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Kabandha
Etymologically, ka means “head”. Actually, ka does not mean exactly “head” – the name of that bony receptacle inside the head in which the brain resides is kabandha (cranium). Still, in common parlance kabandha refers to the head in Sanskrit. Ka + bandh (badhi) + ac = kabandha. Etymologically, the condition that is created when ka is bound and injured, or decapitated is kabandha. Colloquially, kabandha means:
1) A headless body, or torso. In spoken Bengali the imaginary headless ghost, or kabandha ghost, is called kandha-kát́á ghost. In this case the word kandha-kát́á has come from the word skandha-kát́á, that is, one whose upper portion of the skandha [shoulder] has been cut. Ordinarily the covering, as well as the ornament, of the trunk of the body, or kabandha, is called dhaŕá,(1) and the covering, as well as the ornament, of the head is called cúŕá. Both together become dhaŕá-cúŕá.
2) Kabandha is the name of a rákśasa [demon] – according to the Puranas, the one that Rama killed.
3) If we take ka to mean “water”, then the meaning of kabandha becomes “dam” or “barrage”. Ka, or water, is certainly held back by a dam or a reservoir, but the main purpose there is to create a reservoir, while the main purpose of a barrage is to hold back the water. Thus, while kabandha can be used correctly to mean “dam” or “reservoir”, it is more correctly used to mean “barrage”. Thus we can call a barrage kabandha or jala-bandha [jala means ka, or “water”]. In ancient times when Rarh contained large forested areas there was also more rainfall. Still, then also the kings used to build huge reservoirs in years when there was little rainfall in order to save the paddy from withering. In the common language of Rarh, these extremely large reservoirs used to be called bándh, and still are. For example, Bankura District’s Samudrabándh, Bhagaladiighi, and Ráńiibándh, Dumká’s Baŕabándh, Purulia’s Sáhebbándh, Dántan’s Sarashauṋká, and so forth. For such types of bándhs we can use the word kabandha.
4) The pure Bengali word for the cloth tie that people used to wear around their neck in ancient times as symbol of dharma is kabandha. The muffler or scarf or comforter that is worn around the neck to protect the head, or ka, from cold or attacks of kapha can also be called kabandha in refined Bengali [and Sanskrit].
5) The Ketu [dragon’s tail] of the Puranic stories we can also call kabandha. According to the Puranic tale, the asuras [demons] wanted to deprive the gods of the nectar of immortality that was produced from the churning of the sea by the gods and demons. One asura secretly swallowed it, and as a result he started to become immortal. What a problem, the gods realized! An asura is becoming immortal. Thereupon they cut off his head with the Viśńucakra [the discus of Viśńu]. The name of the decapitated head of that asura is Ráhu and its torso’s name is Ketu. Thus, another meaning of the word kabandha is Ketu. According to the story, at the time of the lunar or the solar eclipse Ráhu swallows either the moon or the sun. Vidhurapi vidhiyogát grasyate Ráhunáhasao [Even the moon is eclipsed by Ráhu, this is the providential decree].
But Ráhu’s neck is cut. Thus, shortly after Ráhu swallows either the sun or the moon, they come back out through the cut neck. The sun or the moon gets liberated from the swallowing of Ráhu. In ancient times, in accordance with their beliefs, people used to bathe in some holy body of water and used to call this bath the “liberation bath” [mukti-snán] Actually, Ráhu and Ketu are successively umbra and penumbra, and for this reason, in the opinion of the astrologers, ketu would be found in the seventh sign from whatever planet in which ráhu was found. Thus, if the moon would enter the seventh astrological sign from whatever sign the sun was in then there would be a lunar eclipse.
Ye ye máse ye ye ráshi tár saptame tháke shashii
sedin yadi hay paorńamásii avashyai ráhu gráse ási
[The moon is found in the seventh house from the sign of whatever month; on that day, if there is a full moon, then certainly Ráhu will come devouring.]
Neither ráhu nor ketu is an actual planet or satellite. They are, in any one set of circumstances, two kinds of umbra. Thus in the astrological scriptures they are called “shadow-planets”. According to the Puranic conception, Brahmá is the father and Umbra is the mother – this is how Ráhu is known. According to a Puranic tale, the name of one of Brahmá’s wives is Cháyá [umbra] and the name of the sun’s wife is also Cháyá. Here the progeny’s name is Shańigraha [Saturn] (both the spellings Shani and Shańi are correct), thus another name of Shani is Cháyáputra [putra means “son”]. Since another meaning of the word ka is the bony receptacle situated inside the head – or cranium – many people mean ráhu when they say ka. There is no objection if someone uses ka to mean ráhu, but it is not correct if some wishes to use kabandha to mean ráhu; kabandha means ketu.
6) Shirt, or that kind of wearable collar, is called kabandha.
7) The retention-of-urine ailment that results when the movement of the urine is obstructed is also called kabandha. The water from soaked fenugreek, fresh date juice, palm juice, and shánkhálu [a conch-shaped esculent] are medicines for this disease.
