal~s a number of factors or entities separated by irreducible
illusion just as for Schopenhauer the Will only could claim full title to b' ..•. ce;
In kind. Of these three. may, I .think, be dearly distinguished,
called real.? This Vital Force is not something to be confined to particul -t -, ··'i. ife, matter ~nd valt~e which IS neither vital nor ~a~(:rial." H.is
. diIVIid ua 1s b ut" a psyc hirea I f orce at t Ite h eart 0 f t h c universe.
111 . "8 'I-I'·
11, . owever, has this much
":.. .... m common WIth Berzson b, that J If e IS" a (1ynarmc
.
r
underlying elan, akin to the will in us, is God. "He is unceasing life, actio It" ·'.be° force whos~ chief expression consists in the act ivitv of knowledge.
freedom."9 The individual self is only the spatial and social representatiod '; seen th~t. while Bergson has recourse to the metaphysical possibility
of the real and concrete self or the fundamental . position
self. '0 TIllS ..' 1
. ..Ward
'.'. .
duree "m order +0 save his "me'
.. L '. • mism 0 f or d er, "'7 J oa d 1ias msis. . t ell.:I
metaphysics. we may justifiably
'. . ..
call spiritual monism after]. M. Stewart. . :..mpmcal
L·. dlstmctlOn of life and matt el-a - d'IStimCJOn
ti w hi]("I1 f rom t h e
"
In the biological sphere, It . IS
.. the original
.. .
im-petus of evolution . and the pnma.c:a
... ..,-slca)
"in hi standpomt
. _ seems
... hardlvJ. re cO~CJa
'1 bl C Wlith th e morustrc ... Imp I'j-
,:,:,. IS third postulate, the ethical world of value. ",8 The recent
4. Dfgha-Nikaya, II., p. 63. :~Joad's attitude in favour of monism only confirms the view that all
5. The History and Theory of Vitalism, p. 1.

6. "Life of consciousness" for Bergson is "an existence of constant change .•. . reative Evolution, p. 102.

Lindsay, The Philosophy of Bergson, p. 93. ~Ybid., pp. 186-196.

7. Cp. load, op. cit., p. 30. ~·lbid.,p. 275.
8. ]. M. Stewart, Critical Exposition of Bergscn's PhilosoPhy, p. r 5. i·: ThilIy, A History oj Philosophy, p. 490.
9. Creative Evolution, p. 262. ~'.lntl'oduction to 1'v/etaphysics, p. 53.
roo Time and Free-Will, p. 231. i'Driesch, op. cit., p. 231.
11. Op. cit., p. 48. " Op. cit., p. 265.
'f,-
50 51
 ,
UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW ITALISM AND BECOMING: A COMPARAT1\'E STl;DY

philosophies admit tiPg a vital force at work in the universe and not mere), ;t~nse given to it by Driesch, and the course of t he evolution of earlv
in individuals must swing in the final resort to some form of monism, , , Vitalism which, starting in a crude and rather naive form of biological
accordance with the demands of the" practical reason," and in order t() )onism came to an end in the final merging of Life in the all-embracing
thorough-going systems of vitalism as opposed to purely mechanistic inte istic Brahman of the middle Upanishads.«
pret ations of life. For, as Driesch confesses, " Om problem is the proble e above indicated parallelism brinrrs us to the vitalistic theorv that
of pantheism or theism in a special Iorrn : at least, if we call pantheis»: t d in the pl:ilosoph~ of an~ient India prior to Buddhism. T11'c sup-
one doctrine that reality is a something which is making itself (" dicu sc Lit, "In that there IS an ultimate vital element in man and animals is already
in the words of Bergson), whilst theism would be any theory according t hn the Rgveda (circa 2000-1500 B.C.),z5 It is referred to as Prima
which the manifoldncss of material reality is predetermined in an immateri "breath), AYlIs (vitality) or As//, (vital spirit).z6 In the Atharvave~la
way."19 ,;II. 4· 12) this PraJpz7 is deified and identified with Prajapati, In the
The foregoing discussion however brief of modern Vitalism in the \\'es .. tha Bl'tilzmalJet (X,]. 3) Prana is identified with Agni, and in the [aimin;
we hope, has made clear one important point, viz., that vitalists affirm t . {shad Bridunasi« (IV, TI-I:l) the precedence of Prana over such e1e-
existence of a unique viral factor in the universe, which animates all Iivin al powers as fire, wind and sun is definitely asserted. Prana is said to be
things from the lowest to the highest expressions of life and that it is a consciou :::all-in-all of the whole creation. When we come to th~ Upanishads,
ncss that informs the living in whatever state of evolution they may occu or the Vital Breath assumes the role of the source and inspiration of all
It is important to observe that for almost all vitalists the same force is fOl\u"'ty and it is said in the Maha Aitareya Upanishad that Prana externalises
in the vegetative life. "Everything bears out the belief." says Berg:-;o'
" that vegetable and animal arc descended from a common ancestor whi
If in the universe, and the same text identifies PraDa with Indra.
," says Indra, "so art thou also Prana : Prana, all the beings; and
"I am (
united the tendencies of both in a rudimentary state.">" The vcgetariv , .::~ likewise this sun here .•»ho slzin.es."28 -,' This implication that the vital
instinctive (animal) and rational (human) life arc not, for Bergson, howr.ve .. " .. , nt in the universe has one of its aspects in solar enL'b.' further developed
three successive stages along the same unilinear evolutionary developmen" '·0,'1-", er Upanishadic texts, such as Chandogya (Ill,!. 2) where" indrivam ..
but three divergent directions of an activity that has split lip as it grew. '·':'h~evi~al s~rength in the perceptive faculties and the bio-rnotor Iunctions=
I t may b? added that i? his view ..inei..t mLl,tter i~ a reversal o.f. the \.'iUI~,Ho"
(or consciousness). It IS, to use hIS own expression, not" time flowing, b '.
i.' .'.'...'....
n IS s~ld_ to. he .Tro~l:l.ccr~ jroni tI;G =: ,
!he PhilosOPhe. ~ Kaushitaki
. doctrines ale pI esei \ ed in the ]s..(lushz!akt U pan: shad which seems to
"time flown.':« becoming that has ceased fa become, or, as Joad characteriz r .,,',..e standard text of Upanishadic Vitalism was wont to worship the Sun
it, spent becoming, This conception is similar to Schopcnhauei's idea :' ""il source of energy (II, 7)· This crude and partly mythological conception
matter as one form of the objectivation of the Will just as men and anirn ot,~e.s~n as a source of vital energy seems to be an early anticipation of the
I

are other objectivations. (The number of vitalists who object to this absor ~ec~lOn between the solar energy and vital' impulsion' both in animals
tion of matter in the universal Life Force seems to be decreasing). T all~l,plants as discussed by Bergson. "The evolution of life really continues
psychology behind this Rergsonian notion has a curious parallel in the co :'. •.•,,"' an initial impulsion: thisimpulsion, which has determined the development
ception of elemental matter in ancient Indian thought where the prima , ~e chiorophyllian function in the plant and of the sensori-motor system
verb denoting dynamism or change, viz., bhii which means "to become. ..,.~: animal, brings life to more and more efficient acts by the fabrication
provides in its preterite passive participial form the technical term for clement :: of more and more powerful explosives, }\ow, what do these explosives
matter, viz., Mula, which literally means" that which has become," that is l nt if not a storing-up of the solar energy ... "30 This solar energy is
say, ceased to become. The term" bhiita " occurs in the Upanishads in tra- L,
'if· Cp. Prana = Brah ma , Chiil1do[:)'11 up. IV., 10. 4; Kaush, Up. IT" I; Brhad,
sense as distinct from the' conscious' factor in the universo.es Furtherrnor "i
~., 4· 7·
one may find an interesting parallel between the very movements of thoug , ."B;
Vide Winternitz, Calcutt a Reuieu., November, ]'J23.
that leads Bergson's Vitalism to some form of pantheism, using the last te : ~~' Keith, Religion and Philosophy <'I the Veda, I'p. 209, 403, 404.
;. "',-7. The word Pr ana originally meaning' the chief vital breath' (,n'!I.lkhya pra'Y} a ),
19· I Listory and Theory of Vitaiism, p. 23il. ~tatized into the' Cosmic Vital Spirit.'
2:>. Creative Evolution, p. J 1<). :~~, Ranade and Belvalkar, Hrstory of Indian Pliitoso-phy, Vol. 11., p. ]57.
21. Ibiti., p. T42. :·'~9,· The Upanishads refer to these as . pl'a'/'f"!J,' and ' deuah: tCtian«. Up. 1I.,
2!, Time and Free-Will, p. 2·H. 7· I;; Kdush. Up. III., 3); cpo . dcuat a ' i Brhad, 1., 3. 10).
23. C,). bY;::.ta-mft/rii and p;'ajii(i-miitl'a at Kausliitaki Up. l IL, 8. ..··,30. Creative Evolution, p. 259.

52 53
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW ALISM AKD BECO\II?\G: A COMPAH.-\TlVE STL:DY

absorbed by animals through the ingested food which in the last analysi, ' rary with thc rise of Buddhism.sv there arc unmistakable references
derived from vegctableY It is interesting to observe that tile Chiindo~ ,the early stage of development to Brahman (~Prii1Ja) as" the moving,"
U panishad (\' I. ) J. 12) asserts the existence of a vital self, )'iL'({tm:w, in phn,to say, dynamic reality.w "There arc vori ly , two forms of Brahman,
which is the same as the supreme life principle in the univcrse.> "T ealed and the. uncongealed, mortal and thc immortal, the stationary
1
branches may die and yet the tree may live if the vital self has not left t ) and the mooing ... "4 The last cpit hot yilt from t he root ya
whole," This vital essence in the plant is that which creates vitality in rn rve " leaves no room for doubt as to its meaning.
by way of food. Thus the same Upanishad in its doctrine of the' Way of t ,:' ..hermore, i.ust as Bergson identifies the elan originel as " the moving
Manes' describing the return to the world of the departed ones says: "th 'p with Universal Consciousness as distinct from "the narrowed
are born here as rice and barley, herbs and trees, sesame plants and 1)(,;( ." ness which functions in each of \15,"42 so do the L'panishads COI1-
Thence verily, indeed, it is difficult to emerge; for only if someone or other ea ' ~dentify the original Vital Spirit (Pri'l'I;iiil'llal1) wt h t l:c -l.:niversal Con-
him as food and emits him as semen docs he develop further. "33 It is needle ~:Spirit ~Praj~1.iit11/an). The idea is early, for the 'Sntapatha Brahmana
to point out that the Bcrgsonian idea that vegetable fond is the chief vcliic. .:'}S· 26) ~denttfles Prana with Manas or Mind. As pointed above the
of the transference of 501,1.1' energy to man and that wgetati\'e life, tbcrclor .' ., .... _:-,Upamshlld (IV, ,1· 7) characterizes Pr~l).:t or tho Vital Spirit as " im-
(amr1a). This conception we may compare with the implication in
is also an aspect of the universal Life Force is dimly anticipated
passagcs.> In contrast with Bergson's'
referr~d to, th.e U panishads.
divergent' ovolutionism.
in the'~ . ~J"
alrea
ho~vevcr. se,cm to favour the notion of a uniline ,. .~orig~~al
(11-'"
's statement that WIth the restoration of the individual consciousness
nature as thc uni vcrsal =: wh jeh. is tIle. goa I of evolution, Life
development inasrnuch as the robirth of man as plant l~ indicated. '" ,. be able to beat dOWI1 every resistance and clear the most formidable
.. 1 [TT' I d o.cles perhaps even death "43 This concepti f" I t lit " .
\ Ve have already referred to t Itc monistic tone eney () '-'pants la, _.:"",>' . . ':' . ~ . JOn c: j mmor a J y IS
Vituli-rn clearly SC(''"l ill its identification of Priina with Brahman, tho Absolut ~bted~y a result of the belief that the vital s~~d propagates itself. Hence
'1'hus It., IS saiu
'd" : B ut t I"us incorporca I ,lInmorta
. I L·1'1'e IS
. B ra I1111;111 . 1
muee ~~restl11g
'o"'!";::" concurrence
: . between -... tho lj)"I'ISh'lC'IC
n •. (.,
doc: '1 ar;c neo-vi it a I'IS ti,!C
, li llle

is energy (tejas) indeed.;'35 "I3rahma. is Lifc, Brabma is joy ... "36 \\'Iii .r~mg IS found 11~ the conception of biological survival, The Upanishads
j" the one God," asks ~ablya: "T'rana," said. Yftjiia\alkya, "they call1-li ·..I!:i~~t :he father ~s rebo~-n lJl the ,:01;,401 and. that therefore, the son is tho
Brahma the YOIl."37. This final met aphy-ical position of Upanisl.a ""':,Jatma) of tl.1C Ltthe"f.4) In the \\ est writers. such ~.S S~1Il1l1dButler-?
Vitalism is indeed an early adumbration of what we have terrnr.d with St<,wa' ,~Ofessor Rlgn'lJ:~,4' hav~ dc~l,t With the possibility of biological survival.
-.,.
t Iic Spnitua ~.;omS1110 f I'sergson :)ut
1 Moni I' Wit I1 t',IS
" difference.
liff t Ifat w h ercas f' 1'. substance
"""" , " of this . theory
':" IS t nat ,- the,,' 1)'·\1'('1'('
. , . s.. (lI1!',ILllC - . t'. III t I'icir
t 0 ex IS
'8 crg:,on t IlC U lti.nmatc reahty1"
IS a stnct• Iy (,\J;C;miC
J . .,
pnnclp I"c a movm, . ~ny
....., since the bovJ of "IX •. -'
IS the S'''I11eas t he
~ •. " ., ., . em I) -0, tl ic em b ryo as t J IC
I)··
realitV,"38 in the Upanishadic dc~cription of Pl~na as Brahman there is lit!' ~~ated.ovum, and the Impregnated ovum as certain constituents of the
emphasis". . (I'ynarrnc a~.pccL\'c W may Iiastcn. to aclel,lOwc\'cr,
on Its I t Iiat "11 r~in ~ts bodies, "48 The idea .. ,...seems to bo ,... a IleC('"Sa cone'I'usion 0 I VI.<1
.. c ",1-Y''' vit [.. '
1St ic

a dynamic concept is 110t altogether absent in the Upanishads, although th .'g.

