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ON THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD 'ÍNDRA'Author(s): Uma ChakravartySource: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 76, No. 1/4 (1995), pp. 27-33Published by: Bhandarkar Oriental Research InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41694367
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ON THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD
'
ÍNDRA'
By
Uma
Chakravarty
0. An
attempt
o
get
the
etymology
f
the
word
indra
would focus
ight
on the
principal
and
basic
aspect
of
his
character,
which
o us is that
of a
war
god.
Before
oming
o our
point
of
view
n this
regard
we
would ike
to
make
a
survey
f
the
opinions
of our
predecessors
from
Yãska to Volker
Moller.1
1.
Of
the thirteen
erivations
f
the word
ndra
given
by
Yäska,2
we
pre*
fer
the
following
wo
: indater
vaišvaryakarmanah
indaüchatrünäm
ar
»-
yitã
vã
I
drãvayitã
vã3
"
Or,
the word
s derivedfrom the
root
ind,
mean*
ing
to
be
powerful,
.
e.
being
powerful
e
tears
the enemies
sunder,
or
puts
them
to
flight."1
YSska's
last
derivation f
indra
ãdarayitã
ca
yajvanãm
"
Or,
he
honours he
sacrificers
6
might
be
pointing
o the
growing
mpor*
tance
of
sacrifice
n
society.
The
Bfahaddevatã
oes not
say anything
irect*
ly
on
the
etymology
f
indra.
It
speaks
about the four
spects
of his
chara-
cter. Theyare : ( i ) he is thegod ofwaters, . e. the raingod, ( ii ) killer f
Vjtra,
and a
performer
f acts of
strength,*
iii
as he lords over
all,
so he
is
Indra,8
and
(
iv
he is
one of the
twelve
Ãdityas.9
The
Bfahaddevatã
notes hat hefeature f
super-eminence
f
ndra's laudation s his
accomplish*
mentof
every
kind of featof
strength.10
he
execution f
featsof
might
n
courseof timeentrusted
im with he
highest
unction
f
ruling
ver
all.
The
inclusion f Indra
among
the
twelve
Ãdityas
belongs
to a
period
when the
mythology
f
the Veda
was
more
developed
and
was
in
the
process
of
taking
a
definite
hape.
11.
Thirteen
ifferent
pinions
n the
etymology
f
theword
ndra
express-
ed
by twenty-five
r
more scholars
re
reviewed elow
in a
nutshell.
1
Volker ollers the
uthor f he
rticle,
Die
mythologie
er
edischen
eligion
nd
Hinduism,"
n
Götter
nd
Mythen
es ndischen
ubkontinents
ed. Hans Wilhelm
Haussing,tuttgart,
984.
1
Hirukta
X.
8
,
ed.
Lakshman
arup,
art
II,
Motilal
anarsidass,
1st d.
1926
reprint967, p.
175-6.
*
ibid.
Part
II, p.
176.
*
ibid,
Part
I,
p.
156.
B
ibid.PartII, p.176.
8
ibid.PartI, p. 156.'
Brhaddevatn
II. 6
,
ed.&
tr.
y
A.
A.
Macdonell,
OS vol.
V
,
p.
12.
*
ibid.
I.
35,
p.
14.
»
ibid.
V.
146-48,
p.
61-62.
10
ibid.
I.
6.,
p.
12.
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28
Annals
BORI
,
LXXVi
(
1995
(
i
)
Roth
and
Böhllingk
t
the conclusion f their
rticle
n
Indra
say
" Man wird u keinerbefriedigendenösungdes WortesKommen, so lange
mandas
^
als
wurzelhaft
etrachted.
Geht man
dagegen
von der
Wurzel
aus,
an
welcher ich das
Suif.
?
mittelst ines
epenthischen
r
anfügt
so
ergibt
ich
der
vollkommen
utreffendeinn
Bezwinger,
Bewältiger
der
Vermögende
zu
weiterer
estätigung
gl.
".n
So
long
as
^
is
consi-
dered
part
of
the
root t is
not
possible
to arrive t
a
satisfactory
olution.
Contrarily,
f
one
starts
with
he
root
^
and
adds
the suffix
to
it
aftej
the
nsertion f the
epenthetic
,
then one reaches at
the
perfectly
orrect
meaning
'
the
conqueror
€
the
master
,
*
the
powerful
".
Withreference
to the above viewCharpentiereferso Jacobi,whoobserves hatone cannot
speak
of
a
root
ike
n
all
the
formations
na,
-nu
nd
inv-a
re derived rom
the
root
z'.12
We,
however,
would
point
out
that,
the root
nj
im
exists
very
much
n the
Samhitãs.
Many
words
have
been formed rom
his
root.
Some of
themare
invathah
I.
119.7b),
invatu(RV
I.
