Ideology & Status of Sanskrit Og Kai the History of the Sanskrit Language Edited by Jan E.M. Houben me SOO aeIDEOLOGY AND STATUS OF SANSKRIT Contributions to the History of the Sanskrit Language EDITED BY JAN E.M. HOUBEN KEGry A art* Sau, S > Yrave “168% EJ. BRILL LEIDEN - NEW YORK - KOLN 1996vi CONTENTS 10. Speech of the Gurus: Instances of treatment of Sanskrit in Tantric literature (Teun Goudriaan) - 265 11. Tibetan expertise in Sanskrit Grammar: ideology, status and other extra-linguistic factors (Pieter C. Verhagen).......... 275 12. More on the Karaka-sarhgraha, a Sanskrit grammatical text from Bali (Anna Radicchi).. 13. The introduction of Indian Prosody among the Thais (BJ. Terwiel)... III. The Sanskrit Tradition: Continuity from the past or Con- struction from the present ? 14, ‘Do you speak Sanskrit?’ On a class of Sanskrit texts composed in the Late Middle Ages (Albrecht Wezler) .. . 327 15. Sanskrit and Hindu national identity in nineteenth century Bengal (Victor van Bijlert), 16. The place of Sanskrit in neo-Hindu ideologies: from religious reform to national awakening (Corstiaan van der Burg)... 1 Pal Position of Sanskrit in public education and scientific research in modern India (Saroja Bhate). 383 18. Contextualizing the Eternal Language: Features of Priestly Sanskrit (Madhav M. Deshpande). Bibliography Author Index... General Index.. Map: ‘The ‘Sanskrit Cosmopolis’ and Centres of Sanskrit learning...... 501CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE INTRODUCTION OF INDIAN PROSODY AMONG THE THAIS B.J. Terwiel J. Introduction There are two scholars who independently from one another have taken the trouble to trace the origin of Indian metre in Thai literature. They come to diametrically opposite conclusions, one decided that a Sanskrit tradition via Cambodia was responsible, the other that it came via Sri Lanka and the Pali language. While these two suggestions taken to- gether correspond neatly with the characterisation by Schweisguth (1951:13-14) of the two main external influences on Thai literature (a marked dependency on inspiration from Sanskrit literature on the one hand and the deep influence of Theravada Buddhism on the other) the two views indicate that the matter deserves consideration. 2. Prosody in Thailand through a Sanskrit tradition via Cambodia ? The first to attempt to trace the introduction of prosody in Thailand was the late Klaus Rosenberg. In his overview of Thai chan(P: chanda) epic poetry he begins by summarising the arguments that would count against his hypothesis, namely those that would appear to favour the Pali tradition. He mentions particularly the role the Vuttodaya may have played, because the standard Thai textbooks on metric poetry, from the earliest transmitted seventeenth-century Chindamani on- wards, base themselves explicitly on this work (Rosenberg 1976:16- 17). The Vuttodaya was written in the twelfth century C.E. in Sri Lanka by the Buddhist monk and grammarian Sangharakkhita and it is the standard Pali textbook on Indian metre. It constitutes an almost word-308 B.J.TERWIEL for-word translation of one of the four most important Sanskrit texts on prosody, namely Kedara Bhatta’s Vrttaratnakara. Rosenberg notes that while it is true that the author of the Chindamani cites this Pali text and while it is also established that in the fourteenth century there was a monk from Martaban who came to the Thai capital, Sukhothai and used Indian metres in a laudation to the Thai king, ' these two indications do not suffice to determine that a Sri Lankan connection via Buddhism and the Pali language was responsi- ble for the Thais obtaining their metrical tradition. Instead he opts in favour of a Cambodian link via the Sanskrit tradition. 2.1 His argumentation rests upon two considerations. Firstly he points out that, when we disregard a few verses in the Mahachat kham Juang, three of the four oldest pieces of Thai cham-poetry that can be dated to the Ayutthaya period belong to a Brahmanistic-Hinduistic ra dition and cannot be counted as Buddhist literature. The plot of the first of these poems Anirut kham chan (Ani-ruddha’s poem) is indeed directly derived from the Krsna legend which was widely known in Southeast Asia as an cpisode in the Harivarhsa. Another of these poems, entitled Suea Kho kham chan deals with the story of the Tiger and the Bull who, as result of their good deeds arc changed into two handsome princes, Phahonwichai and Khawi. The plot revolves mainly around the chivalrous and adventurous life of these two princes until they each gain a kingdom. The beginning of the Suea Kho kham chan seems to be inspired by a theme out of the Bud dhist literary tradition, namely from the