absolutist interpreters have only dwelt on thc ontological aspect of Brahm txJ6,.!he foregoing di.sCllssion of the mctaphy-ica l aspect of vitalistic Monism
:lS Being (sa/). TI~ollgh the term bltaua rarely.occ~lrS as an epithe.t of Bral!m
T' ~.~~ :~~tern p.h~losophy, a~ typical. of, w!licll we I,l:l\'e briefly on.tlined
111 the early Upanishads and occurs only twice l1J a late Upanishad pcrha U-- -<. g . a~ poslt~on, and
p
also I1l India .<.is It makes Its appearance in the
~tnshadlc literature, would help 11~;considcrahlv when we now turn to an
-.:"
31. Ibid., p. Z()7, .. ;39· Mait1'i. Up. VI., 8; VlI, 7.
32. This idea is already adumbrated in the f?gveda where Parjanya or the' god I. ' :,;;.0.
rain' is supposed to impregnate the plants with vital essence or seed, (H.V., V .. 03· . ,~..:: ~ Even the Vedic word iiyus, life, is dcr ivc d Irorn a dynamic' root i :' to go."
reio dadhati csudliisu garbhams . jf.~"I. Brhad. Up. rr.. 5, I ; cpo II., 3. -" ; V., 7.
Creative Euoluiion, p. 250.

,,:;~~
i~
33. Chand. Up. V., 10. 6; cpo Hrhad, Up. V., 12; Kaush. 1., 2.
Ibid., p. 2S("
34. Cp. the vital self (Pra'l'fatman) based on the self consisting of the essence of fo\ • ,..
(all1Zarasamayiilman) Tail. Up, n. Ait. Up. IV., 3.

c~i;
35. Brhad. Up. IV., 4· 7· Kaush; Up. 11" ]1.

Unconscious Memory,
36. Chand. Up. IV" 10. 4.
Biological Memory.
37. Brhad. Up. III., 9· 9·
3Q, Creative Evolution, p, 32'1 ..
};~?8_ J oad , op. cit., p. 174.

54 55
 l'~lVERSITY OF Cl~lT()l\ 1<EYlEW . VITALISl\1 l\l'D BEC01V!I}:C: ,\ CO:vIPARATIYE STClIY

o xarninat ion or
the Hmldhist concept of blurot: ill relation to \'iCllisD1, wllic .5serted that the body is not the same af. the living-soul (vitalist). Early
we indicated at the outset as the main pmpose of this paper. It. is I1eCC",',;l!' hism refuses to cc.mmit itself to either position But on the question
to point out in this connection that even the nco-vitnlist concept uf III'COlli/?! , vital principle in the s<trpsftric56 individual the position of early Buddhism
differs considerably in thc case of its various exponents, For Driosch it i- i ade dear in a passage which has never so far been discussed in this con-
nature or natural reality that the theory of becoming is seen to hold, while 1'0 ion, In the JlajjiziI/;a-Nik(lya in a dialogue between Sariput ra and
the conscious ego cnd11rance may be postulated.
be called substiincc.v»
substances that persist amid universal clunige.»

an illusion for if by " an act of sympathy"

What cndure« in nature lli;t
This conception is similar to Hcrbarts' not ion of
For Bergson the world out id
or nature is what Ins ceased to become or " spent becoming." But this is (idYl
in intuition we can enter into the
external object its true nature as becoming is disclosed to lIS. "Becomilg,'
~er,58
a-KoHhita, two famous

depend on ' iiylt' (vitalityj.>?

.t.
disciples of the Buddha the former is questioned
~to that on which the n\'e sense ()r(~ans (ill dl'iYClni) depend; he replies that
&, To a further question <';~lriputta answers
iiyu' depends on c usntii.' and that tile latter in turn depends on the
It is clear th.u ' (IY1t ' here is userl in tlie sense of 7.'1·I(lhly restricted
to·the life-span of an iudividual.es This cxplun.u ion is definitely supported
says Bergson, "is \\'11:1.1 our intcll~ct and sens?s \\'ou~c1,;how '" of matter, i~;: »y'he commentator's glo~s on ' iiy'lt' as "the lifc-Iunct ion " (j'iviielldriyct).
they could obtain a direct and disinterested view of It. 51 It is because> tht. .All e-~amination of the meaning of' lIS11iC! ' and a reference to nle Lpauishadic
intellect does not function without a practical interest but is always dominate use of tejas as" Vital Energy," of which the physical manifestation is termed
by a utilitarian motive that in speculating on the nature of the re:tl " w ·•. inum60 (heat in the budy), would seem to establish for this curious term
become unable to perceive the true evolution, the radical becoming."> Tltc~' . a sense deeper than the mere [act of " vitality " referred to by the other term
statements would show that Bergson's notion of "becoming" is a nove • iyf!.! in Buddhism. This contention is furl her supported bv the commcntarial
conception inasmuch as for him this radical becoming is what intuition wouldl ~loss on usmii as " the element of cner,gy (tejas) dcrivcd from past Action"
show to be the real nature of the ego also, while for Driesch " the conscious (kammaja-tt'Jo-dlriif7l) .
ego" is, motaphysica llv, endurance. Indeed, for Bergson, the highest reality Another important bet we discover from the sum; ,.::,,~()gnl' is t liat in ThE;
is the radical becoming both in nature and mind. state of death the body is devoid of Clyll, I/S1I!{t and "i1UiiiJ},l (consciousness).
As for the Buddhist theory of bccomint; denoted by the Pali ' bltar« . it whereas in the (sa I'll (l/)(:II i) state of saJll1clvcd('yi1anirodlw in which the
may be affirmed at the very outset that the term implies some kind of dynamismJ individual's mental activity, such ,IS perception and feeling, has ceased, the
The question. howcvcr , is whether this dynamism in carly Buddhism, hac the. thr$C' processes of cl)'l/, 1ISl1i{1 and 1!1'{iI7ii~la continue to Iunction.v' This
same context as it has in the Vitalism of such writers as Bernson. and al~o would clearly indicate ~)'
t hat consciousness
I
(1'ilil7ii~w) is a process or her than
what relation the Buddhist concept bears to the Indian vitalistic doctrines mere mental activity and that US11Icl is only t lic vital (energizing) aspect of
that we have been describing. In order to do ::0 we shall have to answer the 11iniiii~a, the conscious factor. That is to say, iiyll or the vita lity in the
preliminary qne=t ion : How dcwstlw concept of it life-force make its appear· individual depends on the IIs11lii.-or-l'1'{iiicl~W Iactor and thelmncl-or-l'iiUi,llJ.a
ancc in Buddhism) It may be seen that the word' Pr/m« ' does not (ICCU( factor in turn depends on ,lyll. That this cxplanat ion is correct is seen from
in the early Buddhist literature with the pantheistic significance it has ill the the statement elsewhere that consciousness ('Ci11/7iJJJ.a) depends on tho physico-
Upanishads, but exists only in the popular ~ence of" a living being" or" He'! mental unit (l1cl11la-rflj;a) as its basis (j;ai2'!r/zu) and the physico-mental unit
in the nominal scnse.» It is the same significance that is found in the ternJ' depends for its growt h (,J/Iddhi) on consciousness. G2 Hence the word CI)'1/.
jivita and jivitcndriya.54 The word jim occurs, however. ill the L'panishadi clearly seems to refer to just the 71i!alilY'in the J:cilJ1(HUpa or the physico-
sense of the" living soul "55 but only as referring to the doctrine of (Itiler: mental unit which with consciousness (l'ii'llICi1].a) goes to make up the empirical
..•.
that the body is the same as the living-sonl (materialist}, and of their oppor cnt
56. Sa,?lSflra Iiterally mean>; "coursing," i.c.: f rr.m birth to bi rt h .
b' 57· This doctrine reminds one of the Upa nishu d ic irka that the JH'H'('pli\ c' and
4<)·Op.cit.,p.l<)I,19l.
T~motor functions (PI',;,! tih) dcri vc Jron\ the lIni:-(,l'sal 1'1 [\1."" (e.g" r-i..«. t: p. T" 5.22;
50. Thilly, o p . cit., p. 481. , Up. II.,:!; Kauslt. i:». llJ., z : ht1tad. (P, 11., 1. 10).
5t , Creatine Evolution, p. 287. • ~8," AYlt US»IIlNI p aticca titth.ati, ,u'l1lii. "YUIn p aticca tiit'iaii." Allljjhil/la, 1., :2<)5.
Ibid" p. 288.
5'2.
II. 159. This sense i~ th« .same as Iouncl for iiyus ~n the ~ipanishacls (e;g" 1;1:had, Up.
53. Vide P.T.S. Dict. s.v,; sig nifican tlv, on piin!fpcl(l1~1 (Keuning at Di,~ha I. , 10), which, how'cver, IS later idc n t i ticd wt th 1'1 a~a or U ni vc rsa l Life (1 mi. (. p. II ., 3).
S5, the commentary has" PM.1Chi u pet am," i.c. e-ndowed with scnsc-rrpuus a nd ]if '
60. Chand. ('1'. III., 13.8.
functions. .,61, Majjhima 1., P.l96.
54. Ibid., S,l'. 55. ibid., s. jir« (~=Gk. bios, life); cp. Choul. ('p, \'1., 11. ,z
(i2 .. Dif(ha II., p. 03.
Mail. Up. VI., 17,
~
56 57
 V\IVEIbITY OF CEYLON REVIEW

individual.". This Vi11Jlliwi is said to 'cle,;cencl' into the mother's \\'0111\}

after conception as the third factor for successful parturition, the other 1 wo
being (t I1\' ph ysical clcmen to; cieri vcd from) fat her and mother. °4
The above discussion hriues us to the main point of our problem: tllat
whereas for vitalists, both Eastern all (1 Western, the Lile Force is a nut a,
physical ultimate of which all phenomena including man arc derivatives, lor
Buddhism :1. "ita! force, if anv, i,; only Iound in relation to the s;:f]1',;flric inclivi,
dual (man or animal). Thi-, vital force or (i)'/! as manifested during the 1:1('_
time of all individual is a f.ictor that depends on 1!S/l/II, and therefore \·iiilllilla.
implying -,(/~n\(ii'ic continuity by t lu- Io: cc of Action. Thus the Buddlli,t
conception of bccontitu; has its rationale in s:f]1,flric evolution, which is notlling ~
cl-c but "the becoming (/,fIa".I), clue to karnma.' If \\'C follow t he l.u er J
analysis this liluru« has two aspects : kammahltara implving all action leading
to becoming.v» which i~ gi\'cll as the causal aspect, and, '1/,pal!l'!J/[(l7'a implying .':
I
various' states' of rebirth, which is the fruitional aspcct.v? Thcse' states'
(Mavei) are characterized as impermanent, sorrowful and ' evolving , (n'j;uri- , ~
wimadlw1nlllli)67 It will he seen, therefore, that hIIava h:h no meaning ap.ut
from its context in ,';m.ns,im, and that it will not do simply to regard it 11<1&
implying becoming in the vitalistic sense. For Bergson the Absolute!'.' or ]
ultimate reality is i~'. ':::bcconiinu, hut, as Das Gupta remarks, "this pure
duration is only an element of the intcllect ual though he positively denir-, it-
to be ';111:11, "G<) But thc Goal of Buddhism or Nibbana is neither becoming
,
"

nor no n-bcconnug :70 neither is it Being as j oad has assumed. nor is it nun-
Bcinz, for the Upanishadic categories of Sift and «sat» are never applied to
it. 'It may be added t h.u tll<' doctrine ol biolozica l survival as held by 1
Butler, I{ignano and others in tile West and Iounrl also in the Vitalism 01 i he]
l'panishacls has clearly no signi ticancc Ior e:11'ly Buddhism, inasmuch as l'('hilth
implies not biolorical cuol uliou but only sanisiiric cuot ution which we maYI"
cUIl"h!dc is the m.rin difference between Buddhism an.] \'iL>hl11. J

i
O. 11. 1>1: A. \\'lJESEKEI~A.'
•

{)3. The tl'1'111 ',ivlI-sali/;/uira' (;l/({jjhim" I., p. 2,)i>, e t« ) im pli.-« t h.i t ci)'ll- is one,.
of the ,';(lIi/dutra., which arc part rJr ua n:«,
()4' Ma)jltima 1., p. 2h'i; A'riglf!!"'/'(/ I., p. '7/).
()5· "Sabballipi b/uwog(j;rlik'"l1l1lalll /,·I/.IIIIII({uhal;v," Viuh",iga. 1'. 13i·
(,U. "}{ (illili/;/ta1JO ' .. paii,,;avo/,u,ra/)/i.a1Jo ; lIyal!' »uccati up p attibhauo, ' ibid, ~
67· A'li~lI!t(ll'a I., p. 25S; 11., p. '77,
•
6~. Cre at iue Euolution, p. 31:).
p. 7.
G'.} , Philosophical Essay."
Ii' '#
70. Sutta-Ni-pic:«, 5J~, 10iJO. IU('~, ell", ;J
7l. I3eing and non-Hc ing

51) "
 ..ional Evidence bearing on the Nature
itdigious Endowment in Ancient Ceylon
PART T.

