Oak and the Tribe of the Buddha

[diwakar acharya]

A"svagho.sa in the Saundarananda associates "saakyas with "saakav.rk.sa, 
which is teak tree according to MW.

Diwakar






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Diwakar Acharya
Nepalese-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project (NGMCP)
Abteilung f. Kultur u. Geschichte Indiens u. Tibets
Asia-Africa Institute
University of Hamburg
Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1 (HG)
D-20146 Hamburg
Germany
Tel.: +49 40 42838 6269, ~6267
Fax: +49 40 42838 6917
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>From: jkirk <jkirk at SPRO.NET>
>Reply-To: Indology <INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk>
>To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
>Subject: Oak and the Tribe of the Buddha
>Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 08:49:15 -0600
>
>Hello Indologers,
>
>This is a query that came to the Buddha-L list, and as I too am wondering
>about this translation of shakya--any comment, anyone?
>
>Thanks,
>Joanna Kirkpatrick
>==================================
>
>
>
>>Dear list members,
>>
>>Here's a quotation from the new book _Oak:  The Frame
>>of Civilization_, by William Bryant Logan, Norton, 2005,
>>page 24:
>>
>>'The name of the historic Buddha, Shakyamuni, means
>>"the sage of the oak tree people".'
>>
>>This surprised me, and I haven't been able to find any
>>corroboration on the internet or in my library.  I'm not
>>an expert on Pali or Sanskrit, so I can't judge the
>>accuracy of this statement.  The book is not a scholarly
>>volume, so there aren't footnotes  -- otherwise I'd just
>>look at his references and I might have my answer already.
>>
>>Was the Shakya tribe/clan really named after oak trees?
>>
>>Sincerely,
>>
>>Greg Bungo