Jump to content
IndiaDivine.org
Sign in to follow this  
tackleberry

Origin and Meaning of SaMskrta

Rate this topic

Recommended Posts

How does Sam+Krta become SaMskrta? I understand due to sandhi, m becomes M if consonants follow it, but I am not aware of other rules by which it becomes samskrta. And what's the meaning? Taken literally, it'd mean very little. Sam=together, krta=done. How to come to a reasonable meaning with these words?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You are correct, samskrta is to be analysed as containing the prefix sam + past perfect participle krta- from root kr 'to do, to make'.

Probably you are confused by the presence of the -s-.

In modern linguistics, this is called an s-mobile (or mobile-s). It appears only under certain conditions (Cf. samskara-). No fully acceptible explanation has been found for them, but they are a clear feature of Indo-European roots. Other examples include the roots: *teg- 'to cover' beside *steg- (e.g. greek tegos 'roof' and stegu 'cover'. Also sanskrit sthagayati 'he causes to veil').

*pek 'to see' - e.g. skt. pashyati 'he sees' beside *spek, like skt. spash - 'to spy'.

 

A specialisation in Sanskrit has occured with the combination of sam + kr. It means 'polished' etc.

Of course, in the Sanskrit texts themselves, the most common name for the language is devavani, devabhasya etc meaning 'language of the gods'.

Hope this helps,

Best

Shankar.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In modern linguistics, this is called an s-mobile (or mobile-s). It appears only under certain conditions (Cf. samskara-). No fully acceptible explanation has been found for them, but they are a clear feature of Indo-European roots. Other examples include the roots: *teg- 'to cover' beside *steg- (e.g. greek tegos 'roof' and stegu 'cover'. Also sanskrit sthagayati 'he causes to veil').

*pek 'to see' - e.g. skt. pashyati 'he sees' beside *spek, like skt. spash - 'to spy'.

----------

s-mobile is so old that it can even be traced in restored Sino-tibetan. Its original usage may be optional intensive prefix & later became causative prefix in some cases. More exam.s in Greek & Latin:

hyper/hypo - super/sub (- upari/upa)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...