Sāyaṇācārya: Part 1 -- His life and work

Sāyaṇācārya is a unique personality in India's history, and as equally unique as his older brother Mādhavācārya, who was better known as Svāmī Vidyāraṇya of the famous Śṛṅgerī Maṭha. These brothers, who lived in the 14th century CE, together can very aptly be called India's Yuga Puruṣas (millenial men) of the last 1000 years - such is the significance and force of their life's work. 

The all-roundedness of their multifaceted contribution to India's cultural, religious, social, political, geographical and civilizational continuity is unmatched in the entire history of India considering the extremely adverse and hostile situation of their era. 

If we were to look back at India's long and ancient history, we would find probably one or two other such gigantic personalities who can lay claim to the title of Yuga Puruṣa. One is Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva from the 2nd millenium BCE, and the other is Kauṭilya Cāṇakya from the 1st millenium BCE. Both these men are well-known for their multifaceted contribution to India's civilization. However, I dare say that the difficulties and adversities faced by these two men are trivial in comparison to those faced by Sāyaṇa and Vidyāraṇya. 

From ancient times down to the 1st millenium CE, India was at the peak of its civilizational glory. Its borders were secure, its economy prosperous, its culture vibrant and flourishing, its philosophical and spiritual traditions shining like a beacon of enlightenment for the whole world. Its ancient universities were thronged by foreign students from far and wide, just as students today throng to the American universities. 

The obstacles that Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva overcame in his time were largely internal and benign to India's civilization. The obstacles that Kauṭilya Cāṇakya overcame in his time were foreign, but they were so minor in comparison to the strength and solidarity still pervasive in the civilization of the time. 

The obstacles that Sāyaṇa and Vidyāraṇya faced in their time were foreign and brutal, of monstrous and barbaric proportions never before seen in India's long civilization. These obstacles were of the character of ferocious and unrelenting attack by the armies of Muslim invaders who were having a field day, easily destroying Hindu kingdoms and decimating India's glorious civilization. 

At such a weakened, chaotic and calamitous time, Sāyaṇa and Vidyāraṇya were pivotal in organizing and guiding a powerful resistance to the advance of Islam in southern India. The final form of this resistance is very well-known as the Vijayanagara empire, which flourished under the dharmarājya of kings Harihara and Bukkarāya at its inception, and then later by their equally capable brothers Kampaṇa, Muddappa and Mārappa, as well as the second generation king Kumāra Kampaṇa who freed the Tamil country from brutal Muslim rule (the contemporaneous account of the liberation of Madurai is the Sanskrit work Madhurāvijayam written by his queen Gaṅgādevī). I shall not dwell too much into the glories of the Vijayanagara empire, as it has already been admirably and famously described by foreign travelers of the era and by later historians and history buffs. In summary, the Vijayanagara empire brought back the ancient glory of Indian Hindu civilization and preserved Hinduism in south India in a time of ferocious and predatory Islamic invasions in the rest of India.

One important point to note is that the founding kings of Vijayanagara, Harihara and Bukkarāya, whom Svāmī Vidyāraṇya consulted with and chose to lead the new kingdom, were neither Brahmins nor Kshatriyas. They were from the caste of Kannada Vokkaligas, traditionally Kurubas, or shepherds. This is very significant for the present-day social justice warriors to remember when they incessantly and ignorantly rant about the oppression of the caste system. To Sāyaṇa and Vidyāraṇya, who were Brahmins by birth, no other two people were more capable than Harihara and Bukkarāya to lead this new Hindu kingdom. This also has exact parallels with Kauṭilya Cāṇakya choosing the "low caste" Candragupta Maurya to be the king. So much for caste discrimination!

The achievements of the Vijayanagara empire are unmatched by any other medieval kingdom, be it the Maratha empire or the Sikh empire. The reason is that in the 14th century, the Hindu kingdoms were still shell-shocked by the brutality and ferocity of the Muslim invasions, and were utterly scattered and clueless as to how to re-organize themselves and stay alive, much less put up a fight. One after another, the Hindu kingdoms were falling like flies in the face of the Muslim invasions. At such a time, the Vijayanagara empire is truly a visionary and courageous idea that was never tried before in India's history. The crux of this idea was to unite all the fallen and weak kingdoms under the umbrella of the Vijayanagara rule so that a single combined effort would potentially be able to resist the invasions and sustain Hindu civilization. The founding team of the Vijayanagara empire were the first to recognize the threat of Islamic imperialism to Hindu civilization and respond in a systematic, strategic and intelligent manner. So the founders of the Vijayanagara empire were true pioneers of their time. 

It is highly regrettable that today's Indian leaders have forgotten the lessons from Vijayanagara, just as the kings of early centuries CE forgot the lessons from Kauṭilya Cāṇakya. It is also regrettable that the leaders of India's freedom movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries did not have the same wholistic integral Vedic vision of Sāyaṇa and Vidyāraṇya.