Kamat́a
The meaning of the root verb kam is “to want”. Kam + at́ac = kamat́a. The etymological meaning of the word kamat́a is “one who desires” or “that which is desired”. If kam is taken to mean “water”, then the etymological meaning of the word kamat́a becomes “that which is involved in matters related to water” or “one in whose matters water is involved”. Colloquially kamat́a means:
1) Bamboo shoot. Just as with the banana tree, where the young plant grows from near the roots, bamboo shoots spring up near the base of the tree. In ancient Bengal people would often place an earthen pot over the bamboo shoot. The young shoot would then wind itself into the pot, continuing to grow. When the shoot would fill up the pot they would cut the shoot off and take the shoot-filled pot away. They would crack open the pot and use this bamboo shoot, which was now rounded and crimped like a cabbage, as a cooking vegetable. It made for a very tasty dish. If a little breeze would come along while it was still in its pot-bound condition then the pot would tremble.
Kap + i = kapi. The etymological meaning of the word kapi is “that which moves or jumps” (for that reason another name for monkey is kapi), thus the round-shaped bamboo shoot inside the clay pot used to be called bándhákapi [bándhá means “bound”] or konŕakapi [konŕa means “shoot”]. In subsequent times, when cabbage and cauliflower, etc. arrived in Bengal they were also given the Bengali names bándhákapi [cabbage], phulkapi [cauliflower], olkapi [arum] and so forth. In Sanskrit, then, bamboo shoot is called kamat́a; konŕakapi is also called kamat́a.
2) Kamat́a also means “[water] turtle”. There are generally two types of turtles, the land-dwelling turtle, or tortoise, and the water-dwelling turtle. The tortoise is very long-lived. They live on grass and leaves. The [water] turtle is also long-lived. In some people’s opinion, the tortoise lives up to nearly five hundred years in age, while the turtle can survive up to three hundred years.
The water turtle is highly carnivorous. The water turtle also comes onto land, however, in order to lay its eggs. It removes some sand or soft earth and lays its eggs in that depression. Afterwards it covers the eggs back up and returns to the water. With the help of the internal heat of the sand or earth the young burst their shell and come out. The moment the young are born they run right for the water. Normally most of the young turtles are eaten by birds or other carnivorous creatures before they can make it from land to water. While the tortoise also lays its eggs underneath sand or earth, it remains nearby so less of its young die. The water turtle lays a great quantity of eggs while by comparison the tortoise lays much less. People eat both kinds of turtle eggs. A perusal of old Bengali literature shows that the Bengalees of that time used to eat turtle eggs with bitter greens [a bitter vegetable green]. Not all water turtles are edible.
According to differences in size and nature turtles are known by different names in Bengali, such as kacchap, ket́ho (“hard as wood”), káut́há, bárkol, and so on. All kinds of turtles are called kamat́a in Sanskrit and refined Bengali.
3) Kamat́a was the name of a mythological demon depicted in the Puranas.
4) The fourth meaning of the word kamat́a is what we call in Bengali jag [jug]. The type of water vessel from which water is poured into a glass, or kakubha, is nowadays called a jag. The actual Bengali, as well as Sanskrit, word for jug is kamat́a.
5) The fifth meaning is “water full of high waves”. Just as water with few waves is called kamala, the same water with many waves is called kamat́a.
6) The shark is called kamat́a in Sanskrit and refined Bengali. Those sharks which are large in size and live in the ocean are normally called háuṋgar in Bengali, and those sharks which live in coastal rivers or backwaters or estuaries, are called kámat́a in spoken Bengali. They are somewhat smaller in size than the háuṋgar. At one time there were a great number of kámat́as in the rivers of Midnapore, 24 Paraganas and Khulna Districts. Taking bath in those rivers was dangerous at that time. The oil of these kámat́a sharks has medicinal qualities. As the cod fish began disappearing, shark oil began to be used as a substitute for cod liver oil, and from that time also the kámat́a species started to be wiped out. Nowadays the number of kámat́as has greatly diminished.
Kamala
Kam + alac = kamala. Kam means “desired” or “wished for”. Thus etymologically kamala means “that which people like”. The la of the suffix alac is ádi la, thus it is also at the end of the word – it is kamala, not kamalra. Colloquially, kamala means:
1) The lotus flower. The lotus flower is called kamala because its beauty and grace are quite attractive. Bees, hornets and other insects are attracted by its smell – people as well.
Medicine is made from lotus petals. The lotus, especially the stamen of the white lotus, is a medicine for poisonous snakebite. Lotus seeds are a very tasty food. Certain types of small worms grow in the lotus’s stem or stalk (mrńál or mrnál) – especially during the rainy season. That same kind of small worm also grows in the stalk of the kalmii and tálmákháná plants.(2) These worms are favourite foods of certain long-lived fish, such as the kai, mágur, siuṋgi, etc. Lotus nectar has been valued as an excellent medicine for eye disease since ancient times.
