Karnataka/KannaDa

[Robert Zydenbos]

Am 15 Jan 2001, um 16:06 schrieb N. Ganesan:

>   Do we know when is the earliest representaion of KarnATa(ka)
>   in Sanskrit? In Kannada inscriptions?

I do not have editions of Karnatakan inscriptions with me at
present, so unfortunately I cannot check. But Kar.naa.ta does
occur in the oldest Kannada grammar, the ;Sabdama.nidarpa.nam
(9th century) - unfortunately without explanation of the meaning.

> >But I am still not entirely convinced that kam-naa.du is impossible,
> >or that the parallel examples with kem- are not relevant.
>
>   You have written that KarnATaka looks like a
>   "Sanskritization" of an early Kannada word.
>   Are you thinking that that Kannada word is kam-nADu?
>   If so, is changes from kam-naa.du to kar-naa.tu rather
>   routine?

The 'r' occurs in Sanskritised words to 'explain' or 'justify' why there
is a retroflex sound later in that word (the best known example
being 'Draavi.da'). Once the r was in place, the Sanskritisers were
consistent and also made the first n retroflex. (When the Kannada
Sahitya Parishad was founded, there was a day-long debate over
whether it should be named "Kar.naa.taka Saahitya Pari.sattu"
[retroflex n] or "Karnaa.taka Saahitya Pari.sattu" [dental n]; the
problem was finally solved by calling it "Kanna.da Saahitya
Pari.sattu").

Am 15 Jan 2001, um 21:28 schrieb N. Ganesan:

> Kamban in his RamayaNam uses the form, karunaTar:
>
>   Eti yAtavar, Ez tiRal kogkaNar,
>   cEtirAcar, telugkar, karunaTar,
>
>                                    Kam. 1.19.1-2
>
> DED does not list 'karu' to mean "height, raised up
> platform" etc. Does Kannada has that meaning?

Yes, that also exists, and this too has been put forward as an
explanation of the name: "greatness" or "loftiness" or "hardness".
The Kanna.da Ratnakoo;sa (publ. Kanna.da Saahitya Pari.sattu)
gives as one meaning "ettara" ("height") and actually proceeds, in
the same entry: "karunaa.du = ettaravaada naa.du;
Kanna.danaa.du" ("high land; Kannada land"). But this little
dictionary gives no reference to where this meaning is found (and
my better dictionaries have not yet come over from India, like the
inscriptions; sorry).

"High land" to me seems a more probable candidate than "black
land" or "stone land", because (a) most of the land is not black, but
ochre, and I do not think that this was very different in ancient
times, (b) the typical hills that mark the eastern part of Karnataka
(given as a reason for this etymology) are usually called 'be.t.ta'
and not 'kallu' (the word 'be.t.ta' also enters into the names of many
of these hills). (Karu 'height' + naa.du > Kan-naa.du would of
course nicely fit the pattern of Tamil 'nerunal'.)

So there are quite a number of explanations to choose from. I have
to admit that the question did not interest me very much until now;
but it is annoying and calls for an answer.

RZ


Robert Zydenbos
Institut für Indologie und Iranistik
Universität München