After 350 years of glorious rule, when the Vijayanagara empire also collapsed due to several reasons, in the 17th century, its political, administrative and military organization was an inspiration for the great Shivaji in his establishment of the Maratha empire.  

Thus was the inimitable and unreplicable contribution of Sāyaṇa and Vidyāraṇya to the resurgence and revival of India's native civilization through pioneering work in the arena of politics, administration and statesmanship. 

Even more remarkable is the fact that after devoting their most energetic and youthful decades to the materialistic well-being of Hindu civilization, the two brothers went on to make seminal contributions to the spiritual well-being of Hindu civilization --

Svāmī Vidyāraṇya became the pontiff of the Śṛṅgerī Maṭha that was established by the Ādi Śaṅkarācārya in the 7th century CE. Under his leadership, the monastery started keeping accurate historical records that have been indispensable for understanding the history of not only the monastery but also the social and political climate through the centuries. Further, he authored several highly regarded and authoritative works on Advaita philosophy. The most famous work, the Pañcadaśī, is a very unique treatise that explains Advaita through the medium of worldly areas of interest such as painting, music, dance and drama. This is, again in his own style, inimitable because the typical saṃnyāsī is advised or is under the impression that monkhood means the complete renunciation of, and aversion to, worldly matters. Whereas the true saṃnyāsī is enlightened to see the whole world through Advaita.  

Sāyaṇācārya contributed in another crucial area of spirituality and religion, the Vedas. We shall take a deeper look into this in Part 2.  

List of tadbhava Sanskrit words (i.e. words derived from Sanskrit words) in Hindi, Kannada and Tamil

Here's a list of words in some Indian languages (mostly Hindi, Kannada and Tamil) that are derived from Sanskrit words (hence called tadbhava words). This list only contains words that are commonly unrecognized as tadbhava words, either due to a long series of changes, very unpredictable changes that make the connection to the original word unclear, or just simply because nobody has documented the words or paid attention. This list will be an active one, with words being added as and when I find or recollect them. 

As a native or near-native speaker of these 3 languages, and having a linguistic talent for quickly learning new languages as well as analyzing origins of words, I can confidently verify to the authenticity of this list. I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunity to study Sanskrit early in school and thus get a firm foothold in Sanskrit literature. Not only is the study of the rich literature a source of bliss in itself, and a perpetual reason for intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic satisfaction, but it is always a thrill to discover a word in Sanskrit literature and make a connection to an obvious derivative (tadbhava) word in a vernacular language. The following list also shows that Sanskrit has always been a pan-Indian language from the earliest times and has influenced all languages, be they northern or southern. In fact, Patañjali the author of the great grammar commentary Vyākaraṇa-Mahābhāṣya mentions the variations of the verb 'to move' in different regions of India (udīcyeṣu - in the north, kambojeṣu - in the northwest, prācyamadhyeṣu - in the east and central regions, āryeṣu - in the central heartland, between the Sarasvati and Drshadvati rivers around Kurukshetra). He also mentions a characteristic of the Sanskrit spoken in the southern regions - "priyataddhitāḥ dākṣiṇātyāḥ" - "the southerners are fond of derivative descriptive words". 

Any inputs from readers are always welcome. The format of the listing will be:

      English meaning: Sanskrit word --> (any intermediate morphs) --> final word in the language

Hindi

1. Ox or oxen: बलीवर्दः balīvardaḥ --> (बइल्ला ba-illā Prakrit) --> बैल bail  [I discovered this connection when I was reading Śūdraka's Sanskrit play Mṛcchakaṭikaṁ, which has one of the characters speaking in Prakrit and using the word ox. It then flashed across my mind that this is the derivation of the Hindi word.]

2. Stone or rock: प्रस्तरः prastaraḥ --> पत्थर patthara

3. Brick: इष्टकः iṣṭakaḥ --> ईंठ īnṭha 

4. Black magic: यातु  yātu  -->  जादू  jādū  [This connection was sparked when I was reading Vasiṣṭha's hymn in the Ṛg Veda 7.104.15 - adyā murīya yadi yātudhāno asmi, "May I die today if I am a black magician" which is a vow.]