2) The lotus does not grow in water that has too many waves, that is, in rivers with strong waves. Thus kamala also is used to mean “that water which has few waves”.
3) That water vessel which people use so extensively for carrying or keeping water, that is, a bucket, is also called kamala. The Bengali synonym for the English word “bucket”, bálti, is a very recent word; it is of foreign origin. If one says ek kamal jal áno [bring a bucket of water] instead of ek bálti jal áno it will be good Bengali.
4) The kamańd́alu [a water pot with religious significance in India] that people used to use in ancient times to keep water was generally made out of the shell of a ripe gourd. In some places coconut shells were also used for carrying water. Thus kamala also means “coconut-shell” or “gourd-kamańd́alu”.
5) That particular kind of deer which is found in watery or damp places, and which goes by the name of kákar-hariń in Bengali, is also called kamala. Like the wild boar, this kákar-hariń is also a favourite food of the Royal Bengal tiger. Human beings have nearly killed off the kákar-hariń. Some provision needs to be made for their preservation without any delay.
6) The colour of copper is attractive; its lustre is also attractive. And as a water vessel it comes just after gold and silver pots in quality. Thus copper is also called kamala. If one wishes, one can also call a copper pot, kamala pot.(3)
7) Medicine cures the diseases of living beings. It brings out the beauty of the body, or often medicine becomes very attractive to the sick person. In this sense kamala also means “medicine”. Bear in mind that the highest quality waters which are effective against disease (such as the Bakreswar kuńd́a or the Siita kuńd́a, etc.) are thus called tiirtha kamala in Sanskrit [tiirtha means “place of pilgrimage”].
8) The gall-bladder is called kamala or udara-kamala.
9) The bladder of a football is also called kamala. In order to eliminate confusion, the football can be called kanduka-kamala (kanduka means “ball”).
10) The words kamala or nimnakamala can be used for “urinary bladder” or “kidneys”.
Some people believe that the word kamalinii means “small kamala” or “small lotus”. From the grammatical point of view, the word kamalinii can be used to mean “small lotus”, but in customary usage kamalinii does not refer to a small lotus – it means a collection of loti, that is, when there are many loti blooming together at one spot in a particular reservoir or pond, then that bunch of loti, or that lotus grove, is called kamalinii. In the same way, if many sháluka or kumuda (lily) flowers (in certain parts of Bengal it is also called sháplá) are blooming together at one spot in a reservoir or pond then we can also call that kumudinii. Kumuda means “sháluk flower”. While it is correct from the grammatical point of view to use the word kumudinii to mean “small kumuda”, it is not used that way in practice.
The English for kamala is “lotus”; its plural form is “loti”. The English for kumuda is “water-lily”. The lotus maintains a relationship with the sun while the water-lily has a relationship with the moon; for this reason, moonlight is called kaomudii. The kahlára flower [white water-lily] (dhyanp flower or bhent́ flower) is smaller than the sháluk. If many of these flowers are blooming at one spot then that can also be called kahlárińii. Although kahlárińii can also be used in the grammatical sense to mean “small kahlára”, it is generally used to mean a bower of kahlára flowers. The stalk (mrńál) of the kamala has thorns while the stalks of the kumuda and the kahlára do not. The seeds of the kumuda and the kahlára flowers are food for human beings, just as kamala seeds are. Náŕus [lád́d́us – a popular variety of Indian sweetmeat] are prepared from them by first parching the ripe dhyánp or bhent́ seeds in a pan with sand to make khai [a type of puffed grain, usually prepared from rice] and then mixing it with either sugar or molasses water; this type of náŕu generally goes by the name of dhyánper or bhent́er náŕu. This náŕu is somewhat similar to the rámdháná náŕu of northern India. The dhyánper or bhent́er náŕu has little food value to speak of, but it is easily digestible. For this reason, it is fed to sick people and children. Because it has so little food value there is a common saying in Bengali:
Shukno ádar dhyánper khai emná ádar káre kai
[What type of love is this! Insincere love is like puffed grain from dhyanp.]
Anyhow, you have certainly understood the proper usage of kamalinii, kumudinii, and kahlárińii.
If we use the word kamala in feminine gender then we get two additional meanings. Kamala + t́á = kamalá. Kamalá means:
1) Lakśmii, the goddess of wealth or the goddess of fortune.
2) A refined, polite and gentle-natured lady. If we take the word kamalá in this sense then we can call any lady with a praiseworthy nature, Kamalá.
Kampa
The meaning of the root verb kap/kamp (kapi) is “to tremble”. Kamp + ac = kampa. Kampa is a masculine word which means “that which trembles” or “the state of trembling”. But by adding rak to kamp we get the word kampra which means “that which naturally trembles”. Dvidháy jaŕita pade kampravakśe namranetrapáte [In confusion, the feet tangled up, a trembling breast, eyes downcast]. This is very sweet to the ears but defective from the grammatical point of view. Grammatically speaking, kampavakśe would have been better. If the breast trembles out of fear or confusion then we will not say that it is naturally trembling. We will only use kampravakśe for someone whose breast naturally trembles. Perhaps the poet used the word for the internal rhyme with namra, or to give it some alliterative sweetness.
