Date: 3/17/2006
I would like to add few more here BROTHER - BRATHA MOTHER - MATHA FATHER - PITHA NAVIGATOR - NAVIKAN NAVI - NAV AND MORE ... I HAVE TO RECOLLECT Rajesh --- KUMAR IJK wrote: > In Focus > Sanskrit in English > By Sudhakar Raje > > In South-East Asia the influence of Sanskrit was so > strong that it can be seen not only in old > inscriptions but also in Sanskrit names for people > and places that are still in use, such as in > Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Burma. In the > Middle-East, the present homeland of fundamentalist > Islam Sanskrit had an undeniable presence. > > Once upon a time, millenniums ago, the whole world > was Hindu. As the mist of antiquity are dispelled, > layer by layer, by unceasing research in such > diverse disciplines as Archaeology, Mythology, > Cosmology, Geology, Linguistics and so on, the truth > emerges that from the very dawn of human > civilization Arya/Hindu influence pervaded the world > from East to West. > > Worldwide Hindu Civilization > > The most obvious evidence of this global Hindu > history is of course the idols and icons of various > deities of the Hindu pantheon that have been found > almost all over the world. Some Hindu deities, like > Ganesha, Shiva, Vishnu and Durga, have a truly > global presence. The worship of the Vedic Sun God > was a popular religion in the Roman Empire, Egypt, > and all over the Middle-East. As for the western > hemisphere, the history of Hindu culture in the > Americas is both hoary and extensive. > > Worldwide Sanskrit > For this worldwide spread of Hindu religion and > culture, Hindu philosophy and science, the one > vehicle was the Sanskrit language. Prof Avinash > Chandra writes in his book Rigvedic India, that > emigrants from India settled in various parts of > Asia and Europe in ancient times. This resulted in > Sanskrit influence on local languages. Arnold > Toynbee’s book Mankind and Mother Earth contains a > map showing Sanskrit speaking nomads to the > south-east of the Caspian Sea. When even nomads > moving between Asia and Europe spoke Sanskrit, it is > certain that the language was used by householders > and educational institutions of Asia and Europe in > those times. > > In South-East Asia the influence of Sanskrit was so > strong that it can be seen not only in old > inscriptions but also in Sanskrit names for people > and places that are still in use, such as in > Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Burma. In the > Middle-East, the present homeland of fundamentalist > Islam that stretches from Afghanistan to Arabia and > extends to Egypt, Sanskrit had an undeniable > presence. Sanskrit used to be spoken in the Hindu > kingdom of Kabul, and a thousand years ago there was > a Sanskrit university here. In Iran, the Zoroastrian > scripture is written in the Avestan language, which > is just a phonetic variation of Sanskrit. > > Vedic Ancestry > As for Europe, in his monumental work The Story of > Civilization Will Durant calls Sanskrit “the mother > of Indo-European languages”. In the light of recent > research by Indian scholars it would be nearer the > truth to say that Sanskrit is not only the mother of > Indian languages but the mother of European > languages as well. In fact, this research strongly > suggests that they have Vedic ancestry. > > The Rig Veda contains the description of a great > battle called Dasharajnya, the “Battle of Ten > Kings”, which is the world’s oldest recorded battle. > It was fought between the Tritsu King Sudasa on the > one hand and a confederacy of ten peoples or clans > on the other. These ten peoples were Pakhta, > Bhalana, Alina, Shiva, Vishanin, Simyu, Bhrigu, > Prithu and Parshu. Collectively they had two group > names—Anu and Druhyu. The Druhyu king defeated in > this battle was named Angara,. His successor, King > Gandhara, migrated to the North-West with his clan > and gave his name to the Gandhara country. The > Puranas, which are the historical companion texts of > the Rig Veda, clearly state that major sections of > these Druhyus emigrated to distant lands to the > North. Those among them who spread to Europe came to > be known as Celts, and the language they spoke came > to be called Celtic. During the last some centuries > before the Christian era Celtic was spoken over a > wide area of Europe from Spain to Britain. > These ancient Celts were originally the Druids, who > in turn were identifiable with the Druhyus. > > The languages the peoples that fought the > Dasharajnya war