Bahalagavi-litaka, but most of the following scenes are identified by Rosenberg (1976:133-134) as coming out of Indian kavya-poetry. The poem entitled Dutsadi Sangwoei kham chan is a kind of praye' which apparently was intended for recitation by court Brahmans when a new white elephant was ceremoniously received at the court, The «i covery of a white elephant, a former king’s rebirth, is widely inte) preted, not only by the court astrologers but also by the general “Thi populace, as a divine approval of the ruling monarch.” Rosenbery Both the role of the Vuttodaya and the theme of the Buddhist monk fron Martalan, will be discussed "On 13 November 1835 GK Bradley on be the brip, Ariel had been company of Thai si cers who shared his joumey to Chantabury near the sontheawerninest INDIAN PROSODY AMONG THE THAIS. 309 draws attention to the fact that the vocabulary of the Dutsadi Sangwoei kham chan is for more than ninety per cent Cambodian, mixed with some Sanskrit words. He regards this text as representing the first stage of the Thai poet’s wholesale take-over of Cambodian metric poetry The fourth Ayutthayan piece of epic poetry is called Samuthakhot kham chan. The content of this poem is a mixture of Anirut Kham chan and the first of the Pafifidsajatakas (the story of Samuddaghosa). The author of the Samuthakhét kham chan is generally believed to be the same as that of the Suea Kho kham chan. Rosenberg, however, rejects this on the ground that in the introductory paragraph of the Sa- muthakhot Kham chan the Buddha is praised, while the opening phrases of the Suea Kho kham chan Brahma and Siva are mentioned. In Rosen- berg’s view, this identifies the author of the Samuthakhot kham chan as a Buddhist and that of the Suea Kho kham chan as a Brahmanist (Rosenberg 1976:126). It would seem from this remark, that Rosenberg has not fully appre- ciated the role of the court Brahmans in Thailand. The Thai court Brahmans have functioned in the predominantly Buddhist Thai setting not long after Ayutthaya gained preeminence among the Thai cities. They may originally have come from Cambodia, but some trace their ancestry to India.’ They tend Hindu shrines and are distinguished by their way of dressing. The Thai court Brahman is someone who tradi- tionally has maintained access to works which derive from the ritual, scientific, and esotheric Brahmanic tradition so that he can apply this knowledge to calculate the most auspicious moment for conducting state ceremonies and perform them. When a Thai court Brahman invo- kes deities that clearly belong to the Hindu pantheon he does not violate the Buddhist beliefs of the general public, simply because the Buddhist port of Siam, He writes in his unpublished diary: “the singers ... I am informed are now practising with a view to sing to the White Elephant at Chantaboon. They sing many times a day, of which I have already become heartily sick. This is to be in worship probably of some, one oF more, of the departed spirits of the Siamese sovereigns which according to the superstitions of this people enter into or become white elephants.” The white elephant has inspired many European authors to write on this subject. Probably the best overview of the subject is in Quaritch Wales (1931) * Iy 1822 Craywturd interviewed one of these Brahmans, who claimed to be the fifth jo oF a immigrant trons the Istand Ramesiran (Crawfurd 1828-119),310 B.J.TERWIEL religion docs not draw a clear line between Hindu and Buddhist con- cepts of the inhabitants of the heavens. “Indeed, the Brahman in Thai- land has been recorded to recite his Hinduistic invocations in the Pali language (Gerini 197638). Therefore the difference in the invocations of the two pocms may not be interpreted as representing incompatible or contrasting points of view. Instead, the difference in invocation neatly reflects the different themes. The Samuthakhot kham chan being named after a Jataka and starting off with a theme that reminds of a Jétaka warrants opening verses praising the Buddha, while the Suea Kho kham chan has no con- nection with a Buddhist tale. The first argument by Rosenberg rests therefore upon his observa- tion that this small group of works, all of them probably written during the seventeenth century, show a prominent Brahmanic-Hinduistic and relatively little Buddhistic content and that the main themes of the sto- ries of these four texts were probably introduced to the Thais, like much other Indian material, via Cambodia. While one may regard his juxta position of the Brahmanic-Hinduistic tradition and Buddhism in the Thai cultural setting with some scepticism, Rosenberg might well be right in his opinion that stories from the Indian tradition entered Thai- land via Cambodia. That three of the four seventeenth-century poems are based on such Indian themes simply demonstrates the popularity of that genre in Thai literary circles during the seventeenth century. It ought to be kept in mind, however, that accepting the direction from which the poems’ content may have arrived in Thailand does not ad dress the matter of the metrical form of these poems. Moreover, there is conclusive evidence that the adoption of Indian metre in Thai f the seventeenth century by some two hundred years, so that the matter line ‘eded of which genres were popular during the seventeenth century ha bearing on the question. 