सौदामनी / सौदामिनी

[Harry Spier]

Dear list members,

Below are Monier-William's dictionary entry for सौदामनी and for सौदामिनी .  He quotes "vidyut saudāmanī yathā " from the nalopākhyānam (Mbh. 3,50,12)  The critical edition verse also listed below.

1) Monier-Williams dictionary says सौदामिनी is an incorrect spelling of  सौदामनी . Is that factual? The critical edition has सौदामिनी  as its entry, but shows that some manuscripts have सौदामनी and some have सौदामिनी  .

2) Monier-Williams is a little vague in his definition of  सौदामनी  saying "lightning or a particular kind of lightning; perhaps forked lightning.  Does  सौदामनी mean "forked lightning".

MBh. 3,50,12 critical edition

तत्र स्म भ्राजते भैमी सर्वाभरणभूषिता
सखीमध्ये ऽनवद्याङ्गी विद्युत् सौदामिनी यथा
अतीव रूपसंपन्ना श्रीरिवायतलोचना

Entry in Monier-Williams dictionary

Harry Spier

[Mohan Chettoor]

Actually, there are 3 forms:

1. सौदामिनी; 2. सौदामनी (omitting the augment) and 3. सौदाम्नी(dropping the penultimate vowel)

1. सौदामिनी   - 1. Lightning. [सौदामिनीव जलदोदरसंधिलीना -Mrichakatika; ऋतुसंहारे । ३ । १२ ।“नष्टं धनुर्बलभिदो जलदोदरेषुसौदामिनी स्फुरति नाद्य वियत्पताका ॥

तडिद्भेदः । महाभारते । ३ । ५३ । १२ ।“तत्र स्म राजते भैमी सर्व्वाभरणभूषिता ।सखीमध्येऽनवद्याङ्गी विद्युत् सौदामिनी यथा ॥

2. One of the Apsarasas or nymphs of Swarga. अप्सरोभेदः । इति हेमचन्द्रः ॥

3. A city so named. देशविशेषः ।इत्यजयः ॥

Mohan Chettoor

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[R. N. iyengar]

Saudamini is the technical word for a lightning in the north, as per the Parasharatantra quoted by Ballalasena in his Adbhuta Sagara

On Sat, Jun 14, 2025 at 11:03 AM R. N. iyengar <narayana...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Subrahmanyam Srinivasan]

Ramayana , Aranyakanda, Verse .52.14 (Ref. I.I.T., Kanpur)

तप्ताभरणजुष्टाङ्गी पीतकौशेयवासिनी।

रराजराजपुत्री तुविद्युत्सौदामिनी यथा।।3.52.14।।

तप्ताभरणजुष्टाङ्गी lady wearing on her limbs pure gold ornaments, पीतकौशेयवासिनी lady clad in yelow silk, राजपुत्री princess, विद्युत् सौदामिनी यथा like lightning, रराज shone.

SIta who had put on pure gold ornaments on her body and who was clad in yellow silk shone like lightning.

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Subrahmanyam Srinivasan

[Lakshmanan Krishnamurti]

सौदामिनी is mentioned I  अमरकोषand अमरटीका. 

Both forms appear to be correct and may have overlapping meanings

 

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[Lakshmanan Krishnamurti]

Incidentally कैकयी and कैकेयी are both used to represent the same person in the रामायणम्

शिष्टप्रयोग is always correct

[Harry Spier]

Dear everyone,

Why I asked about the meaning of सौदामनी/ सौदामिनी . The phrase  विद्युत् सौदामिनी occurs in the nalopākhyānam Mahabharata 3,50,12 as typed below. But all english translations of this verse translate विद्युत् सौदामिनी very differently.

1) Monier-Williams in his dictionary (referencing this verse)  translates it as "lightning of a particular kind, perhaps forked lightning". But in his translation of the nalopākhyānam , he just translates the phrase as "lightning".

2) Van Buitenen in his translation of Mahabharata book 3 translates it as "garlanded lighning".

3) Walter Maurer in his "The Sanskrit Language" textbook , notes on this verse (listed below) translates it as "lightning born of the raincloud" and give grammatical reasons for this translation and why सौदामनी is correct and सौदामिनी incorrect.

So I don't see any agreement about the meaning of सौदामनी/ सौदामिनी  in the context of this verse.

The verse Mbh 3,50,12 

तत्र स्म भ्राजते भैमी सर्वाभरणभूषिता
सखीमध्ये ऽनवद्याङ्गी विद्युत् सौदामिनी यथा

अतीव रूपसंपन्ना श्रीर् इवायतलोचना

Maurer's notes on this phrase

Thanks,

Harry Spier

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[Lakshmanan Krishnamurti]

There is no basis for the claim that सौदामिनी  is wrong when it appears in अमरकोष

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[Nagaraj Paturi]

सौदामनी saudāmanī
      सौदामनी saudâman-î f. [coming from the Bountiful One, i. e. Indra or the *rain-cloud: su-dâman] lightning (proceeding from a rain-cloud): often vidyut saudamanî yathâ, at the end of a line=like the lightning flashing from the black thunder-cloud; T. of a commentary on the Meghadûta; N. of a daughter of Kasyapa, of a Yakshinî, of an Apsaras, and of various women.

   सौदामिनी saudāminī
      सौदामिनी saudâminî f. incorr., but frequent, for saudâmanî, lightning.

https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/macdonell_query.py?page=360

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Apte: 


 सौदामनी saudāmanm, सौदामिनी saudāminm, सौदाम्नी saudāmnī 1 Lightning; सौदामन्या कनकनिकषस्निग्धया दर्शयोर्वीम् Me.39; सौदामिनीव जलदोदरसंधिलीना Mk.1.35; Māl.8.14. -2 The female of Indra's elephant. -3 A kind of lightning (forked one); काञ्चनाभं नभश्चक्रे विद्युत्सौदामिनी यथा Rām.7.32.56; Bhāg.1.6.28.

https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/apte_query.py?page=1707

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Macdonell

 सौदामिनी saudāminī
      सौदामिनी saudâminî f. incorr., but frequent, for saudâmanî, lightning.

https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/macdonell_query.py?page=360

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It is Macdonell who is saying incorrect but frequent. 

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Nagaraj Paturi

Kulapati | Vice-Chancellor, INDICA

 

 

 

[ज्वलन्त्युखा]

दा-धातोः मनिन्-प्रत्ययातं प्रातिपदिकं दामन् (न.पुं) ।

सुष्टूनि दामानि यस्य सः सुदामा । अथवा सुष्टूनि दामानि ददाति सः सुदामा ।

कृष्णस्य सखा सुदामा ।

सुदाम्नः अपत्यं स्त्री सौदामनी ।