The other day, I noticed the following wrong etymology in a Yoga book (written by a western lady) - that "pranayama = prana + yama = breath + control". Actually, പ്രാണ + യമ = പ്രാണയമ and not പ്രാണായാമ. To get the latter, the word needs to be split as പ്രാണ + ആയാമ, or stretching of breath.
A related word is വ്യായാമം = വി + ആയാമം = cross-stretching. So exercise was orginally cross stretching.
The prefix വി (cross, against) appears in a lot of common mallu words mostly disguised as വ്യ (വി + അ) , as seen in the following:
വ്യതിയാനം, difference or variation, is വി + അതി + യാനം, "to overshoot against (a set mark, probably)"
വ്യഗ്രം, eager, is വി + അഗ്രം, "up against the edge"
വ്യാഖ്യാനം, explanation, is വി + ആഖ്യാനം, "cross explain"
Of course, there is another prefix വി, which is an intensifier which appears in വിജ്ഞാനം, വിശുദ്ധം, etc.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I think your book's etymology is correct. Sanskrit prāṇa is "breath of life", and yama is "the act of checking or curbing , suppression , restraint; self-control forbearance , any great moral rule or duty".
Agreed, Prana and Yama means what you said. But when you add the two you would get Praanayama (with short na) and not Praanaayaamaa (with the long a's). To get the long a's you need to split it as prana + aayama or stretching of breath - and that is also the basic principle of Praanaayaama.
I see what you're saying. You're right, the accepted etymology is prāṇa + āyāma.
Post a Comment