5. Serpent/snake: सर्पः sarpaḥ --> साँप sānp

6. God (Krishna): कृष्ण kṛṣṇa  --> कान्हा kānhā

7. Knot:  ग्रन्थः grantha  --> गाँठ gāṅṭh

8. Father-in-law: श्वशुरः śvaśuraḥ  --> ससुर sasur

9. Mother-in-law: श्वश्रू  śvaśrū  --> सास sās

10.  Daughter-in-law: वधू vadhū  --> बहू bahū 

11. Son-in-law: जामातृ jāmātṛ -->  जमाई jamāī

12. Brother-in-law (wife's brother): स्यालः syālaḥ  --> साला sālā

13. Sister-in-law (husband's sister): ननान्दृ nanāndṛ --> ननद nanad

14. Barren (earth or woman): वन्ध्या vandhyā --> बाँज bānj

15. Conversation/news: वार्ता vārtā  --> बात bāt

16. Old (person): वृद्धः vṛddhaḥ --> बुड्ढा/बूढा buḍḍha/būḍhā 

17. Sugar: शर्करा śarkarā -->  शक्कर śakkar

18. Rain: वर्षा varṣā --> बरखा barkhā

19. Camel: उष्ट्र: uṣṭraḥ --> ऊँठ ūnṭha

20. Youth: युवन्  yuvan --> जवान javān
 
Kannada

1. Brick: इष्टकः iṣṭakaḥ --> इट्टिगे  iṭṭige

2. Festival:  पर्व  parva --> (पब्ब pabba) --> हब्ब habba

3. Color:  वर्णम् varṇaṁ --> बण्ण baṇṇa

4. Flour: पिष्टम् piṣṭaṁ --> (पिट्टम् piṭṭaṁ) --> हिट्टु hiṭṭu

5. Money/currency: पणम् पण्यम् paṇaṁ/paṇyaṁ --> हण haṇa

6. Village: पल्ली pallī  -->  (पळ्ळी paḷḷī) --> हळ्ळि haḷḷi

7. House lizard: पल्लिका pallikā  --> हल्लि halli
 

8. Town: पत्तनम् pattanaṁ  --> पट्टण paṭṭaṇa

9. God (Brahma): ब्रह्म brahma  --> बोम्म bomma [The 'o' is really a short sound in Kannada, and doesn't have an equivalent in Sanskrit which only has the long 'o' sound]

10. God (Krishna): कृष्ण kṛṣṇa  -->  किट्ट kiṭṭa [Of course, this is a more colloquial usage, but it does show how Kannada transforms the Sanskrit sounds.]

11. Lakshmi (wife of god Vishnu): लक्ष्मी lakṣmī --> लकुमी lakumi
[This is a more colloquial/rural usage, but also used in old poetry to adjust for rhyme or meter.]

12. Knot:  ग्रन्थः grantha  -->  गण्टु gaṇṭu 

13. Daughter-in-law: स्नुषा snuṣā --> सोसे sose 

14. Sister-in-law (husband's sister): ननान्दृ nanāndṛ --> नादनी nādnī 

15.  Barren (earth or woman): वन्ध्या vandhyā --> बंजे banje

16. Conversation/news: वार्ता vārtā  --> मातु mātu 

17. This/that: इदम्/अदः idaṁ/adaḥ --> इदु/अदु idu/adu [In this case, the borrowing could be in either direction.]

18. Sugar: शर्करा śarkarā --> सक्करे sakkare 

19. Bird: पक्षी pakṣī --> हक्की hakki


20. Cow: पशु paśu --> हसु hasu [Although the Sanskrit word means 'animal' in general, the cow has always been the animal par excellence in India.]

21. Zero: शून्यम् śūnyaṁ --> सोन्ने sonne

22. Sound/noise: शब्दम् śabdaṁ  --> सद्दु saddu

23. Thousand: सहस्रम् sahasraṁ --> सासिर/साविर sāsira/sāvira 

24. Riverbank: तट: taṭaḥ --> दड daḍa

25. Camel: उष्ट्र: uṣṭraḥ --> ओण्टे oṇṭe





26. Root: वेर: veraḥ --> बेरु beru 
      [ incidentally, the Sanskrit शृङ्गवेर:  śṛṅgaveraḥ ("horn root") is the origin of the English "ginger"]

27. Tail: वालः vālaḥ --> बाल bāla
       [ apparently वालः vālaḥ is itself a Prakritization of वारः vāraḥ because Yaska in his Nirukta explains वालः as "दंशवारणार्थम्" daṁśa-vāraṇārthaṁ, i.e. "used to get rid of biting insects (by animals)", so the root word suggests वारः vāraḥ as the original word]



Tamil

1. World: लोकः lokaḥ  --> उलगम् ulagaṁ

2. Village: पल्ली pallī  -->  पळ्ळी paḷḷī

3. House lizard: पल्लिका pallikā  --> पल्लि palli

4. Color:  वर्णम् varṇaṁ --> वण्णम् vaṇṇam 

5. Lord/Master: स्वामी svāmī  --> चामी cāmī 

6. God (Brahma): ब्रह्म brahma  --> पिरम pirama

7. God (Krishna): कृष्ण kṛṣṇa  --> कण्णा kaṇṇā

8. Sir/Madam: श्रीमान्/श्रीमती  śrīmān/śrīmatī  --> (तिरु) तिरुमान्/तिरुमती (tiru) tirumān/tirumatī 
    [The same transformation happens with Śrīpati - The Lord of Śrī - Lord Vishnu - Tirupati the world- famous Hindu temple of the seven hills.]

9. Fruit: फलम् phalaṁ  -->  पळम् paḷam

10. Thousand: सहस्रम् sahasraṁ -->(सासिरम् sāsiram)--> आयिरम् āyiram