2.3. Rosenberg's second argument for a Khmer-Sanskrit origin of rests upon his observation that all but one of what he rec nthe Samuthakhot Kham chan itsell, After the penny: verses in honor of the Buddha, the author continues with a veneration of Brabunna, Siva al Visnu. * An Camboxtia with the fall of Angkor in the fourteenth century Sansksit ceased be the official language and Pali supplanted iim various domains, See Pou 1UX9) INDIAN PROSODY AMONG THE THAIS 311 ognises as the cight metric forms used in chan poetry in Thailand dur- ing the Ayutthayan period (in their Sanskrit names sloka, vasantatilaka, indravajra, milini, sardiilavikridita, sragdhara and arya) can be demon- strated to have been used at an early stage in Cambodia. The one metre used in Thailand but not in Cambodia can be identified as the 12-sylla- ble totaka. In order to compare the Cambodian and Thai traditions adequately a singling out of only those metres which the two traditions have in common seems insufficient. An overview of the use of Indian metrics in Cambodian inscripts is given in Table 1, which is based upon the work of Mahesh Kumar Sharan, who has listed 148 inscriptions written in Cambodia between the fifth and the beginning of the thirteenth cen- turies C.E. and who has been able to identify almost every line of San- skrit poetry in them (Sharan 1974). He has found no less than 21 differ- ent metres. Sharan draws attention to two characteristics of the Cambodian in- criptions. First the authors demonstrate a full mastery of Sanskrit with its complex rhetorical and literary conventions. In addition it is re- markable that Khmer and Sanskrit are frequently used together in the same inscriptions, whereby Sanskrit is used for sacred subjects, such as panegyrics, royal genealogies and dates, whilst Khmer is reserved for the more mundane topics, such as listing measures of land and names of donated slaves. A similar mixture of Sanskrit and vernacular language has been noted for South Indian epigraphy. The first remark may be taken as a measure of the remarkable cosmopolitan role that the $ skrit language played in large tracts of Southeast Asia whereby the in the towns of Champa, Cambodia and various islands of the Indone- sian archipelago shared this vernacular.” The second indicates not only the high status but also the religious function of that medium. Editor's note: ef, Pollock's contribution i312 B.J.TERWIEL Table 1 Indian metres used in the Sanskrit verses in Ancient Cambo- dian Inscriptions in order of popularity Metre: Number of Inscr Number of lines ‘Sloka aI 2093 vasantatilaka 46 249 upajati 38 403 indravajra a 81 upendravajra 4 6 Mixture of upajati, indra- vajra and upendravajra 2 225 Sardilavikriit 31 12 sragdhara a a arya 20 46 malin? 18 36 anustubh 7 275 varissastha 8 4 mandakranta 5 7 prthyi 3 3 aupacchandasika 2 6 vaitaliya 2 3 trigtubh 2 3 vita 1 4 rathoddhata 1 1 puspitagra 1 1 svagata 1 1 samvgtta 1 1 Unidentified 12 68. From Table 1 it is clear that there are eleven regularly used metres in old Cambodian inscriptions, namely the sloka, the complex of three related eleven-syllable metres upajati. indravajra and upendravajra. the anustubh, the vasantatilaka, the sragdhara, the malini and the varisastha. diilavikridita, the arya, the Rosenberg’s finding that the Thais have seven metres in common with the Khmer tradition can thus be rephrased: almost all of the eipht metres in older Thai epic poetry can be found among the 21 Indian me tres on record for Ancient Cambodia. Unexplained remains why the Thais have not aken over the upajiti, anustubh or vanisastha, which wei ¢ all popular in Cambodia, Also unexplained remains the fact that INDIAN PROSODY AMONG THE THAIS 313 one of the favourite Thai metric forms, the totaka, does not occur in the Khmer tradition at all.