སུམ་བིད། sum bid
Headword |
སུམ་བིད། sum bid |
Translation |
(bilingual text or title) aligned in three scripts (i.e., Rañjanā, Vartulā, and Tibetan) |
Description |
Also called “three feet” (sum rkang). It is a biligual (i.e., Sanskrit-Tibetan) title or text (e.g., of a scripture) aligned in three scripts, namley, Rañjanā (Tib. Lanytsa), Kuṭilā/Vartulā (Tib. Wartu), and Tibetan. The word sum bid is said to be a derivation/corruption from the Sanskrit. While the component sum (as a former member of a compound) is clear, it is not clear from which Sanskrit word is bid derived. I could not trace any explanation thus far. Probably, it has been derived from vṛtta, which, however, seems to have several meanings. Of these, the Tibetan translation of vṛtta in the sense of padya, namely, tshigs su sbyar ba and sbyar ba (Mahāvyutpatti, no. 1463) seems to suit our context well. Thus, sum bid in Tibetan should mean something like sum sbyar. Analogous to skad gnyis/gsum shan sbyar, which is a text alligned in two/three languages, sum bid must neccesarily refer to a bilingual title or text alligned in three different script types (i.e., Rañjanā Vartulā, and (mainly dBu-can) Tibetan scripts). That bid has been derived from vṛtta is also supported by the fact that it is also called “three feet” (sum rkang) in Tibetan and that vṛtta here is also synonymous with padya “relating or belonging to a foot” (MW). For a discussion of sum bid within the context of “Sanskrit Titles of Tibetan Workj,” see Almogi 2005: 51–54. There, the author also speculates that sum bid may have been derived from saṃvāta. She also discusses dGe-’dun-chos-’phel’s stance on the practice of sum bid or sum rkang. |
Sources for Term |