Ishwa helper Reged: 03/03/02 Posts: 553

Re: Meaning and significance of Siva [Re: sickofviolence] #16372 - 05/17/02 03:31 AM Edit Reply Quote

Dear SOV, here a suggestion about meanings: 1. primary meaning: this is from a verbal root 2. secondary meaning: this is a developed root meaning 3. interpretational meaning: this is done within a certain thought but somehow not completely forgetting the root meaning. 4. folk etymological meaning: interpreting the words with phantasized splitting of words. P�rvat� for instance just means literally 'that which is related to or born from Parvata'. The word 'parvata' has a connection with 'parvan' which has the meaning of knotting together (to make a whole). The secondary meaning of Parvata is mountain (which became the first meaning, because the first meaning was lost, but still has the meaning of being knot together to make a whole: mountain range). The secondary meaning of P�rvat� is 'daughter of the mountain'. The third meaning is the story around the characters of P�rvat� which becomes later mythologized. Many epitheta are connected with each other to develop a fastgrowing mythology. An exemple of the fourth meaning is in words like 'Hatha" which is split in ha and tha to relate it to the sun and moon. But Hatha comes from the root hath meaning determined thriving (and Hatha becomes negatively: stubbornness) By the way, Durga means: hard (dur) to go to/reach (ga).