° The parallels that Rosenberg notes between the metres used in Thai- land and in Cambodia are thus not as striking as he apparently found them to be. They are quite adequately explained by the circumstance that both indigenized metric traditions can eventually be traced to one of the classical textbooks on Indian metrics. Most of the metres used by the Thais can also be found, for example in old-Javanese kakawins and these parallels are unlikely to have been caused by direct contact be- tween the Thais and the Javanese (Teeuw 1990:188).” One important finding in Rosenberg’s work is that Indian metres in early Cambodian inscriptions were not only used when they were writing in the Sanskrit language, but as early as the tenth century C.E. such metre can be found in an inscription which, although it contains a number of Sanskrit loan words, must be classified as having been writ- ten in the Cambodian language, so that he has established a date for the indigenization of Indian metre in Khmer.® On the whole, however, the evidence which has persuaded Rosen- berg to conclude that the introduction of Indian prosody in Thai culture must be traced to Cambodian literary practices does not withstand scrutiny. He is probably right when he traces the likely inspiration of some poetic forms of Thai literature, such as the verses known by the Thais as kap, to the Cambodian tradition. The intensive interaction between the Ayutthayan and Cambodian court is beyond doubt and it has left many traces. In this interaction, the Cambodian civilization, which has been recognized as an Indianized centre since approximately the first century C.E., has functioned as the donor and inspiror. It would be wrong, however, to depict Thai poetic practices as wholly coming from the Khmer. Some features, such as reduplication and elaborate © For details on the toraka, see Table 2 7 Not only the Javanese, but also the Balinese poets use such metres. See Rubinstein (1988:302-303), There exists a list of 105 Balinese Kekawin metres which are all eventually I Sanskrit texts on prosody. The similatities between the derived from one of the ‘Thai Chindamani and the Balinese Swarawyaijana Tutur are also evidence of the strength of the Sanskrit prosodic tradition which underlies both * Rosenberys (1976 19), te » Inscription No.173 of the Coedes Inventory.314 BJ.TERWIEL expressions * have been reported for a great variety of Southeast Asian languages and without supporting evidence it seems not warranted to assume a unilinear flow between Khmer and Thai practices. ” Diadic word play, the use of inner rhyme, a regular distribution of words with particular tones, alliterative practices and other poetic devices are part and parcel of chanted Tai language forms.' Some of these practices are a recognisable stratum in the Thai interpretation of the chanda. INDIAN PROSODY AMONG THE THAIS 315 Vuttodaya. These citations cover not only the definition of ‘heavy’ (Pali: garu) and ‘light’ (Pali Jahu) syllables, but also those passages des- cribing the six standard metres in older Thai epic poetry, in their Pali names: indavajira, totaka, vasantatilaka, malini, saddilavikkilita and saddhara. See Table 2. Table 2: The parts of the Chindimani that are based upon the Vuttodaya Explanation of Lagu and Garu and the Ganas(— — — = Magana, - - - = Nagana, — - - 3. Prosody introduced through the Pali tradition = Bhagana, - — — in Thai (rao kin taengmo. ‘agana etc.) corresponding with Ch. 1, Vuttodaya. The mnemonic device is apparently inspired by the Sanskrit example on p. 3 of the Vuttodaya The second scholar who has given extensive thought to the history of Thai chan poetry is Thomas Hudak, who apparently is unaware of Rosenberg’s earlier research on this topic. In contrast to Rosenberg, Hudak is firmly of the opinion that the Thais obtained their metrics via their exposure to the Pali tradition (Hudak 1985:107; 1990). He bases this opinion upon three arguments. In the first place the better Thai ver- sification textbooks and literary anthologies reveal that the source was the Vuttodaya. Secondly, he notes that the oldest chan poetry that has survived is firmly part of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. The third argument rests upon an overview of the major role the Pali language has played in Thai history (Hudak 1990:45). While these arguments partly contradict the evidence collected by Rosenberg each of them deserves closer examination. 3.1 The role of the Vuttodaya. All Thai literary anthologies and versification textbooks mentioned by Hudak go back to one and the same source, namely the seventeenth- century Chindimani. "In this text there are direct citations from the Some examples of elaborate expressions in Thai are: ap nam ap tha (“to bathe’), pu yet ta yai (‘grandparents’), mo lok mo laek (‘muddy’). "A short bibliography of Southeast Asian reduy (1979:259-260) ean be found in Theraphan ». for example, Compton (1979) and F 19a) "A critical study of the text was found in Ch, 1962) This is followed by six metrical forms 1. Intharawichien, chan 11 (a chanda with I syllables) (Vuttodaya, ch 3, 18: indavajiri, 2 Taganas, 1 Jagana, 2 Gurus: — — - / — — —-!