The Earliest Phase.

bodies have always depended for their existence on the

:. charity and the benevolence of their patrons, ,1I1d the history of
• Buddhism in Ceylon is no «xcopt ion to the rule. '(he Mahavcrnsa
. 'd8 bow king Vattagamani (4.>J7 B.c.) allotted lands to the Kupikkala
'iblraoftheraMahatissa, 'recording it upon a Ketaka-lcnf.' But the large
I

'iumber of stone inscriptions,' that contain similar records of grants to the

" date much earlier. These inscriptions broadly fa!1 irJto three classcs-e-
averock and illar ins~riJltion&)--'lTIcl form by far the largest body 01' CYi-
ce,except th~_chr~iiTc~~s, .!(~.t:..!h(' study of rcligi()\l~S!]~19~_n.!S!ltin Ancient
~I!: . Tflo~h ' as a rule royafd;,natioTls were j'ccordecl on copper plates,
~f be on silver and gClld pla tcs. 4 yet' such records arc comparatively rare.
t.&.mg·J{irti Nissanka Malla (IIo7-Ilg6 A.D.) claims to 11;:\,(; introduced into
;1he ~landthe copper plate grants.s Tile Palkumbara Sannasa of Sri Mat Siri
~~gabo Sri Bhuvanaika" and the Oruvala Sannasa? are examples of 511('h
~pperplate"grani.s, while a gold plate grant, belonging to the reign of 1\ ing
~~'asab.b......•..
a (I27-I7I A.D.) has been recently discovered at Vallipuram ;" which
. we.v.e.r S. Paranavitana, believes was not a d OC III 11ou t meant for pu hlic
> fonwation.9
"'. ,.

~!.. : ." is difficult to can fine within precise gcogruphic boundaries the dis-
. ',b1i'ti9tt of these stone inscriptions. But it may be gcnerally said that they
.jed~,.abound in the present dry zone of Ceylon within the North Central,
.ora· Western, Southern and Uva Provinces,-the inscriptions being f()\'llld
. ~ •. :n~mbers close to the ancient capitals (If Anur adhapura, Polonnaruwa,
and Kurunegala ; while in the Hill Country and in the Janna Peninsula
very rarely.

1933 JIl<:1l1i"" i(!C suc.h inscrip-

24-~."; Mv. ci.. XXVlI,

29·

69 \
 "

UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW

OF RELIGIOCS E)J'DOW}IEl\'T IN ANCIENT CEYLON
TIVU ccncral features are common to most of these stone inscript'
:\iIect the profound changes which took place in the constitution of
Firstly, the inscriptions prior to the r zth century, A.D. are undated from
a in ancient Ceylon, transforming it from a self-denying sect of
calculable era such as the Saka era, or the Nirvana of the Buddha.v' B
majority of them, especially of the loth and r i th centuries, bear the name
as we first meet it in its history in Ceylon, to be one of the largest
King. II or are dated from the regnal years of t he ruling monarch.« Ins nterests in the country with large social and political obligations
of the painstaking work of eminent .scholars in recent times, the chronol thereto and a developmen t parallel with that which took place in the
,.! Christian church of Europe prior to the rath century, 1\ .n.18 However
arrangement of these inscriptions for purposes of historical study is difli.
and the arrangement in most cases is arbitrary.u But, one fact remains d ':;and voluminous be the evidence available to us in the early chronicles
none of the inscriptions so far discovered date before the 3rd century, land's history as the Dipavarilsa and the :\Jall3.VmllSa, and t heir allied
Two reasons are primarily responsible for this chronological Iimitation. "1Je,19 yet for this purpose they are of Iitr Ie value; hence these stone
majority of these inscriptions being records of grants to the Sangha, s k>ns have to be made the main basis 1'01' such a study.'
records can only occur after the introduction of Buddhism to Ceylon, ;'~~s not seem possible to establish a priori a direct or unique relation-
in the 3rd century, B.C. Further, the art of writ ing itself came to Ce t time between the abundance or lack of wealth in the community, and
If with the introduction of Buddhism to Ceylon, '4 and hence in an age ~rance among the clergy. WIlCre a priesthood is strong in its adherence
K writing itself was unknown, the keeping of records would not be a po-sibi "i:'monastic vows of poverty, its resistance to indulgence in new forms of
-Secondly, as the largest number of these inscriptions are records of 'I. is likely to be great, and consequently a longer or sborter period of
gious endowments.vs their text generally follows a few stereo-typed patto "likely to ejap~~ before they profane the altars of self-denying piety.
Hence there is a general possibility of these records following a con venti " other hand in-a priesthood where signs of decadence have begun to
classicism, and thus making the veracity of the details they record do .~emselves, that time-lag is likely to be much shorter, and new wealth
in their portrayal of contemporary conditions. ~. ·,.f".·;"w.formsof wealth \\'olll~l find their way immedi<etc!y' into the precincts
Q!·IP~-ve.iled worldiness. \VlJich of these fac.tors. is the stronger at any
Hitherto, these inscriptions have been studied mainly for the light
. r time can be deterJ11llled only from historical consideratIOns, and
throw on the philological development of the Sinhalese language. or on,
-- - sought in other contempurar):..e\·idence relatinr< to the economic life
history of its ancient script, or for the examination of the political historj
'~f..
~. period, But so far as ;·· ..ncient Ceylon is concerned such evidence is
the nature of the political institutions of ancient Ceylon.'? A deeper hisf Jit~ely meagre.
significance attaches however to these long and elaborate catalogues of gJ
uiz., the evidence they show of the varying character of the form of pro -:>~ked . at from t h i-, ~mgle, t l:o cvidcnco of the inscriptior:s {iCIlinto three
holding that was in vogue at the dates when these records were made.
. F
:~
~
",. first class (If inscriptions r(cordtt1:e gift of Gl\'CS and monastic
B' 1 r . nd onwards.l are d a t e d fro',",' ,Cf.";;.•••~ mentsh ..
to the S,:iJ.gha, and these broadly occur . between
'. the , 3. century,
'The inscriptions I· . of arna froma JU '. '-Miiller , 'Ancie'ili I -,,~ t e rst century, .A.D. Jlul!el' found these IllscnptIons rd IlIJIlllrccl:;
10. f Parakr
'i stances the 'Sak a a era d to;..-d' _ ". lD

Nirvana of Buddha aru III a ew n "un reds over the Island He was greatly dlsappolJ1ted WIth them
lions of Ceylon, Given usually
p. 6. . t 110 bi11'11.as
111 d or titles., e.c'b' . Abha Salarnevan. . [','du ..r 1eIng re igious . .'grants to tempks ' he ._ found ' no historical information'
pEg
II. Hal.
"11 P rospen y. .'
it Ion the tenth day of the wamng _ V I III No _
moon ;)f" a. . . .20 The majonty of these C<1\'CS g1lted to. the S;.Ii.gIla, were _ naJll.[<iJ
'1
111 t 1(
,-1: \\
'elfti:J
"ear of His Majesty Siri Sangabo
.,
'-E.Z.,
• ,.'
o. : .•...
1 ' ,.. . . u l coincidence J..
of n a .es-for
h. excavated (';l\CS are rare in ~. Ceylon= __ ' who::e. insides were
13· iua.,
Muller, Having to depend on "palaecgraphic
p. 24. C'-.I( e ncc <II . S w Ite-w3She(1 and evell I'histercli, and a ll'!UCi or brick wall= (the
'. C. C. Mendis, Eariy of Ceylon, p. Iii. .
History . 1 , '-1

14 .' '.,Li a few mstances to Hi nd u dc\a .

15· Mostly to the Buddhist Sangha anc Ill .. r.. (E)' S No. 876): or to i1lahbJ6dlu-
. - A fair number of endowments to lIldlvldua,.~ I·· • Z V I HI
inst.it.u .. 'I 1.
shnne~...tions, c.g., a hospit.al, ... Z-',. V 0.,I If NO.5. , or a lying-in-home, L. "" o.

too O<:".'LH.
. . ... tion reads "P C/yuma Iat V'isad v... cuasa". lcne agatu anagat a qC SUIl1I1l,ll'\' C] St. ~l' " c.. V"I 1.. PI' 57- o. Ex-
10. A cave lIlSCllP «.«: ',' ,. 1 - '. 'yen to the Sangha of the four hscov('retl <1.[,,' ones at La n karama In Anuradhapura,
G
sagasa." (The cave <'If the ('h~f Visar cva IS gl . "eal"
en. MOggalJana IS supposed to IWH' livcd ' :\1,,11,r, Ale. p 27'- the Tantnmalal
present and absent). ., 'b H \IV Codrington" ,:1l~ the Gal Vlhare at 1'olonnalll\\ ~l
'A . t L d T ,. ure and Revenue !n Ceylon y . '. 'I ,~ . P'd .
freely 17·
to thesenc~en.
Inscnphons
an III his stu yo
C.I.. d f tl IC'1' e nu rial, systems of Ancient Cey on· '. _,'-, I Urugala cave near Slglllya--'lth-Toth centurits, A I)

7U
7I
 l:NIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIE'V TVRE OF RELICIOl~S ENnOW~VIENT ix ANCIEI\T CEYLON

latter occurring about the ot h century, A.D., says Hocart ) built so as to I loses would ha ve lost its value, as the society advanced, and that certainly
protected or enclosed rooms under the sheller of the rocks.>s Thes« Ca at an early stage in Ceylon's history.
were either owned. jointly by families, «.g., the 21 caves :1t Vessagiriyas, The earlv ascctics-preclll':,ors of Mahinda (?) as well as his folJowen;3L-~
the caves of Ritig<! la, which the' Son of Mahamata Bamadaia, liiS--e;:riii1-e g a life of self-denial, as Vanavasikas, sought habitations for themselves
Bafiika, his emine;ce Pusaguta, his eminence Mit a and his eminence: ,.lonely retreats, ' far from the madding crowd,' and the gift of these caves
had developed into 1 he great village Arita ; '25 or individually, as such referen "~ in quite handy for them. Bnt thC'se Cil\·e endo_wments}£ent pari passu
in inscriptions to ownership as-' the cave of Tisaguta. son of the brah . another type of religious endowment, which came into existence when
Sumana ": 'the cave of the lay devotee Citra, wife of Parurnaka Pule !jddhisrilbecame tTie "tate rchglOn of the cOl1ntry, ioITOWffig1'T!econversion
daughter of Parumaka Sunahita: , 'the cave of Utiya, son of villager Ti 'lI{ing Devanamplya 11ssa Fiy the apostle Kl:lhin-cla-iri-2'4oB.C.'?"'-By this
son of Warakapi the villager'; 'the cave of the merchant Tisa "; 'the caVe tuation, Ihe i3ud a fllsniollierh 00(1 became OtlE of thenoi'ii, trcU1ttional limbs
the physician Tisa ' ; 'the cave of village headman Abhaya "; 'the C<lYe 'iat formed the ancient Xr}'an state, as symbolically suggested in the Purusa
Chief Abhava "; , cave of Kanatisa, t!JP minister of the Great Eing Garni \ta of the Rgveda.» The spate of conversions that followed the conver-
pita' and' the cave of Arnirada, the treasurer of the village headman Kandi . of the king.> led the king to request Mahinda to accept the site of the
-all show. But it is not clear what value was attached to the possession ''teasant Mahamegha ' park, neither' too far nor too near the city '33 as
these caves whether they were used as ordinary dwelling houses by the peopl ir new abode, and in emulation of King Bimbisar., of Rajagriha36 he built
or not. .. Maha Vihara there as the first centre of Buddhist life and activity in the
~.ctry, and thus, like his contemporary Asoka of Magadha, Devanarnpiya
Whether these caves were the property of nobles only--in which c ~ , dragged Buddhis m from the convent's into t l:c city' Henceforth the
they could not be used as dwelling house527-~or of the common people as !~t>.jority of Buddhist monks became 'GamanfaSt311iis{(1;al'iisikll< '37 and in
is also doubtful. The leading evidence in understanding this seems to ;·flilavish habitations provided for them by the kings and maintained by the
with the exact significance in the use of the tit le ",Parnmal<<t "-a word t :~.::.~I.treasury, the Sangha came into close contact with the people of the
is freely found in these cave inscriptions. Etymologically the word me t5:':,..ntry at large.
eminent, or chief's Hence its appropriate use should be by 'persons ;~~~~i~ThUSthe gifts of these cave dwellings and the monasteries Were really
importance'; though inscriptional evidence is quite dear that it ",'as .f:~el movements. The one was the grant of the ordinary people,:l8 the other
used by men of lesser importance as, village hcadmen.sv as well as by worne ,:I~hekings. The one was attached to the villages, the other to the capital
The above evidence also leaves l itt le doubt that' then' was an owners '~ . ,. It was a healthy and inex pensi ve way of bearing up mutually the cost
in caves quite apart from the land they stood in-v-Ior we sometimes get anum
of ca ves crowded together where it can scarcely be supposed that the bounda
of the land coincided with the partitions of the GlYes.'3 Interesting rho 1
r .
":,:«th.~new institution that was regarded as essential to their living'

