Gender of Countries

[Radhakrishna Warrier]

In Indian literature in general, countries are personified in the feminine.  India is personified as Bhāratāmba, as Mother India.  We say Vande Mātaram.  However, in most Indo-Aryan languages, a country is treated grammatically in masculine or neuter gender.

In Hindi:

भारत जीतेगा not भारत जीतेगी

मेरा भारत महान  not मेरी भारत महान

In Gujarati, I think countries are treated as neuter gender grammatically.

પાકિસ્તાન હારી ગયું (Pakistan lost – neuter gender) not પાકિસ્તાન હારી ગઈ (lost – feminine) or પાકિસ્તાન હારી ગયો (lost – masculine).

I think this is applicable for most Indo-Aryan languages –- countries are personified as feminine but grammatically treated as masculine or neuter.  This is quite interesting, especially for persons like me in whose mother tongue the verbs do not undergo any person, number, or gender changes.

Regards,

Radhakrishna Warrier

[Shashi Joshi]

bhAratavarSha is masc

bhArat-ambA I am hearing for first time.

Vande mAtaram is a very new coinage, like bhArata mAtA.

IMHO

Thanks,
Shashi

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[K S Kannan]

A reflection of the general Vedic saying

pr̥thvī mātā, dyauḥ pitā.

Janma-bhūmi is feminine.

We have Bhārata-bhūmi (f.), but also Bharata-Varṣa, Bharata-Khaṇḍa (not f.)

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Dr. K.S.Kannan  D.Litt.

​Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj Chair Professor, IIT-Madras.

Senior Fellow, ICSSR, New Delhi.

Academic Director, Swadeshi Indology.

Member, Academic Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthana.

Nominated Member, IIAS, Shimla.

Former Professor, CAHC, Jain University, Bangalore.

Former Director, Karnataka Samskrit University, Bangalore.

Former Head, Dept. of Sanskrit, The National Colleges, Bangalore.

[Shashi Joshi]

That tendering is because of the last word, bhumi, varsha etc.

What about just bhArata, what is the gender ?

Apte online entry:

भारत bhārata a. (-ती f.) [भरतस्येदम्, भारतान् भरतवंश्यानधिकृत्य कृतो ग्रन्थः अण्] Belonging to or descended from Bharata. -तः 1 A descendant of Bharata; (such as विदुर; सञ्जातहर्षो मुनिमाह भारतः Mb.3.20.8; also धृतराष्ट्र, अर्जुन in Bg.). -2 An inhabitant of Bharatavarṣa or India. -3 An actor, -4 An epithet of the sun shining on the south of Meru. -5 Fire. -तम् 1 India, the country of Bharata; एतदूढगुरुभार भारतं वर्षमद्य मम वर्तते वशे Śi.14.5. -2 N. of the most celebrated epic poem in Sanskrit which gives the history of the descendants of Bharata with innumerable episodes. (It is attributed to Vyāsa or कृष्णद्वैपायन, but the work, as we have it at present, is evidently the production of many hands); श्रवणाञ्जलिपुटपेयं विरचितवान् भारताख्यममृतं यः । तमहमरागमकृष्णं कृष्णद्वैपायनं वन्दे ॥ Ve.1.4; व्यासगिरां निर्यासं सारं विश्वस्य भारतं वन्दे । भूषणतयैव संज्ञां यदङ्कितां भारती वहति ॥ Āryā. S.31. -3 The science of music and dramaturgy founded by Bharata. -ती Speech, voice, words, eloquence; भारतीनिर्घोषः U.3; तमर्थमिव भारत्या सुतया योक्तुमर्हसि Ku.6.79; नवरसरुचिरां निर्मिति- मादधती भारती कवेर्जयति K. P.1. -2 The goddess of speech, Sarasvatī; कीरानने स्फुरसि भारति का रतिस्ते Govindarāja. -3 N. of a particular kind of style; भारती संस्कृतप्रायो वाग्व्यापारो नटाश्रयः S. D.285. -4 A quail. -5 The dramatic art in general. -6 The Sanskrit speech of an actor. -7 One of the 10 orders (दशनाम) of Gosāvins, mendicants (Mar. दसनाम गोसावी). -Comp. -आख्यानम्, -इतिहासः, -कथा the story of the Bhāratas (महाभारत). -मण्डलम्, -वर्षम् India. -सावित्री N. of a stotra; इमां भारतसावित्रीं प्रातरुत्थाय यः पठेत् Mb.18.5.64.

Thanks,
Shashi

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[Amba Kulkarni]

Namaste,

When भारत refers to a देश, it is masculine, when it refers to a भूमि,  it is feminine.

Here the लक्ष्यार्थ  is intended.

-- Amba

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आ नो भद्रा: क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वत: ll
Let noble thoughts come to us from every side.
- Rig Veda, I-89-i.

Professor
Department of Sanskrit Studies
University of Hyderabad

Prof. C.R. Rao Road 

Hyderabad-500 046

(91) 040 23133802(off)

http://scl.samsaadhanii.in

http://sanskrit.uohyd.ac.in/scl

http://tdil-dc.in/san/

http://sanskrit.uohyd.ac.in/faculty/amba

[Nagaraj Paturi]

Though this has been discussed in this list earlier too it does not hurt bring up once again. 

It is not correct to conflate the feature of grammatical gender (form of the word deciding the gender)  of Sanskrit with the feature of  semi-semantic semi-grammatical (meaning of the word deciding the gender in some words and form of the word deciding the gender in some other) of  the present north-Indian languages and the feature of semantic gender (meaning of the word deciding the gender) of the south Indian languages. 

The idea of Bhaarata maataa has nothing to do with these linguistic features of Indian languages including Sanskrit. 

The idea is culturally rooted. 

Viewing human settlements like villages and forest localities as a village goddess /forest goddess has been a millennia old widespread pan-Indian (probably/suspectably global) practice. 

As Prof. Kannan pointed out , ideas of the Earth as goddess (Bhudevi, Bhumata) have Vedic roots. 

Modern ideas of Bharata maataa can be traced culturally to these ideas. 

Semantic gender of most Indian languages facilitates expressing this cultural idea conveniently. 

Sanskrit has the facility through its feminine forms connoting the earth, to communicate this modern idea. 

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Nagaraj Paturi

 

Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.

Director, Indic Academy

BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra

BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala

BoS Veda Vijnana Gurukula, Bengaluru.

Member, Advisory Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, Bengaluru

BoS Rashtram School of Public Leadership

Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Studies in Public Leadership

Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies, 

FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education, 

Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.

 

 

 

[Prabhu]

This reminded me of the shloka recited during sandhyAvandanaM

पृथ्वी त्वया धृता लोका देवी त्वम्‌ विष्णुना धृता...

Regards

Prabhu

[Prabhu]

I should have typed "...mantra recited during..."  
Prabhu

[K S Kannan]

pr̥thvi and devi

are here hrasvānta

as they are words of address

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[Prabhu]

Thank you for the correction.

Regards

Prabhu