Re: Chakrataazhwar
From the Bhakti List Archives
• July 6, 1995
Mani wrote: * I think the word "aazhvaar" has two meanings. * When used for the saints proper, it is usually * interpreted as meaning "one who is immersed in * the Lord". When used for others, such as kooratthaazhvaan * or chakkratth aazhvaar it is added as a respectable * suffix meaning "one who rules", or "one who is lordly". * Someone else may be able to supply the exact * Tamil etymology of the two words. aazhdhal = amizhdhal = immerse (oneself) deeply aazham = depth So I would consider the former meaning. aaLukai = aatchi = rule aaLudhal = to rule over aaLvaar = one who rules. aaLukai also has usually somewhat a negative connotation as in enforcing one's power over the other, or holding a spell over the other etc. I doubt if `aaLvaar' became `aazhvaar'. With the aazhvaars emphasising bhakti and absolute surrender to Him, I can hardly imagine them being denoted by a word that means "power". (btw, `aaludhal' is also a legitimate word, meaning `aaduthal' or "to dance" as in thoNdar adippodi aazhvaar's mayilinam aalum sOlai) * Friedhelm Hardy suggests that the latter meaning * was the original one even for the saints. Which is * why he thinks that "aandaaL" is the feminine equivalent * of "aazhvaar", i.e., "one who rules". I disagree. aaNdaaL alone has this name that suggesting that she ruled His heart (avan uLLaththai aaNdaaL). The same is not true of the others. Further, the word "aazhvaar" is tenseless (vinaiththokai) applicable to all three tenses. "aaNdaaL" is clearly in the past tense. They are not equivalent. --badri * Mani -------------------------------------------------- S.Badrinarayanan Graduate Student Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Cornell University --------------------------------------------------
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