~~'At the same time the gift of these rock caves would appear to indicate
1 hegood

this question is it need not be pursued further, not onlv because the a vails ~he one hand a rndimcntary economic organisation, and on the other a
evidence is insufficient, but also because the use of these caves for see ~dose adherence hy the priesthood to the rules of the Vinaya. Which

23. Hocart believes that the walling of these caveswas begun when t.he v ha d p . That SOme knowledge of the Buddha and his t eu.ch ings wcre known to thcpcopJe
into the hands of the monks, for he says that it is a rule of the Vinaya re I'iirajik{t- on prior to the time of Dcvanampiya Tissa seems a re asonn blc contention-vide
a monk should sleep with doors shut lest his person should happen to be exposed du .,_ekera, History oj Pali Literalu1'f in Ceylcn, P.l7. In such a casc itineran t Buddhist
sleep. CJ.Se., Sec. (~.. Vol. 1, p. 5S. ~ould certainly ha ve comc to Ceylon by the usual land routes. The Hoyal Mission
ada was what that struck the imagination of the early chroniclers.
24. E.Z., Vol. I, p. IS.
Rgveda, loth Mandala.
25. E.Z., Vol. I, p. 15''''.
Mv. Chs. XIV and XV.
26. Parker, Ancient Ceylon, p. 41<).
Mv. Ch, XV, 6-9.
27. Hocar t, c.j.Sr. Sec. G., Vol. T, p. 58.
Mv. Ch. XV, 17.
28. Sanskri t-c-Pramukha, Pali-c-Pa mulcho or l'iimokkh6, Sinhalcse=-L's n-ok-'
., Monks who dwelt in monastcr i-s clo-e to the: v illagrs ,HId towns.
29. See above list and Parker, A.C., p. 440.
~v. Ch , XVI, 12~I], records t hr- gifts of oe rock cells at Mihirrtale by King
30. Rit.igala inscript ions Xos. 2,3 a nd Xi<. E.Z. Vol. T, No. 10, ment ion ,p.
mplyatissa to Mahinda and his converts, while the inscription on Cave No. <) at
rnaka Anud iva..'
l)ears evidence of the grant of a ca ve to the Sangha by VaHagamini Abh a ya.
31. Hocar t, C.ISc. s-e. C., Vol. T, p. 58.
"... -
~~. Vol. I, p. 138.

72 73
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIE\\,

of these two circumstances was more powerful in determining the chara

of the gifts cannot be determined without further evidence.
The contemporaneous grant of urban monastic dwellings is evidence t
the priesthood was beginning to abandon its con venture retreats to sh
increasingly the urban life of the cities. This does not necessarily imply
deliberate seeking on the part of the priesthood for the luxuries of a worl
life-for Mahinda declines explicitly the first of such gi Its by Devanampi
Tissa.s? It seems more indicative of the desire on the part of kings to Use
, power of the Church' to inculcate greater religious devotion in their sullje
or enhance 'the strength of their own rule.
The immediate result of th is new relationshi P thus established bctw
the Sangha on the one hand and the king and laity on the other was that
the case of the former it led to a numerica I increase in the Order of the S:, il';ha,
who were becoming more and more useful socially, and in the case of the lat
it was not only the growtb of a greater desire for more munificent acts
piety, but also a growing desire for more colourful forms of worship. -' .
The second class of religions endowments, was to reflect these ch.mgi
conditions of the times. '
(To he continued in the next issues . I,
W. :\I A. \\'AR:\" ..\Sl·RIY·
30· .vrv .. Cl 1. X\T',,).
U "Ji1~'
• '1
40. At Mihirrtalc monastery alone, in Hha tik ha bhavas time (38 ;\.n.-li7 A D.) t
number of monks residing there was assessed at 1,000, while Fa-l lscin (5th century, A.D.
estimated it at 2,000. E.Z, Vol. I, Pt>. 8f-H2.
Some Notes on Geiger's Grammar 0/ the
Sinhalese Language

W
ILHEL~I G.eiger's Gran~mar. 01.the Si1.1ha1ese Lallg:tage was a unique
contribution to the linguistic studies of the Sinhalese language,
in particular, and to linguistics in general. It is but nat llrall
that a pioneer work such as Geiger's should leave room fOT a great deal of
further research. The following are a few observations on some of his findings.
1. While discussing the inflexion of nouns which denote inani mate
objects (§ 107. 3) Geiger notes:
" The suffix of Singular Locative and Genitive is -ehi, also contracted to
-s. I do not believe that we are allowed to compare it with Pali -(a)mhi « Sk.
-smin in the pronominal inflexion). Prakrit has -(a)'Ir!mi or -(a)mmi, and in
Sinhalese we should expect -am for -amlii. Cf. gin: heat < f!,imlza. It is, there-
fore, more probable that the locative of -as stems (Pk. P. Sic manasi) was

I
generalized in Sinhalese." Thus, Geiger seems to think that the Locative,
ending -ehi of Sinhalese had no connection with the Old Indian pronominal i
ending -smin, for in that case, according to him, we should have had in Sinhalese I

an ending in -111-, and not in -h-, arid that, therefore, -clii of Sinhalese is a
generalization of the Locative of Sanskrit -as stems. This view does not seeIll
82
 NOTES 0:\ C,El(;EI-<'S {;I~;\:\LVIAR

'~te tenable became Geiger takes into con-.idcrat ion only the possibility
i-smin developing into -111mi and -nnui, and not its development, as
~. Wickrema~;inghe too has pointed out (F tii!,rafhia Z,'~'la'l?ica T: p. 5R),
" . -msi (Pisclwl- Granin.atih do' I'rakrit S j;riichrll, § :l()() a), S. -ssim
'1 § 425, 426, 420, 43(1, 433), and JIg. -shm (Pischel § 425, 42(), -'128),
of which would in the next stagc dCH']Op into -si and subsequently
Be to -hi' as is noted frequently in Sinhalese Pr akrit. The Locative
~ -si occ~rs in the Asokan insc!'ipt.ions at IZalsi, T)]Jauli anc~ Ja~ga?a,
"thOugh It has not been n()l!::e(~l 111 ~lI1Y ~lI1hales('-Pnknt msc:lptlOn
f)-~'shed hithert~, Par:l~,l\lt;ln~ (J:p~. 1'.' p.. 12~i) refers to .the existence
tor-a Locative endmg -'it III cert am Brahmi mscrrptrons,s which III subsequent
.times gave rise to -hi.
. Now some explanation is ncccssarv as to tile initial -c of the ending -chi.
Double endings are a common phenomenon in }1I., C,:;" 1V1.-ao, S. -iido, P. -uo
of tile Ablative Singular < Sk. -at -~ -tai: 1M. rukkhiic, S. rukkhiido, 1;'. ruhkhiilo
tto8lthe tree = Sk. v?,k${7t); M. S. Amg. -chimto of Abl, PI. < Vedic -ebhi?~ +
-14 ,. and AMg. -esumto of the Abl, PI. < Sk, -(e)\~u + -tah. (from among) ;
etc. Even in Sinhalese we have double endings like -hata , -ltuta of the Dative
Singul~r < P. -ssa + attliam < Sk. -s.Va + at/ham; -anta, -an~ta 'of the DaL
PJ. < Sk. -iiniim + artham ; -ange of the Gen. P!. < Sk. -iiniim + Gen.

S.
pestpoeitive -r;e ; etc. Thus it is quite proba ble that the -c of -eh.i was the
old historical Lac. Sing. ending < P. Sk. -c, and that -chi was a double Lac.
i"
ending,
':::'An?ther explanation that may be attempted for the -c- of -ehi is that it
~t;;~used by Umlaut. The final -a of a nominal stem, when followed by
-f!If~-ssif!t or -s'Sim < -smin, could have developed an -C-, as the -a- would
t~:be a heavy vowel followed by an ··i. Vide Geiger § 12. 2 .
.. ~ objection that may be raised to obtaining -ehi by generalizing the
1iiuding of forms like menehi from Sk. stem" in -as is that the Loc. Sing .
. -ehi· occurs in Sinhalese-Prakrit in contexts much older, judging
'-gically, than forms like menehi, There is strong reason to believe
" :nehi itself is to be connected historically with M1. forms like manamsi
~nas'ttim, and not with 01. and Ml . manasi.
)~Sinhalese-Prakrit the commonest case-ending of the Lac. Sing. was
~. VIH;\RAHI at the monastery EpZ. III, 1(5); PAVATAHI on the rock Ale.
I;~', a; VIBAJAKAHI in the division EpZ. I, 2II3-4; VIHIRABlJAKAHJ at
!Jaka ib. 1,622; ATARAGAGAHI in the Ataragaga (country) ib. III, 1542;
RAHI in the Sabbath hall ib. III, 16()3; CATARA-DORAHI at the four

ii~!.Loc. Sing. ending-hi in bhauah.i , j alahi, gharahi, j ammohi, sarirahi in the

a, Indian Linguistics. Vol. Vl l I, Part 1, p. 36.
,~e Journal of Science lTG. : gama si in the village p. 202 No. 615, p. 203
619,.P. 216 No. 681 ; nagarasi in the town p. 204 No. 620 ; gamahi in the village
e. -
'I· 1St c. A.D.) p. 204 No. 621.

83
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW NOTES ON GEIGER'S GRAMMAR

entrances ib. III, 2154-5; though the double ending -ehi too has been 11 Prakrit grammarians, while describing the Conditional Mood,« lay
occasionally. e.g., AMARATANEHI at Amaratana ib. T, 6(j3 : VAHEHAI<EHI in t its terminations for all persons and numbers, the present participial
monastery ib. III, 17"74. 'k-nta and -miina and the terminations -jja and -jj'a, particularly of the
Tn Proto-Sinhalese, the endings -hi, -e and -chi occur together with t rho = Sk. Vbhil. A Conditional form with anyone of the above
ending -a which was <1 later development of the old ending -e.3 e.g., NAKM~ '.tions may be preceded by jai = Sk. yadi, or may be accompanied by
in (or of) the city EpZ. III, 2so'-5th c.; PAJIN,\ PASAHI in the Eastern quart. nary verb like vas, or may stand alone. e.g., jai hojja l'q!1J,arpjjo
ib. ;\'EHERAHT in the monastery ib. III, 2I~:4-'5th c. ; MEHI (Loc. for Gen.) :':(or you or I) been praiseworthy, Hemacandra 8-3-179; hojja na sCi"!1jii
(lit. in) this ib. IV, 1452; GEHI in the house ib, IV, 140'; GAL-Ni\VHl of (lit. i •• n£sa if there was no evening and no night, Kumarapala-Carita V 105;
the stone-boat ib. IV, 1493; VAHEHE in the monastery IV, 132-3, No. 13-6th c "vesanto had you placed = Sk. yadi nyal'e,5ayi~yal} Hernacandra 8-3-ISo;
KASABA-GIRIYE at Kasaba-giri IV, 133, No. 42; ME EKA-SATAKA-KAHAV·WE • ga gharu entu if (he) had returned home defeated =, Sk. yadi bhagnah.
VEl)A the interest on these one hundred kahavanas III, 250-5th c. ; (;A.L .£,yal ib. 8-4-35 r ; datthll11J tW11a'I1?ti hontam. jai had (I) been there (or
VEHERA \,El)A in Galavehera IV, 145'. 'myself) in order to see you, Setubandha Xl, 80. Thus it will be seen
the old conjugational forms of the Conditional Mood died away,
When we come to mediaeval Sinhalese, we find, the old endings -hi,
other later devices were adopted to convey that sense. Of them all,
and -ehi still surviving, but -e fast disappearing; t be -ii which madc its appe
i<'. ent participle in -nta and the Optative forms hojja and hojja were
ance towards the close of the Proto-Sinhalese period gaining in importan
t important in late Prakrit. Of those again, the present participle
and becoming more frequent; and the old ending -chi undergoing Iurt
. seems to have been, by far the commonest. The Sinhalese -hot and
changes and becoming -eyi and ultimately -c. Thus ratahi in the count
the Conditional forms may be explained either thrOllgh Pk. hoJ.ja or
Dhampiya-Atuva-Catapadaya (DhpAGp) 286"; ueherahi in the monaste
Had -hot and -hota developed from hojja or hofjc/ there' should have
ib. 2:)25; kalekhi at a time ib. 2286; geM in the house 28127; miigama k.
Sinhalese, an intermediate form hoj or hodu, As no such fo: m lias
with regard to a woman Sikha- Valaiida- Vinisa (Skh Vn) p. 1. 8; bar'hbayl
.<>ticed so far, it is probable that hont a is the source of -hot and -hota.
matte beyond a fathom in height ib. p. 8. 120 ; hamiyehi in the presence DhpA
~ MI. it was not essential that the Conditional form in -nia should always
9334 ; no-ipadmehi in not coming into being ib. 3933 ; vih~imfhi in the relax
in the Locative case. But as the Conditional forms, in Sinhalese, con-
tion ib. 87's = P. vossagge; abltiyesa in the neighbourhood, in front Skh
,:both the conditional and the temporal meanings, there seems to have
p. 4. 02 = P. abhydse ; sirurd in the body DhpAGp 16826; lana in thc pla
practice, in the Sinhalese-Prakrit , to use the preterite participle or the
ib. 174'6; kalaueyi on the thigh ib, 24226; geyi in the house ib. 2285; kul,
participle in -nia with another present participle of an aux iliai y n.! b,
in the family ib. 7123 ; cl(rc on the threshold ib. J09'5 = P. ummiire. Locative Absolute construction. Thus giya-hot and karat-Lot may be
II. In discussing the Conditional Mood in Sinhalese, Geiger ad ~ to MI. gate honte" and karante (or karonte or karente; honte. * Tn certain
(§ 152, II) that its origin and character are rather obscure. He states, in ~he participle of the auxiliary verb docs not seem to 11ave Lcen used,
attempt to elucidate them, that the Conditional forms in Sinhalese have bo ;sed, it dropped quite early-particularly in the temporal sense and
the conditional and the temporal meanings, and that as the base of the Pret' conditional form had been obtained from a root meaning , to be,'
rite forms like bdluoot of the Conditional Mood is the stem of the preteril me, 'etc. Thus e.g., " ... "yi gala if taken as ... , Dl.p.Af.p 9:<,23;
participle, the base of the present forms like balatot should also be the prese .j it be so, ib. Q2'5 ; adarin hota anadarin hota whether it be with respect
participle. Arguing further, he concludes that if that is correct, then t f)ut respect (sidat-Sanga!-ava, Ed. Dharrnarama, p. I5!); davin. namin
whole construction of the so-called Conditional will become comparable wi ther it be after a root or a nominal stem, ib. p. I(l ; yodata if used or
that of Locative Absolute. This is indeed a remarkable conclusion, altho er used, ib. p. 132; hint hat-uata as the sun sets, ib. p. 50 ; padata
it has not been sufficiently substantiated. He does not show how biii1(,1la- . when a thing has to be stated, ib. p. 7.1. Although Geiger is doubtful
or balatot can be compared wit h the Locative Absolute, and how bala! can JI, I) whether the forms ending in -at in the Conditional forms like
looked upon as a present participle. What is more, the explanation he hot, karat-hot, etc. are present participles, there will be no room left
.Ii if the whole expression is viewed in the! ight of the MI. usaj;e, More-
attempted for -hot, the older form of -ot, by breaking it up into 1:0 mean'
nj participles in -at are preserved in Sinhalese in certain stray forms
• or' and I = da (mark of question) does not seem satisfactory.
~16ee ::jar!bha~a-candrika, 2-4-4I, and Prakrta- Vyiikara?;lam of Hemacandra, 8-3-
3. See for a discussion by Paranavitana , EpZ. IV, p. 120,

