putra

[Periannan Chandrasekaran]

--- Venkatraman Iyer <venkatraman_iyer at HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
Dr: Deshpande:
----
> If I may ..
> For example, consider the variants putra/puttra.  It is obvious that
> the variant puttra allowed the folk-etymology put+tra, where -put- is
> said to be the name of a hell, from which the son protects the father
> (pun-naamno narakaad yasmaat traayate pitaram suta.h...

>                                 Madhav Deshpande
-----
>
> Dr. Fosse:
---
...
> the meaning you give above ("put-releaser"). This lead Skt.
> grammarians to assume that there was a Hell called "put", because
> a son saves his father from hell through the performance of the
> necessary rites. >>>
---


>
> Given the long history of etymologizing the word, putra,
> has a Dravidian origin been suggested? Tamil has
> "putu"=new
> "putalvan"=son, student
> "putal"=bud
>
> With regards,
> V. Iyer
>

There is a Tamil word "puttEL" (DEDR# 4275) listed  under the sense of Ta. putu
 = new...;
putiyar = new person(s), guest;
puttan2 = new person or thing;
...etc.
it means as per DEDR
"novelty, stranger, strange woman; god".

The phrases "puttEL ulaku" ("the world of gods" or "the world of novelty") and
"puttEL nADu" ("the country/place of gods")
is also employed to denote the heaven.
The CT maturaik kAJci says
at line# 698
"puttEL ulakam kavin2ik kANvara"
-->"...[the city of maturai is so resplendent as to] make the heaven to look to
it for exemplary beauty".."

tirukkuRaL: 1323:
"...pulattalin2 puttEL nADu uNDO?"
-->"...is there a more pleasant heaven than sulking with one's lover"

Now consulting the Madras Tamil Lexicon weighs in favor of Mr. Iyer's
conjectures as the lexicon does indeed ask the reader to confer the following
Tamil/Skt pairs:

Ta. putalvan - Skt. puttra
Ta. puttEL - Skt. puttala.

Is it possible that the Skt. "put-"/"puttala" itself got its other-worldly
 association specifically regarding progeny from the Tamil roots?
i.e. the hell was  called "put-" because it is a kind of "puttEL"
(generalizeable from heaven to hell) where those who die without "putalvan"
(son) go to?

Regards
P. Chandrasekaran.









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