Re: Longest Sanskrit Word
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté
I would re-evaluate the notion of a 'word' vs. a sentence. Based on specific rules offered by pāṇini-ji, one of the most eminent of all
native sanskrit grammarians, he teaches proper assembly of words . His most notable work is aṣṭādhyāyī , meaning a collection of 8 chapters. The work gives a complete description of the saṃskṛt language, and it offers his formulation of 3,959 rules one can apply.
First , if you have not recognized this, saṃskṛtā is spoken without breaks between words, and is called saṃhitā¹ . There is a philosophical reason for this, and we can leave that idea for another time.
That is why this word śrīmatsiṃhāsaneśvarī looks the way it does - mutiple words in one string - without pause. It is written like this श्रीमत्सिंहासनेश्वरी in saṃskṛtam.
We can apply the rules of saṃdhi¹ (placing together) to this word śrīmatsiṃhāsaneśvarī , found in the laitā sahasranāma or 1,000 ( sahasra ) names (nāma ) of lalitā. First this is a name of name of śrī devī. She is described here as :
- śrīmat = the great beautiful , charming , lovely , pleasant , splendid , glorious
- siṃha = lion
- āsana = seat
- īśvarī = (from īśa) ruler; queen, Supreme Being;
When we combine the meaning, it says She, the great and pleasant Supreme One, sitting on the lion ( or lion-throne). Many know this symbol as Mother durgā ( some write durgatināśinī) sitting on a lion.
So it looks like one word, but by specific rules it is sewn together from several words. These come together to make up sentences - or in the ṛg ved we would call them mantra-s.
iti śivaṁ
words
- saṃhitā - put together , joined , attached ; placed side-by-side; without break
- Applying the rules of saṃdhi
- vowel (svara) saṃdhi
śrīmatsiṃhāsaneśvarī = śrīmat + siṃha + āsana + īśvarī - siṃha + āsana = siṃhāsana
- What rule was used?When two 'a's come togther long (dīrgha) or short (hrasva ) doesn't matter, then we end up with a long a sound ā. So we can write the rule like this:
- a + a = ā
a + ā = ā
ā + a = ā
ā + ā = ā - āsana + īśvarī = āsaneśvarī
- What rule was used?
When an 'a' and 'i' come together long (dīrgha) or short (hrasva ) doesn't matter, then we end up with an 'e' So we can write the rule like this: - a + i = e
a + ī = e
ā + ī = e - We now have siṃhāsāsaneśvarī. Now it is time to add śrīmat + siṃha
together and new rules apply - the rules of consonant ( vyañjana) saṃdhi. - The rules for vyañjana saṃdhi. I will only address the rule for this application.
- When the final consonant 't' comes in contact with the next sound 's' we end up ( still ) with the 't' and no change occurs.
- This applies when a 't' meets with an 's' or 'ṣ'. Yet this rule changes when a 't' meets with the next sound of an 'ś' and will leave this for another example. So the rule can be written like this:
- t + s = t
t + ṣ = t
Now if the this 't' where to be this 'ṭ' sound, the rules apply in this fashion: - ṭ + s = ṭ
ṭ + s = ṭ
We now have śrīmat + siṃha = śrīmatsiṃha
And our final completed word śrīmatsiṃhasiṃhāsāsaneśvarī in saṃhitāḥ format.
Last edited by yajvan; 18 July 2013 at 08:41 PM.
यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
because you are identical with śiva
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