—/—) 2. Todok, chan 12 (a chanda with 12 syllables) (Vuttodaya, ch 3, 31° totaka, 4 Saganas: - - — 3. Wasantadilok, chan 14 (a chanda with 14 syllables) (Vuwtodaya, ch 3, 47: vasantatilaka, | Tagana, | Bhagana, 2 Jaganas, 2 Gurus: - - — / eS oe ee oe 4. Milini chan 15 (a chanda with 15 syllables) (Vuttodaya, ch 3, 50: malini, 2 Naganas, 1 Magana, 2 Yaganas, with a pause after the eighth syllable: - - - / - - - / ~— ,—/-——/-——) 5. Satthunlawikilit, chan 19 (a chanda with 19 syllables) (Vuttodaya, ch 3, 58: saddOlavikkilita, 1 Magana, 1 Sagana, | Jagana, 1 Sagana, 2 Ta- ganas, and a Guru, with a pause after the twelfth syllable: — — — / -f--—/,——-/!——-I—) 6, Satthard, chan 21 (a chanda with 21 syllables) (Vuttodaya, ch 3, 60; saddhara, | Magana, | Ragana, 1 Bhagana, | Nagana, 3 Yaganas, with pauses after every seventh syllable: — — — v--/---T -—,—/-——/-—~—) It ought to be noted that the Vuttodaya was already known and the six metres chosen by Phra Horathibodi were in use long before he com- posed the Chir some time during the reign of King Narai316 BJ.TERWIEL (1657-88). "This is clear both from the few pices of early literature that have survived, but also from the extracts of older poetry given in the Chindamani itself. 3.2 The oldest Thai chan text Rosenberg has classified four texts that have survived from the seven- teenth century and which were wholly written in metrical form as con- stituting the oldest layer of chan poetry. He glosses over the much older Mahachat kham luang because it ‘merely’ contains a few verses. Hu- dak, citing as his authority the noted Thai literary historian Plueang na Nakhon, judges the few metrical verses of the Mahachat kham luang to be the first recorded appearance of chan poetry (Hudak 1990:16). “If we define chan poetry as the Indian metrical tradition as applied to the Thai language, the instances in the Mahachat kham luang form indeed an important piece of evidence. While the Mahichat kham luang was not transmitted in its original form, the parts which were transmited in metre (found in the Mahavana-kanda and the Maddi-kanda) are gener- ally regarded to belong to the oldest layer, which is attributed to the later part of the reign of King Trailokanat (1448-88) The metres used in the Mahachat kham Iuang are the wasantadilok (Pali: vasantatilaka) and the milini, two of the six metres which were later selected out of the Vuttodaya by the author of the Chindamani. Also relevant in the debate of a Pali or Sanskrit origin of the Thai chan tradition is the fact that the Mahachat Kham Iuang is based upon a translation of the Vessantara Jataka which describes the one-before- last birth of the Buddha, a topic in Thailand invariably connected with the Pali tradition. ° ‘There is a possibility that the text was written not long before Phra Narai's reign. This could explain a mildly puzzling sentence at the end of the first section of th, in which the author says: “Phra Horathibod? who originally lived in Sukhothai wrote this at the time when King Narai was Lord of Lopburi.” This could be taken to allude to a time be fore Narai’s reign, but usually Thai historians think it refers to Narais habit to reside for lengthy periods at the town of Lopburi Some thoughts on the symbolic value of the first composition of the Muhwichar Klan nang in 1482 can be found in Charnvit (1976 140) INDIAN PROSODY AMONG THE THAIS 317 When we include texts in the Pali language, the use of Indian metre in the Mahachat kham luang is not the oldest on record in the Thai re- gion. This honour goes, as Rosenberg acknowledged, to a Buddhist monk who lived in the mid-14th century. While Rosenberg mentions that this monk came from Martaban, it should also be noted that this monk either originated and was educated in Sri Lanka or at least had close links with the Sri Lankan Pali tradition. He is known to us only by his title of Mahasimi Sarhgharaja. Upon invitation by the king of Su- Khothai he successfully established a branch of his nikaya. “ His pupils Anomadassi and Sumana who had studied among the Sihalabhikkhus in Martaban, Lower Burma, had a major influence upon the history of Thai Buddhism." It was this Mahasami Samgharaja who in 1361 composed an in- scription in Pali, culogising the king of Sukhothai, in which he makes use of the vatta, indavajira and upajati metres. Of these three, only the indavajira is one of the metres used in classical Thai epic poetry and taught in the Chindimant. The upajati is a mixed form of indavajira and upindavajira. The upajatiand vata metres are mentioned in the Vutto- daya, but not in the Chindamant. 