Dakshina meaning and derivation

[MDSAAA48 at giasmd01.vsnl.net.in]

Dear Martin,
Lithuanian: dezinas, once
In RV. i.100.9 dakSiNa seems linked to root dakS hence meaning dexterous,
ability. In Hindi, dahinA means right (apparent reference to the more
dexterous right hand)
When an altar is set to the right  hand side, dakSiNA, (in relation to the
eastern direction faced by the priest), it refers o the southern fire of the
altar. 

Maybe, it is not a donation but a fee offered or share of the SOMA
(electrum) for dexterous service.

dakSA is also interpreted as living energy in JBr. i.151

It is also 'dawn' in RV. vi.64.1: tasmA iyam dakSiNA pinvate sadA bhUmirapi
sasyAdisampAdanadakSA: uSas.

S. Kalyanaraman
mdsaaa48 at giasmd01.VSNL.net.in


>I am interested in the word - dakshina -. I have seen it as a direction ,
south or southern. I have also seen it as donation. What is the connection?
Also, are there references to daksina in Upanishads or Veda with regard to
donation? I also heard that dakshina is derived from da and ksha. Any info
on that?
>
>Thanks for giving these questions your consideration.
>



> From 100441.3571 at CompuServe.COM 18 96 May EDT 06:44:02
Date: 18 May 96 06:44:02 EDT
From: Jean Fezas <100441.3571 at CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Re:Dakshina meaning and derivation

Martin Epstein <vyasa at ix.netcom.com>
Wote To: Members of the list <indology at liverpool.ac.uk>

>I am interested in the word - dakshina -. I have seen it as a direction =
>, south or southern. I have also seen it as donation. What is the =
>connection? Also, are there references to daksina in Upanishads or Veda =
>with regard to donation? I also heard that dakshina is derived from da =
>and ksha. Any info on that?

>Thanks for giving these questions your consideration.

According to R.L. Turner, a Comparativel Dictionary of Indo-Arian Languages 
dakSiNa (349b, [6119]) has the meaning of 'right (hand)' in the RgVeda,
'southern' in AtharvaVeda. Derivatives in modern languages share both meanings.
dakSiNA (f.) [ibid 6120] 'Fee to a priest' RgVeda, 'gift' Manu.

The connection between 'right hand' and 'sacrificial fee' is quite easy to
analyze in the light of M. Mayrhofer's Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Woerterbuch
des Altindischen (Band 2 Heidelberg, 1963) p.10 SV dakSiNaH, 'right, southern,
able, dexterous' (since RgVeda); and p.27 SV dazasyati 'serves, obliges,
favours' : the meaning 'southern' comes from the direction situated at the right
side of someone looking towards the east (the rising sun); the right hand is
dexterous; dakSiNA f. is a 'sacrificial fee' i.e. the gift rewarding an act
accomplished to the satisfaction of the sacrificer (Cf. Mayrhofer, SV. dakSati;
Turner [6116] dakSa- 'able, clever', [6117] dakSate 'is able').

Obviously, the derivation from dA (to give?) and kSa (??) is  wrong, but it may
be interesting to find out why it was suggested. 
As we all know, sk. putra-, the word for son, has no linguistic connection with
put+tra ('protecting from the hell named 'put', cf., inter alia, Mn.9.138), no
grammarian would ever have taken it seriously. It seems to me that such
derivations were not produced through some kind of delirium, but answered a
need:  their social conotation was strong enough to overcome 'scientific'
(critical) knowledge. 
Members of this list have recently made fun about indian etymologies of european
proper names (Shakespeare) and pointed that it was a means of alleviating some
kind of 'inferiority complex'. This is certainly true, but could not the study
of  the use, as an irrefutable argument, of (sometimes fantastic) etymology  in
indian literature, be an interesting subject of dicussion ? 

J. FEZAS
URA 1058, CNRS (Paris)