84 85
 LTNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW

like uadaia-uarii the best of sayers or exponents, Erhaspati, Siya-Bas-Lak

221) = Sk. uadatiim-uarah, As Geiger himself has noted, forms like lia
and baluuot are mere developments of older forms like balala-hol and I.alu
ltot .
III. While discussing Gerund T ending in -min (§ 156. r ), Geiger sa
" This gerund in -min is the instrumental case of a verbal noun in -ma whi
is closely connected with the more modern formations in -ima, -1I1na : iau
baluma." Besides this gerund in -min; the author of the Sidat-Saiiga-g
mentions two others ending in -mina and -nini, Of them, -mina preser-,
in mediaeval Sinhalese and in a few other later works, probably for rcas
of metre, rhythm, etc., is the same as -miu, with the final vowel still prescrv
The final -in of the ending -min has apparently led Geiger to think that t
gerund has had its origin in the T nstrumental case of a verbal noun in -
Of the suffixes of the present participle, -nta , -miina and -mina (Pisc
§ 5(2) found in Ml., -nta has given rise to a participle in -t, as was noted abo
-mdna is found preserved in a few adjectival forms which were originally prese
participles. e.g., diuaman and di manu living, alive =, P. j'ivaman.a; ualma
and uaiman existing, present =, P. uatiamiina, Sk. uartam dna ; sikman train'
oneself, esp, with reference to a young woman undergoing a probation
course of training in order to become a nun =., P. sikkhamiina, sobaman shinin
beautiful = P. fJbhamiina. Sk. sobhamiina ; uadaman growing, increasing
ua iaman siJyehi with growing shade, as the shadows lengthen, when eveni
draws near = P. mqif,hamiinaka-cchiiyaya, etc. -m'i1;,a evidently gave rise
the present getunds in -mina and -min. When there is a participle ending
-mina in Ml, there is no necessity to resort to the nominal inflexion, II
explaining another participle in -niin in Sinhalese.

D. E. HETTIARATCH
References to Buddh ist Sanskrit Writers ~1
Sinhalese Literature I

I
Thas to be adm~tted on histt)~-.iC~t!grollllds that t he Buddhist ['Ultul~e
Ceylon was subjected to :\Iahayana in rlucncc :dunng the course 01 seve
centuries beginning perhaps from t he first centuries of the Christian er
The Buddhist literature in Sanskrit was held in honour and studied in t
isl uid. Fragments from the Pcfnwimsafi-silizasri!?a-trajfiii-pc"iramitii a

I. Paranavitana: Ma.ha va.nis m ill Cevl on : Cr-vl o n J o ur n a l of Scie nc«. G. I

pp. 35-7'·
H(,
 REFERENCES TO BUDDHIST SA~SKRIT \VRITERS

'syapa-parivartta have been discovered in the Iridikatu-sdya copper

.2 A Trikiiya-s!Cl7'a, corresponding versions of which are found in
d China as well, has been discovered in an inscription at Mihintale.s
from such evidence we find numerous references to and quotations from
List Sanskrit authors scattered here and there in the Sinhalese literature
~ing right through the literary period. There are also allusions to them
rrowing of subject matter from them. Further we find other traces
. influence in the use of proper names, sanskritization of technical
pecially in relation to the Abhidhamma, allusions to doctrines peculiar
ayanism, etc .
.e identification of these references is often a very tedious task since
"source is seldom mentioned. They are for the most part introduced
'the mere statement: 'It has indeed been said' or some such phrase.
:y is the name of the author or the book mentioned. Nevertheless, with
.id of the few instances which we have been able to identify so far, we can
re at a reliable estimate as to the extent of the Buddhist literature in
krit known to Sinhalese scholars. We may refer here to the following
arranged in their chronological order.
I. Sanskrit Suttas.--The third verse of the Nlaiu;ala-sutta is quoted
skrit in the Abidharnulrtha-saiv;raha-sanne4 (r zth c.) (Abhdhss) and the
il)era-prasna-sanne5 (r yth c?) (Sps). The Sanskrit names of the five
yas are also enumerated in the Jtt1Jha-jiitaka-padartha-var(,aniiva, [I,3th
;(1912 ed. p. 8).
2. Matrcela.-The following verse is quoted both in the MahiiriliJa-
'hi-sanne~ (12th c.) (M rss) and the Kiiraka-pul?pamaiijari-vy(ikhyii7 (17th c.)
mv) the author's name being given as Matrcotaka.
namas te buddh a-r at nav a dh arnia-r atnay a t e n amah ,
namas te sangh a-ratnav a tri-r atno-s am auav ine,

~t:1:eta was a writer of Buddha-stotras and we should be correct in assuming

.Matrcotaka was a variant form of the same name. This verse, however,
not
s.,
been found in any of the preserved works of this writer.
3· Asvaghosa.-A verse from the Saundrananda on the merits of sua
38) is q~ot~din the Vi.~ltddhi-miirga-sann(8 (r jth c.) (Visms). Another
from the Saundrananda (T, 28) is quoted in the Kpmv Ip. 174) and here

Epigraphia Zeyla nic.a , IV, pp. 238-242.

Lb., pp. 238'242.
1926 Ed., p. 21.
1926 Ed., p.lO.

1926 Ed., p. 3.
1889 Ed., p. 4.
Ed. Dharmaratna, 2408, B.E. ff , Vols. I-V,-"], p .. 12.

87
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLO:-;- H,EnE\\" ERENCES TO BCDDHIST SANSKRIT WRITERS

citia!.rayal), tad oi k al pal),

the title of the poem is given as SlItldara11{/11da-caritaya. Sundar [manda is ob 'ya/} lad t'ikalpa-
'i_samklesa eva ca (slhilih samkles a eva. cu.)
ouslv a corruption of Saundarananda. The title Sundariinanda-caritaya 1141''0vyavadiinail ca sambh;i,'O 1Jvavdanarn ca
be compared with the title of Asvaghosa's other poem Buddha-carita. Ave /I lavad indriyam. yii.~ad eva i'avad indri y am,
(Visms, V. p. 317) (II,5)
from the Buddha-carita (I, IS) is cited in the Mrss (p. }). Here tho fi
pada begins as eko' bhi jiitosmi ... .oted in Sinhalese texts we also find a large number of passages
h points in the Abhidhamrna. One such is the simile of the mango
4. Arya-siira.--The Vycighri-jufaka ann the Hasti-jataka of the J(ila
mala (Jtm) are alluded to in the Sasadiiuata (vv. 27S-27(l) (r zt h c.). The sa .bhdhs, p. 96; Sps. p. 74)·
story is related in the Nidiina-kathii of the Saddharnuilankiirayo» (14th taS cii.lasya mule phala-patana.-ravlil hascid unmilya. caksu»
(Sdha). Six stanzas of the jtrn are also quoted in Gurulugomin's Dliar 'ffl:4 cddaya caitat pita/am atha pOl'ila p;dayilni k art na,
4tv4 pakva-svabhavam k ila pnvibubhuic lad rasiikrsta-cetoh.
pradipikii10 (r jth c.) (Dhpd). c/lt tiilviidi-lagnal?l rasam a tri ca saha-slesmani: ·.,vadya sisye':

5. Avadana-kalpalara.i--Orher Avadanas too have been known e passage dealing with the faculty of si;.:ht, probably a quotation
Sinhalese writers. The story related in the Sdha (p. 41 ff) to illustrate t ~:uddhist Sanskrit work, occurs unpunctuatcd in the Visms (1, p. ~2).
manoprc.'J!idhuna is the first story of the A1'adiina-kalpa1alii, with var iatie
I'asya caksuh. po.svatiti dar,'IIIIIIHI tasya na sa rt.a m culrsur pasynti kin: tarhi
as might be expected, in the proper names. One fact should, howcv: r, .. nadhil!!hilam vasYII hct u. vij i, an a ,." posv ati d arsu n a m tasyapi na sarvam
noted about this source. Although the Vyiighri-jii'alw is the first n('ry . na~ pasy"ti him tarh i caks ur aSr;tal.'1 tuc ca cvauah itcnot-piuly ate yatra/nkasya
4dau pra! ib andha In vatratra pra: iband hand ham ,<phati Ilabhra-pataia,iau
the printed text uf the Jtm, the Nepalese manuscript. hearing the title nod
"'a vyavahito vyulpadvata e1.'a tnsin« tadanut pannad atryauah itan lena c aksur
sattua-avadana» contains as its first story the Subhasa-iiaaka which also dv pasyati vivail,!itantal), ? yad u kt am cri./Iljltl'vijllanam p asyatit i dors an akrtyani
the same account of the manopra7fidhiina and this is followed by the Vl',{(!hr: . cak,!uyvijnanam iti.
iii!aka. The order of the two stories is the same in the Sdha and it is po-sib'
'~ilar passage io quoted in the same work from a book called the
that its author has derived these two stories from a similar version (If t
patti-tika. (V, p. 292, see also V, pp. :'0-51\.
Jtm. The editor of the ]tm (1914, nOS) does not mention a Nepalese M:
·'::Santideva.- Two stanzas from the Bodhicariyiuiatiira (VI, -p;
6. Vasubandhu.-Quotations from the Ahhidharma-kosa (Abhdh ~ealing with the evils of envy are cited in the Dhpd (p. IS7).1·
are found in the Vism, Paiicika-pradipa"a (r yth c.) (Ppd ) and K pmv.
., Candragomin.-The following stanza is quoted in the M ahiibodhi-
shall give below the versions of these as they are found in these texts, collati
,:61apadayaI3 (r ath c.) (:\Tbvg) and also 'in the Simhala- bcdhinamsayaw
them with the Sanskrit restoration in print.
~) [Sbv).
,,:·1
d t vatc ven a ta d-diin a ni d vale I'I'/UI toti-d im om
;.::j>Uyvavadana-caritcliu su.d ust arcs u iSb» = :iUdIlSII!lYf'!U)
pl!ja ';,ugraha-Idtrnl'~wi. p,;,jii ';1u~raha-"a1'ny~-,vii
\,.gite,!u yasya sumliilll1am-sundaribhih,
krt va-va I, -k arma-sort II, 1Iam /(ftva-visk-k« rm a-sotth lfnlilll
mdl,a.bhoga-pha!a" c a Ifll.· (,,;n-11Iaha-bhoga-t'al-phaiam) . t, ",'dpi candrakirunair iva. sankucnnti
tl\dYdngana-vadat/a -pMiliaj a -k au a uan i.
(h:pmv. P: 1("») (IV, 1 (3)
I..•

The version of the same stanza found in the Ppd (p. (q) agrees wit h t '·:the Dhpd (p. 247) we meet with the following :-
restored text. It is possible that the restorer hac! the opportunity of rn.rki ,'" pa1'ahita-kllranava b.ui-ih a-h aksas- ..
use of this version. r $"khuma 'si-p'at~a-vane vasanti sant ah ,
.a punar amara-s u nd art-s ahayah.
uiuiuia-ninln-sainsara- 1!i uisda-m /AIa-sam s iiFa- k,!a~am a-pi n a n d ana k a na n e remant c,
Iiet utvat kal'1na-i'iirl(1)t1t (li{iY(I>;fat) lirama-liara>;fat
caiiebliy o vedana samjna caitebnyo ued aniisamjh e . tanzas are ascribed to Candragomin by Dharmdrarna. the editor of
Prtha" s/,hllndhal), niuesit ah, trIlla" skh a ndh au uyarastliitev. .V and the Dhpd. They appear to have been taken from Candragorniri's
(Visms, Y, p. 51) (I, 21) kha-dharma-kii,,~va.

