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A well-attested dharmic forbids the eating of "five-nailed" (pa*canakha) animals, except for a restricted list, which often includes rhinoceroses. Examination of the passages in which this provision is found demonstrates that the rhinoceros is a later addition to the list of edible exceptions. Moreover, the rhinoceros has only three toes. The paper examines how and why the rhinoceros was addeed to the list, starting from a close examination of the phraseology of Manava Dharma Sastra V.17-18. Furthermore, based on the texual configuration of the "older" and "younger" five-nailed passages, a programmatic approach towards the identification of older dharmic material is suggested.
A widespread provision in the dharma texts (MDS V18, GDS 17.27, BDS I.5.12.5, ApDS I.5.17.37, VDS XIV.47, ViSmr 51.6, Yaj. 1.177) forbids the eating of the flesh of `five-nailed' (pancanakha), i.e., `five-toed' animals, save for a restricted group: porcupines, hedgehogs, monitor lizards, hares, tortoises-and often rhinoceroses (kha,dga). Of the texts just cited, only Vasi,stha and Yajnavalkya do not include the rhinoceros on their five-nailed lists. I give two versions of the ones that do: GDS 17.27
pancanakhag ca.galyakasasa.gag&vidgodhakhadRakacchapa,h
Five-nailed (animals) (are not to be eaten), except for the hedgehog, hare, porcupine, monitor, lizard, rhinoceros, and tortoise. MDS V.17-18
na bhak,sayed ekacaran ajeatam7 ca mrgadvijan bhak.sye,sv api samuddis,tan sarvan pancanakha ,ms tatha gvavidham falyakam godham khadakurma.fams tatha bhak,yan pancanakhe,sv ahur anus,tra ,ms caikatodatah One should not eat solitary (animals) and unknown beasts and birds, even those indicated as among the edible, (nor) all five-nailed (animals).' (But) they proclaim as edible the porcupine, hedgehog, monitor lizard, rhinoceros, tortoise, and hare among the five-nailed-as also animals with one row of teeth, except for camels. Despite its widespread representation in the dharma texts, the rhinoceros seems to be a secondary addition to this list, as Heinrich Lders pointed out exactly ninety years ago in an article devoted to exactly this dietary provision ("Eine indische Speiseregel," ZDMG 61 [1907]: 641-44). A standard list of five edible five-nailed animals, i.e., this same list minus the rhino, is rather surprisingly common in a variety of ancient Indian text-types, in the fixed and memorable expression panca pancanakha bhakssyah "five five-nailed ones are edible."2 Consider a few of the contexts in which this expression occurs.3 Both epics contain episodes in which a...