3.3 The strength of the Pali tradition in the Thai region Sti Lankan influence upon the Buddhist textual tradition continued after the episode of the Mahasimi Sarhghardja particularly in the Lanna Kingdom of northern Thailand during the fifteenth century, Thus it has been recorded that in 1424 a considerable number of Lanna and Khmer Buddhist. monks went to Sri Lanka, lived in Mahasimi Vanaratana’s monastery and were rcordained on a river. A third strain of differently ordained monks was thus introduced, competing. s sfully with the two other nikayas of Theravada Buddhism that w already estab- have been identical with the famous monk Anumati, also know as Udum bara Mahathera, or Mab Pease! (97EH9 121) See Griswold and " [he sole af Summana is described, for example in the Finakakamani while Anomadasst avsivted Prince Hidaya in the writing of the ‘Trphumikatha318 B.J.TERWIEL lished in the North.” These intimate contacts with Sti Lanka must have contributed to the remarkable growth and flourishing of Pali studies in Mainland Southeast Asia, particularly in Northern Thailand. A sign of the power of this movement was the calling of a general meeting to revise the Tipitaka in the year 1477, which is regarded by the Thais as the Eighth Buddhist Council. In addition a large number of lit- erary works in the Pali language were created, including works that are generally regarded of great historical and literary merit. Among the better known compositions are indigenous histories such as the Chamadevivarhsa and the Sihinganidina (maybe early 15th century) by Bodhirangsi, a Pali grammar: Sadatthabhedacintapadakkamayoja by Dhammasenapati, the Jinakalamani (a history of Buddhism) written by Rattanapafifia in 1516, Mangaladipani in 1524, a commentary on the Mangala Sutta (Suttanipata 11, 4) by Sirimangala and many other works (Coedés 1915; Likhit 1980 and Hudak 1990: 47-48). These are the considerations that lead to the suggestion that Hudak is probably right in suggesting that it was likely that the Pali language (by way of the Vuttodaya or one of its commentaries) was the vehicle with which the Thais learned about Indian prosody. This implies that this knowledge of Indian metre was thus twice adopted in mainland South- east Asia, once during the first millennium via the Sanskrit language in Cambodia and a second time, in the fourteenth century to Thailand via the Pali language, carried by Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka. The oldest Sanskrit document in the Cambodian region, but often attributed to the Funan period, is the famous V6-canh inscription in- scription from the second half of the third century C.E. The oldest in scription from Cambodia proper dates from the fifth century and four out of the five verses therein are in the sardilavikridita metre. There is ample evidence that the region intensively took part in cultural devel opments that originated from various parts of the Indian subcontinent and that this included the literary tradition, complete with its poetic ” ‘Theravada Buddhism was firmly established in the region during the Mon period prior to the Thai nikya with its own ordination tradition, was established by the wasion of the on. In the year 1369 the Sthalabhikkhus, a sep: era (whe had been invited by King 1361, mentioned above. Is. northe headquarters weren established just outside the Chis called Wat Suandok (Saeng 1980/8799) city wally in the 1 INDIAN PROSODY AMONG THE THAIS 319 traditions (Sharan 1974:47). For example, in an inscription dated at the end of the sixth century during the reign of Bhavavarman II mention is made of a complete copy of the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and at least one of the Puranas (Briggs 1951:43). We may safely assume that San- skrit epic poetry was well established at that time, which according to the scheme of state formation proposed by Hermann Kulke (1986) would fall in the second, or regional phase of state formation. While in this paper the likelihood of an independent and separate in- troduction of Indian metre in Cambodia and Thailand is argued, it is relevant to note that the adoption of Indian metre also occurred in China. Between 488 and 550 C.E. Shen Yiieh and his followers, under influence of Sanskrit metrical traditions, invented a highly original and effective form of tonal prosody. The authors of a recent study on this subject see various parallels between what happened in China during the fifth and sixth centuries and in Thailand many centuries later, such as the adoption of an equivalent of ‘light’ and ‘heavy’ syllables (Mair and Mei 1991). One remarkable parallel between the