Abstract
Present stem of sparś/spr̥ś is originally conjugated in the active voice as RV I 36,3d spr̥śanti, TS VI 3,4,8 aspr̥śat etc. However, middle forms occur sporadically in later literature, e.g. PraśUp IV 2 spr̥śate. KN VII: 177,15m reads agrāṃ bodhiṃ spr̥śemahi and KN’s footnote says “spr̥śeṣata A.W. spr̥semahi B. K. spr̥hemahi Cb. spr̥śematha O., probably more original”. Which is the correct reading?
There are two instances of 3 sg. opt. spr̥śe or spr̥śet in the metrical portion of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra. Probably Kashg 170b5 spr̥śematha is the original reading as KN’s footnote suggests. Nepalese spr̥śemahi is the result of its Sanskritization. This paper concludes that the present stem was originally conjugated in the active voice throughout the literature.
This paper is an attempt to reveal the author’s methodology for analyzing the language of the Lotus Sutra.
