Re: [tied] The aliens in their macs

Actually, both <nir-va:ta-> and <ni-va:ta-> are possible, the first containing the privative prefix <nis.-> 'without', and the second <ni-> 'down' ('down-wind' is here interpreted as '[a place] sheltered from the wind' and contrasts with <upa-va:ta-> 'up-wind' = '[a place] exposed to the wind'). Of course a windproof overcoat is still different from a spacesuit. Niva:katavaca is actually the name of a captain of demons (of the Pauloma and Ka:lakeya races) mentioned several times in the S'rimad-bHa:gavatam. The idea that he wore some special kind of garment is apparently somebody's "rationalisation" of his name.

Piotr

From: wtsdv

To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2002 9:35 AM

Subject: [tied] odd ideas (was: Re: Shaved Beaver}

--- In cybalist@......, "anthonyappleyard" <MCLSSAA2@......> wrote: > > There are old Indian reports of India being invaded by "demons" > from a land in the sky, and they all looked alike, and they wore > garments called nivatakavacha, which was interpreted as "no-air- > suits". Alas for someone's ufological ideas, someone else pointed > that Sanskrit "ni-" = "without" is correctly "niH" and would be > "nir-" if the next sound is a voiced consonant, and the word > means "practical layer garment", i.e. several layers of ordinary > garments, and the land in the sky was likely merely Tibet. The online Sanskrit dictionary does give 'nivAta' as "windless" and 'kavaca' as "armour, mail, jacket". Maybe that's the source of the "no-air-suit" idea. Of course that's still a long way from "space suit"! I can't help thinking of the large heavy felt overcoats worn by various Turkic, Magyar and Iranian shepherds. The Ossetic word for this type of coat is 'nymæt' < Ir. *nimata-, which can also mean just "felt". Could 'nivatakavaca' be the Sanskritization of an Iranian word? What's the length of the word's second vowel?