--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Francesco Brighenti" <frabrig@...>
wrote:
> What Macdonnell translates as 'priest of the asuras' is the
> Sanskrit compound asuradruhbrahma, where the measning 'priest' is
> expressed by the term brahma, not by druh!!
>
> [...]
>
> (See entry from that dictionary at http://tinyurl.com/2t57ck)
>
> It remains to explain why asuradruhbrahma means 'priest of the
> asuras' [...]
Sorry, my *big* mistake! I was lead astray by the way entries are
organized and abbreviated in Macdonnell's _Practical Sanskrit
Dictionary_. The entry in that dictionary from which our listmember
Kishore Patnaik inferred that "druh has a meaning priest, like in
asuradruh [...] from which the word druid (the Celtic priest) seems
to have been derived" (see Kishore's message archived at
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/cybalist/message/52210 )
is actually asura-brahma, *not* asura-druh-brahma!
As a compound, asurabrahma 'a priest of the asuras' makes perfect
sense -- see also Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English dictionary at
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0100/mw__0154.html
At any rate, this only confirms once again that druh does not
mean 'a priest'. The Vedic asuras (antigods) had their own priests
(brahman): see, f.i., _S'atapatha Braahman.a_ 1.1.4.14 at
http://tinyurl.com/rmzhc
(original Sanskrit text)
or at
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/sbe12/sbe1206.htm
(Eggeling's English translation)
With apologies,
Francesco