Sanskrit in The Naraka Cycle

Ancient Sanskrit carvings

I chose to use Sanskrit in The Naraka Cycle as the language of magic and spells by two races - the Asuras and the Devas. My mother had invited a Sanskrit scholar to our home to teach us chants when I was about ten. Since then, I’ve been fascinated by the Devanagari script (literally ‘Script of the Gods’) and by the words from the ancient Sanskrit language that permeate regional Indian languages including Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu.

When I attended Sanskrit courses at the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Texas, the instructor was Dr. Edeltraud Harzer. She was patient and erudite. Sanskrit grammar is complex and the vocabulary, immense. The same word in English had a dozen translated words in Sanskrit.

In my research for The Naraka Cycle, I found a number of words in both languages that are very similar as well. Check out just a short sample of similar English and Sanskrit words in a list -

Transliteration crash course: ā, ī, ū – long sounds; ṛ = ri (a short  i  similar to Rus. soft рь/r‘); c=ch; j similar to j in “jam”;  ṣ  similar to sh; ś  a subtler sort of sh, closer to German /ch/  as in  ich.

ass āsa  seat,  the lower part of the body, behind, posteriors

attic aṭṭaka   an apartment on the roof

bumble bee bambhara   a bee

char cūr to burn

cruel krūra cruel, fierce, ferocious, pitiless, harsh

dumb ḍimbha an idiot, an infant

estate astatāti  home

genuine jenya  genuine, true

hunter hantṛ  a slayer, killer

cook kuka  a cook

litter. lita  broken, torn asunder , scattered, dispersed, destroyed

little liṭya  to be little

look. lok  to see, behold, perceive

mad madh  to rejoice, be glad, exult, delight or revel in, be drunk (also fig.)

mass masa measure, weight

meet mith to unite, pair, couple, meet (as friend or antagonist)

money maṇi  jewel, gem, pearl (also fig.)

omen oman  help, protection

overlook avalok   to look upon or at, view, behold, see, notice, observe

owl ālu an owl

pence paṇasa  a commodity, an article of sale or commerce

posh poṣa thriving, prosperity, abundance, wealth, growth, increase

press preṣ to drive on, urge, impel, send forth

proud prauḍha. proud, arrogant, confident, bold, audacious, impudent

rite. rīti general course or way, usage, custom, practice, method, manner

sad sāda. sinking down, exhaustion, weariness

saint santa true, real, actual, genuine, sincere, honest, truthful, faithful, pure, virtuous

scale sakala consisting of parts, divisible

shallow śarāva  a shallow cup, dish, plate, platter

shock śoka sorrow, affliction, anguish, pain, trouble, grief for

Sir sūri a learned man, sage

smart samartha very strong or powerful, competent, capable of. able to

spy spaś  one who looks or beholds, a watcher, spy

stale sthālika the smell of feces

stupor, stupid sthāpita caused or made to stand, fixed

swear svṛ  (also written {svar})  to utter a sound, sound, resound

jump jhampa  a jump

urge ūrj  to strengthen, invigorate

use yuj to make ready, prepare, arrange, set to work, use, employ

wax vakṣ  to grow, increase, be strong or powerful

win van to conquer, win, become master of, possess

wish vaś  to desire, wish, long for, be fond of, like

toll tul  to lift up, raise

toss tas to throw

union yūni  connection, union

urgent ūrjita  endowed with strength or power, important

vest veṣṭ   to dress, to wrap up, envelop, enclose, surround, cover, invest, beset

wage vāja the prize of a race or of battle, booty, gain, reward

wagon vahana   a square chariot with a pole

varnish varṇ  to paint, color, dye.

wed voḍha  led home married

zebra śabara   variegated, brindled

Super interesting!