A more plausible derivation for tēvanti/tāvantikai would be from  the flower name cēmantī/sēmantī/sēmantika ʻthe Indian white rose Rosa glanduliferaʼ.

The alternation of  the radical vowel between ē- and ā- would point to a possible presence of palatal.  In Telugu, this flower is known as cāmantī, cēmantī or cēvanti. Irregular word-initial c- > t- is not uncommon in Tamil and other Dravidian languages[1][2], as evident in the transformations of the following borrowings from Indo-Aryan:

sattva ʻstrengthʼ > cattuvam, tattuvam
snānam ʻbathʼ > tānam
samtati ʻlineageʼ > tantati
āsanam ʻpostureʼ > ācanam > ātanam

Intervocalic /m/ > /v/ is well-known in South Dravidian.

Therefore, I propose:

*cā-/cēma-nt-i> cēmantī > tēvanti ʻthe Indian white rose Rosa glanduliferaʼ.

It goes well with the other flower names used for characters in the Cilappatikāram such as mātavi (related to mādhavi).

Regards,
Suresh.

[1] Emeneau, Murray, Proto-Dravidian *c-:Toda t-" BSOAS 1953
[2] Emeneau, Murray, Proto-Dravidian *c- and Its Developments JAOS1988.

On Thu, Nov 14, 2013 at 6:43 AM, Tieken, H.J.H. <H.J.H.Tieken@hum.leidenuniv.nl> wrote:

Instead of devavandhyā, could tēvantikai not correspond to Skt devāntikā, fem. of devānta(ka), a name of a rākṣasa and of a daitya (MW)?


Herman Tieken
University of Leiden
The Netherlands
Van: INDOLOGY [indology-bounces@list.indology.info] namens palaniappa@aol.com [palaniappa@aol.com]
Verzonden: donderdag 14 november 2013 12:11
To: indology@list.indology.info
Onderwerp: [INDOLOGY] Brahmin Priestesses

Dear Indologists,

The Cilappatikāram, the Tamil epic, has a character named Tēvanti/Tāvantikai.  She was a brahmin and was a friend of the heroine, Kaṇṇaki. She married Cāttaṉ, a god in human form. Eight years after marriage, he revealed to her his real nature and left her asking her to come to his temple. Accordingly, she worshipped at the temple of Cāttaṉ. At the end of the epic, when  the temple to Kaṇṇaki is inaugurated, Tēvantikai, under possession by Cāttaṉ, Tēvantikai entered a trance and danced and Cāttaṉ spoke through her. Later, the Cēra king Ceṅkuṭṭuvaṉ established a grant for worship and daily celebration at the Kaṇṇaki temple and appointed her to offer flowers, incense, and fragrances at the temple. After worshipping Kaṇṇaki, the king and others including a brahmin named Māṭalaṉ entered a separate sacrificial hall where Tēvantikai again spoke as an oracle.