HINDI VYUTPATTI KOSH in 4 volumes (Hindi)
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HINDI VYUTPATTI KOSH in 4 volumes (Hindi)
A Dictionary of Hindi Etymology
Compiled and edited with an exhaustive introduction
by Acarya Bacchulal Avasthi
2006 245 x 185 mm 2592 pp
Hardcover Rs. 3600
Hindi Etymology is a vast subject. Hindi owes its origins Shauraseni
Prakrit and khadi boli. Hindi lexicon is based upon the twin poles of
Sanskrit tatsamas and tadbhavas on the one hand and Arabic-Persian
influences on the other.
With a history that stretches back over a millennium, Hindi is today
the mostly widely spoken and understood language in India. Not
surprisingly, Hindi is the national language of India.
Hindi is spoken by all strata of society all over the North Indian
plains and is widely understood and used with varying degrees of
perfection by Indians everywhere.
Hindi literature is as vast as it is rich and has produced fine
writers, both male and female,
like Gosvami Tulasidasa, Keshava, Bihari, Ghanananda, Jayasi,
Bharatendu Harishchandra, Jayshankar Prasad, Munshi Premchand,
Hajariprasad Dvivedi, Mahadevi Verma, Bachchan, Pant, Nirala, to name
just a few; and has been sustained in the 20th century by fine
publishers like Pandit Nathuram Premi, Rajarshi Tandon and many
others.
With the pioneering work of grammarians such as Kamataprasad Guru and
Kishoridas Vajpeyi and lexicographers such as Babu Ramachandra Varma,
Mukundilal Shrivastava and others.
An excellent Hindi thesaurus was also provided by the husband-wife
team of Arvind Kumar and Kusum Kumar. The only lexical work missing
in Hindi was a Dictionary of Etymological
terms, or a Hindi Niruktam.
This work has addressed this requirement.
It has taken Acarya Bacchulal Avasthi, Ph.D., D.Lit.; five years to
complete this exceedingly well researched and scientifically compiled
dictionary. He has systematically covered all languages that have
contributed to the birth of Hindi. He has provided in his
comprehensive Introduction brilliant precis of Prakrit and
Apabhramsha grammar based on Jain Acarya Hemacandra's
Siddhahema-Shabdanushasana. Verily, this work could not have been
possible without constantly referring to Prakrit and Apabhramsha,
in order to understand the tadbhavashastra of Hindi.
An alternative title for this lexicon could be HINDI TADBHAVA SHASTRA.
Some interesting snippets from this book:
An example of an Arabic word used in Hindi
The commonly used Hindi word for a maker of sweetmeats is "halwa".
The word is of Arabic origin. When this lexicographer went looking
for its Sanskrit synonym, he could not locate anything in the extant
Sanskrit lexicons! He finally contacted a native Chattisgarhi
speaker, since the language of Chattisgarh is largely free of Arabic-
Persian influence. He learnt that the word used in Chattisgarhi to
denote a vendor of sweetmeats is known as "kandua". He traced its
etymological roots to the Sanskrit "kandu" for an earthen cooker and
therefrom, "kandava" for a vendor of sweetmeats.
An example of a Sanskrit word used in Arabic
The Arabic word "battakh" meaning a duck is a tatsama of the Sanskrit
word "vartaka" meaning a large bird.
An example of a Sanskrit word and its Hindi adaptation
The Sanskrit word "karpata" for cloth transformed to "kappad" in
Prakrit and "kapada" in Hindi.
Basically, the Hindi lexicon comprises of the tatsama component,
(words taken directly from Sanskrit), the tadbhava component, (words
adapted from Sanskrit) the deshaja / desi component, (words of
Prakrit / Apabhramsha origin) and the videshi component (words of
Arabic-Persian origin and English origin). Usually, in written Hindi,
the tatsama component dominates. But as far as spoken Hindi is
concerned, the proportions of each component vary from region to
region and sub-culture to sub-culture.
The 5 guiding principles of Hindi Tadbhava Shastra are:
1. Varnagama: influx of a new consonant / vowel
>From the Sanskrit root "hasa", we find the "Hans" (a swan) of Hindi.
Here, an anusvara has been added to the root word. Another example,
Sanskrit's "ashru" becomes "ansu" (tears) in Hindi.
2. Varna-Viparyaya: interchange of consonants
For instance, the Sanskrit word "pishaca" (goblin) turns into
"picasa" in Prakrit.
The Prakrit word "mahara" (mine) turns into "hamara" in Hindi.
Svara-Viparyaya: interchange of vowels
The Prakrit "majjhu" turns into "Mujh" in Hindi.
3. Varna Vikara: change of a consonant
The Sanskrit "Rishi" turns to Prakrit "Isi".
Sanskrit "Idrsha" turns to Prakrit "aaiisa" turns to Hindi "aisa"
(like this)
4. Varna Nasha / Varna Lopa: elison of a vowel
Sanskrit "svarna" turns to Hindi "sona" (gold)
5. Dhatvarthatishaya: different words arising from the same root word
take on different meanings
For instance, the Hindi words "bhog", "bhojan", "bhogya", "bhakshya"
all arise from the same root word in Sanskrit, "bhak", but have
different meanings.
This HINDI VYUTPATTI KOSH has taken all this into consideration and
is therefore an exceptional work, a dictionary to be cherished and
constantly referred to.
Vidusamanucaro,
Manish
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