kaṃsa

  1. bronze Mil.2 magnified by late commentators occasionally into silver or gold. Thus Ja.vi.504 (silver) and Ja.i.338; Ja.iv.107 Ja.vi.509 (gold), considered more suitable to a fairy king
  2. a bronze gong Dhp.134 (Dhp-a.iii.58).
  3. a bronze dish Ja.i.336; āpānīya˚ a bronze drinking cup, goblet MN.i.316.
  4. a “bronze,” i.e. a bronze coin worth 4 kahāpaṇas Vin.iv.255, Vin.iv.256. See Rhys Davids, Coins and Measures §§ 12, 22
    ■ “Golden bronze” in a fairy tale at Vv.5#4 is explained by Dhammapāla Vv-a.36 as “bells.”
    ■ It is doubtful whether brass was known in the Ganges valley when the earlier books were composed; but kaṃsa may have meant metal as opposed to earthenware. See the compounds.
  • -upadahārana (n. a.) metal milk-pail (?) in phrase dhenusahassāni dukūla-sandanāni (?) kaṃsūpadhāraṇām DN.ii.192; AN.iv.393; Ja.vi.503 (explained at Ja.vi.504). Kern (

    Toevoegselen

    p. 142) proposes correction to kaṃs’ûpadohana (= Sk. kāṃsy’opodohana), i.e. giving milk to the extent of a metal pailful.

  • -kaṇṭaka metal thorns bits of sharp metal, nails Ja.v.102 (cp. sakaṇṭaka)

  • -kūta cheating with false or spurious metal DN.i.5 (= DN-a.i.79: selling brass plates for gold ones).

  • -tāla bronze gong Dhp-a.i.389 Dhs-a.319 (˚tāḷa) Vv-a.161 or cymbals Ja.vi.277 Ja.vi.411.

  • -thāla metal dish, as distinguished from earthenware DN.i.74 (in simile of dakkho nahāpako = AN.iii.25) cp. DN-a.i.217; Vism.283 (in simile); Dhp-a.iii.57 (: a gong); DN-a.i.217; Dhp-a.iv.67 = Ja.iii.224; reading at Mil.62 to be ˚tāla (see J.P.T.S. 1886, 122).

  • -pattharika a dealer in bronze ware Vin.ii.135.

  • -pāti & pātī a; bronze bowl, usually for food: MN.i.25; AN.iv.393; Snp.14; Pv-a.274.

  • -pūra full of metal Ja.iv.107.

  • -bhaṇḍa brass ware Vin.ii.135

  • -upadahārana (n. a.) metal milk-pail (?) in phrase dhenusahassāni dukūla-sandanāni (?) kaṃsūpadhāraṇām DN.ii.192; AN.iv.393; Ja.vi.503 (explained at Ja.vi.504). Kern (

    Toevoegselen

    p. 142) proposes correction to kaṃs’ûpadohana (= Sk. kāṃsy’opodohana), i.e. giving milk to the extent of a metal pailful.

  • -maya made of bronze Vin.i.190; Vin.ii.112;

  • -mallaka metal dish e.g. of gold Ja.iii.21.

  • -loha bronze Mil.267.

cp. Sk. kaṃsa; of uncertain etym., perhaps of Babylonian origin, cp. hirañña