Does "Sikh" come from Sanskrit "shiksha?

[Ramesh Rao]

Some of my friends on Facebook said the word "Sikh" has Sanskrit roots. Is that so?

Ramesh Rao

[Raja Roy]

I think it comes from "Shishya" meaning disciple.

Raja

On Sun, Apr 24, 2022 at 2:56 PM Ramesh Rao <ramesh...@gmail.com> wrote:

Some of my friends on Facebook said the word "Sikh" has Sanskrit roots. Is that so?

Ramesh Rao

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[Aravinda Rao]

I too read somewhere that it comes from the word shishya.

Aravinda Rao 

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[Girish Jha]

The word" sikh" is derived from "shishya".

In the time of the first Guru "Guru Nanaka",it was proposed that one person should be offered as a shishya(शिष्य).Later it was developed as "sikh" or sikkh".Retroflex s is pronounced as kh right from olden days in various regions.

Girish K.Jha

Professor of Sanskrit(Retd)

Patna University

Residence: Kolkata

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[Ramesh Rao]

Thank you and dhanyavada, kind, thoughtful people.

Ramesh

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[Jammalamadaka Srinivas]

Maybe शिखी ?

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[G S S Murthy]

Isn't its origin "simha"?

Regards,

Murthy

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[Ramesh Rao]

Singh comes from simha... but I was just intrigued by the link between Sikh and shishya...

Ramesh

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[Nityanand Misra]

Namaste

The word सिख is used in three senses in Hindi (and probably other Prakrit-based languages also).

(1) learning, as in प्रभु भल कीन्ह मोहि सिख दीन्ही (RCM 5.59.5). In this sense, the word सिख is feminine and indeed comes from Sanskrit शिक्षा.

(2) tuft or braid of hair, as in राम रूप नख-सिख सुभग बारहिं बार निहारि, पुलक गात लोचन सजल उमा समेत पुरारि (RCM 1.315), नख-सिख = नख-शिख. In this sense also, the word सिख is feminine and comes from Sanskrit शिखा. 

(3) a disciple, as in the Sikh faith. In this sense, the word is masculine and comes from Sanskrit शिष्य

Hope that helps, Nityananda  

[Nityanand Misra]

On Monday, 25 April, 2022 at 6:34:48 pm UTC+5:30 ramesh.rao.n wrote:

Singh comes from simha... but I was just intrigued by the link between Sikh and shishya...

Ramesh

Yes, Singh (सिंघ) indeed comes from ‘simha’/सिंह. I wrote this article some months ago.

On the last name ‘Singh’

Question (paraphrased): “A lot of North Indians have the last name ‘Singh’. Many Sikhs have this as their middle name. Why do they write and pronounce it as ‘Singh’ when the word is ‘simha’/सिंह? They pronounce as सिंघ but write सिंह in Hindi. For example, the Defence Minister Sh. Rajnath Singh is राजनाथ सिंह in Hindi. Coming from South India, I find it very unusual.”

My answer

As you have rightly traced, the original Sanskrit word is ‘siṃha’ (सिंह), which means a lion. However, in Prakrit this becomes ‘sīha’, ‘siṃgha’, or ‘siṅgha’. In the ancient Prakrit Grammar Prākṛta-prakāśa, there is a rule ईत्सिंहजिह्वयोश्च (1.17) due to which Sanskrit ‘siṃha’ (सिंह) becomes ‘sīha’ (सीह) in Prakrit (the inflected form सिंहः becomes सीहो). In later Prakrit, another form ‘siṃgha’ (सिंघ), optionally ‘siṅgha’ (सिङ्घ), is attested. In his Prakrit grammar (eighth chapter of the Siddhahema-śabdānusāsana), Ācārya Hemacandra (12th century CE) gives a rule मांसादेर्वा (1.29). In his auto-commentary on this rule, he gives the example “sīho siṃgho” (“सीहो सिंघो”) which gives the two variant Prakrit forms of Sanskrit ‘siṃha’ (सिंह), viz. ‘sīha’ (सीह) and ‘siṃgha’ (सिंघ). By the next rule वर्गेऽन्त्यो वा (1.30) of Hemacandra’s grammar, ‘siṃgha’ (सिंघ) optionally becomes ‘siṅgha’ (सिङ्घ). So, the pronunciation /sɪŋghᵊ/ by most North Indians and the English spelling ‘Singh’ reflects this Prakrit version ‘siṅgha’ (सिङ्घ) which is attested since at least the time of Ācārya Hemacandra. Somehow, the spelling ‘siṃha’ (सिंह) is used by most North Indians when they spell their name in Devanagari follows the Sanskrit version, but the pronunciation is as per the Prakrit version ‘siṅgha’ (सिङ्घ). If you note, in Punjab the middle/last name ‘Singh’ is spelt ਸਿੰਘ (सिंघ) with a ‘ṭippī’ in Gurmuki. This Gurmukhi spelling is closer to the actual pronunciation. 

[Ramesh Rao]

Dhanyavada, Nityananda ji, for this careful, contexted etymological explanation. 

Ramesh Rao

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[L Srinivas]

Nice explanation on a seemingly perplexing subject.

The Tridandi Sanyasis of south India have this title 'jīyar' which apparently comes from the Prakrit word for 'lion' Tamilized as 'cīyam'. The Madras Tamil Lexicon glosses it as :

சீயம்¹ cīyam , n. < Pkt. sīha < simha. 1. Lion; சிங்கம். சீயமு மேறும் பாய்பரிப் புரவியும் (பெருங். உஞ்சைக். 42, 85). 2. Leo, a sign of the zodiac; சிங்கராசி. (திவா.)

A comment on a related matter. You say

> This Gurmukhi spelling is closer to the actual pronunciation.

In small town and rural Punjab where I have spent some time, I have never heard anyone pronounce 'Singh' as 'सिंघ' - as written in Gurmukhi which you have indicated. To my arguably untrained ear, it has always sounded like 'सियों' or 'सियां'.

It seems to me Punjabi too has a written stand-in spelling which is different from how it's pronounced in ordinary speech.

Just thought I'll bring it to your attention.

Srini

[Radhakrishna Warrier]

Interesting.  Prakrit Siha became just Si in old Gujarati, it appears.  For example, નરસિંહ (Narasimha) became નરસી (Narsee).

I think in informal, spoken Punjabi, voiced aspirates like gh have disappeared.  In word initial position, they have lost both aspiration and voicing. घोड़ा (ghoda, horse) is written correctly as ਘੋਡ਼ਾ but pronounced as कोड़ा (koda). In non-initial position, they lost aspiration but not voicing.  Sindhi (सिंधी) is pronounced as Sindi (सिंदी).  Although the aspiration has disappeared, it might still cause some change in accent.  I am rather insensitive to accent and tones, so cannot easily hear accent or tone changes.  That causes me difficulty in learning to pronounce Mandarin words.

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From: bvpar...@googlegroups.com <bvpar...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of L Srinivas <lns2...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2022 8:07 AM
To: भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत् <bvpar...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} Does "Sikh" come from Sanskrit "shiksha?

 

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