Re: [tied] Re: Parvati

From: Dennis King
Message: 3891
Date: 2000-09-19

Christopher Gwinn wrote:

> Parvati should perhaps come from Sanskrit parvata "mountain"

I was taught (if I remember correctly!) that pârvatî is derived
from parvata using a straightforward and entirely productive
derivational process called secondary suffixation - that is, applying
"taddhita pratyaya", which builds new nominal stems from old ones.

Primary suffixation (creating nominal stem from verbal root):

budh (awaken) + ta (primary suffix) > *bhudhta > buddha (awakened)

Secondary suffixation (building new nominal forms):

buddha + vRddhi (vowel change) > bauddha (a Buddhist)

manah (mind) > mânasa (mental)

puruSah (man) > pauruSeya (human)

kuntî (Kunti) > kaunteyah (male connected to Kunti, her son, Arjuna)

I believe Pârvatî is always assumed to mean "She of the Mountain" in India.

Dennis King