162,
6d 12d
IV. 53.
7d
e
al
),
invasi
RVV.
28.
2c
;
VIII.
13. 32c
et
al
),
invire RV V.
6.
6c
. Only
a
few
nstanceshave
been
quoted
above.
It
is,
however,
to be noted that ti
the
above
examples
the
root
in
(
v has
not
been
necessarily
sed
in
the
sense of
'
to
conquer
or
ť
to
overpower,
In
some verses t
means
'
to
co-
ver in others to go Our pointof view s thattheroot n v has been
used
by
the Vedic
Poets.
(
ii
Benfey13
ollowing
very
complicated
process
concludes
that
Indra
has
been formed
rom
sind
+
ra
which
n its
part
has
been
originated
from
yand
meaning
drop Regarding
Benfey's
opinion
Charpentier
om-
ménts:
"
allerdings
original
aber
ganz
unannehmbar"14
by
all means
original
but not
acceptable.
(iii)Max Müller holds, indra s exclusivelyn Indian word and is
derived
rom
he
same root
from
which
indu
€
drop
*
juice
*
has
been
for-
med.16
Max Müller reminds
one
of
Yãska
:
Indave dr
vail
ti
vã
/
indau
ramata
ti
vã
(
X.
8
)
"
he
ruas for
the
ake of
soma
(
indu
+
dra
,
or
he
takes
delight
n
soma
(
indu
ram
Muir,
Macdonell,
Fick,
Kirste
hare
Max Müller's
opinion.
11
St.
Petersburg,ictionary
ol.
.
p.
804.
M
Le Monde
riental
ol.
XXXV,
os.
1-3.
1931
Leipzig,
tto
Harrassowitz
,
pp.
1-2
••
Dazu
bemerkte
acobichon
ängst
mit
echt,
man
önne
on
iner
Wurzel
n
-
nicht
sprechen,a nurPräsenbildungen-nat ~nuundt-nva allenatürtichon, iner
Wujzel
#-
orliegen
"
M
Opinions
f
Benfey,
ax
Müller,
Muir,
Macdonell,
oy,
Kirste,
rassmann,
ezzen-
berger,
nd
Jacobi ave
een
ollectedrom
harpentier's
rticle
entioned
bove.
u
op.
oit
p.
2Ň
16
op.
cit.
p.
2.
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Čhakravrty
i On
the
Etymology f
the
word
índra
Ž9
(
iv
Grassmann
maintains,
Die
Ableitung
st
sehr
unsicher.
Das
wahrscheinlichstest wohl noch, da es wie indu, von der Wurzel iridh
stammte n
dem der
Nasal
biswilen
..
eine
Umwandlung
der
Aspirate
in
die Media
veranlasst.
16
"
The derivation
s
very
uncertain.
Thè
highest
possibility
ies
in that it
as
indu
originates
from the
root
indh
in
which
the
nasal
causes an
occasional
change
of
aspirate
in
the
middle".
(Tr.
by
us. In
Grassmann's
interpretation,
s has
been
already
pointed
ut
by
Charpentier,
we observe
hat he
two of
the
thirteen
nterpretations
f
Yäska,
i. e. indra
has
been
formed
rom
ndu
as
well
as
from
ndh9
ave
been
com-
bined nto
one.
Bergaigne,
Bollensen
hold more or
less the
same
opinion
as Grassmann.
(
v
Bezzenberger
uts
Zend
andra
(indra),
Pehl. andar and
Slav.
indra
on
the
same
par.
He
opines
that
*
ant
=
Skt.
nad
(
from
which
indra
has
been derived
.
But
Bezzenbergeťs
iew
has not been
supported
by any
other
cholar.17
(
vi
Charpentier
inds
Jacobi's
view
i-nr
18 ccepable,
but at
the
ame
time
puts
forward
is
own
hypothesis
(
vii
"
Also
wäre
ndra
möglicherweise
us
alterem
in
-
ra zu
erklä-
ren,
was
sich dann
ist
einwardfreimit
avýp, vSp
zusammenstellen
iesse.
Auch
der
Bedeutuug
wegen
wäre
eine
derartige
usammenstellung
ut
verwa-
ndbar,
wus
sich besonders
durch das
abgeleitete
ndriya
,
Manneskraft
.beweisen
lässt"19
ťť
ndra
aiso could
possibly
be
interpreted
o
be
formed
■
from
n-ra,
hen t can
satisfactorily
a
grouped
with
àvrjp,
vSp-.
For
the
sake
of
meaning
lso such
a
grouping
s
well-thought
f
which
particularly
lets
tself
rove through
ndriya
c
manlyvirility
derived
from
t.
"
(
Tr.
by
us. Charpentier hinksmoreor less in thesamelightas Roth and Böht-
lingk.
