PY 39.1

ǰān

The sequence of characters at the end of PY39.1a which I have read as ǰān ‘ soul, ghost’ allows a number of interpretations. Mills (1905b: 111) reads ‘xayā’, an outdated transliteration for 〈ḤYʾ〉 gyān/ǰān ‘ soul, ghost’. Referring to the SktTr. tam, a dem. pronoun, he also considers the possibility of ‘aš’. Likewise, in PY 39.1b–c and 39.3c he prefers ‘aš’. However, he must have later changed his mind, as he translates ‘xayā’ in PY 39.1a as ‘by Him’ rather than soul (Mills1905a: 70). Dhabhar (1949: 173) has, while Malandra and Ichaporia (2010: 51) read ā-š. In spite of the ambiguities involved in the interpretation of the characters and or, there is compelling evidence here in support for the reading ǰān.

Nyberg (1964: 130) suggests that Iranian manuscripts writefor 〈š〉, while the Indian MSS havewhich can also stand for 〈g/d/y〉 + 〈h/ʾ〉. Such distinction, however, is hardly observed in the manuscripts, at least not consistently. In this particular case, we find (Pt4 F2 T6), (Mf4 E7) and(K5 J2 M1) in the manuscripts. In PY 39.1b–c, Pt4 has and respectively, while F2 and T6 have in both cases Thus far we can conclude that in PY 39.1 the MSS Pt4 F2 T6 make an attempt to distinguish between the first and the subsequent occurrences of this sequence of characters. In the same manner, Mf4 seems to differentiate between the two words by writing〈ʾš〉 in PY 39.1b, as opposed to in PY 39.1a. In PY 39.1c, however, Mf4 reverts back to. Most importantly, in F2 T6 the scribes gloss with جان ‘soul, life’, indicating that they read as 〈ḤYʾ〉. By contrast, in PY 39.1b and c F2 has اوی and اورا, while T6 has او and ھاراآ.