298 Birds in Sanskrit Literature 9. परिप्लव (v. 1. पारिप्लव, agitated, confused), as just seen, denotes जलकुक्कुट and the term probably includes almost all the members of the Rallidae family, excepting the Coot which is a bird of open waters, skulking about nervously amongst the reeds and vegetation lining the banks of rivers and tanks. In the following examples, the term appears to have been used in this comprehensive sense. They are said to be within the cane and reed- beds flanking a river. fafre also figures as one of the river-side trees: “वानीरैस्तिनिशां व बकुलैः केतकैरपि ।" "पारिप्लवशतैर्जुष्टाः बहिकोचविनादिता । रमणीया नदी सौम्या मुनिसङ्घनिशेविता ॥" “उपान्तवानीरवनोपगूढान्यालक्ष्य पारिप्लवसारसानि । दूरावतीर्णा पिबतीव खेदादमूनि पम्पासलिलानि दृष्टिः ॥" रामायण, 4.27.23. रघुवंश, 13.30 It will be particularly noted that Kalidasa has very correctly described the fer birds as concealed within the reeds lining the lake. The Saras Crane too looks for prey in such beds. Talso mentions af birds with other water-birds in specifying the type of country in which royal elephants should spend the winter months.¹ 10. The Purple Moorhen, as seen above, is work. It goes under the name off in Hindi which is from Prakrit fer for नीलोत्पलम् (देशीनाममाला) the blue lotus. Sanskrit राजीव too is the blue lotus. Now both and also mean 'a kind of deer'. again, is one of the birds of diurnal habits (fr) and one of the group, i.e., those which are active both by day and night, in the afagu:- खज्जरीटकदात्यूहशुकराजीवकुक्कुटा: भारद्वाजच सारङग इति ज्ञेया दिवाचरा: ॥ श्वाविद्वृषभगोमायुवककोकिलसारसाः तुरंगकौपीननरा ( ? ) 2 गोधा हृयुभयचारिणः ॥ 213, 16-19. The list of birds in the मत्स्यपुराण (118, 52 ) includes कमल for a particular bird along with गोनदं for the सारस ( (गोचर्म is evidently a mistake for गोनर्द). Thus Hindi and Sanskrit and are names for the Purple Moorhen from its blue colour and association with lotus plants amongst which it lives and moves like a pretty little deer. 11. "The Coot is a slaty black bird resembling a typical Waterhen land but rather duck-like on water in the distance, with a white pointed bill and white horny shield covering the forehead. Gregarious by habit, it. is always found in flocks on open sheets of water including slowly moving rivers. Large numbers visit India in winter when the birds collect in 1. See हत्यायुर्वेद p. 200. 2. The corrupt reading of the last line can be amended with the help of To afger, 87.3. Rails, Crakes, Moorhens, Watercocks and Coot 299 'immense herds', and on the larger jheels of North India great patches of water are often literally black with their multitudes" (Salim All). Hume also speaks in the same strain... "Common Coots cover on the Manchar (Lake) a square mile of water which is perfectly black with them." (Stray feathers, 1.249). Their call, often heard, at night, is a clear and loud trumpet-like cry. It is one of the commonest birds and has naturally won several names for itself-some from its white bill and blaze the forehead standing out against the dark body-colour, and others from its gregarious habits. It is the सडपातचारी प्लव ("प्लवा: सडपातचारिणः”) of चरक and सहचारी सुमुख ("सुमुखाः सहचारिणः", सुमृख, from the white face against a black body) of सुश्रुत The following lexical synonymies are based on the characters just mentioned (i) (ii) "कारण्डव: काकवक्त्रो दीर्घाङघ्रिः कृष्णवर्णकः" – कल्पद्रुकोश अथ शकटाविले प्लवपरिप्लवो अन्वर्थनामधेयौ द्वौ जालपादाम्बकुक्कुटी" -वैजयन्ती (iii) "जालपात्पुरुदंशक:" -विकाण्डशेष (iv) "कारण्डवो महापक्षो" -वैजयन्ती "सहस्रपाद कारण्डे" ---हेमचन्द्र, विश्वप्रकाश "कारण्डवस्तु मरुलः" अभिधानचिन्तामणि Before proceeding to a consideration of the above it is perhaps advisable. to state that the terms प्लव, जालपाद and कारण्डव (v.1. कारण्ड) refer to more than one bird. means (1) a water-bird in general, (2) a Cormorant, which often takes a jump clean out of water before diving, (3) a Duck in general and the Pelican in particular as both swim or float like a boat and (4) the Coot which not only swims and dives but also patters along on the surface of the water with its feet like a frog (() before rising into the air. T is (1) any web-footed water-bird and particularly a Goose or Duck, and (2) the Coot which moves in a mass (ar, 'a multitude' with 4, to go). means (1) the Coot from its gregarious habit-in Pali, 'chaff, sweeping'; cf, 'barley Chaff'; 'a bee-hive'; 'a box or wicker- basket which may contain many things'पेटक- 'a multitude";" "करण्डस्पेंद as a st" and, therefore, a bird that lives in large numbers like bees in a hive and that looks in the mass like so much chaff floating on water, or again that has the shape of a wicker basket, in reference, probably, to the duck-shaped baskets of old; and (2) a Duck e.g. पीततुण्ड कारण्डव, the Mallard and others. 12. The first quotation defines the Coot or as a i.e. having are or sectarian mark, fase, on the face. The bird's facial white shield resembles such a mark. The bill of the Coot is white and far too small and thin (1.4") to be comparable with that of a Crow. Its Hindi name (fr. Telugu ca, a fares worn by the Hindus of South India, or from Sanskrit दर्शनीय corresponding to सुमुख of चरक) and टिकरी (fr. Sanskrit तिलक, Prakrit