9· Ed. Saddhatissa , 1934, pp. 44 ff. Mahavan ivrn in Ceylon.

10. 1915 Ed., pp. 114-115, Cf. j trn, pp. 103-104 (with several variant readings) 1910 Ed., p. 63.
II. R. Mitra, Nepalese Buddhist Literature. 1882, No. B. '5. 1933 Ed., p. 60.
88 89
 CNIVERSITY OF CEYLOX REVIEW REFERENCES TO BUDDHIST SANSKRIT WRITERS
"
10. Buddhist logicians.- There is also evidence that the BUddhi isms (II, p. 721) we come across the name of Rahula-pada to whom
system of logic, the Buddhist logicians ann their works were known to Sinha], uted the following :-
writers. The author of the J ata.ka-a{1fva·gafapadayaI5 (rzth c.), in his d' 'bwlha ityavagamana yam dhiilufl, p ori poth y ate v at as lajnai~l,
cussion on the logical method of interpretation of certain words refers to t gatyartha ityato 'smat k art ary a p i ),uiyate y amkt.ah .
two prama1Jas accepted by the Buddhist logicians. The name of Dillna,
the Buddhist logician, is mentioned in the Pdrak umbd-sirita (v. 77) where ahula-pada may be compared with Bhadanta Rahula-bhadra. a Maha-
is claimed that King Parakrarnabahu VI was versed in the three piak, iter referred to by Vasubandhu in his Pratjtya-samutpada Vyakhya. & I

the six systems of philosophy and logic, like Dinnaga-pada. In the Vis . Jotipala.-Another writer cited in the Visms more than once is.
(V, p. 59) we find the following stanza cited as being drawn from Dighanag: ".Ia-mahimi (-marlasv8.min).
pada :--
vastviisrayo duayor dhiit uo rupdnuballdha-vrltlliafl,
sarulrtlia-sam-pravoec ca yad isttun ru p a-s abd avrl«, drugdhivantiim upadiiya rupdstayo bhauadurcye,
uicchi nn a=prth i ov-jica n am tan-nairautarddhyabadhakal!l. tadvastu-bhiivad karrnotth.im drgvat pra.liyanalirayam,
hrd-khedac ca cinticy am /alra-stham it i g amyute. (V, rp· 64-(5).
Perhaps we are right in identifying Dtgha-naga mentioned here with Dillnag:
dltndpyabhijn!i dhve/1lasya daudier arth a-l abh auat
II. Dharmakirti.-Further proof as to the popularity of Dinnaga ihdnusamina bh.utatniit ph.aladi: sambh atuid. a pi
nltnltbhti-phaladaYjl karma riApa-pakasya xocara~
given by the fact that Dharrnakirti's Pramana-varuiki: (Pv) on Dinnaga karmdlamba-parittddi n a caity» sa sa mbhat.uh . (V, p. I47).
Pramdna-samuccaya is cited by Sinhalese writers. A quotation of four slok r'
from the Pv (IV, 190-193) is found in the Dhpd (p. 3) and the same slok f!nay perhaps identify the author of these with the thera named jotipala
are again cited in the Kpmv (p. IOI).* Another stanza from the Pv (111, 29 ,is referred to in the Nihiiya-sMtgrahal9 and the Csilaoamsa»> as the
is cited in the Ppd (p. IS) and twice again in the Kpmv-v (p. 4 and p. 39 !pion of the orthodox Buddhists ill a dispute with the Vaitulyas in the
The high esteem in which Dharrnakfrti himself was held among the Sinhale 'of Aggabodhi, II (658-667 A.D.).
is seen from the manner in which he is referred to by Sinhalese writers: 6. Naga-bodhi.-In the Visms (V, p. 76) the following stanzas are
'sakala-tiirkika-cakra-cuqa111a1Ji-Dharmakirti-piida (Ppd, p. IS; Kprnv, p. 39
under the name of Nagabodhi-sthavira, of whose identity nothing is.
12. Saddarsana-sangraha.s--In citing the stanza: at present.
rasiuat s arth.auac ceva cakrauan mustiuat tathii draoata sah a-urttini trin.i bh uiani sams prs an
shhandesu pal/ram prajiiair (jlmas~bdafl, brag+y ate, dravalvam sams-prsamiti 101<0 'yam a·bhimanyale.
SPrl!tva b'hu/ani sanrsth an.arn yalha ,!a'!tena gr'Y!hata/f
The $aif,darsana-sangraha is called a Buddhist work on logic in bhrantis sakl!iU sPrsamiti vijne:yddravallt tath.a .
sangraha'? (14th c.).
writer by the name of Naga-buddhi. however, is mentioned as the
13. AryasatyavaHira.-Other works have been cited by Sinhal of a work called the Samaja-maI,lc,lalopayika, the Ms. of which has
writers; but no mention of them or their authors has been found elsewher ,.found in Tibet.«
In some respects these citations appear to be from Buddhist works on logi'
Of these I may refer here to a work called the Aryasatyavatara. from whic ,17. Unidentified passages.s--Lt is unnecessary to scour the whole
the following quotation is found in the Visms (V, p. 50). ..of Sinhalese literature; in the Dhpd, Visms , Ppd and K pmv alone we
;'Ilumerous quotations from Sanskrit authors, a good many of whom,
asti bhedo hi ru pd der at ittidi-v asen a sah .
riisy arthen aina samksi pya sk andh enniiia 'bh idh ·yale.
~ from the subject matter of the quotations, appear to have been
ists. Of these we refer here to the description of the Asipatra hell
14. Other Writers: Rahula-pada.c--Of the other writers cit in the Dhpd (pp. 79-81).
without specific mention of the titles of their works we mention a few belo
J.R.A.S., July, 1930, p. 613.
15. 191 I Ed., p. z.
• Ed. Wickremasinghe, 1890, p. 17.
16. In the first citation (p. 4) the 4th pad a varies irom the other versions.
Ch, XIII, VV. 40-50.
17. I9I4 Ed., pp. 51-52.
J.B.OR.S, XXIII, pt. 1., p. 45.
-Cited also in Samband ha-cin ta Sanne (13th c.), 1891 cd.: p. 7·

90 9r
 CNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW EFERENCES TO BUDDHIST SANSKRIT WRITERS

dhdvan jauena nisita-ksura-samstareeu Jiitaka-stava.- The allusions to the Vyaghr i-jataka and the Hasti-
uiccbinna-martir asi patra-taiaoaneew
..e Sasadavata, which we have already referred to above, are in the
kupe patat.y asaranas sila-sMa-sakti-
prasasihdsa-vijita nta ka-uaktra-randh re .-1, i!stavas, and it is quite evident from the context that the poet has
eke punas sirni-sirnicyita-sukema-j ant u=: i some eulogy on the lives of the Bodhisattva. We have been able to
sanghdta-j ar] ariia-s it n a-ui puti-kayiiq, . the Jiitaka-stava of jrianayasas (vv. 5-6) the two stories alluded to in
sancdla-mMram api h artu.rn asakn uuant» sequence as we find them in the Sasadavata (vv. 275-276), and the
[iuanti karmamaya-pasa-nibaddha-jiviiq,.-- J o.
~ding stanzas of the two works bear a marked resemblance to each
Dharrnarama, the editor of the Dhpd, compares the text of these ten stanz '.' h in spirit and in subject matter. It may be inferred that the] idaka-
with another version in a Nepalese manuscript the name of which he doe" n known to the Sinhalese poet.
mention,
•. Proper Names, etc.-Some of the proper names used in Sinhalese
18. Stotras.-As in the inscriptions, so in the Sinhalese literary wor . are not found in Pali ; but they are met with in Buddhist Sanskrit
we come across Buddha-stotras composed in Sanskrit. We have alread' The wife of Siddhartha is known to Sinhalese writers as Yasodar a
referred to Matrceta. There are other stotras which we have not been ab .~asodhara). This name does not occur anywhere in early Pali literature,
to identify. In the Dhpd (p. 159), while commenting on the advantages '. ars in Buddhist Sanskrit works, such as Asvaghosa's Buddhacarita
maitri, Gurulugornin quotes the following stanza in the Sragdhara metre. f;i&c.}. Many proper names used in connection with Buddhistic narra-
vyaghri drstvii harinyiis suasuta m iua kr sam pa)'ava~yasll s abam, l Sinhalese prose works agree, in the majority of cases, with the Sanskrit
barhic-ch aynm bhujangah prm,if,ati s ikh in arn iilapoih kh i n n a-deh ah. :',used in the 'northern books.' Even if these be considered parallel
.hTrjantyi,sTvi'!iiniim uisa-daho.nauatam mus ik a bhoga-garbhe, rnents, a form like Saradvatiputra (=P. Sariputta] found in Dhpd
k uruan-n-euarn. /vi maitry a uasat i giJ.'i-l!ane yas hf tasm ai n a mo '5!11.
c) deserves our attention. .
It will be noticed that this stanza is in the same metre as the Trikaya-stav
at Mihintale (vide snpra), and the language of the two stotras are also somewh
S: Other traces.-Thc author of the Saddhnrma-ratnakaraya= (r yth c.)
~me acquaintance, however perfunctory, with two of the main doctrines
similar. The subject matter too of this verse may be compared with t
~Mahayanist~, namely, Trikiiya and .Sflnya!ii. It has not been possible
accounts of maitri in the Mwuadevdiasua (r zt h c.) (vv. I5'), I60-I(11) and t
i'-pace of this paper to deal exhaustively with every phase of the influence
Sasadaoata (vv. 234-23°).
hist Sanskrit books on Sinhalese writers; but the few examples adduced
19· PJdapatikaja-stava.-·ln his A miivatllra!2 Guru)ugornin quotes t show the reader the vogue which that literature enjoyed among
following from a work called the Piidapankaja-stara, of which we have n e writers.
been able to find any trace elsewhere. C. E. GODAKCYfBCRA_
g:z?;Irjasthali-ht?ila-dana-mal!i -II iseka=:
bbriintonwadad -bhra marn-mandala-d ind! men a ~ 1930 Ed., p. 15 ff.
krodhosmasabh.idayata d.h ano-p al akena
Texts mentioned in the article:
pada-duaye pranatam arya dhrtMthuse ie .
Abhidharma-koSa. Ed. Rahula Samskr tyayana, Benares.
20. Another stotra.-Wc give below an additional Sanskrit stotr Avadana-kalpalata, text and Tibetan translation, Bibl. Ind.. Calcutta.
cited in another Sinhalese text of about the same period as the above. In th BodhicariYlivatara, Bib!. Ind.
Dahamsarana»s (r jth c.) we come across the following lines put into the mout Buddhacarita, Ed. Johnston, 1935.
of the Boddhisattva when he is addressing the Buddha Narada, JiJ.takamald, Ed. Kern, H.O.S., 1<)14.

[nya jaya sYarna1'!.a-padrna -si~n!ta.-ma'Y}-iliya,-candra. -bhiiskara, -vafatJ,sa.

Jiita.ka-stava of Jiianayasas. Ed. H. W. bailey, n.s.o.s.. Vol. IX (1939)
pp. 851 ff.
-rajaha':J'lsa, -sura. -dh.ira, -piyiil!apura. -pradi p a.
pratoad i visva-garva-vi 5 alla'Y}-a-pral aya-m iirtanda, Prama'Y}-avdrttiha, Ed. Rahula Sarnskr tyaya na , ].13.0 ..R.S .. T938 ff.
pratiuiuii hari'Y}-a-siiba-vidara'Y}-aika-paiicanana. Saundranal1da, Ed. ] ohnst on, 1l)28.
pratioad: tala-par'Y}-a-sucuI''Y}-anaika-nirgha/a-pata.
pratiund; mr'Y}-ltla-niila-vililiobha-ke?i-dantavala.
pralivadi matsara-makra-durga-graha-Sl}gara.

22. Ed. Richard de Silva, J922, p. 212.

23· 1929 Ed .. p. 62.

