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Help[Facts] Origin of Saundarananda
Saundarananda is the title of a book by Asvaghosha a buddhist poet which is translated by Linda Covill under the name of Handsome Nanda published by Clay Sanskrit Library. It sounded to me and I am almost sure that the word "Saundar" is taken as "Sundar" which means beautiful or handsome ( for man) and so the title Handsome Nanda is given to the book while the appropriate title should be Sundari and Nanda. Sundari was Nanda's wife. Many Indian names are actually couple names, i.e., they comprise of Wife (beloved) and husband (lover) name respectively like Radhamohan (Radha-Mohan), Sitaram (Sita-Ram), Umashankar (Uma-Shankar), Gaurishankar (Gauri-Shankar) etc. It is still surprising for me that an institution which claims to be a "Sanskrit library" can commit such a blunder.
I wondered why the Frisbee was getting bigger, and then it hit me.
I wondered why the Frisbee was getting bigger, and then it hit me.
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Saundarananda is not the name of a person, it is the name of a text dealing with sundarAnanda: The -a suffix to form a noun meaning `related to', `descendent of', etc. often removes a final vowel and does `vRddhi' (back dipthong) on the first vowel.
Now sundarAnanda is definitely composed of two elements in a `samAsa' (compound word), and these are sundara and Ananda. sundara (unknown etymology; probably from su- of uncertain orgin meaning good and nR man, with the -d- unexplained) means beautiful and Ananda (from A- from, towards etc., but often completely and nand, to please) means happiness; and the two are obviously joined in a `dvandva samAsa' (coordinate elements), but whether it is `karmadharaya' (attribute-noun) version of that is the question. Since in such conjuntive situations, a modification clearly perceived as due to a suffixial feminine gender marker is removed, the first element could equally well be sundarI (feminine for sundara).
Both meanings are thus possible: Ananda was also called sundara, and the subject matter of the composition is sundara's conversion to buddhism over his attachment to his wife sundarI holding him back, and so, I would not consider either of these two translations wrong. In fact, even in Sanskrit, different scholars have glossed the name of this early work differently.
Now sundarAnanda is definitely composed of two elements in a `samAsa' (compound word), and these are sundara and Ananda. sundara (unknown etymology; probably from su- of uncertain orgin meaning good and nR man, with the -d- unexplained) means beautiful and Ananda (from A- from, towards etc., but often completely and nand, to please) means happiness; and the two are obviously joined in a `dvandva samAsa' (coordinate elements), but whether it is `karmadharaya' (attribute-noun) version of that is the question. Since in such conjuntive situations, a modification clearly perceived as due to a suffixial feminine gender marker is removed, the first element could equally well be sundarI (feminine for sundara).
Both meanings are thus possible: Ananda was also called sundara, and the subject matter of the composition is sundara's conversion to buddhism over his attachment to his wife sundarI holding him back, and so, I would not consider either of these two translations wrong. In fact, even in Sanskrit, different scholars have glossed the name of this early work differently.
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Thanks for the explanation. The mentioned name is definitely not of a person but it deals with name(s) and since the time I had come across the title "Handsome Nanda", I am getting the feeling it is an incorrect translation, as your own explanation suggests it is "Ananda" rather than "Nanda." Sounds like I was confused by the titles like Malvikaagnimitra (Malvika and Agnimitra) and again Sundari being Nanda's wife added to my confusion.
This message was edited 7/10/2009, 8:09 PM
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