I should be very grateful if anyone could enlighten me as to the meaning and etymology of the North Indian word muddā, as in muddā daśā, referring to a particular astrological division of a single year of life (employed in varṣaphala or annual horoscopy). Clearly the word is not of Sanskrit origin, although it made its way into Sanskrit in early modern times. Monier-Williams and Böhtlingk just refer to mudda (with short -a) as an astrological term, without commenting on its meaning; the source is apparently Weber's Indische Studien 2: 276, which gives two possible Arabic etymologies; but as Weber was notoriously unlucky in his etymological guesses, I would rather hear the opinions of knowledgeable list members.

Martin Gansten
Lund University

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