spoke had split into two broad > groups, called Satem and Kentum, in the original > Vedic/Indian homeland itself, the Anu speaking the > Satem dialects and the Druhyu the Kentum ones, With > the westward spread of the Druhyus the latter > evolved into proto-proto-Indo-European languages, > some of which became extinct, like Latin, while > others developed into extant, spoken languages, > including English. > > This is borne out by a study of the etymology of > English words. For instance, the words in the > Concise Oxford Dictionary (COD) are stated to have > generally Latin roots and frequently Greek roots. As > a matter of fact, in numerous such cases the evolved > English word or the Latin/Greek root has such a > striking resemblance to a Sanskrit word, both > phonetically and in respect of meaning, as to > clearly suggest that the root of the given root is > Sanskrit. This writer has identified hundreds of > such words in COD. In addition, there are at least a > thousand words in this dictionary where the prefix > or suffix is derived from Sanskrit. COD also lists > about 70 purely Sanskrit words as part of the > English vocabulary. > > Dr N.R.Waradpande is currently engaged in compiling > a full-fledged dictionary of Sanskrit-based English > words, and he is confident of identifying 10,000 > such words. What is remarkable, Webster’s, the > world’s biggest (18-volume) English dictionary, is > said to have as many as 40,000 words described as > “akin to Sanskrit”. In fact, says Warandpande, > one-fourth of the total English vocabulary is > Sanskritic. > > Interesting Background > Some English words not only have a Sanskrit > etymology but also a Hindu history. A few such > examples are given here: > > Abba: This word has not only a Sanskrit origin but > also a Hindu history. Abba means ‘father’, and is > derived from Sanskrit Appa—ap, ‘water’ + pa, ‘to > drink’. There is a Hindu ritual to offer water to > the father after his death, which he is supposed to > drink. So Appa, ‘drinker of water’, means ‘father’. > > Allopathy: Allopathy is an allied development as a > branch of ancient Indian medicine, which prevailed > in Europe and other parts of the world till about > the end of the 18th century. Allo means ‘a learned > borrowing’ from the Greek word allos, meaning > “other”. So ‘Allo-pathy’ is borrowed from ‘the > other’, that is from the ancient Indian system of > medicine, Ayurveda. > > Bane: The English word ‘bane’, meaning ‘a curse’, > has an interesting Hindu mythological background. > Ancient king Prithu-Vainya was considered the > original Arya king, because he started the practice > of agriculture. He is thus honoured as the founder > of the Arya (‘agricultural’) civilization. ‘Vainya’ > means ‘son of Vena’. King Vena, however, was a > tyrant, and was described as a curse on Dharma. So > ‘bane’, derived from ‘Vena’, means a curse. > > Brahmin: A curious example of how not only a > Sanskrit term but even the Hindu concept underlying > it has become established in the English language is > provided by the word ‘Brahmin’. In his magnum opus > Kane and Abel best-selling British novelist William > Archer frequently uses this term to denote a > particular class of people or its style of speech or > accent. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary > ‘Brahmin’ means “a socially or culturally superior > person”. > > Elephant: The word ‘elephant’ is an interesting > combination of Sanskrit and Arabic roots. It has > three components, al-ibha-danta. Al is Arabic for > ‘the’, while ibha and danta are Sanskrit, meaning > ‘elephant’ and ‘tooth’. The English word ‘ivory’, > meaning ‘elephant’s tusk’, has a related etymology. > The Hebrew word ‘habbin’ is derived from ‘ibha’, as > also the Egyptian word ‘abu’. This becomes ‘ebut’ in > Etruscan and ‘eboreum’ in Latin, finally becoming > ‘ivory’ in English. > > Indigo: The English word ‘Indigo’ is derived from > the Greek word ‘Indikon’, which means ‘from India’. > Proof exists that Indigo was made and used to dye > cloth in ancient India. > > Non: The English (and also French and Latin) prefix > ‘non’ is derived from the Sanskrit word na/no, > meaning ‘no’. Navneet Advanced Dictionary > (English-English-Marathi) has given about 550 > English words using this Sanskrit-derived prefix. > Concise Oxford Dictionary says the number of English > words using this prefix is “unlimited”. > > Over: The English prefix ‘over-’ is derived from the > Sanskrit === message truncated === 000000000
[_private/ftarc.htm]