That
Charpentier,
nlike
many
cholars,
hinks hatthe
word
ndra
s
originally
ot
Vedic
and
may
be linked
up
with
parallel
Greek
works
gives
t
a
much
broader
perspective.
(
viii Hermann
Güntert20
olds
that
the
basis of
indra
lies
in
*
old
meaning
to swell
and he also
gives
plausible
explanation
f
n and
r occurr-
ing
n the
word.
R. N.
Dandekar
finds
Gilntert's iew
the
most
convincing.21
18 op.oit p.3. 17 op, it,pp.4-5.
18
Already
eterredo.
19
op
cit
p.
5.
20
See
Hermano
üntert
Der
arische
Weltkönig
nd
Heiland,
Haale
(Saale)
1923,
pp.
13-14.
81
See
R.
N. Dandekar
Vedio
Mythological
racts
Delhi,
979,
.
186#
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3Ó
Annals
BORI,
LXXVI
(
1995
)
(ix)
Hillebrandt
efers o the
opinions
of
several
cholars
n
this
egard
but prefersnotto give anyof his own : " Mythologischatall dies wenig
Wert.
Indras Name ist der
Inbegriff
ller
Kraft.
22
"
Myhologically
ll
these
have little alue. Indra's
name
is
the
embodiment
f
all
strength
9
.
(
Tr.
by
us.
(
X
For Benveniste's
iew
we
quote
Keith
"
Benveniste
uggests
with
Kretschmer
hat
the
name of Indra
is
borrowed
rom
Hittite
r
Luwi,
but
asserts
thatthere
s
no
proof
that
ť
Innara
*
in Hittite
was
a
divine
name."23
Keith
refuses
to
accept
Benveniste's
view
and
comments,
If
the base
of
Indra is Indo-European, itseemswholly nnecessary o find n it a Hittite
loan-word."24
(
xi
L.
A. Waddel observes
a
link between
Sumerian
King
In-Dar
*
ln-Duru
or In-Dur with
he
Vedic
Indra.
u
His
(
i.
e.
King's personal
name
in Sumerian
was Dur
or Tur
with
he
prefix
f
'
King
or
Lord
*
(
In
or Ash
or
An),
it
was
In-Dar,
In-Duru or
In-Tur
. e.
the
ť
King
Dar,
King
Dur
or
Tur.
"25
aa
Alfred
illebrandt
Vedische
MythologieI, Breslau,902, .
148.
83 ForBenveniste'siewA.B. Keith's Indra ndVrtra ( IndianCulturevol.1,1934-
5
)
has
been onsulted.
u
op.
cit.
p.
463
Benveniste's
pinion
uggests
hat he
ifferent
eoples
f the rchaic
orld
the
Hittites,
he
Mittannis,
he
umerians,
he
ndo-Europeans
tc.
were
ot
estranged
from
ach
ther
ut,
n the
ontrary,
here as
nter-trafficking
etween
hese
eoples.
One
s,
however,
ound o be
surprised
nd
imultaneously
empted
o
be
drawn
towards
he
onclusion
hat
heHittite
nnar
and
ndian
ndra
have
inguistically
common
ase.
But,
ne s
definitely
arred
rom
rawing
uch
conclusion
s
so far
no
inguistic
videnceasbeen
oundn ts avour. e
quote
elow
Annalies
ammen-
huber
ho
while
lassifying
ifferent
ods
elatedo the
Hittite
nnorauutar
KALA-
TAR observes: Der indische ott ndra R HA 46.118) istmitgutem echt
aus
der
Diskussion
erbannt
orden,
Münchener
tudium
zur
Sprachwissens
chaft
Heft
, 1953,
958,
.
28
"
The
ndian
od
ndra
R H
A
46.
118
has
been
rightly
xcluded
rom
his
iscusión.
(Tr.
by
us.)
Also
ee
Edward
ietz
Otto:
Reallexikon
er
Assyriologie
nd
Vorderasia
tischen
rchäologie
vol.
V,
New
York,
erlin,
976-80,
.
96
.
From
aan
uhvel's
Hittite
tymological
ictionary
vol.
,
Mouton
ublishers,
erlin,
New
York,
Amsterdam,
984
is shown elow
he
imilarity
f
meaning
nd
ound ffect
etween
Hittite
nnar
n ts ifferent
erivativesnd ndian
ndra
Innara
"
explicitly,
illfully,
urposely,
n
one's own
account
,
of
one's wn ccord
"
p.
366.
In(n)arah(h)~
"
maketrong,trengthen
"
p. 367Innarai- ?) or nnarawai ? " bestrong "p. 367
Innarauwah(h)-
"
make
trong,
trengthen
"
p.
370
Innarawant
seems omean
sexually
otent
"
p.
372
85
L.
A.
Waddel,
he
Makers
f
Civilisation
n
Bace and
History
S.
