bhakti- etc.

[C.R. Selvakumar]

*Dear colleagues,
*I would be most grateful for references to different etymologies of the words:
**bhagavat*, *bhakti*, *bhakta* (even to those that you think are wrong) and to
*different ideas on the history of their semantics.
*     Thanks in advance,
*                                Yaroslav Vassilkov
*
    In Tamil, the word 'patti' (often said to be related to skt bhakti)
    comes from 'paRRu' (attachment > love). The statement(Tamil)
    'paRRuvatu patti, muRRuvatu mutti'
    (to be attached, in a supreme sense, is love of God;
    to reach fullness (also means to end) is liberation
    in the sense of ultimate).
    Tamil patti has become sanskrit Bhakti, apparently.
    Bhakti movements spread from Tamil Nadu to other parts of
    India starting from around 4-5th centuries in the current era.

    In Tamil, pakavan comes from the verb(Tamil) 'paku' meaning
    divide,split > dispense.
    Pakavan means dispenser exactly as several on this list have pointed out,
    but the root sense here is from tamil/dravidian 'paku' for pakavan.

    Regards     /C.R.(Selva) Selvakumar