introduction of Indian metrics in China and that which seems to have occurred eight hundred years later in Thailand not noted in that article is that the totaka was a popular metre both in China and in Thailand, while in Cambodia it apparently was not used. The fact that both in early China and much later in Thailand the Indian metrical system was introduced by Bud- dhist monks may have played a role, for the tofaka consists of a group of four anapests which lends itself particularly well to the recitation of sutras. ™ T thank Prof Dr. M. Friedrich of the Department of Chinese, Hamburg Universi pointing out this introduction of Sanskrit prosody into China and making available this arti- cle.320 B.J.TERWIEL 4. Prosody in a social setting The export of Indian metrics to various Asian cultures therefore seems to have taken place at least on three different occasions, once to China, ‘once to Cambodia and most recently to Thailand.” In each case prosody was first practised in Sanskrit or Pali before it was transferred to the lo- cal language. Indian prosody was transferred to the Chinese language during the fifth and sixth century. As we have seen above, the carliest recorded use of Indian metrics in the indigenous Khmer language dates from the middle of the tenth century. Finally, the oldest recorded adap- tation of Indian metres to the Thai language dates from the late fif- teenth century. In every case the Indic prosodic formulae must have posed a major challenge to the local poet, but at the same time it seems also to have been a source of inspiration. New rules had to be invented in order to force differing types of languages to fit a serics of metrical corsets that had been devised for Sanskrit. A crucial aspect of the adoption of Indian prosody in Thai literature was the reinterpretation of what constitutes a /ahu and a garu syllable, leaving future poets with the need to adopt a multitude of foreign loan words. This explains the rather artificial and sometimes abstruse char- acter of Thai epic poetry. ‘The learning of prosody in a Thai historical context has been assessed by Rosenberg as being a typically royal accomplishment, one that was practised by the Thai king and his intimate circle only. He sees it as part of palace education, of the skills to be acquired by princes and prin cesses (1976:22-23). Rosenberg has been led to this opinion because the works that are written with the help of these prosodic rules that have survived the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767 were written by the king and by a few very high-ranking individuals who apparently belonged to the intimate royal circle. This would imply that the Chindimani, which is intended to teach the various forms of writing poetry includ ing these prosodic forms, should be regarded as a (ext only used in the court. ° The history of th introduction of Indian metrics in Java is Hot wholly eleat, 11s pos sible that Java received its texts directly from India but b may haye played a role INDIAN PROSODY AMONG THE THAIS 321 It is possible, however, to see the role of the metric forms of the po- etic tradition in Thai history in a somewhat broader sense. While it is true that the few surviving pieces of classical Thai poetry are ascribed to royalty or to those close to the king, this does not necessarily mean that only that limited élite group had access to this tradition and prac- tised it. There can be no doubt that the Chindamani is basically intended to teach poetics, only this overriding purpose would explain the opening section which provides a long list of words of Pali origin, words with- out which the rules of prosody cannot be followed. If Rosenberg were right, the Chindamani would be a book intended for princes and prin- cesses. However, Phra Horathibodi himself reveals in various places in the Chindamani that he wrote it as a textbook for the educated person, for poets (“If you learn this list you can become a nakprat (a wise edu- cated person),” but most frequently he identifies his reading public as the future scribe (“If you internalise these rules you can become a good scribe (samian).”) ” If we accept that the Chinddmani is intended among others to teach poetics to future clerks, we must considerably broaden the category of those who learnt prosody beyond the king and his entourage. It would appear that at least during a large part of the Ayutthaya period the learning of poetics was considered an intrinsic part of the make-up of all administrators and that the Chindamani must be seen as the textbook for those who had ambitions to join those ranks. According to Kenneth Hall (1976:12-13), state administrators dur- ing the classical period of Southeast Asian statecraft