Translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli: “Especially, on the day of full moon in the month of Kartika, after the expiry of autumn, the king used to give unto the Brahmanas much wealth of diverse kinds.”
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Translation by Bibek Debroy: “But it has been heard that the full moon in Kartika, after autumn is over, was special and brahmanas were given jewels.”
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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.
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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.
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‘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).
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