Doubt about Saalagramam

[Guest guest]

Dear Devotees,

 

I am having a doubt about meaning of Saalagrama Silai.

 

Why it is called Saalagramam.

 

As I know:

Rudraaksha means : at it is very rough surface, rudra as Sanskrit word for Rough,

It is used to chant or count aksharas,

 

The combination is Rudraaksha.

 

So In this manner is there any meaning for Saalagramam also?

 

Kindly let me know.

 

aDiyan

Ranganathan

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Ranganathan:

 

Your enquiry into the roots and meanings of compound sanskrit words is interesting.

 

As we know there are many different meanings for the same sanskrit word and a learned sanskrit pundit only can give the proper interpretation and meaning. Your analysis for Rudraaksha does not seem to meet the meanings given in sanskrit dictionaries. Checking into the sanskrit dictionary that I have, it doesn't give the meaning of 'rough' for Rudra. Rather it gives - 1. dreadful, terrific 2. great or large

3.Driving away evil, and 4. praiseworthy. 5. Of course, Rudra: also means 'Rudra', commonly taken as Shiva or Sankara, the head of eleven gods as a group, called Rudras.

 

Aksha in sanskrit means 'eye' when attached to other words at their ends, such as 'Kamalaaksha'. Among several other meanings is also one that denotes a seed or a berry out of which rosaries are made.

 

If the ending were to denote word, it would have ended as '----akshara' or '---aksharii', such as 'Panchaakshari'.

 

So, I can forward the following interpretation for the word 'Rudraaksha' as the combination of 'Rudra' and 'Aksha'.

 

1. The eye of Rudra or Shiva.

2. The eye or a berry (seed) that drives away evil.

3. The combination itself designates the berries of 'Rudraksha', a kind of tree, as given in the dictionary.

4. It is the 'Rudraakshamaalaa' that yields 'Subam'- good fortune

 

Now looking at 'Saalagraama', it can be denoted as the combination of the words 'Saala' and 'graama'. The meanings given for these words are:

 

'Saala' - 1. a very tall and stately tree, or a tree in general. 2. a fence or enclosure. 3. From the verb root, it derives the meaning of 'shiny or lustrous' as well.

'graama' - 1. a village 2. a race or community 3. a multitude or collection.

 

Note that the root words do not denote stones or rocks.

 

So, 'Saalagraama' could mean:

 

1. a collection of Saala trees.

2. a collection or a class of shiny substance, in this case it could be taken as stones.

3. The compound word itself is of course used for the sacred stone, symbolic of Vishnu, as given in the dictionary.

4. 'Saalagraamagiri:' refers to the mountain made of 'saalagraama' which could mean either the meaning in 1. or 2. above. Thus it could be interpreted as the mountain with forests of 'saala' trees or the mountain with 'saalagraama' rocks.

 

I would prefer the meaning 'a collection or type of shiny and special stones' called 'Saalagraama'.

 

I would love to hear from sanskrit scholars further with more direct references.

 

Aravamudhan Raman

aravaram

 

 

 

Ranganathan <evnarasimhan (AT) (DOT) co.in> wrote:

Dear Devotees,

I am having a doubt about meaning of Saalagrama Silai.

Why it is called Saalagramam.

As I know:

Rudraaksha means : at it is very rough surface, rudra as Sanskrit word for Rough,

It is used to chant or count aksharas,

The combination is Rudraaksha.

So In this manner is there any meaning for Saalagramam also?

Kindly let me know.

aDiyan

Ranganathan

 

 

 

 

 

 

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