Origins of the word 'vina'?
Suresh Kolichala
mcg...@noao.edu ("Peregrine M. McGehee") wrote:
> I'm trying to track down the origins of the word 'vina'.
'The new GROVE dictionary of musical instruments', edited by Stanley Sadie,
says that the word veena is first mentioned in yajurvEda and this word may
be related to the word "bint", the harp of ancient Egypt. It says, that this
word, on stronger grounds, may have derived from a pre-aryan root meaning
'bamboo', possibly dravidian, in which case the name would have
originated with early tube or stick zithers.
This dictionary also mentions the following related tamiL words,
vEram = cane
vENu = bamboo flute
vENa = cane worker
In the same dictionary, while explaining the word vENu, it says, the word
VANa is used in RgvEda & atharvaNa vEda in the meanings of 'sound' 'song'
or 'music' but not as any instrument.
To pose a similar question, I wondered about the origin of the word,
"vaayuleenam", - which I heard in many telugu songs - used to refer to
(I think) the musical instrument, violin. For ex. vEToori's popular song
"dorakunA iTuvanTi sEva"
in movie "SankarAbharaNam", has the following lines:-
uCHCHvaasa niSvaasamulu vaayuleenAlu
spandincu navanADulE veeNA gaanAlu
naDalu, yadalOni saDulE mRdangAlu
(
A quick translation of above :
The (acts of) in-haling and ex-haling are violins
The (responses of) nine-nerves are the sounds of vINa
The heart-beats are the drums (mRdangaa-s)
)
...
Is this word 'vaayuleenam' used in other Indian languages also ?
Is this an original Sanskrit word ? Or is it only a recent adaption of
English word 'violin' by telugu lyricists ? I appreciate any information.
Regards,
Suresh.