Guest guest Posted June 27, 2001 Report Share Posted June 27, 2001 Dear Netters, I am trying to find a satisfying etymology for the word 'nagasvaram' (the South Indian oboe). I have still not been able to resolve the following questions: a) Since the same word 'nAga' means both 'snake' and 'elephant', can we conclude that it is the similarity of the elephant's trunk to a 'nAga' that caused it to be so named? Or can be word 'nAga' be resolved into more basic roots? b) does the 'naga' in the compound word naga-svaram refer to the 'cobra' (i.e. can 'naga' mean any snake in general?) c) does the word 'nagasvaram' come from the snake-charmer's musical instrument (called pungi in Hindi) (i.e., is there a word for the 'pungi' which has now fallen into disuse?) d) was the 'nagasvaram' named for the elephant, i.e., was the 'trumpet' called the 'elephant-sounding'? Any information you can give me will be a help to me. (Also, can you please let me know if there any online Pali/Prakrit dictionaries, where I could look for connections to these words? Thank you, Dileep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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