are characterised by their ability to participate in various state ceremonies, by their being schooled in ritual and by their capability to be appointed in a great vari- ety of positions, unlike modern administrators who are schooled for a particular task. The learning of an elaborate form of speech, replete with words that in the case of the Thais often were of Pali or Sanskrit origin can be seen as belonging to that ritual referred to by Kenneth Hall, part of the bag- gage of Southeast Asian administrators at the time. Only those who were familiar with the claborate expressions were deemed fit to handle " Wyatt (1969°22) says. "The book abounds in such statements as “Once you know this, come a clerk and enpoy an easy tie322 B.J.TERWIEL and transmit the royal wish, not just the chief executives but also their scribes. This elaborate form of speech developed as a device to set apart and ritualise the business of government. The ritual role of Southeast Asian courtiers can hardly be overstated. It would be an interesting exercise to attempt to correlate the introduc- tion of prosody in Thailand with a major change in the administration generally attributed to the fifteenth-century King Trailokanat. It was in his rule that the old relatively simple hierarchical system was trans- planted with a much more elaborate administration along Cambodian lines. This seems to have heralded also a change in the concept of the king itself, as head of this much more intricate court. More so than be- fore, the Thai king became set apart from ordinary beings and equipped with godly attributes. Under strong influence from Cambodia, Thai royalty also developed a royal etiquette that is reminiscent of the de- varaja cult, but in doing so it did so selectively, not taking over various Hindu features of this cult. The acceptance of prosodic rules appears to fit in well with a highly formalised social system where the use of foreign words and intricate forms of speech is a marker to distinguish a well-educated person. In such a system the mastery of poetry developed to become the tool with which a promising student could draw attention to his gifts. The train- ing in the rules of verbal etiquette is essential in a society where the ability to speak cuphoniously has “always been” a highly valued social skill (Hudak 1986:195). The growth of an elaborate form of language, relying on a multitude of foreign loan words fits well in such a hierar- chical system. The use of such a difficult verbal and written code may be regarded as a part of a ritualisation process: that which emanates from the highest ruler via his court ought to be exceptionally well- phrased and elegant. The use of a multitude of abstruse expressions which can only be understood by a privileged class would not diminish its effectiveness. On the contrary, in a hierarchical society the transmis- sion of a thought in acomplex phraseology can add substantially to its effectiveness and persuasive force. The knowledge of poetic language was thus part of being a scribe, a courtier or a member of the royal family. Only those who mastered the difficult art of Thai poetry and who could demonstrate that they had internalised the most elegant form of expression were worthy to carry INDIAN PROSODY AMONG THE THAIS 323 and transmit the royal command. Eventually a full command of this form of speech was regarded as a necessity for those who wish to act on the king’s behest. 5. Conclusions In this article two different views on the origin of Indian metrics in Thailand have been scrutinised and it has been shown that this poetic tradition most probably has the twelfth-century Vuttodaya as its source of inspiration. The Pali language, rather than Sanskrit was the medium in which this tradition was introduced. During the fourteenth century prosody was found in a Pali inscription and as early as the fifteenth century in a Thai text based upon the Vessantara Jataka. This introduction is the latest of a series of introductions of Indian metrics and their subsequent adoption to a local, non-Indian language. During the first millennium the Chinese and Cambodians but also the Javanese (and at some undetermined time later the Balinese) all adapted Indian prosody to compose new forms of literature each of these directly or indirectly inspired by Sanskrit textbooks on prosody The development of an elaborate hierarchical system, together with a ritualisation of the bureaucracy have been singled out as being of par- ticular relevance for the Thai adoption of prosodic rules. While this as- pect apparently did not play a role in the case of the Chinese adaptation of Indian prosody, it may well have played a role in the other Southeast Asian regions.