Translations of Tamil names into Sanskrit

[Madhav Deshpande]

	Indeed I come from Pu.yapattana or Pu.nyanagarii (= Pune, pu.ne in
Marathi). I don't know how old this usage is, but it is commonly seen not
only in modern Sanskrit publications from Pune, but often also in Marathi. 
The old pre-urbanization name of this place was punava.dii. 
	Madhav Deshpande

On Mon, 28 Apr 1997 Palaniappa at aol.com wrote:

> Many place names and names of deities in Tamilnadu were translated into
> Sanskrit as is clear from inscriptions and literary texts.
> 
> For instance, in the famous 10 th century CE Anbil plates of Sundara Chola
> (father of the famous Rajaraja Chola), the name of the village in the Tamil
> portion of the inscription is 'anpil' meaning 'place of love' and derived
> from 'anpu' meaning 'love'. But in the Sanskrit portion, it is called
> 'prema'. (See Epigraphica Indica Vol.XV) Similarly, in the 11th century CE
> Tiruvalangadu plates of Rajendra Chola, the village of 'pazaiyanUr' found in
> the Tamil portion is called 'purANagrAma' in the Sanskrit portion. (See South
> Indian Inscriptions, Volume III) The Tamil name meant 'the village of
> pazaiyan' where the name 'pazaiyan' is derived from Tamil 'pazaiya' meaning
> 'old',
> 
> A place called 'mutukunRam' meaning 'old hill' has been sung by the Saivite
> Saints of the 7th century CE. Today it is known as 'vriddAchalam'. A
> comparison of names of places sung by the Saivite saints and their later
> names reveals many such translations into Sanskrit. 
> 
> Similar translations have occurred in the names of the temple deities also.
> The deity in the temple at 'tiruvaiyAru' meaning 'five rivers' is called
> 'pancanatIswarar'. The deity in 'tirumeyyam' derived from Tamil 'mey' meaning
> 'truth' is called 'satyamUrti'. 
> 
> I am curious if such a tendency is seen in other language areas?
> 
> 
> Regards
> 
> S. Palaniappan
> 
> 
>