[Thread]

Do you know the connection between the names of an ancient Mauryan queen and a modern tabla virtuoso?

A Facebook user asked me, “What does Tishyarakshita mean? It is the name of a former IAS officer, Tishyarakshita Chatterjee.”

My answer follows.

1/n Tissarakkha (Abanindranath Tagore) and Allarakha Khan (India
The name is ‘tiṣyarakṣitā’ (तिष्यरक्षिता), a rare name.

‘Tiṣya’ (तिष्य, “in whom one is pleased or delighted”) and ‘sidhya’ (सिध्य, “in whom [actions] are accomplished”) are both names of the ‘puṣya’ (पुष्य, “he who nourishes or supports [actions]”) asterism.

2/n
‘Puṣya’ asterism is γ, δ, and θ Cancri. These names suggest that the asterism was considered very auspicious.

‘rakṣitā’ (रक्षिता) =“she who is protected”.

So, ‘tiṣyarakṣitā’ (तिष्यरक्षिता) = “she who is protected by ‘puṣya’” (तिष्येण पुष्येण रक्षिता तिष्यरक्षिता).

3/n
This is a good example of a ‘nakṣatra’ name, one of the several names that were (and are) given to a child. It is a good name with a historical connection (see below), but only apt for babies born under the ‘puṣya’ asterism.

4/n
A very similar name ‘tiṣyarakṣā’ (तिष्यरक्षा), Prakrit form ‘tissarakkhā’ (तिस्सरक्खा), was the name of one of the wives of the Maurya emperor Aśoka. The meaning is the same with a slightly different parsing of the ‘samāsa’ (तिष्येण पुष्येण रक्षा यस्याः सा तिष्यरक्षा).

5/n
The Prakrit form of this name ‘tissarakkhā’ ends in ‘rakkhā’ (रक्खा), which is seen even today in names like Ramrakkha (rāmarakkhā, रामरक्खा), “protected by Rāma” that one comes across in rural areas.

6/n
The same Prakrit form is seen in the name Allarakkha (allārakkhā, अल्लारक्खा), the first name of the late tabla virtuoso Ustad Allarakha Khan (spelt अल्लारक्खा in Hindi).

Is it not amazing to see how the name of Aśoka’s wife is connected with that of a modern tabla maestro?

n/n

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More from @MisraNityanand

13 Sep
[Thread]

Question: “Many North Indians have the last name ‘Singh’. Why do they write and pronounce ‘Singh’ when the word is ‘simha’/सिंह? In Hindi they pronounce सिंघ but write सिंह. For example, Rajnath Singh is राजनाथ सिंह in Hindi. I am from South, I find it unusual.”

1/n
My answer

Yes, the original Sanskrit is ‘siṃha’ (सिंह), “a lion”. However, in Prakrit this becomes ‘sīha’, ‘siṃgha’, or ‘siṅgha’.

In the ancient Prakrit Grammar Prākṛta-prakāśa, by rule ईत्सिंहजिह्वयोश्च (1.17), Sanskrit ‘siṃha’ (सिंह) becomes Prakrit ‘sīha’ (सीह).

2/n
In later Prakrit, another form ‘siṃgha’ (सिंघ), which optionally becomes ‘siṅgha’ (सिङ्घ), is also attested. In his Prakrit grammar (eighth chapter of the Siddhahema-śabdānusāsana), Ācārya Hemacandra (12th century CE) has a rule मांसादेर्वा (1.29).

3/n
Read 6 tweets
29 Aug
सूचना

गुरुदेव (@JagadguruJi) कृत महावीरी व्याख्या का चतुर्थ संस्करण निःशुल्क अधोभारण (free download) और सशुल्क क्रय के लिए उपलब्ध है।

पुस्तक यहाँ से अधोभारित (download) करें—jagadgururambhadracharya.org/wp-content/upl…

पुस्तक यहाँ से मंगाएँ—amazon.in/dp/9382253076

पुस्तक का विवरण अधोलिखित है— ImageImage
शीर्षक: श्रीहनुमान्-चालीसा—महावीरी व्याख्या सहित

विषयवस्तु: गोस्वामी तुलसीदास कृत श्रीहनुमान्-चालीसा पर जगद्गुरु रामभद्राचार्य कृत महावीरी व्याख्या का चतुर्थ संस्करण। विशिष्ट शब्दार्थ और अनुवाद सहित व्याख्या। पद्यार्धानुक्रमणी, शब्दानुक्रमणी, और हनुमान्‌जीकी आरती सम्मिलित।
भाषा: हिन्दी

