Dear Friends,

Would some kind soul whose knowledge of Sanskrit is infinitely better than my own help clarify the etymology of sākṣin (witness)? 

In a legal sense a witness, or one who testifies, is a sākṣini, however, I'm interested more in the Advaita Vedāntic/Jñāna Yoga principle that it can be considered an 'epistemological tool' and also a 'field of awareness' where 'phenomena are experienced' (cf Chatterjee 1982, 2003, Fort 1984, Gupta 1998). More as a side note I find this principle similar to Bourdieu & Wacquant's (1992) epistemic principle of 'participant objectification' that aims to draw the spectator into what appears to me to be a relatively similar epistemological state that aims to objectify the subjectivity of the agent.
I welcome discussion on this point.



I am parsing sākṣin as a verbal noun possibly derived from 


ā-kshi, cl. 2. 6. P. -ksheti, -kshiyati, 
kshetum, to abide, dwell in, stay at (with acc.); 
to inhabit; to exist; to possess, take possession of 
(with acc.).


or perhaps 

aksh  cl. 1. P. akshati, cl. 5. akshṇoti, ānaksha, 
akshishyati, akshyati, ākshīt, akshitum or ashṭum, 
to reach; to pass through, penetrate, pervade, embrace; 


Searching for 'eye', however, I found this interesting '?'...


 aksha, am, n. (fr. rt. 1. aś?), an organ 
of sense, an object of sense; (as), m. the soul; know- 
ledge, religious knowledge; the law; a lawsuit; 



this root aś has two presents two possibilities

1 . aś, cl. 5. P. A. (in classical 
Sanskṛt A. only), aśnoti, -nute, āśa, 
ānaṉśa, ānaśe, aśishyate or akshyate, āśishṭa 
and āshṭa, aśitum, to reach, come to, arrive at; to 
get, gain, obtain; to become master of, to master, to 
be able; to pervade, penetrate, pierce through, fill; 
to heap, accumulate: Caus. āśayati, āśiśat: Desid. 
aśiśhate: Intens. aśāśyate

2 . aś, cl. 9. P. aśnāti, āśa, aśi- 
shyati, āśīt, aśitum, to eat, consume; to 
taste, enjoy: Caus. āśayati, -yitum, to cause to eat, 
to give to eat, to feed: Desid. aśiśishati, to wish to 
eat: Intens. aśāśyate.

I am inclined to go with class 5 aś as the root. 


Am I correct in assuming that this is a compound with the indeclinable prefix 'sa' substituting 'saha'  indicating possession or more simply 'with eye' (ie with an epistemological tool/organ) as a possible translation? However, I'm still at a loss to understand how this concept can be considered an an external field to the agent involved in the act of witnessing...this is really the crux of my query and I appreciate any insights you might be able to share.


Thanks in advance.




All the best,

Patrick McCartney

PhD Candidate
School of Culture, History & Language
College of the Asia-Pacific
The Australian National University
Canberra, Australia, 0200


Skype - psdmccartney