Dear Joao,
--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Joao S. Lopes" <josimo70@...>
wrote:
> How if this name has not an Indo-Aryan origin? This Mali-word
> appears in many Rakshasa names:
These are all attested in Valmiki's Ramayana, a work composed when
the Skt. word ma:la:- 'garland, wreath' (possibly representing, as I
mentioned in my last post, a loan from Dravidian) was already in use
in Skt. literature.
> Suma:li (Vis^ravas' father-in-law)
This name means 'well-garlanded' (the Skt. prefix su- means 'good,
beautiful, well' etc.).
> Ma:lini (Vis^ravas' wife)
ma:lini:- means 'the wife of a garland-maker or gardener, female
florist'. In Skt. literature this term also accurs as an epithet of
Durga and of other goddesses and celestial maidens, and also as the
name of a city, of various rivers (including the celestial Ganges),
of various literary female characters, and of various metres.
> Ma:li (Suma:li's brother)
ma:li- (or ma:lin-) means 'garlanded, crowned' as also 'a garland-
maker, gardener'.
> Could be a substratum word? From Elamo-Dravidian, maybe...
At the time when it was used to form the names of the Rakshasas you
cite above, the term ma:li(n)- (< ma:la:- 'garland, wreath') was
already a regular Skt. word by its right; therefore, any attempt at
a linguistic connection with putative (Elamo-Dravidian?) theonyms of
ancient Iran seems far-fetched to me.
Best,
Francesco