Kambalra
Kam + balra = kambalra. Etymologically, kambalra means “that which covers the upper portion of ka, or the body”. Colloquially, by kambalra we mean:
1) A soft, high-quality woollen shawl which is used to cover the body, or as dress. Generally, a rough, low quality kambalra is called aorabhra.
2) The second meaning of the word kambalra is “throat-covering”, that is, “muffler”, “comforter”, “scarf”, and so on. These also cover the upper portion of the body, or ka.
3) The third meaning of the word kambalra is “throat-ornament”, that is, “necklace”, “chain”, hár [a kind of necklace], shelii [a necklace], hánsuli, [a crescent necklace], etc.
4) The fourth meaning of the word kambalra is a certain kind of very furry deer. The fur from this deer was used to make various kinds of woollen garments in cold countries during ancient times. Unfortunately, human beings have practically wiped out this kind of kambalra-deer out of their greed for its meat.
5) The fifth meaning of the word kambalra is a certain kind of insect belonging to the grasshopper family which generally lives underground. However, on rainy evenings, if the rain stops and they see a strong light, then they rush towards it. In Calcutta everyone calls this creature of the grasshopper family, ucciḿŕe.
6) Kambalra also means “upper-body clothes” such as “undershirt”, “shirt”, and so forth.
7) The seventh meaning is “tea”. In ancient times tea used to grow wild in the eastern Himalayan regions, as it does today. However tea was not cultivated there like it is today. The Chinese were the first to cultivate tea. India learned tea cultivation from the Chinese. The inhabitants of China drink both leaf tea and green tea but it seems that green tea is a bigger favourite. The Chinese people like to drink tea with butter, salt and honey. The people of ancient India used to boil the wild tea leaves in salt water, that is, they used to drink it salty, and this tea’s name was kambal. The word kambal is masculine in gender.
8) The eighth meaning of the word kambalra is “salt water”. The word is neuter in gender, that is, in the first person singular we don’t say kambala, but rather kambalam. Among the many names for water, such as niiram, toyam, udakam, vári, and so forth, one of them is kambalam. The poet Kabir has said:
Kambal varśe bhiiuṋge páni yah hi hyáy kabiir kii váńii
The verse has two meanings. One meaning is: Saltwater is raining from the sky, everything is getting wet. The other meaning is: The spiritual aspirant is sitting with their two hands cupped in their lap and tears falling from their eyes from the thought of God (tears taste salty). The leaves of the hands, or the hands, are getting wet. If this kind of condition occurs the person gets Parama Puruśa.
Kambu
The root verb kamb means “to move”. Kamb + u = kambu. The etymological meaning of kambu is “that which moves”. The colloquial meanings of kambu are:
1) Conch.
2) A trumpeting elephant. The specific name of the sound that the elephant makes is brḿhańa and kambu means “an elephant that is engaged in brḿhańa”.
3) The third meaning is “a body ornament that moves” (such as bangle, anklet, ankle bells) or “that which creates attraction through its colourful lustre.” For that reason kambu means “a ring inlaid with jewels” – a ring set with diamonds or pearls or any other kind of inlaid jewels.
4) Kambu means “an ornament for the area lying between the wrist and the elbow” – especially a bracelet. One specific name for bracelet is karakambu. If we say only kambu then it means a jewel-inlaid finger-ring, and to differentiate a bracelet from a ring the word karakambu is used, although kambu means “bracelet”.
5) Another meaning of the word kambu is the same kind of spot that one finds on a conch. In ancient times such a conch-like spot on someone’s neck was considered a mark of beauty. A person with such a spot on their neck was called kambugriiva in masculine form and kambugriivá in feminine form.
6) The sixth meaning of the word kambu is “water with medicinal qualities” (medicated water), or “liquid medicine”. The water of certain places is very good for health due to the presence of different kinds of mineral salts. These waters have their own particular taste as well. Such water is called kambu. Often medicine is used in liquid form; this is also known as kambu.
Kambuka
Kambu + ka = kambuka. Kambuka means: 1) a trumpeting elephant, (2) conch, and (3) a person engaged in an unclean or low-level profession. “Unclean” or “low-level” profession generally referred to four kinds of professions in ancient times:
a) Religious merchant, that is, those who earned their living by capitalizing on the religious sentiment of the people.
b) Moneylender or usurer.
c) Dispute-mongers, that is, those who earn their money by creating disputes among people.
d) Death professionals, that is, those who earn their money from the dead, such as cańd́áls [a low caste traditionally entrusted with the disposal of corpses], cremators, professional eulogizers, agradánii [Brahmans who receive alms for offering prayers for the departed soul], mad́uipod́á [a Brahman caste involved with the cremation of unrelated corpses], and so on.
