Re: [tied] Sarasvati River

From: Alexander Stolbov
Message: 7428
Date: 2001-05-30

In Avesta (Vendidad, Fargard 1) Harahvaiti is mentioned as the 10th good land:
 
12. dasemem asanghãmca shôithranãmca vahishtem frâthweresem azem ýô ahurô mazdå harahvaitîm srîrãm

12. The tenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the beautiful Harahvaiti.

Usually this country is treated as Arachosia (territory of today West Pakistan - South Afghanistan).

Is not Avestan Harahvaiti the precise equivalent of Vedic Sarasvati ?

If so, this term had to appear rather early, on the common Aryan stage, somewhere in the steppe belt. The lower part of Volga (below Samara) could be a good candidate for the _first_ Aryan Sarasvati (It is rather probably that this name could later be transferred to other objects, including Indian Sarasvati).

The late Iranian name for Volga is Rah, or Ranha. Can it be a residue of Harahvaiti? Is this possible from the linguistic point of view?

Alexander Stolbov

 

----- Original Message -----
From: Piotr Gasiorowski
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] Sarasvati River

We've discussed it before. The suffix -va(n)t- (feminine -vati: < *-wnt-ih2) means "rich in, having a lot of". The most likely base seems to be the PIE s-neuter *sel-os/*sel-es- 'marshy lake, pond, pool'. I also considered *ser-es- 'flow, current' as a possibility, but the former name apparently describes the historical Sarasvati much better and I agree it's preferable as an analysis.
 
Piotr
 
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 5:29 PM
Subject: [tied] Sarasvati River

What does "Sarasvati" mean if treated as a Sanksrit word?


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