The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume III Part 28

Parashram. From Parasurama or Rama with the axe, one of the incarnations of Vishnu.

Gadadhar. Wielder of the club or gada.

Jagannath. Lord of the world.

d.i.n.kar. The sun, or he who makes the days (din karna).

Bhagwan. The fortunate or ill.u.s.trious.

Anant. The infinite or eternal.

Madhosudan. Destroyer of the demon Madho (Madho means honey or wine).

Pandurang. Yellow-coloured.

Names of Rama, or Vishnu's Great Incarnation as King Rama of Ayodhia.

Ramchandra, the moon of Rama, and Rambaksh, the gift of Rama, are the commonest Hindu male names.

Atmaram. Soul of Rama.

Sitaram. Rama and Sita his wife.

Ramcharan. The footprint of Rama.

Sakharam. The friend of Rama.

Sewaram. Servant of Rama.

Names of Krishna.

Krishna and its diminutive Kishen are very common names.

Kanhaiya. A synonym for Krishna.

Damodar. Because his mother tied him with a rope to a large tree to keep him quiet and he pulled up the tree, roots and all.

Balkishen. The boy Krishna.

Ghansiam. The dark-coloured or black one (like dark clouds); probably referring to the belief that Krishna belonged to the non-Aryan races.

Madan Mohan. The enchanter of love.

Manohar. The heart-stealer.

Yeshwant. The glorious.

Kesho. Having long, fine hair. A name of Krishna. Also the destroyer of the demon Kes.h.i.+, who was covered with hair. It would appear that the epithet was first applied to Krishna himself and afterwards to a demon whom he was supposed to have destroyed.

Balwant. Strong. An epithet of Krishna, used in conjunction with other names.

Madhava. Honey-sweet or belonging to the spring, vernal.

Girdhari. He who held up the mountain. Krishna held up the mountain Govardhan, balancing the peak on his finger to protect the people from the destructive rains sent by Indra.

s.h.i.+amsundar. The dark and beautiful one.

Nandkish.o.r.e, Nandk.u.mar. Child of Nand the cowherd, Krishna's foster-father.

Names of Siva.

Sadasheo. Siva the everlasting.

Mahadeo. The great G.o.d.

Trimbak. The three-eyed one (?).

Gangadhar. The holder of the Ganges, because it flows from Siva's hair.

Kas.h.i.+nath. The lord of Benares.

Kedarnath. The lord of cedars (referring to the pine-forests of the Himalayas).

Nilkanth. The blue-jay sacred to Siva. Name of Siva because his throat is bluish-black either from swallowing poison at the time of the churning of the ocean or from drinking large quant.i.ties of bhang.

Shankar. He who gives happiness.

Vishwanath. Lord of the universe.

Sheo Prasad. Gift of Siva.

Names of Ganpati or Ganesh.

Ganpati is itself a very common name.

Vidhyadhar. The lord of learning.

Vinayak. The remover of difficulties.

Ganesh Prasad. Gift of Ganesh. A child born on the fourth day of any month will often be given this name, as Ganesh was born on the 4th Bhadon (August).

Names of Hanuman.

Hanuman itself is a very common name.

Maroti, son of Marut the G.o.d of the wind.

Mahavira or Mahabir. The strong one.

Other common sacred names are: Amrit, the divine nectar, and Moreshwar, lord of the peac.o.c.k, perhaps an epithet of the G.o.d Kartikeya. Men are also often named after jewels, as: Hira Lal, diamond; Panna Lal, emerald; Ratan Lal, a jewel; Kundan Lal, fine gold. A child born on the day of full moon may be called Puran Chand, which means full moon. There are of course many other male names, but those here given are the commonest. Children are also frequently named after the day or month in which they were born.