Kambú
Kamb + u’s = kambú. There is a big difference between kambu and kambú. The meaning of the word kambú is “one who steals from others”, that is, “dacoit”, “pickpocket”, “pilferer”, “burglar”, “one who accepts bribes”, and so on. Those who don’t understand the difference between u and ú should take a close look at the difference between kambu and kambú.
Kara
Kr + ac = kara. The etymological meaning of the word kara is “one who does”. In certain cases kara means “one with whose help something is done”. For example, one who does magic (bájii) is bájiikara.
Man-gariiber kii doś áche
Tumi bájikarer meye shyámá
Yeman nácáo temni náce
[Where is the fault in this poor mind? You are the magician’s daughter; mind dances as you make it dance.]
Another meaning of the word bájii is “horse”. In ancient times those people who used to catch wild horses and train them until they were fit for use were called bájiikara. Sometimes, in olden days, if there was a dispute between people as to who was the victor and who was the vanquished, the two people in question would then catch two horses in order to reach a decision. The winning horse would demonstrate who was the victor. That bájii won outright.(4)
Colloquially, kara means:
1) Hand. 2) Ray of light – for example, súryakarojjvala [sunlit]. 3) Duty – for example, government tax, water tax, road tax, etc. 4) Kara means “concerning profession” – for example, bájikara [magician], bájiikara [horse trainer], arthakara, [meaningful], rucikara [appetizing], and so forth.
5) Another meaning of the word kara is “proboscis” – elephant’s trunk. In the elephant’s trunk, or kara, is hidden its speciality, thus one name for elephant is karii. There is that riddle:
It resides in the kamala [lotus] but in the saroja [lotus] its touch is missing.
It amuses itself with the karii but doesn’t like the gaja [elephant].
It lives in the head of Krttivása [a name of Shiva] all the twelve months.
No matter how much Maheshvara [another name of Shiva] calls it cannot be caught.
Kamala and saroja, karii and gaja, Krttivása and Maheshvara – all these pairs of words have the same meaning. The answer of the riddle is ka because there is no ka in the words saroja, gaja, and Maheshvara. There is a similar riddle about the letter ra:
It stays to the left of Ráma but it isn’t Siitá,
It roams in the city and the port, but not in Calcutta.
Karaka
Kr + ac + ka = karaka. The etymological meaning is “that by which work is obtained”. Its colloquial meanings are:
1) One name of the water vessel or kamańd́alu that renunciants and students used to use when they were going to distant lands or to school is karaka. (kam + ańd́ac + lá + u = kamańd́alu)
2) The name of the gourd shell or coconut shell that was used in ancient times as a water vessel for carrying water is also karaka.
3) The third meaning of karaka is a certain type of bird from cold countries that normally comes to India from the end of the month of Karttik [late Autumn] to the end of the month of Mágh [winter] and makes temporary nests in the areas near different reservoirs and ponds. These bird-guests usually make their nests in the tall trees near reservoirs and ponds. They are the old inhabitants of northeast China, Siberia, Russia and Tibet, but due to the oppressive cold in those lands during wintertime it becomes impossible for them to sustain themselves. It is extremely cold, and moreover there is a scarcity of food. Thus they come to India and other hot countries during the winter and stay there for a few months. During this time they lay their eggs, and after their young are somewhat grown they teach them how to fly and the process for gathering food. Then, when the hot winds begin to blow they return to their homeland. They return to exactly the place they had come from, and each year they also come back to the same place. It has been demonstrated by attaching a marker to their legs, or through other means, how unbelievably developed their intuition and ability to recognize these places is. Great crowds of them gather during the winter in Calcutta Zoo, 24 Paraganas’ Sandeshkhali, and Bharatpur’s bird sanctuary. At one time great numbers of them used to come to Dimdiha village in Purulia District. Since they came to lay their eggs [d́im] the name of the place became Dimdiha. They can be seen in the marshlands of Bengal during wintertime. Among these birds is a bird of the Flamingo family. Karaka refers to the birds of this flamingo family.
4) The fourth meaning of the word karaka is “sweet drinking water”. The water of the western portion of Bengal’s 24 Paraganas District is salty, so if we call it kambalram, then the sweet water of Bankura and Purulia Districts we can call karaka.
5) The fifth meaning of the word karaka is “city-tax”, what in Farsi is called cungii. In many large cities of ancient India travellers who were entering the city used to have to pay a city entrance-tax at the time of entering. This city entrance-tax still exists in certain forms in certain parts of the globe. It is called karaka.
6) The sixth meaning of the word karaka is what is called in English “green vegetation”. In Sanskrit the words shaśpa or dhánya are prevalent. Although dhyánya also means “paddy”, in ancient Sanskrit dhyánya meant “green vegetation”. A lodhra-tree forest is called lodhradhánya → lodhdhahánna → lodhiháná → ludhiyáná.(5)
Dhárá yantre snáner sheśe dhúper dhonyá dita keshe
lodhra phuler shubhra reńu mákhta mukhe bálá.
