[Y-Indology] zramaNa

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In a message dated 2/11/02 3:39:05 AM Eastern Standard Time,

naga_ganesan writes:

 

 

> How is the word zramaNa usually explained?

> Is zrama an IE word, or at least Indo-Iranian?

> Or, is zrama(Na) a local word entering IA languages?

>

> Thanks,

> N. Ganesan

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Though the verbal root zram- appears to have good IE roots [cf. Greek

kremamai, kremnos; Old Germ. hirmen, and discussion in Mayrhofer, EWA

II.664], zramaNa itself is unattested in Old Vedic [although RV has azramaNa,

but in the sense 'untiring', not 'monk']. First attestation of the meaning

'monk' is ZB.

 

In Avestan there are no attestations of the root *sram-, nor of the word

*sramana.

 

zramaNa as 'monk' became a much-travelled culture-word, accompanying the

Buddhist migrations. The Greeks knew the word [samanaioi, Sarmanoi, etc].

It shows up in Buddhist Sogdian texts, in Khotanese, as well as in Mod.

Persian. It is found in Tocharian, Chinese, and Altaic [Tungusic]. It

eventually turns up quite early in the languages of Europe.

 

It appears that Skt. zramaNa is an old IE word that developed in India a

novel semantics to convey a novel cultural institution, that of the monk.

 

This is not to say that similar notions did not precede this one. I am about

to publish a paper on an old Indo-Iranian word *drigu, 'poor, dependent,

faithful' [a term of self-designation used by Zoroastrians, including

Zarathustra himself], from which eventually emerged the word which in English

surfaces as 'dervish.' In fact, in some Iranian languages, derivatives of

*drigu were used to gloss the term zramaNa.

 

Best wishes,

 

George Thompson