{भारतीयविद्वत्परिषद्} Respectful form of addressing in Sanskrit

[G S S Murthy]

Dear Scholars,

In Sanskrit classics and Puranas even sages and divine persons are addressed in singular. Sometimes भवान्/अत्रभवान् is used. In Hindi and other cognate languages, plural form of addressing is perhaps the norm. It looks to me that this practice of addressing in plural is coming into vogue in Sanskrit too.I am not sure if it is a welcome development. Scholars could opine.

Thanks and regards,

Murthy

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My web site : http://murthygss.tripod.com/index.htm

and also my Sanskrit blog :

http://simplesanskrit.blogspot.com/

http://gssmurthy.blogspot.com

[उज्ज्वल राजपूत]

पश्यन्तु हि तातपादा इति चन्द्रकेतुरुत्तररामचरितस्य षष्ठेङ्के।

[Hnbhat B.R.]

On 18-May-2016 9:14 am, "उज्ज्वल राजपूत" <ujjwal....@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> पश्यन्तु हि तातपादा इति चन्द्रकेतुरुत्तररामचरितस्य षष्ठेङ्के।
>

> --
>

"नामान्ते चरणाः पादाः पूजार्थवाचकाः"

[Satish Kumar Dogra]

The respectful third-person style of talking has seeped into the Tamil style. I am not aware of other south-Indian states.

When I joined as an Assistant Superintendent of Police in Tamil Nadu way back in 1984, and was sitting in a police station, the Inspector asked, "Would the ASP like to take tea or coffee?"  Having been born and brought up in Punjab, I could not make out that the ASP being talked about was  none other than myself. So, I asked him "Which ASP?" The confusion continued for sometime before I could understand that he was asking about me.

Several years later, I felt nothing odd when, as a DIG, I would ask my DGP, "Would the DGP like to take tea or coffee?" I had become a Tamilian by then!

Confusion arose when a foreigner visited my department and one of the officers asked him something like, "Would the dignitary like to ......?"

Interestingly Hindi does not use the third-person system of address. The distinction is तू,, तुम, and  आप. Similar distinction exists in Tamil as நீ, நீர், நீங்கள். However, while addressing a very senior officer the subordinate sometimes uses the third-person even in Tamil, although the word நீங்கள் is the equivalent of the respectful  आप in Hindi.

I am not aware whether there is an equivalent of आप  in Sanskrit which is second person and not third person. This leaves only two choices --- either address everyone as त्वम् which to our Indian minds will be distasteful when addressing elders, or to continue with the third-person भवान्. Perhaps one could make the use of भवान् less frequent.

Dogra, Chennai.

============================================
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[उज्ज्वल राजपूत]

किमम्बाभिः प्रेषित इति राजाभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलस्य द्वितीयेङ्के।

[Sivakumari Katuri]

नमस्सर्वेभ्यः,

गौरवार्थेषु बहुवचनप्रयोगः, तथा पदान्तरयोजनेन प्रयोगश्च दृश्यते।

बहुवचनप्रयोगः - भवन्त एव जानन्ति रघूणां च कुलस्थितिम् - उत्तररामचरितम्। 

पदान्तरयोजनम् - मिश्र, आर्य, वर्य इत्यादयः समासान्ते संयोज्य गौरवार्थं द्योतयन्ति। 

यथा - आर्यमिश्राः प्रमाणम् - मालविकाग्निमित्रम्। अत्र मिश्र इति आदरार्थे प्रयुक्तः, तथा बहुवचनेपि। 

यदार्यमस्यामभिलाषि मे मनः।

अन्वीतः स कतिपयैः किरातवर्यैः। 

सम्मानसूचके तु भवतु इति सर्वनामस्य प्रयोगस्तु दरीदृश्यते। अथवा कथं भवान् मन्यते। इत्यादयः ज्ञेयाः।

धन्यवादाः।

2016-05-17 22:49 GMT-07:00 उज्ज्वल राजपूत <ujjwal....@gmail.com>:

किमम्बाभिः प्रेषित इति राजाभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलस्य द्वितीयेङ्के।

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सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु।

[Sivakumari Katuri]

पाणिनीयमनुसृत्य, अस्मद्-शब्दस्य एकत्वे,द्वित्वे च बहुवचनप्रयोगः विकल्पेन  वर्तते  अस्मदो द्वयोश्च इति सूत्रेण। यथा - अहं ब्रवीमि, वयं ब्रूमः। आवां ब्रूवः, वयं ब्रूमः। 

गुरौ युष्मद्-शब्दस्यापि एकवचनस्य बहुवचनं भवति, युष्मदि गुरावेकेषाम् इति वार्तिकेन। यथा - त्वं मे गुरुः, यूयं मे गुरवः।

[G S S Murthy]

Many thanks for the comments of scholars on this point.

1. Instances of respectful plural being used to refer to and address respected persons can be ferreted out in Sanskrit literature. Philosophers/Commentators refer to Sri Shankaracharya as Sankarabhagavatpaadaah. 

2. It is also agreed that Sanskrit grammar does not prohibit such usage

3. Exceptions prove the rule as they say. Even in Abhijnanashakuntala although the sage refers to himself in plural, his disciples address him with Bhavaan. 

4. In Indian languages I know, usage of plural for respected persons is the rule. It is this fact that impels modern Sanskrit writers/speakers to use plural even in Sanskrit. अमुकवर्याः आध्यक्षम् अवहन्. अमुकवर्याः अभाषन्त, अमुकवर्याः उपस्थिताः आसन्  instead of अमुकवर्यः आध्यक्षम् अवहत् इत्यादि.

भवदीयः,

मूर्तिः 

[Nagaraj Paturi]

Bhavaan is respectful / honorific (more s'ishTa) singular. That is how it differs from tvam. The singular in that does not remove the respect in the expression. This gives a greater accuracy in the expression, than where you have plural as the expression of respect thatleads to ambiguity whether the plural used is for communicating respect or for describing plurality. It gives greater accuracy compared to even expressions like aap that convey respect but not the clarity about how many persons are being addressed respectfully.

Nagaraj Paturi

 

Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.

 

Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies

 

FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,

 

(Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA )

 

 

 

[sunil bhattacharjya]

While Aap is only  in singular, the plural is aaplog, but hum can be used both in singular and plural while humlog is in plural only. .There are exceptions, such as in the Lukhnowi style, where even a child is addressed as aap. Another exception is that a sanyashi would generally speak of himself in pluranl and not in singular.

Regards.

[Ajit Gargeshwari]

This has nothing got to do with  Tamil or Hindi Indians don't adress their elders or gurus by name. Hence third person is used to adress elders in works. Many saints adress themselves in plural. They ham ne kaha instead of mai ne kaha. The same logic applies in Sanskrit as well. Even in Kannada one gurugala matu etc.

Regards
Ajit Gargeshwari

[Venkata Sriram]

Namaste,

Ramachandra while addressing His mother Kaikeyi uses the respectful address as भवती in अयोध्या काण्डः

अनुक्तः अपि अत्रभवता "भवत्या" वचनात् अहम् |
वने वत्स्यामि विजने वर्षाणि इह चतुर् दश || २-१९-२३

भरतः पालयेद् राज्यम् शुश्रूषेच् च पितुर् यथा |
तहा भवत्या कर्तव्यम् स हि धर्मः सनातनः || २-१९-२६

Regs,
Sriram