19. Terminations of names.

Common terminations of male names are: Charan, footprint; Das, slave; Prasad, food offered to a G.o.d; Lal, dear; Datta, gift, commonly used by Maithil Brahmans; Din or Baksh, which also means gift; Nath, lord of; and Dulare, dear to. These are combined with the names of G.o.ds, as: Kalicharan, footprint of Kali; Ram Prasad or Kishen Prasad, an offering to Rama or Krishna; Bishen Lal, dear to Vishnu; Ganesh Datta, a gift from Ganesh; Ganga Din, a gift from the Ganges; Sheo Dulare, dear to Siva; Vishwanath, lord of the universe. Boys are sometimes given the names of G.o.ddesses with such terminations, as Lachmi or Janki Prasad, an offering to these G.o.ddesses. A child born on the 8th of light Chait (April) will be called Durga Prasad, as this day is sacred to the G.o.ddess Durga or Devi.

20. Women's names.

Women are also frequently named after G.o.ddesses, as: Parvati, the consort of Siva; Sita, the wife of Rama; Janki, apparently another name for Sita; Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, and the G.o.ddess of wealth; Saraswati, the G.o.ddess of wisdom; Radha, the beloved of Krishna; Dasoda, the foster-mother of Krishna; Dewaki, who is supposed to have been the real mother of Krishna; Durga, another name for Siva's consort; Devi, the same as Durga and the earth-G.o.ddess; Rukhmini, the bright or s.h.i.+ning one, a consort of Vishnu; and Tulsi, the basil-plant, sacred to Vishnu.

Women are also named after the sacred rivers, as: Ganga, Jamni or Yamuni (Jumna); Gomti, the river on which Lucknow stands; G.o.dha or Gautam, after the G.o.davari river; and Bhagirathi, another name for the Ganges. The river Nerbudda is commonly found as a man's name, especially in places situated on its banks. Other names of women are: Sona, gold; Puna, born at the full moon; Manohra, enchanting; Kamala, the lotus; Indumati, a moonlight night; Sumati, well-minded; Sus.h.i.+la, well-intentioned; Srimati, wealthy; Amrita, nectar; Phulwa, a flower; Imlia, the tamarind; Malta, jasmine; and so on.

If a girl is born after four sons she will be called Pancho or fifth, and one born in the unlucky Mul Nakshatra is called Mulia. When a girl is married and goes to her husband's house her name is always changed there. If two girls have been married into the household, they may be called Bari Bohu and Choti Bohu, or the elder and younger daughters-in-law; or a girl may be called after the place from which she comes, as Jabalpurwali, Raipurwali, and so on.

21. Special names and bad names.

The higher castes have two names, one given by the Jos.h.i.+, which is called ras.h.i.+-ka-nam or the ceremonial name, ras.h.i.+ meaning the Nakshatra or moon's daily mansion under which the child was born. This is kept secret and only used in marriage and other ceremonies, though the practice is now tending to decay. The other is the chaltu or current name, and may either be a second ordinary name, such as those already given, or it may be taken from some peculiarity of the child. Names of the latter cla.s.s are: Bhura, brown; Putro, a doll, given to a pretty child; Dukali, born in famine-time; Mahinga, dear or expensive; Chhota, little; Babu, equivalent to little prince or n.o.ble; Papa, father; Kakku, born in the cuc.u.mber season; Lada, pet; Pattu, a somersault; Judawan, cooling, and so on. Bad names are also given to avert ill-luck and remove the enmity of the spirits hostile to children, if the mother's previous babies have been lost. Instances of these are Raisa, short in stature; Lula, having a maimed arm; Ghasita, dragged along on a board; Damru, bought for a farthing; Khairati, alms; Dukhi, pain; Kubra, hunch-back; Gudri, rag; Kana, one-eyed; Birla, thin or lean; Bisahu, bought or purchased; and Bulaki and Chedi, having a pierced nostril; these names are given to a boy whose nostril has been pierced to make him resemble a girl and thus decrease his value. [227]

Further instances of such names have been given in other articles.