Skt. dāyāda- ‘Eating Away at the Inherited/Entrusted’: The Transformation of Inherited Indo-European Phraseology in the Buddhist Legend of Ajātaśatru
By Olav Hackstein
10 pagesThe same Indo-European metaphor for abusing paternal property is traceable in the Middle Iranian and Indic tradition, ranging from Vedic to (Buddhist) Sanskrit dāyāda-.
This article focuses on the philology of the Sanskrit term dāyāda and its relation to the Buddhist story of Ajātaśatru. Dāyāda is a Sanskrit and Pāli term usually translated as ‘heir’. For example, “kamma-dāyādo” is to be the heir of one’s actions.
This article argues there is a second interpretation of the term as eating (√ad) what is given (dāya), i.e., one eats the fruits of one’s karma. The study here focuses on how Indo-European metaphors inform this translation and understanding of the term, using various related languages, especially West Tocharian.