92 93
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON m~VIE\v A AND THE BCDDHISTPSYCHOLOGY OF PERCEPTION

Bhavanga and the Buddhist Psychology gato, and the mind during deep :-;]eep would he called bhamnga'
ind that goes to bhaua instead of to sat. However tempting such
Perception ay be, we are on safer ground wit h t l.e trudit ional interpretation,
in view of the lateness of the word. At any rate, we do not have
NE of the most intc.rcsting theories in the wl:ole eth~c()-psych()lf)gic

O
.grounds for rejecting the comrncnt arial etymology in favour of sug-
system of the Abhidhamma IS that 0 f blz([L'anga, variously translate ,nch as the above, and, as the history of the word is obscure, it would
as 'sub-conscious life-continuum' and 'sub-liminal consciousness ter to be gLlidecl by the scholiasts, with whom the tradition of the
which forms the basis of the Buddhist psychology of perception. It is a tlleo of the word is likely to have been preserved throughout the centuries,
which is unique in t he history of Iridian thought, as being one of the fe s. we have suggested, the word had not been coined by them in recent
attempts made by the ancients to explain tile phenomenon of consciousng
without reference to what the Buddhists might regard as animistic notion 'j clue to the understanding of the theory
of bliava':nga must lie in the
such as postulating a ' soul' that takes part in the cognitive process. B1Ul7!an~1 igy of dreams and sleep as expounded in the Abhidhamrna, In all
is also one of the most' psychological' of the teachings of the Abhidhamma ··hought, the starting-point for the analysis of. the individual and his
in the sense that it is the least mixed up with ethical considerations and th ness was the condition of deep sleep. The Sankhya analysis of
crude physiology that form a good part of the Abhidhamma. And we can no reality itself, was, according to the interpretation that Vacaspati
help being struck by the way it anticipates certain modern ideas such as th ives in his Taioabaumu-li, based on an analysis of the individual. And
conception of consciousness 8.S a flowing stream. Vedanta the state of deep, dreamless sleep (su~1tptavastha) is compared
Though to the moderns, the attempt to divide an act of cognition int loriginal state of the world (j'mlgavftsthfi). The dreamless condition is
several stages, and to enumerate various steps may appear arbitrary, we canno regarded as the true state of the soul (svarflpaL'C!stha), and in analogy
help being impressed by the systematic way in which the Buddhist scholiast is, the Vedantists regarded the original condition of the world as the
set about to analyse the process. Both in the conception of bhavanga as we ;:fli.ture' (svarupa) of Brahma .s To the psychologists of the Abhi-
as in the idea of the stream of consciousness, what we see is an application 0: , too, the man in the condition of deep sleep appeared to be the most
the subjective side of the Buddhist analysis of objective reality as a constan w- starting-point: with this reservation, that his consciousness was
flux. Bhaoaicga seems to be the result of an examination of mental phenomen with the stream of life, and not with ultimate reality as postulated
from the point of view of this dynamic view of life. ,r philosophers.
Thus, the idea of the stream of becoming (bhavasota) is often met withl -,it was the dynamic aspect that the Abhidhamma wished to emphasise.
in the Nikayas. But in this form it is still a philosophical theory used in andogya Upanishad, a man in deep sleep is regarded as being one
reference to the objective world. Its application in the psychologica is inner self, which, to the Vedantists, was ultimately real: "When
sphere appears to have given rise to the idea of bhaualu;«. Though the: -sleeps, he becomes united with that which is, Somya .:he has gone into
words bhava and bhavasota appear to the Nikayas, the occurrence of the word self. "3 And the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad describes the condition
bhavanga is much later and is confined, in the main, to the Abhidharnm sleep thus ~ "Embraced by the Highest Self, he knows nothing that
literature. .i_ut, nothing that is within.v- The Brahma Sfitras, themselves,
About the word bhavanga itself, there seems to be no necessity to reject ly state that, in the absence of dreams, there is a lapsing into the self.5
the traditional exegesis of bhauassa anga, as the word itself seems to he peculiar' ..age!':like these, the man in deep sleep is, in the first instance, regarded
to commentarial Pali, and has been, in all probability, coined by the scholiasts. ring gone into his self which is sat. The Buddhists, therefore, would
Mrs. Rhys Davids' attempt' to derive it from bhauan +-gya is far-fetcher! and hernselves, felt the necessity of giving a satisfactory explanation of the
untenable. If we may be allowed to play about with etymologies in the same enon of sleep according to their philosophy of life. Thus Nagasena,
way, we might rather suggest bhavam + -ga from gacchati. This would be more Brahma Sutras IT, I, 9.
plausible and far more tempting, in view of the Upanishadic sata sampamlO, Yatrailal purusat: sua piti nlima satii Somya tad Ii sam-panno bhauati ; suam a-ptto
and suam. a-pito, The Buddhist equivalent would, therefore, be something hand. Up!, VI, 8, I. •

, Prlijiienlitmanli snm-parisuakto no bahya'?" kiiicana veda nlintamnl-Brhad. Up.

1. "I cannot think it is a compound of bhaua and anga, which yields no sense·
JII
I see it rather as an abstract form of wha.t is, I believe, termed a secondary derivative, fro Tadabhiivo n{uji/!u tacchrteratmani ca (The absence of that, uie., dreams, takes
bhnoan + -gya."-The Milinda Questions, p. lI5. the nlilj,is and in the Self)-Br. Sui. lIT, 2, 7.

94 95
 CNIVERSITY OF CEYL()~ REVTLW A AND THE fWDDHTST P~YCHOLO(~Y OF riFRCEPTIO:\

in the Jfifinda Paiilia (circa JOO A.D.) says, in answer to King Milin ic import to distinguish it l t orn t hc ideas of ~()\Il in t I'll' l.'pallisl!ad~
question, that, when a man is in a state of deep sleep his thought (cilia) .systeI1lS of Indian thought. ,\11<1 i his import was bci;,;-htepcd IJY
'entered into bhavan:;a,'6 This seems to be the earliest occurrence of the conception of stream ('o/!!) from tile ori;,;-in;i1 t.hcvasoto . But
word bltav(irt~a in the Pali writings, but although it appears as a fresh ('one, the old idea of SOlIl :\ppcarill!-,: ill a 1~(,\1' garb ,('('m" \0 h:I\(' bccn
it is taken for granted, and no attempt is made to explain it. We ran imagi: reo Hence the ,\ bhidh.unma I'~Yl'hf~l();,;-i~b did not "'ie'li iJ/w'·r.11,:e
therefore, the same question having been asked earlier, and an expbna' :rstood as a permanent substr.u um of c()nscif)lI~ mcutnl pI"CC(:~'.,;(,·.
framed in answer to the demand, some time before the Mslinda Pahh« it led that [,/IIlV(!/Li.:a \\',LS 'l'lIt on' (l)11I!7'(i1~',~l!laccl';'d({) \'.·IW!1 t houeht
Hence ~aga~ena advances the theory as though it existed before. . is is a contradiction, p.ut icularlv in viow of the 1<:'.('1' ~lpplicl\ion
though we cannot say at what time the expression came into being, it s d, as we shall ~CC'. :\11''';. Hhy,.. Davids ~Ii_tcmi'i" 1<' rcco)1ci!r. t his
not unlikely that it was coined by the scholiasts in direct opposition to ion in !'rer illumin.u iru; im crprctnt iun (If !;f1U',(!,"..,a ,h Cf)]lS(i<.>\l~1i(,';s
Upanishad concept which we saw in the paSS:1.ge5 quoted above. To the B tial state, and r houylu-prorcsscs ~IS,111 ;tctnali,'\1 ion fll /;/i11'1.1~'.'(l.9
dhists, there could be no ' Self' into which a man in deep sleep could la l'doubtful if this \\'as cxact lv what t l«: cr'llflliash hurl ill mind \\,],('11
Even if there were such a self , they would object to a static word, such as rtulated a cutting-rn of l ln- ,,(re;l111 or U.'r'r!lil.·~(i, ~llld C(lntr~'-'·.l('cl
being applied to it. Hence, to the question as to what happened in deep 5]' Ii or vlthinutl/a (pn-,ce,;,;-fn·c) \\:\11 tliOllg!IC (,'/II:I-r ittav,
they replied that thought had gone into bltavMIr;a. By this they meant t 'heory, therefore, that \\"JS ()ri,~illally pllt Iorwarr] as an r-xplnnnt ion
the state of deep sleep was mere.ly an aspect (anna), the subjective as .. nlogical phCn0111C11<'11 , seem- t o have 1'('('n in btn times invc-tcd
of the universal becoming ibltaua), Thus, of the L'panishad theory, t .etaphysical connotation, ,\]1(1 this lwcoll1c,; fmthn clear from the
accepted only the identity of hfe with consciousness in the case of a man :tarial interpretation of the ·,mr(1. The <;I)"111010gy remained the
deep sleep, And they substituted the conception of ' that which i,,' (. t into the word C:1;~(/ there was Iorccd ill the meanim; or l CIUSC ' c.r
by the more dynamic' that which becomes.' able factor,' so as to gin' the \\']I(J!c \\'O\-rj ldl({;'(:/L~a tlle'sell"r: nf
Once hit upon, the theory of blzavc.nga seems to have supplied a long- -might call "the principle of individualitv." Its origi]l~!l rlcs.cript inn
need. Hence its application was extended in the commentaries and the A e of pure consciousness, ano JUg01],; to t hc T'p.mishadic conception,
dhamma literature to make up for, to a great extent, the aversion of 1 phasised so t1111(h, although MiI7.'fi/L'~flis IlO\\" lwing made use or as
Buddhism towards the conception of a' soul' In the lHilinnaPai'iha, bliaoa of the Buddhist ]lsychol();,;-~' of percC'ption.
is referred to only in respect of the psychology of dreams and sleep. lis also noteworthy thai the kll ('\l'bn~\t;(lJl Iff t],;, tl!('9r)" of IJ.'t:r,·(,il:r1!
though many attempts are made by t\ agasena to answer Milinda's 1!TIe i; in the A bliidha nnnatllu) 'f! "::,1'710, ill cormcct io» wir h t hc l'hilr),·()pl.l~'
fortable questions as to the identity of the individual after survival, and rebirth. The pa~s:l!:;c of ~I m.nt.rl I'ron: birth to dcai h and a~:ain
result is not altogether convincing, The theory of a succession of me h is thus detailed :
states idhamrna-santativ and the rather self-contradictory conclusion t o those who have thus got rebirth the ,;;~1l1(' kind of cOI1,,('in\l~:nc:,:'
the surviving person is neither the same nor another (na ca 50 na ca an ·.~d rebirth, occupied wit h the C~llllC'ftelel of objccts, st~\,rtill!!, s,lraigl,t
must have been felt, in the last analysis, unsatisfactory? The scholiasts er the moment of rr hirt h. ~:()('s 01l, in t he "h,enn: of ,my process of
a later day evidently found in blzav(J1.!!1l a more plausible way out of , in unbroken flux like the stream or a rivr-r till the l1prisinr..:· of death-
difficulty. For one thing, it appeared to he the only factor which, accor ness. And t his flux of mind, b('ci use it i, a ((I11<11t inn of Ix-ccming,
to Nagasena, continued to function when the body was to all intents the continuance of t hr ('()!1(]i!!(111 of h(,('rJmi1;g.'·!O Here [,/W('c11.!:.1I.
purposes dead, in the condition of deep, dreamless sleep." And, bctw ined as bluiras=a (.'/I'~·'l, ~'-lld the ::-;iill;;dc~'c pal'al'];r;t~" or ~;11 iputt a
this state and that of actual death, the only difference seemed to be t ~ja,II as well a" t ho T'i/'!"i,(f]:( Til:« of ~1Ill'al1l'.,:la, hot I! c"pl:iin c.n:«:
bhavanza functioned in the living individual. The word had, also, thc ne mg "cause.' 'heior' or "Iunrt i-m.' ~!l'fl Lot' FIr!' or 'pr)]tifll1.'

6. M'iddhosamaridhassa rnah arii]« citt a m bhavlI1/gar;alam ho!i~J'tJilillda, Cola' 1~_Mllitlda Questions, p. 115.
Ed" p. 240. ,,' Cf .. Compendium l'hilo-",pln',
o] by S. z. ,\1'l1g, Pl'. I12-15.\' The text is:
7. Euamcua kho mah(;r«ja dliannnasantati sanda hati "';no u p pajjati anlio lIiruji ,141n1apa!isandhi I,,;n(l III po 1/(/ pa!i ,.(! iu! liin in'd 11I'1;{r I'i{/J'((I,P!'" brltf i 1(/I' .•rTr~l« iI',
a-pubbam acarimam viya sandahati lena 11(1ca so 1111ca anno paccilimavinnar).tlsll1ig 'ha tadeva citiam y,iva [utieittup/)(,r/r; a-a t i ";Iliirilt"f/'i'('dc bIJ,(1'('.".'·'" Ifli.'·f:hliiU"·"
gacchati-Milinda, Co!. Ed., p. 33. 'fltatisanhhutam 1I1,;lI<1SIIII1 aZ,iJIi(f(rIii1l1111111 nn-l is cto rivu p.",,·elll'li.
8. J\;liddhusamilri:lhassa bhauahgagatassa same p, sarire cilium appavatlalll h i,4t1:n.buted to the twclf t l. cc nt u rv, and rc~ankd ,IS bcinc c.ulicr t h.u: the CUi1l-
Ibid, p. 240. ~~. Sumangala who appears to ha'"c consul t.ed it. .