Kalagurur guru gandha lege thákta sáje
Kuruvaker parta chúŕá kála kesher májhe.
[After taking a bath in the fountain and scenting her hair with incense, the girl would daub her face with the white powder of the lodhra flower. She would have the wonderful scent of black sandalwood on her dress and flakes of red amaranth in the middle of her black hair.]
Similarly, haritdhánya → hariahánna → hariháná → hariyáná. Another word for green vegetation in ancient Sanskrit was shaśpa. The word karaka was used for green vegetation, or can be used.
7) The seventh meaning is “large tree”. We can easily call the banyan tree bat́akaraka.
8) The eighth meaning of the word karaka is “pomegranate tree”, or dáŕimba vrkśa. If someone says “the tailor bird is sitting in the karaka tree,” then it will have to be understood that the tailor bird is sitting in a pomegranate tree because tailor birds don’t sit in banyan trees or very large trees. From the Sanskrit dáŕimba has come dáŕim in Maethilii and d́álim in Bengali. The word ánár used in Hindustani is of foreign origin. In olden times the bedáná [a high quality pomegranate] came into being as a result of scientific research on the pomegranate. As far as size goes, there are three different varieties of pomegranate – small, medium and large. The bedáná is medium-sized. The rind of the pomegranate is somewhat reddish while the bedáná’s colour is catechu, or pale-yellow. The pips of the pomegranate are red while bedáná pips are light-rose or purple-rose. The pomegranate is sour, or sweet-and-sour in taste while the bedáná is normally sweet. Although both the pomegranate and bedáná have food value, the bedáná has more. The bedáná is suitable as a diet for convalescing patients. The bedáná’s Sanskrit name is dáŕimba.
Karka
Kr + ka = karka. Etymologically, karka means “one with whose help action is accomplished”; colloquially it means:
1) Kuiṋjo (water vessel). The actual name of the water vessel we call kuiṋjo is not kuiṋjo. The middle portion of this water vessel resembles the waist of a person who is hunchbacked (kuiṋja), thus it goes by this name. The Hindustani for kuiṋjo is suráhii – in English, “pitcher”. The kuiṋjo’s own name, or real name, is karka.
The English word for kuiṋjo, “pitcher”, reminds me of a riddle. A triangle has three sides, a hexagon has seven sides. Can you say how many sides there are in a pitcher? The answer is: A pitcher has two sides – inside and outside.
2) The second meaning of the word karka is “white horse”.
3) The third meaning of the word karka is “the colour white”.
4) The fourth meaning of the word karka is “good” or “courteous”.
5) The fifth meaning of the word karka is “praiseworthy” – “that which is praised” or “the language of praise”.
6) The sixth meaning of the word karka is “silk-cotton flower”. After the silk-cotton flower falls off, a fruit is produced, and after that fruit matures a type of cotton comes out from inside it. This cotton is used for stuffing pillows and a kind of bright material is also made from it which is like silk – it used to be quite common at one time. Because this bright white cotton is inside, the silk-cotton flower is called karka. Its Sanskrit name is shálmalii and in north India siimar.
7) The seventh meaning of the word karka is “very beautiful” or “good-looking”.
8) The eighth meaning of the word karka is “a furiously burning fire” or hutáshana [a sacrificial fire] which is the best example of the form of fire.
9) The ninth meaning of the word karka is “that which serves as a medium to observe one’s beauty”, or “mirror”.
10) The tenth meaning of the word karka is “large-sized crab”. Some people use the word kuliira or kuliiraka in this sense. However, the word kuliiraka is generally used to mean “sea crab”.
11) Karka also means “Cancer”, the sign of the zodiac.
Karkat́a
1) Karkat́a refers to all kinds of crabs. 2) The sign of the zodiac, Cancer. 3) The very long fruit of the cucumber family which grows abundantly in Bihar and which is known as kánkŕi.
4) The disease that is called “cancer” in English; in Bengali it is called karkat́a roga.
5) Karkat́a is a bird of the kot́ik (kaoŕi) family.
When we say kot́ika-family birds, what is generally seen in Bengal is the pánkaoŕi [similar to a cormorant]. At one time the pánkaoŕi used to be found in good numbers in the large reservoirs and ponds and marshlands of Bengal. This tri-habitat bird (aquatic, terrestrial and aerial) is similar in nature to the swan, or goose. Its body-colour is blackish. Like the foreign birds, they are seen in good numbers in Bengal during winter season, but they are also there at other times. This writer saw flocks of pánkaoŕis in Murshidabad District’s Hizalbil during the winter of 1942. One hears that there are not so many pánkaoŕis nowadays. They have been, and are being, slaughtered by human beings.
According to the Puranas, just as the mount of the goddess Gauṋgá is the makara [a mythological aquatic creature], similarly Yamuna’s mount is the pánikot́ik, or pánkaoŕi. According to some of the Puranas, the god of machines, Vishvakarma’s mount is also the pánkaoŕi. However there is a difference of opinion about this.
