Nira-Narsingpur Narasimha

[George Hart]

Of course, niira is a well-known borrowing from Dravidian niir.  Tamil  
niir means nature, property, as well as water.  The word niirmai  
(water-ness) means "property of water, as coolness" according to the  
Lex.  Thus, the Niiraa might well have been named for its cooling  
properties, always invoked in Tamil and other southern (Maharashtra is  
in South India, isn't it?) languages.  George Hart

On Oct 31, 2007, at 11:24 AM, Richard Salomon wrote:

> Dear Madhav et al.,
>
> It seems odd to have a river whose name seems to mean just "water."  
> I suspect there is something more going on here, though I couldn't  
> say exactly what. But there may be some clues in the information  
> provided by Mayrhofer in KEWA s.v. niiram, where he refers to other  
> (early) river names such as Sadaaniiraa. Could, for exampe, Niiraa  
> be a shortening of some such original name? Or, perhaps more likely,  
> is the explanation to be sought in Dravidian rather than IA?
>
> Rich Salomon
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Deshpande, Madhav" <mmdesh at UMICH.EDU 
> >
> To: <INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 10:57 AM
> Subject: Re: Nira-Narsingpur Narasimha
>
>
> Dear Dr. Joshi,
>
> We know that Niiraa is the name of the river that joins the river  
> Bhiimaa at the town of Narsingpur (near Solapur), and that the town  
> of Narsingpur is known for its temple of Narasimha.  The river name  
> seems to be a feminine form of the Sanskrit word niira- "water".  As  
> the rivers are commonly treated as goddesses (cf. Anne Feldhaus's  
> work on river-goddesses in Maharashtra), one can assume that niiraa  
> the river name also becomes the name of the river goddess that may  
> be locally identified with Lakshmi. Perhaps Ashok Aklujkar may know  
> something more of the local traditions of Nira-Narsingpur, as he  
> grew up in the town of Akluj which is nearby.
>
> Madhav M. Deshpande
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Indology on behalf of Rasik Vihari Joshi Tripathi
> Sent: Wed 10/31/2007 10:53 AM
> To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
> Subject:
>
> I am thankful to Dr. Madhav Deshpande for the information about Neera
> interpretation for Laksmi-Nrsimha.I would ask him again the meaning of
> Nira in the same context.
> Rasik Vihari Joshi
>
> -----Mensaje original-----
> De: Indology [mailto:INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk] En nombre de Deshpande,
> Madhav
> Enviado el: Martes, 30 de Octubre de 2007 11:36 a.m.
> Para: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
> Asunto:
>
>
> There is a famous Nrsimha temple in Maharashtra in a town called  
> Nira -
> Narsingapur.  I don't have a map in front of me, but this town is
> probably on the bank of the river Neeraa/Niraa (?).  There is indeed a
> river in the region by that name.  This town is close to my family's
> original home town, Tembhurni, near Solapur, and Nrsimha has been the
> family deity of the Deshpande family.
>
> Madhav M. Deshpande
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Indology on behalf of Rasik Vihari Joshi Tripathi
> Sent: Tue 10/30/2007 10:41 AM
> To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
> Subject:
>
> Dear Scholar Friends,
> I have come across the word "Neera" meaning water in the
> Lakmii-Nrsimha-Sahasra-Naama,I shall appreciate if some one could help
> me how to interprete this word in the sence of Laksmi-Nrsimha.  Thanks
> in advance, Rasik Vihari Joshi