Re: Asoka pillar

--- In palistudy@..., "m. nease" <mlnease@...> wrote:
> Dear Khun Amara,
>
> --- Amara <joychay@...> wrote:
>
> > Thai we use the
> > word 'ma' - high tone- to indicate not only the
> > animal but something
> > with generally four 'legs' on which one sits or sets
> > an object.  Is
> > there any possibility that in Pali this is also the
> > case, say the
> > 'horse' being the pedestal for something? 
>
> So then this might have been something like
> 'horse-stone' meaning 'pedastal', rather than 'stone
> with a horse' or 'great wall'?
>
> I found the word 'ma' for 'horse' in Dravidian in an
> article suggesting that Dravidian is the source of
> Indo-European:
>
> "...it is to be noted that in DR. the seed-words ma =
> horse (4780-Ta); and mari = female of horse, deer,
> sheep, etc., (4764-Ta)".
>
> http://www.datanumeric.com/dravidian/page061.html
>
> and 'ma' (don't know the tone) can also mean 'horse'
> in Chinese.
>
> So I don't know whether 'horse' can refer to a
> (four-legged) pedestal in languages other than Thai,
> but 'ma' for 'horse' certainly seems very widespread.
>
> Just thought you might find this interesting.
>
> mike


Dear Sir Mike,

Actually the 'ma' doesn't have to have 4 legs any more, these days
they can have just one or none, but they aren't as tall as a table,
that's all.  Except for a child's high chair, you know?

Thanks for the above, I always find your posts aposite and
interesting, sir,

Amara