Re: Mitanni and Matsya

On 2008-04-04 14:31, Francesco Brighenti wrote:

> The derivation of the name Varun.a, like that of the name of the
> primordial serpent Vr.tra, from the Sanskrit verbal root vr.- 'to
> cover, enclose, hide away, confine' is a very old and respectable
> etymological hypothesis to which I, however, prefer the derivation
> of the name Varun.a (not of Vr.tra, which is certainly from vr.-)
> from PIE *u_erh1- 'to speak (solemnly, or with truth)'. This
> etymology, repeatedly cited by David, was the standard one among
> Indologists and Vedicists in times past. Currently there seems to be
> an increasing consensus on the alternative etymology from PIE
> *u_erh1-, making Varun.a the god of 'true speech'. Thus, David's
> suggestion is not at all "idiotic". What is idiotic is to regard the
> R.gvedic Varun.a as a sea-god instead.

One possible argument in favour of 'confine, protect' is that the roots
*wer(h)-w- 'protect' and (h)welh-w- 'envelop' (the reconstruction is
approximate and the index of the laryngeals a bit uncertain), conflated
in Indo-Iranian, both display the *w-extension in different branches;
*wérhu-no- could be regarded as a vr.ddhi derivative of *wr.hu-nó- (cf.
the Mitanni IA form which might reflect something like *uruna-). A
derivation from *werh1- is possible but more arbitrary.

Piotr