How to translate "pallaṅka"

Translations
1

Dear Venerables and friends, I have been struggling with the following problem for quite a while now. Could anyone help me out?
In the Therīgāthā, Verse 44, it says

"tassā dhammaṃ suṇitvāna, yathā maṃ anusāsi sā,
sattāhaṃ ekapallaṅkena, nisīdiṃ pītisukhasamappitā ,
aṭṭhamiyā pāde pasāresiṃ, tamokhandhaṃ padāliyā"ti.
Since I translate into German I copy here a translation by Bhante Sujato;

When I had heard her teaching, in accordance with her instructions, I sat cross-legged for seven days without moving, given over to rapture and bliss.

Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary

pallaṅka : (m.) a sofa; a coach; a cross-legged sitting.

Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary

Pallaṅka, (pary+aṅka, cp. Class Sk. palyaṅka & Māgadhī paliyaṅka) 1. sitting cross-legged, in Instr. pallaṅkena upon the hams S. I, 124, 144; and in phrase pallaṅkaṃ ābhujati “to bend (the legs) in crosswise” D. I, 71; M. I, 56; A. III, 320; J. I, 17, 71; Ps. I, 176; Pug. 68; Miln. 289; DhA. II, 201.—This phrase is explained at Vism. 271 and VbhA.

I have a problem with the term „pallaṅka“ or rather with how to translate it. In the

Actually I don’t see how from „ pallaṅkena upon the hams“ , this can be rendered into „sitting cross-legged“. Sitting upon the hams for me rather seems like Japanese-style sitting (seiza). Also I wonder whether women were really supposed to sit cross-legged? I lived a long time in Japan and found that Japanese rather frown upon women sitting cross-legged, even if wearing jeans or other long trousers. Also e.g. in Thailand or Cambodia, women tuck their legs to the side, while men are sitting cross-legged.

Thank you and metta
Sona

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No, it does not mean Japanese seiza 正座. The sitting style should be Indian (not Japanese).

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The English word Palanquin, the tamil word பல்லாக்கு (pallakku) and the Pali word pallaṅka are derived from the Sanskrit paryaṅka (sometimes written as palyaṅka as r & l can sometimes interchange).

A Palanquin photographed in (colonial) British India of a white British man being carried around by Indian servants.

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. Inside it you can only sit cross-legged, as there is no space to stretch your legs out fully for the entire length of the pallaṅka (I am assuming in the Vedic period in which the Buddha lived, these were not usually big enough for multiple people to sit inside).

Usually it has a roof and is covered by cloth on all sides except for small openings to let the light and air in so the person inside has nearly full privacy, so whether they sit cross legged or any other way is known only to them.

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In the Pali suttas, pallaṅkena generally means ‘seated cross-legged’ (or what used to be called ‘Indian style’), rather than seated in a conveyance.

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I don’t think pallaṅka describes in any way a gender specific posture. It is found widely across the suttas, for people of all sorts and genders, including the Buddha himself.

For example in Ud1.4 the Buddha is described to do exactly the same thing as Venerable Uttamā:

ud1.4:1.3: Tena kho pana samayena bhagavā sattāhaṁ ekapallaṅkena nisinno hoti vimuttisukhapaṭisaṁvedī.
There the Buddha sat cross-legged for seven days without moving, experiencing the bliss of freedom.

How interesting! Where can we see your work? (I am also translating into German.)

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Yes that is idiomatic Pali but I was trying to throw light on what sitting cross legged (ekapallaṅkena) has to do with a pallaṅka itself (i.e. why it is called ekapallaṅkena).

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7

Asian societies are strongly influenced by Buddhism, and the monastic vinaya indeed prohibits bhikkhunis from sitting cross-legged. It seems that that was later extended to all women, whether ordained or lay. But the Therigatha are an earlier text than that part of the vinaya. So it’s not surprising to find women sitting cross-legged there.

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Welcome to the forum! Just an FYI about formatting posts, if you start a paragraph with a > like this:

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It will place it in a box so it is more clear that you are quoting something making it easier to read. If you like you can edit your post to do this. Here is a complete formatting guide if you like.

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What vinaya rule is this?

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I should love to know that Vinaya quote too!

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Dear Ayya Sabbamitta, my work is still in the making.

Metta Sona

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Mine too! But I do it in public … :upside_down_face: :see_no_evil: :laughing:

What’s the scope of your project?

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The thing is what exactly are the “hams” anatomically speaking? Sorry to ask that but I am not a native English speaker.
Another meaning of pallaṅka is “sofa, couch”. Apart from the fact that the Theriis probably did not sit around on sofas (no disrepect meant!), how do people sit on sofas?

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Sorry, I don’t quite get the meaning.

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I mean my translations are still in progress, and there are updates mostly every week. But they are already published both on SuttaCentral and on Dhammaregen, where they can also be listened to. So if you look at them, you may see changes in a specific sutta from time to time.

This is because the canon is so big, and when I come to a certain expression in a new context, I might change my mind about how to best express it. Or I gain a better understanding of a word by other studies. And this sometimes includes changes in many already translated suttas.

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Technically the hollow of the knee, but in this case I think the dictionary writer must have meant the back / inner thigh. It’s an archaic word which only survives to ordinary use in the term “hamstring” for the muscles of that portion of the leg (which cross the ham).

Also - it’s a cut of pork, which includes muscle from both sides of the leg.

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Thank you for answering.
Unfortunately I don’t see how sitting cross-legged makes one sit on the hollow of the knee … :thinking:
Also it seems quite strenuous to sit on the back or inner thigh … Okay, though inner thigh might mean a sitting position on a chair.
Sorry to be difficult but I am just not happy with cross-legged … :roll_eyes:

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Okay, got it :grinning:
I am doing my translation privately, albeit with the occasional supervision of my prof. I am not sure yet what I will do after I have finished the whole work to my satisfaction (as to now, I go back again and again to verses that I have done already and adjust them - difficult to be fully satisfied with what I’ve written).
That’s why I am quite unhappy about the sitting position problem :weary:

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I think this is most likely a case of the dictionary writer making a strange choice of how to describe something normal. For example, referring to how the feet rest in lotus position, or, how the body weight squishes the back of the thighs against the calves in certain kneeling postures. Hypothetically, it could refer to an extreme forward fold (sitting on your hamstrings), but it seems more plausible that one philologist phrased something awkwardly in English than that there were a large number of people who genuinely used pallaṅkena to refer to such a challenging position.