96 97
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW
GA AND THE RUDD.HIST PSYCHOLOGY OF PERCEPTION

According to S~lripl1tta, iJhl!7'(l11,';ais the C<lU';C of the unbroken continuity easurement of time has been fixed by the Buddhists as the duration
the individual) in various existences.'> And ';;ul11<lJlgal;~explains it as ' oght-instant (cittaHlwWl) which, according to Lcdi Sadaw,'? has
cause, reason indispensable condi tion uf our being regarded subjecti \'cly , puted as between a billionth and two billionth part of the time taken
continuons; the sine qua non of 011r existence: that without which one cannl '~.napping of one's linger or the wink of one's eye. And with this as
subsist or e"ist."3 Hence we see that the theory of bltavan.~a is the res' rd, the Buddhists have arrived at the figure (,f seventeen moments
of an attempt to explain the continuity of the individual consciousness dllri "uting the duration of material phcnomcna.>" However this IIf?,"llrC
the events of death and rebirth in the round of sail! siira , without reference ve been arrived at, it was necessary that each act ol C()gm1JOll ,
it soul.
." mputed this way, should he of equal (Ill! at.ion. The cognl! iv«
That this was the Abhidhamma \\,<Iy of explaining continued 5 (vithicitta) 'arc detailed in the 1i-i~;'IIddl-i lllupga,'9 and elsewhere
without P(lsl'ulating a transm.ignl.ting entity, becomes further clear fr, :e commem<lries. But the Abliidliammeilliasaneaba gi\'es us a
a consideration or the pl!ilosoplJy of death and rebirth. Lecli Sa claw, :;a nd concise statcment.sv TIle processes on occasion of sensory
contemporary exponent of the ,\ bhirlhammn in Burma, explains iJhava,' li are known as pai"kadv('il'ariilii (Jive-door process), and 1" he prcce~'scs
as 'the function of being, by reason or which the passive side of existen "ction or representative cognition are stylecl1l711Iloc!,'(tra6.1lii (mind-door
(uppalli-iJlia7'o) continuously exists so long (IS the [encleahamma of the p ).21 The process of visual cognition (caUliI!dt'{lmrllhi!, Ior example,
which caused that existence, lasts,'I4 We arc further told by the Abhidham be as follows: When a visible object enters the focus of vision, at the
philosophers that when a man dies, there is presented to his dying consciousn oment of its existence, it would have no effect on the percipient (1).
either his past reproductive action (jauaka-kamma) which is about to eft, .'there is a vibration of the stream of b1tam1~,~a (ulJaI'mtgl1-crt1UIW.)ZO Ir.r
his rebirth, or a symbol of it, or a presentiment of his destiny in t lic ne oments, and a consequent interruption of the flow (2, :)). There is no
e xistcnce, some time before actual death-consciousness (wli-6£l!a) sets i ngd any more, and, instead, there hegins a conscious process, 1 he first
Any of these t nrce presentations, respectively termed kamma, kamma-nim; ;'Of which is the moment of adverting or iil'ajjaJla (01'1. L. the su bscqucnt
nndL'ati-llimitta, are regarded as being the object of the rcbirth-consciousn . nts there follow, in succession, the visual impression (C(!!tkll1l·,-'illii(~W"
in the next existcnco.rs Consciousness has been defined in the Abhidliam ecipient consciousness (.<;a1I1jJa(tz'cc/-ral1a, 6), investigating consciousness
as the rcl.ttionsh ip between subject and object. And birth (pat/sandhi, .. 'rar),a, 7), determining consciousness (l'ctPl{!bb(?1w, R), seven moments of
joining up) and death (culi) arc looked upon as artificial dividing points rception Uava1ta 15),23 and finally two moments of retention 'or register-
the flux of existence. Hcnc., , there is a subject-object relationship bctw nsciousness (!ad(iramlll([.r),a, 17). This completes the seventeen 111011:('111:",
the ';Ilbjcdiw; side of the ind ividual \v110 is being reborn and his last thoug :,after that bh(l1'al;~a begins to flow ag~:in until it is interrupted' by a
at the point of death in the previous existence. , lus.«
Hence j: the continuity of the individual established without postulatir ~The above process is essentially the same whether in presentative eogniti(!11
:Lsoul. So the Attlzasii.1inb, after detailing the cognitive process, aIm, representative cognition. Representative co(;nition or reflection occurs
niumphantlv remarks that there is 110 ' doer' or ' one who causes to do' b
that the process goes on of itsclf.w Compendium. p. IZ(). footnote.
Sattarasacittak hltM.Ui,ni rupadhammicnam ,~y!t-A bliidhummattho sanga lia , Cha p.l V.
It WOl11.rlbe necessary here to set forth briefly the Buddhist psycholo Visuddhimagga, Chap. XIV, Vifiil uYi,a"'''Za1Zdh a. P,T.S. Eel., p. 457 ff.
of perception, for a fuller understanding of the theory of bhavnnga. For Chap. IV, Vilhisrt1lga!ta.
purposes wo must strip t h-: Abhidhnrnma of its ethical accretions and consi "II. The senses arc technically termed' doors' (zI~'iil'a) in tho Abhidhamma The
on lv the pSY"lIOJogic<llaspect. Perception in general i:~rr.~garded as an attun< is called' mind·door' (manoc/v(im).
1I1CHtof the mind to the constant flux of external reality. Tho ultimate u '22. Calana, vibration, is a term full of significance for those who wish to understand
'hilosophy that was the basis of tho Ducwi,ist theory of perception. Calana seems to
12. ; e flii.J//abltaV{idiblteda-vu 1IIjHI,tti-bllavayii-g,; avicchinna-pravTttiyata 1i{I1'a~ab, t~at the cognitive process was looked upon as a sort of tuning in to the speed of
;'II),(;:U.
,OS~ations of the material world.
1), Coni pendium, p, 2C(). 3: [auana has been translated as ' apperception,' but this word does not bring out
J 4. loc. cit, . Ilical import. ]avana has also the property of volition (cetanil). ]t is, therefore,
~ free, undetermined act in the 'whole cognitive process, 'which ca n ethically modify
15· Patisa:ulhi-cu-ti--sC('I1l!hatam dl'(l.ra1:i17l1tttlin1l111 iilantban atn ca yebhicyyena bliauan
.' s character. See discussion of the term in Compendium, p. 24,5 ff,
c!taddv,imgrz!ti!ltm . . . kanima-iuun manitn iita-giu in imitta-sani matam-s-A b/tidlw11lmatl,
sn ugahu, Chap. III. ;4. The Abliidluunmatthasangnlia sumrnariscs the seventeen sta~('s thus: ,f(';':(!ici
16, Alt/wsMini, Colombo Ed Ratanasara, 1916, p. 252. !SavithicitluPP,ido dvcblianangacalan ani p ubbeua at itak ani elraciilaklclian arn it! kdz.'li
'asa cittal~kh"'Yi,rmi paripiircnti, Chap. TV,
98 S9
 GA AND THE BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY OF PERCEPTION
l':\IVERSITY OF CEYLO?\ REVIEW
disruption of unconscious life). The man is awakened by the falling
1 h,." :lgh i he dO('oj"
of t lie n: ;11(1 (/II:? ;'.'()dulm), and prcscn ta ti vc cognition thro averting, 4), He uncovers his head (sense-impression of fruit, 5).
rhc doors of the fivo external senses (jJaizCI!r.ivIIl'a). The steps in both proces' Ie
fruit (receiving, 6), inspects it (investigating, 7), determines what
occur in the same order, and all 01 them obt <tin or not according to the illiens' rtermining, 8), eats it (apperception, 9-I5), swallows the last morsels
o l the stimulus. : ing. I6, I7), re-covers his head and sleeps again (subsidence into
In reference to the theory of b!t(!1'(f1~ga as expounded in the Abhiclltam ), "
what becomes clear to 11S from the above considerations, is that it is r. is no scope, within the limits of this article, to discuss fully the
suh-conscion-noss or the unconscious ;tS understood in modern pSycllolog a psychology of dreams. Dreaming is also regarded as a cognitive
rJ.'wv(fnga is s;LiI.l lu be cut on when ti1Ot:1;M arises. It does not exist as with this exception that it occurs through the door of the mind.s=
parallel plane below tile level of t l« conscious plane, anc1,cs such, thr,ug idhamma is in general agreement with other systems of Indian philo-
cannot rise irorn it t.o the conscious levo l (;1' in any way af'iCct conscious p well as with modern psychology, in stating that it is one's experiences
ccsses, r t is somct imos st ylcd the' door of the mind,' as being the di \ idi "!lg iife that constitute, in the main, the stuff that dreams are made ofy
point between active thought-processes and a mere passive state of pure c !linda Paiiha as well as the Sammohaoinodani agree in stating that
sciousncss. ~(, i~s dreams when he is neither asleep nor awake, in an intermediate
From the modern standpoint, questions also arise as t9 whether blIC;van "JI,ichis like the ' sleep of a monkey. '32 A detailed discussion of the
could properly IX! understood as consciousness at all. For, ftllle'ion' kinds of dreams appears in tho Sammohaoinodanizs and we learn from
as it docs, only in deep sleep, it mny he merely a physiological
Further, though deep, dreamless
cO.l1diti·
sleep is t l.coret ically possible, it lWei be :
,t the Abhidhamma knew of dreams caused by purely physical causes
·_visceral _ disturbances (pittiid:na11.'1 khobhctkara1Jap~ccayayogclla
admitted by modern psychologists to be beyond verification,
the universal tendo-icy to Iorgct (L·(;~ms.Oi It is also clear that, though
the original concept there was a probable irlcnt ification of consciousness
on account

wi
E . hatuko dhal1tkkhobbhato)34,
.' ces (anubhutapubbato),
dreams caused by memories of past
dreams due to the influence of supernatural
, (devatopaSa1~!hiirato), and prophetic dreams (pubbanimittato). The
life, the later scholiasts were anxious to a void any such implications. Th of the Sammohauinodani also speaks of dreams we would now call
therefore, separated thought from !J!wva1;g(!, and also distinguished [;l;lf.van, ~ndreams (pabbatii pa!anto viya, iikiisena gacchanto viya) , and he classes
from life by ,;aying that it \\'1(5, at some st;\gc or other, cut oil But, in at tern ong those due to physical causes. Modern psychologists are in
ing to explain the problem of survival by means of the concept, they see ~agreement as regards this position.
(,. ,
to have plunged t hc mselves into all irreconcilable contradiction. As it fo ~Z.Aungss refers to an interesting development in the dream-theory
of consciousness, whether potential or otlierwisc, as contrasted with t houg ~bhidhamma when he avers that" some authorities" are of opinion
processes, we can easily understand it. At least this position is fairly cI 'I!:'na never obtains in a dream-process. The Ceylon tradition, however.
in the Abhidliamma. B/i([t'(;;~ga is constantly referred to as a species oj' cit, t'
c confirm this view, for the obtaining of [auana in a cognitive process
And we have mentioned that, though b/"~1.'ang(,! has no relationship to cxte ,.not on whether it is. a waking-process or a dream-process but on the
objects in this world, it takes for its object one of the signs that prose ,J

t hemsr.lves to the dying man in his previous existence. :,;;Sammohavinodani (P.T.S.), pp. 406-407. Saratthadi-pani, CoJ. Ed, 1933, pt. II,
,
In illustration of the process of cn!'.nition the Buddhist writers, rnai ::Cf, Freud: "Experience shows us that dreams are excited by residues from
the cornmen tari.ms have given us t.ho well-known mango-simile (a11l[;opam day."-Metapsychological
S Supplement to the Theory of Dreams. (Collected
which is set forth in full in the AtlfmstiliJl1..o8 Mrs. Rhys Davids sumrnari 'l'01. IV, p. 139). .

it thus :29 "A man is in deep sleep with covered head beneath a ma11;':;0tr, .r Milinda Panha
" ka pimiddha pareto kho maharaja su pinam passati.-Col. Ed.

(stream of unconscious life or lilzaVll;~ga). A wind stirs the branches (precediJ

l'l' yo so maharaja su pinam passati na so niddayanto passati niipi jagganto passati--
11140, Cf. also. Frcud: "It is true that dreams only show us the dreamer in
IJI/a I, and vibrating b!tavaj~ga 2. :,). This causes a mango to fall by hi ",he is not asleep: nevertheless they are bound to reveal to us characteristics of
,If at the same timc."-Ior. cit., p. 138.
r>~
'25· Mrs. Rhvs Davids+statement that" it would seem to mean what we now i;P· 407 (P.T.S. Ed.),
sub-consciousness " is misleading. See Milinda Questions; p. II4.
~:-odern psychologists would qualify this statement. According to them, the
·~6. Abhidham"ll.atthasMigalia, Chap. III. j~ ~ dream may at times be purely physical, but the dream-content would
27· S(',) Vi'. H. R. Ri\"(~r:;, Fusi inr] and the Unconscious, Chill'. XIV. 19m in the unconscious.
28. Colombo Ed. p. 25I. <'cOmpendium, p. 47.
29· Buddhist Psychology, p. 180.
101
roo
 UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW

inten~ity of the stimulus. As to whether Aung is referring to a Burrne

tradition does not seem sufficiently clear from his statement. If it w.
recognised that [aoana did not obtain in a dream-process, the developrnen'
would be an interesting one from the modern point of view. For, it mighl
indicate that the scholiasts regarded the dream-process as a species of autistil
thinking, as do many psychologists of today. Ceiana or will is a characteristi
property of [auana. And the suspension of [aoana would therefore mean tha,
there was no control of the will over the dream-process. That there Was
tendency towards such a development even in the Ceylon tradition is indicate,
by a passage in the Piiriijikii Atlhakatha, where it is stated that the power 0
volition (eetana) in a dream-process is not sufficiently strong to bring abou
rcbirt h.a"
E. R. DE S. SARATHCHA~DRA

36. Svaya1!1 dubbal auaithu kattic cetaniiy a p aiisandhi 1!l akarjJjhitum as am alth»,
See Abhidbarma-prah akava (1939), by Bhiksu Dodampaha]a Kavidhaja, Pt. I, p, 245,