Kumarila Bhatta's criticism of false etymologies

Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan Palaniappa at AOL.COM
Fri Jan 15 21:21:57 UTC 1999


In a message dated 1/15/99 1:19:13 PM Central Standard Time,
lsrinivas at YAHOO.COM writes:

> "As for example, in the Dravida language, though all words are used as
>  ending in the consonant, yet the Aryas are found to assume in them the
>  affixes, &c., that can be appended only to words ending in vowels, and
>  thence make the words give a sense, in accordance with their own
>  (samskrta),  language. For instance, when the Dravidas call 'rice',
>  "'cor,'the Arya reads in it his own word 'cora' (thief), and
>  comprehends the meaning accordingly. And when the Dravidas call the
>  road 'atar', he reads it as 'atarah', and declares that as the road is
>  difficult to cross, it is really 'atara' (uncrossable). Similaly they
>  call the snake 'pAp,' and he takes it as 'pApa' (evil), and argues
>  that the snake is really an evil animal. So, too, in the case of the
>  word 'mAl' which they use in the sense of the  woman, the word is
>  taken as 'mAlA'. The word 'vair', used by them in the sense of the
>  stomach, is taken as 'vaira' (enemy); and the use is justified on the
>  ground of the hungry man being capable of doing many sinful deeds,
>  which proves that the stomach is an enemy of the man."
>
>  From KumArila bhaTTa's TantravArttika (Vol. I, p 219), transl by Mm
>  Ganganatha Jha, Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, 1983. ]
>

Thanks a lot. Any specifics on his KB's date and place?

Regards
S. Palaniappan





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