Karat́a
Kr + at́ac = karat́a. The etymological meaning of the word karat́a is “to move while engaged in work”. Colloquially karat́a means:
1) Raven; the raven is continually going about in search of one kind of food or another. When it doesn’t find any food in the vicinity, or doesn’t have any other work, then rather sitting and remaining silent, it makes a ka ka sound.
2) The second meaning is “crane”. This long-billed crane is found nearly every place in the world regardless of whether it is predominantly cold or hot. Only in those times and places where the water freezes does it not stay around because then there is a shortage of food there. If it sees the probability of water freezing in a place then it abandons that place just prior. It does so with the help of its rather advanced deductive powers. Thus, if in any particular land it is seen that the cranes are leaving, then it can be deduced that very cold weather is coming in the near future, just as it can be known that the rainy season is imminent when the swallows can be seen flying westwards at the end of the hot season.
The rainy season begins a day or two after the rain clouds reach the Bengal coastal region from the Bay of Bengal. The swallow is native to Africa. In the spring it crosses over the Arabian Sea and the southern peninsula and enters Bengal. It stays in Bengal during the summer. Once the monsoon starts it heads westward, crosses the Arabian Sea and returns to its home country, Africa.
As with the crane, this deductive power is highly developed in the egret. Some people call it intuition. Be that as it may, the crane is native to this country.
3) People affectionately caress the cheek of young children with their hand. But no one caresses an elephant’s cheek. This elephant’s cheek is also called karat́a.
4) Unclean or inferior professions are also called karat́a. What is meant by “unclean” or “inferior” professions has already been well-explained during the discussion about kambuka.
5) Those funeral services [shráddha] that people perform for the satisfaction of the departed soul of their ancestors or relatives, especially those services following the initial service, are called karat́a.
6) You must have seen cows that chase people or kick them if one tries to milk them. This kind of bad-natured cow is called a márkáńd́á cow in some places. This márkáńd́á cow is called karat́a. If this márkáńd́á cow is fed fodder mixed with mustard chaff before dawn then its affliction will be alleviated, that is, its temper will be calmed. Often this kind of cow kicks its own calf and chases it away, that is, she doesn’t allow it to drink her milk. So that these calves don’t die for a want of food during infancy, they can be fed pure roasted gram flour dissolved in water; then their life can be saved.
7) The seventh meaning is “atheist” or “crude-minded person”. This is used in masculine gender.
8) The eighth meaning is the “kalke flower”. The fruit of the kalke flower is poisonous. There is some poison in its root as well, but there is none in its nectar. Medicine is prepared from the kalke’s poison. The ancient kalke flower was yellow but nowadays it is also found in pink and white varieties.(6) If the red and white kalke flowers are seen from a distance they are often confused with oleander.
Karańa
Kr + lyut́ = karańa. The etymological meaning of the word karańa is “that by which work is done” – that which aids in work, either directly or indirectly. Colloquially karańa means:
1) Loom.
2) The tools or implements for practising one’s profession, such as ironsmith’s hammer, cutters, goldsmith’s small hammer, a cook’s cooking utensils (ladle, tongs, spatula), potter’s wheel, and so on.
3) Another meaning of the word karańa is indriya [sensory or motor organs].
4) Another meaning of the word karańa is “nerve fibre” or “nervous system”.
5) Another meaning of the word karańa is “the total network of nád́iis functioning in the body”.
6) Another meaning of the word karańa is “the collection of veins and arteries”.
7) Another meaning of the word karańa is “the five sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin)”.
8) Karańa means “the five motor organs (vocal cords, hands, feet, anus, and urinary organ)”.
9) Karańa means “mind” or antahkarańa [literally, “inner-instrument”]
10) Karańa also means “instruments of external expression”, that is, bahihkarańa.
11) Karańa means “the eleventh organ, mind”.
12) Those who don’t accept mind as the eleventh organ still accept citta, ahaḿttava and mahattattva as the antahkarańa.
13) Karańa means “pen”.
14) Karańa means “clerk”.
15) Karańa means “where a clerk sits and works”, that is, “office”.
16) Karańa also means “court of law”, or “court of justice”.
17) Karańa also means “government secretariat”.
18) Karańa means brahmakśatriya, or in this sense, káyastha (In the Prákrta language sadbaoddha-karańa-káyastha-t́hakkur: ci + ghaiṋ + sthá + d́a = káyastha → káyattha → káyet).
19) Karańa means vrátyakśatriya, or in this sense, káyastha [a Hindu caste].
20) Karańa is a particular branch or family name of the Káyasthas. Within the twelve branches of Chitragupta Káyasthas, Karańa is one branch (Ambaśt́ha, Bhat́t́anagar, Sakhasena, Shriivástava, Máthura, Gaoŕa, Súryadhvaja, Válmiiki, Kalashreśt́ha, Aśt́háná, Nigama and Karańa).(7)
21) Karańa is the name of a particular grammatical case.
22) Karańa also refers to collected materials or items.