व्याख्याकार: जगद्गुरु रामानन्दाचार्य स्वामी रामभद्राचार्य

संपादक: मनीषकुमार शुक्ल और नित्यानन्द मिश्र

पुस्तकरूपरेखा: नित्यानन्द मिश्र

अक्षर-संयोजन: नित्यानन्द मिश्र

आवरण चित्र: भँवरलाल गिरधारीलाल शर्मा (सन् १९२४–२००७), राजस्थान चित्रकला के प्रसिद्ध पुरोधा
Read 5 tweets
28 Aug
[Thread]

The cotton tree (Bombax ceiba L.), called ‘Śālmali’ in Sanskrit and ‘semal’/‘semar’ in Hindi, is well known in Sanskrit literature. One is amazed on seeing the rich set of names used for this tree in Sanskrit. The names indicate a very close observation of nature.

1/n Image
1) ‘kaṇṭakadruma’ (कण्टकद्रुम): “the thorny tree”. The stem of the tree has conical spines

2) ‘devavṛkṣa’ (देववृक्ष): “the tree of the gods”. As per the Mahābhārata (XII.156.7, Gita Press edition), Pitāmaha (Brahmā) rested under a Śālmali tree after creating the worlds.

2/n Image
3) ‘nirgandhapuṣpa’ (निर्गन्धपुष्प): “with scentless flowers”. The red flowers of the tree (third image) do not have a strong odour. The flower is beautiful but when it ripens, there are only cotton fibres which cannot be eaten. This led the great poet Sūradāsa to write—

3/n ImageImage
Read 10 tweets
15 Aug
[सूत्र]

‘स्वतन्त्र’ और ‘स्वतन्त्रा’

“जयतात्संस्कृता भाषा जयताद्भारतं तथा”।

आज भारत का स्वतन्त्रता-दिवस है। आज के दिन जन्मे बालक के लिए ‘स्वतन्त्र’ और बालिका के लिए ‘स्वतन्त्रा’ नाम उपयुक्त है। ये दोनों नाम पौराणिक और अन्य सहस्रनामों में प्राप्त हैं।

१/बहु
गणेश-पुराण के गणेश-सहस्रनाम में ‘स्वतन्त्र’ गणेश का नाम है। “स्वतन्त्रः सत्यसङ्कल्पः सामगानरतः सुखी”। इस नाम पर भास्करराय खद्योत भाष्य में लिखते हैं—“स्वतन्त्रः स्वयमेवासि नानातन्त्रात्मना यतः”, अर्थात् जो स्वयं नाना तन्त्रों के आत्मा (=सार) सहित हैं वे ‘स्वतन्त्र’ हैं।

२/बहु
इसके अतिरिक्त मन्त्र-महार्णव में प्राप्त हनुमत्सहस्रनाम में ‘स्वतन्त्र’ हनुमान् का नाम है। “नन्दीप्रियः स्वतन्त्रश्च मेखली डमरुप्रियः”।

ब्रह्माण्ड-पुराण के ललिता सहस्रनाम में ‘स्वतन्त्रा’ देवी ललिता का नाम है। “स्वतन्त्रा सर्वतन्त्रेशी दक्षिणामूर्तिरूपिणी”।

३/बहु
Read 6 tweets
14 Aug
Schwa syncope is not limited to Hindi. It is present in many northern, western, and eastern Indian languages.

What's more. Schwa syncope in Sanskrit names is today very common in South India.

Let us take the example of Karnataka. In December 2020, 90 out of 234 members of ...
the Karnataka Legislative Assembly had Sanskrit names which were spelt in Kannada without the terminal schwa. That is more than 35%.

If we omit (1) Sanskrit names not ending in a (2) Kannadized Sanskrit names ending in -appa, -aiah etc (3) names of women (4) Muslim names, ...
then the 35% number would probably exceed even 50%.

Here are the 90 names out of 246 MLAs of Karnataka (as of Dec 2020) spelt without schwa in Kannada:

ಡಿ ಎಸ್‌ ಸುರೇಶ್‌
ಬಿ ಸಿ ನಾಗೇಶ್‌
ಎಸ್‌ ಸುರೇಶ್‌ ಕುಮಾರ್
ಜಿ ಬಿ ಜ್ಯೋತಿ ಗಣೇಶ್‌
ಜಯರಾಮ್‌ ಎ ಎಸ್‌
ಡಾ. ಎಸ್ ಶಿವರಾಜ್ ಪಾಟೀಲ್
ಆರ್‌ ಶಂಕರ್‌
...
Read 10 tweets

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