Chand&Co
1968, .
79).
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Chakravrty
s
On
the
Etymology f
the
word
índra
31
(
xii
Mayrhofer
hinks
hat
índra
is
originally
n
adjective meaning
' strong, owerful and links tup with heserbocroatedar *full,powerful,
strong
Wegen
indriyam
nd
indra
in der
Bedeutung,,
Fürst,
Erster
scheint
ndrah
ein
altes
Adejektivum
für...
„
stark,
mächting"
zu
sein,
weshalb
ich
Zusammestellung
it
serbokroat
edar
voll, kräftig,
tark
aksL
*
jedr
<
*
indro
s
?
>
empfielt.
26
(
xiii
Volker
Moller
says
that
ndra
originally
means
'
strong,
power-
ful
*
and
has
been
derived from
noti
stimulating, verpoweing
He also
observes
hatthe
basic
nature
f
Indra
is
thatof
a
war
god
'
"
Indra
urspr.
wohl, " starkmächtig auch von inoti" treibend " bewältigend abgelei-
tet
.
Der
hervorragendste
ott
der
vedischen Zeit in seiner
ursprünglichen
Naturbedeutung
ie
auch
als Gott
der
Krieger
st er
Gegenstand
iner
Vielfalt
von
Mythen
nd
wird n
uber
250
Hymmen
es
RV
gepriesen.
27
III.
0.
Of the
thirteen
pinions
on
the
etymology
f the
word
indra
six
are
in
favour
f
establishing
hat
the root
fromwhich
indra has
been derived
has
the
meaning
to infuse
trength,
nvigorate
and
the
ike.
We can
men-
tionthe
names
of
Roth-Böhthingk,
harpentier,
Mayrhofer,
nd
Moller
in
thisconnection. HermmanGüntert nd R. N. Dandekar also observe that
from
the
root
id-*oid>
ť
to
swell
9
,
indra
"
swelling
manly virility
99
has
been
formed.
III.
I.
Our
conjecture s,
índra
has
been formed
rom
he
root
in(y)
with
the
suffix
a and
with
the
epenthetic
d
(in
+
d
+
ra).
Such
linguistic
phenomenon
s
not
rare in
the
Vedic
literature38^
nd is
probably
ommon
36
Mayrhofer,
urzgefasstes
tymologisches
örterbuch
es
AltindisohenB^nát1i
Heidelbeeg,956, .88.'*
Because
indríyam
and
ndra
signify
the
eader
"
the oremostit s
ikely
that
ndrahs
an
old
adjective
eaning
strong,
owerful
and so
its
classificado
with
erbocroat.
edar
full,
owerful,
trong
(
aksl.
jedr
*
ndro s
?
is
recom-
mended,
(Tr.
by
us.).
op.
cit
p.
112.
88
Not
only
n
theVedic
anguage,
his
s
rather
common
inguistic
henomenon,
bser
ved
ong
efore
y
Leonard
loomfieldn
his
work
anguage
George
llen
Unwin
Ltd., London,
957:
1st
d.
1933
.
He
observesn the
chapter
ntitled
Types
f
Phonetic
hange
on
p.
383;
"
In a
good many
anguages
efind n
intermediate
consonant
rising
n
cluster.
A
Primitive
ndo-European
sr
appears
s
(
str
in
Germanicnd nSlavic thus, rimitivendo-European(srow) compare anskrit
[
sravati
]
itflows
)
isreflectednPrimitiveermanic4
trawmaz
•stream
old
Norse
strawmrl
.
Old
English
stream
,
and in
old
Bulgarianstruja
•
stream
English,
t
more han ne
time,
as
nserted
[
d
in he
groups
f
(
nr,
l
and a
[b]
in he
roupsmr.
ml):
old
English
40uarian
(to)
thunder
Old
English
(
•
aire
(
accusative
ase
alder
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Chakravrty
: On the
Etymology f
the word índra
33
indtamah
ccurring
n c
in
the
above
verse
has been
translated
y
Wilson as
" supremensway byGriffiths " the mostvigorous and byGeldner s
"
der
der
höchste
Gebieter
st
"
he
who
is
the
highest
master
The
word índrawas
initially
n
adjective,
a
very
pt epithet
for
the
leader of the
Vedic
Aryans,
leader who
vanquished
nemies nd released
waters,precisely,
ne who
fulfilledll the
dire
necessities f
ife
of his
people.
Later,
the
epithet, ollowing very
normal
course,
was
transformednto his
name.34
Such a
phenomenon
s
not unusual n
life.
The
very tymology
f
the word ndra
hints
t the
historical
ackground
he Vedic
Aryans
nd
their
leaderpassed through.
81
Krsna,
we
presume,
as
nitially
o
called
ecause
f
hit
dark kin, nd later bat
became
isname.
5
Annals
BORI
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