23) Karańa also means “ministers” or those who take care of matters of state both in war and peace, or Káyasthas.
Karttaka
Krt + aka = karttaka. Etymologically, “that which is used to cut”. Colloquially, “knife”.
Karttárii
The word means “scissors”. The word karttárikii is used for “small pair of scissors”.
Karttáriká
The word means kát́ári [a large chopping knife].
Kardama
The root verb kard (krd) means “to make an unpleasant noise” (crunching, slopping through mud, etc.). By adding the suffix amac to kard we get the word kardama. We also get the word kardama by adding ma to the word karda. The etymological meaning of kardama is “that from which an unpleasant noise is produced”. One colloquial meaning of kardama is “slime”; another meaning is the son of Brahmá, Kardama. According to the Puranic tale, Kardama’s father’s name was Brahmá and his mother’s name was Cháyá. According to a Puranic story Súrya’s wife’s name was also Cháyá. The father was Súrya, the mother was Cháyá and the child’s name was Shanigraha. Thus Shani [Saturn] is a son of Cháyá [umbra]. (In olden times both the spellings, Shani and Shańi, were used.)
Karapatriká
Karapatriká generally means “water-sport”; specifically it means “water-polo”. Spraying water like a fountain is also called karapatriká.
Karapála/Karavála
The meaning of the word karapála/karavála is “scimitar”, but the meaning of the word karapaliká/karaváliká is “dagger”. The word churiká is used for “small dagger”.
Dvithriḿshakot́ibhujakharakaravále [with the swords flashing from the hands of 32,000,000 people].
Karashiikara
One meaning of the word kara is “elephant’s trunk”. When an elephant takes a bath or plays with water it draws the water up through its trunk and then sprays it like a fountain. This is called karashiikara. Shiikara means “fountain” or “bathing-fountain”. You can quite properly call a bathroom shower a shiikara. A bathing-fountain is also called karapatriká.
Sadyasnánasiktavasaná cikanashiikaraliptá [with her clothes wet immediately after a shower in shining water].
Footnotes
(1) In Oriya “white” is called dhaŕá. This has come from the word dhavalra. From the word dhavalra comes the Bengali word dhalo and the Oriya word dhaŕa or dhaŕá. Actually, the correct spelling of the Oriya word dhaŕa is not with ŕa but rather with antahstha lra. In Bengali also, kálo-dhalo is common [black and white]. In Bhojpuri “white” is dhaoŕá (dhavalra). For example, Dhaoŕii (dhavalrii) gáy caratiiyá, that is, “a white cow is grazing”.
(2) For this reason people don’t eat the kalmii during the rainy season. Even if people are made to understand by reason, oftentimes they don’t want to understand or accept. Thus, in order to cause fear, it is said that Jagannath has fever from sojáratha day until ult́oratha day. He is lying on a bed of kalmii leaves. And so, at that time kalmii should not be eaten; it is a sin to eat it.
(3) Támra → támba → támbá → tánbá → támá. The támbá form is prevalent in northern India. In Bengali, both tánbá and támá are correct although the tánbá form is more faithful to the original Prákrta. For example, both ánb and ám [mango] are correct, but ánb is more faithful to the original Prákrta.
(4) The word bájii is of Farsi origin. In Farsi the adjectival suffixes gar, var, and dár are used. For example, jádugar [magician], jánavar (not jánoyár [beast]), dukándár [shopkeeper]. Bear in mind, it is jádu, not yádu, and jádugar, not yádukar.
(5) Lodhra → lodhdha → lodh. In ancient India girls used to use the pollen of the lodh flower as face powder.
(6) The author’s garden contains both the pink and white varieties of this flower. Moreover, there is a variety of kalke brought from Cyprus which is halfway between the kalke and oleander.
(7) According to a Puranic story the twelve classes of Káyasthas came from the lineages of the twelve children of Chitragupta. The names of his twelve children were: Cáru, Sucáru, Citra, Citracáru, Aruńa, Atiindriya, Himaván, Matimán, Bhánu, Vibhánu, Vishvabhánu and Viiryabhánu. Apart from these twelve classes of Chitragupta Káyasthas, there are six more classes of Káyasthas. They are: (1) The sun lineage king, Ashvapati’s descendants – Pattanprabhu Káyastha; (2) The moon lineage king, Kámapati’s descendants – Damanaprabhu Káyastha; (3) The devotee king, Dhruva’s descendants – Druvaprabhu Káyastha; (4) Upakáyastha (Bengal’s Kumár or Kunyár Káyastha, Kerala’s Náyár and Tamil nadu’s Pillái groups); (5) Purkáyastha (Purkáit); and (6) Bháńd́árii Káyastha. Although the Bháńd́árii Káyasthas are Káyastha by caste, they have taken on the Brahman’s profession. Due to their social relationship with the Buddhist Chakravarttiis during the Buddhist era, the other Káyasthas don’t especially like them. Today caste differences and caste divisions are fading out. What I have just related is a Puranic story of the old days.