Why meanings are different?

[Gmail Team]

July 11, 2012

 

Respected Scholars, Namaskar!

 

 Please help me. Apte Dictionary offers these meanings.

 

Niketanah (ending in Visarga) =Onion

Niketanam = House

In these two words all phonemes are the same except the last one. Why meanings are so different? Is gender involved?

 

Similar situation is observed.

 

Ks'itijah (ending in Visarga)= tree

Ks'itijam=horizon

 I know Ks'iti means earth. So posibilty of YogArudha meaning. It is ok, But why difference?

Or do AnuswAra and Visarga have meanings that causing this differences in meanings?  Sometimes  the meaning of Ah (Visraga) is given as Vis'Nu. What is the reason?

 

Thanks. N.R.Joshi

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[Hnbhat B.R.]

Sanskrit has Grammatical Gender system than Gender system based on Sex distinction as in other languages. As such, meanings are distinguished by their Grammatical Genders in traditional Lexicons. This is commonly accepted phenomenon of the Gender system.

The word  मित्र used in neuter gender to denote a friend, while the word सुहृद् is used in masculine. The same word मित्र is used in masculine gender to denote the deity मित्र though देवता is masculine in gender, and देवः सविता is in masculine meaning Sun God. This is the general convention in written form of Sanskrit Language, though Spoken Sanskrit doesn't make such difference or are not aware of such Grammatical Gender System. Hence it is a wonder for the speakers of other languages where gender system if any exists in the sex distinction of the nouns.

Now, the word for denoting a wife, can present the complex nature of this system:

We all know a wife can be of female sex in English and many other languages if gender system is part of the grammar system in one or other way. Now, in Sanskrit, 

कलत्रम् is the word used to denote a wife, in neuter gender, and

दाराः is used in masculine gender and generally used in plural as in the usage:

दारान् पद्मभुवस्त्रिलोकजननीं वन्दे जगन्मातरम्।

you can notice the disagreement of  gender used to denote the same wife of Brahmam. At times it is seen used in singular, but in masculine gender.

सरस्वती, शारदा, वाणी etc. are used in feminine gender also.

I think this explains the Grammatical Gender System against the Gender System based on the sex distinction as in other languages and the entries in dictionaries noting down the gender has got its own importance. It is on this that you get a अनुस्वार or विसर्ग on the word, or not depending on the declension of the word used and its gender get the declined forms correctly.

I have no other opinion in this regard. Other scholars can shed light on different aspects of the issue raised.

--
Dr. Hari Narayana Bhat B.R. M.A., Ph.D.,
Research Scholar,

Ecole française d'Extrême-OrientCentre de Pondichéry

16 & 19, Rue Dumas

Pondichéry - 605 001

[Hnbhat B.R.]

Ks'itijah (ending in Visarga)= tree

Ks'itijam=horizon

 I know Ks'iti means earth. So posibilty of YogArudha meaning. It is ok, But why difference?

Or do AnuswAra and Visarga have meanings that causing this differences in meanings?  Sometimes  the meaning of Ah (Visraga) is given as Vis'Nu. What is the reason?

I think this has been discussed on the द्योतक and वाचक aspect of the प्रत्यय-s suffixes in another thread.

I remember a verse:

बिन्दुद्वन्द्वतरङ्गिताग्रसरणिः कर्ता शिरोबिन्दुकं. कर्मेति क्रमशिक्षितान्वयकला ये केऽ पि तेभ्यो नमः ।

 ये तु ग्रन्थसहस्रशाणकषणत्रुट्यत्कलङ्कैर्गिरा-मुल्लेखैः कवयन्ति बिल्हणकविस्तेष्वेव संनह्यति । ।र.सु.क. २.५८ । । (कर्णसुन्दरी) 

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