p.654 Dr. Coomaraswamy, writing "on the Webbed-Fingers of Buddha'' (in I.H.Q., June, 1931 pp. 365-66), refers to an article on 'Le jalalaksana, in Acta Orientalia (vol. VII, 232ff.) in which the writer, Dr. Stutterheim seeks to prove that the "jalalaksana" means 'the thin lines of rosy light which may be seen between the fingers when they are in contact, and the hand is held up against the light.' For this interpretation Stutterheim relies on the well-known verse of the Abhijnxna-sakuntala
vibhati' and
'Samudra', and the simile of the fingers with the
petals of a half opened lotus. Dr. Coomaraswamy
disagreeing with my view and that of Mons. Foucher
about the original significance of 'jalalaksana'
preferred the interpretation of Stutterheim. I am
afraid I cannot accept the interpretation.
In explaining the word 'Jalagrathitanguli', the
force of the word grathita should not be overlooked
and the whole expression should be interpreted in
relation to the poetical comparison of the boy's
fingers with the petals of a partially opened
lotus-flower in the early dawn. Drs. Bohtlink and
Roth correctly take note of these points in their
respective translations of this verse and refer to
the fingers"as joined. When the poet purposely makes
this comparison, we are to understand that he has in
his mind the idea about the jointure of the fingers,
especially at their lower ends. The expression
'iddharaga' refers to another of the
'Cakravarti-laksanas. Raghavabhatta,' while comment-
ing on this verse of 'Kalidasa', quotes this from the
'Purusalaksana' in the 'Samudra':--
In this verse, as many as four auspicious signs,
viz., raktakara, 'gvathitangulikara', mrdukara and
'capankusankitakara', are mentioned; king Dusyanta sees
only two of these--and these, the first and the
second are the only two that are visible from a
distance--and 'Kalidasa' naturally refers to these very
same in a manner particularly befitting one of the
foremost poets of India.
Again, the early Buddhist texts refer to this
sign as 'Jalahatthapado' ('Mahapadana-' and
'Lakkanasuttantas'), 'jalangulihastapado' (Lalita-
p.655
vistara), and as 'jala' ('Mahavastu'--this work
does not give us the full names of all these 32
'laksanas' and simply refer to them in a curt
manner); the Makabharata also describes this laksana
as 'Jalapadabhujau (xii, 143,36; this term most
likely connotes the same thing as 'Jalahastapada')
while enumerating the characteristic signs of Nara
and 'Narayana', the two gods and 'Mahapurusas' at the
same time. The 'Jalalaksana' of the toes can
certainly not be explained in a manner in which
Stutterheim interprets the same in the case of the
fingers. 'Tke feet held up against the light' and
thin lines of rosy light infiltrating through the
interstices of the toes in contact with one another',
would indeed be a curious explanation of the term
'jalangulipada' or 'jalapada'! I need hardly point
out that it would be quite unjustifiable to explain
the 'laksana' in different ways--once in its relation
to the fingers and secondly in connection with the
toes.
It appears that in 'Kalidasa's' time, the
adventitious sense of this sign as 'webbing of the
fingeres' (to the poet this was partial) has already
been introduced. So Imodify my previous statement
that the misinterpretation of the term did not take
place till a period much later than the 5th century
A.D. Buddhaghosa and 'Dharmapala' refer to the
original interpretation of the term in the sense of
regular parallel lines on the fingers and toes of the
palms and soles, whereas the poet refers to the other
meaning (the poet is naturally silent about the toes,
for king 'Dusyanta' sees the extended hand of
Sarvadamana and does not look at his feet). That the
sense of 'webbing' had made its appearance as early
as the closing years of the 4th century A.D. is
proved by the 'Madhyamagama' text (Taisho ed.; vol.
I, P. 393) translated into Chinese by the Kashmerian
Gautama 'Sanghadeva' in 397-8 A.D.; here, this sign
was rendered into Chinese in the following
manner--'the feet and the hands of the 'Mahapurusa'
are netted like those of the 'hamsaraja'--the golden
mallard.' (I am indebted to Dr. P. C. Bagchi of the
Calcutta University. for this reference).
Dr. Coomarawamy is definitely of opinion that
Ruddhaghosa in his explanatory note on this 'Laksana'
means the same thing as was according to Stutterheim
meant by the poet 'Kalidasa', But, in the comment of
Buddhaghosa, which was quoted by me in full in my
first article, there is nothing that could justify us
in drawing the above conclusion. The commentator
begins with the statement that this 'laksana' does
not mean that the fingers were joined by a
p.656
web, and that this kind of webbing between the
fingers will define a peculiar kind of inauspicious
hand, in shape like that of the hood of a snake
('phanahatthako'), which will be a fault in the
figure of the man (purisadosa). Then he refers to the
four (not five, evidently leaving out the thumb which
being in a much lower plane than the other four
fingers cannot have its lines touching those of the
others) fingers of the hand and five toes of the feet
which are of uniform or regular size ('ekappamana'),
their uniformity or regularity being indicated by the
auspicious sign of the 'jalas' which remain touching
each other ('annamannam pativijjhitva titthanti').
Lastly, he uses the simile of the lattice of a
window. All this, if it means anything, can only mean
'the fingers and toes are marked with 'jalas' or
uniform and parallel lines as are to be found in the
lattice of a window'.
Dr. Coomaraswamy's other objection against this
interpretation of the 'laksana' 'that the palms and
soles of the Buddha, as Mahapurusa, being marked
with a cakka and so represented in very many
sculptures of an early date, there can be no
reference to another 'lakksana' in the same places'
can be met by saying that the palms of the hand and
especially the soles of the feet are marked by more
than one auspicious characteristic; that those of
many of the Buddha images (specially of the 'Mathura'
ones belonging to the Saka-'Kusana' period, and the
mediaval ones) bear not only the cakka, but also
nandipada trisula, svastika' (and some mediaval ones,
'dhvaja', yugmamina, padma and such others in
addition; cf. the inscribed Buddha image set up by
Dattagalla, now in the Indian Museum) on them; that
these symbols are carved on the palms (rarely) and
soles and not on the fingers and toes; that the
reference in the case of this 'laksana' is to the
lines on the fingers and toes (in some texts, cf.
Lalitavistara); that these could not be shown there
by the artist 'in plastic or pictorial
representations without marring their beauty'; that a
good many of the 32 major signs as well as most of
the 80 minor ones could not be plastically or
pictorially represented in Buddha figures.