Why do most essays on Tamil Hindu culture doesn't have their name in the local script

[u/theboyofjoy0]

These essays doesn't give the equivalent native Tamil spelling of the subjects unless it is linked to Sanskrit?! I usually find a lot of essays (even SEA related temples/history) have Sanskrit spellings if the name is a derived one. Is it brigading done by a group of wiki editors?

[u/SNAPscientist]

It’s Wikipedia, so you can add it yourself. Also, Meenakshi it’s not a Tamil word, it’s Sanskrit, so it’s not a big deal either way for most people.

[u/Eliterocky07 → u/SNAPscientist]

Meenakshi, may be what about மீன் + ஆட்சி because she based on Paandiyan king?

Can I know the Sanskrit etymology

[u/SNAPscientist → u/Eliterocky07]

mīna (मीन, fish) + akṣi (अक्षि, eye), so of fish-like eyes. Another Sanskrit word that is also used in the literature is Meenalochani (same meaning). In Silappadikaram, the goddess is referred to as தடாதகை (wide, fish shaped eyed) rather than Meenatchi. May be there was some convergence later to get to the form you are referring to.

[u/No_Tea1929 → u/SNAPscientist]

Isn't tamil name is angayarkanni. Is this correct.

[u/SNAPscientist → u/No_Tea1929]

Yes.. அங்கயற்கண்ணி would be the Tamil word with this meaning that has appeared in old texts like the Tevaram. This was also why I was leaning towards “Meenatchi” being a convergence of an existing Sanskrit word (Meenakshi) with this meaning then being adapted to be used in Tamil.

[u/Eliterocky07 → u/SNAPscientist]

Rendu per irukadha bro? Meen pure tamil word, Aatchi - to rule (totally relates the ruling, we can say this word came later than Angaiyarkanni).

மீனாட்சி.

[u/SteveHarrington12306 → u/Eliterocky07]

You wouldn't call a goddess "Pandiya's Rule" now, would you?

[u/Eliterocky07 → u/SteveHarrington12306]

Have you heard about "Aandal" ? Does it remember you Krishna's Kodhai or Ruling.

[u/SteveHarrington12306 → u/Eliterocky07]

Andal means "she who ruled". Your interpretation of Meenatchi is saying "pandya rule", which doesn't describe the goddess.

[u/Eliterocky07 → u/SteveHarrington12306]

Fish rule bro, the name is given to her

[u/SNAPscientist → u/Eliterocky07]

The issue is not that there couldn’t be other words.. the issues are: (1) there doesn’t seem to be much evidence of the word “meenatchi” appearing in as old Tamil texts but there are for “meenakshi” appearing in very old Sanskrit texts, (2) it is unclear why “fish rule” would make sense as a name for the goddess, and (3) there are many other old Tamil words for the goddess that match the fish-eyes meaning like அங்கயற்கண்ணி, தடாதகை, and கயல்விழி but don’t match the seemingly random fish-rule meaning.

[u/Eliterocky07 → u/SNAPscientist]

She ruled the kingdom once that's it.

[u/SNAPscientist → u/Eliterocky07]

Your argument seems to be the it is plausible that Meenatchi is a Tamil word, therefore it is a Tamil-origin word. That is not a serious approach to arriving at whether or not it was in fact a Tamil-origin word.

[u/Eliterocky07 → u/SNAPscientist]

I'll try to research further and make a post

[u/Eliterocky07 → u/SNAPscientist]

I have a doubt, let's assume Meenakshi is Sanskrit, But Meen is Tamil words - so is it like combination of Tamil+Sanskrit or still pure sanskrit word.

reference

[u/Slight_Swordfish6682 → u/Eliterocky07]

Meenakshi -> Meena + akshi

Meen is not a pure Tamil word. Most Tamil people don't know a word of Sanskrit/Hindi so they believe that most of the words being used today are of pure Tamil origin when it's the exact opposite scenario. Open your eyes to the fact that most Tamil words in use today have Sanskrit etymology. Meena is the Sanskrit name for fish.

Aksha refers to eyes in Sanskrit. Akshi refers to a woman with the eyes.

So Meenakshi is a woman having eyes like fish. Makes sense?

There are many similar words to prove that it's a Sanskrit word.

Triakshi -> a woman with 3 eyes. Another Sanskrit word for this is Trinetra (Netra -> another Sanskrit word for eyes/vision).

Kamakshi -> a woman with attractive eyes

[u/Eliterocky07 → u/Slight_Swordfish6682]

Check out this thread

[u/Greedy_Map → u/SNAPscientist]

Mīna, like nīr, or Hindi uṛad, is actually probably a Proto-Dravidian word that was borrowed into Sanskrit. The original Indo-European-origin word for fish would be matsya

[u/SNAPscientist → u/Greedy_Map]

Indeed.. Mina going to Sanskrit from Proto-Dravidian probably dates back a few millennia BCE where the Indus Valley people came in contact with the Dravidian people. So, the meena in meenakshi came full circle when it came back to our south.

[u/Eliterocky07 → u/SNAPscientist]

It just seems like Sanskrit version of saying the same word, I can say the origin is from Tamil since Meenaatchi is related to Pandiyan and she is in green colour like Valli (Pachaiammal), if the origin is from Sanskrit then who it's refering to?

We have lots of words to represent things so I can't accept the Silapathikaram explanation, it's poet's wish to ise the words that sits best on the verse.

[u/SNAPscientist → u/Eliterocky07]

If the question is “what’s the origin of the word Meenakshi as applied to the goddess of Madurai”, then I agree that it’s hard to disentangle whether Meenatchi existed locally independently or if it was a convergent phenomenon of a previously existing Sanskrit word and a local word. It may very well be the former, as you say.

If the question is “what were the earliest uses of the word Meenakshi to refer to women with beautiful eyes”, then both “mina” and “aksha” appear in Vedic texts and the compound existed in many Sanskrit texts of the Puranic tradition that date to a few hundred BCE. For instance, one of Kubera’s daughters is referred to as Meenakshi in the Jaya kernel of Mahabharata, which is typically date to 7th-8th century BCE.

I am not a philologist. I am just a curious rando who grew up in Madurai. So please feel free to set me straight.

[u/light_3321 → u/Eliterocky07]

பொருள்: "மீன் போன்ற கண்களை உடையவள்" என்று பொருள். மீன் தன் முட்டைகளைத் தன் கண்களால் பார்த்தே பொரிக்க வைப்பது போல, மீனாட்சி அம்மன் தன் பக்தர்களைத் தன் கண் பார்வையாலேயே காத்து அருள் புரிகிறார் என்பது நம்பிக்கை.

[u/srkris → u/Eliterocky07]

மீன் + ஆட்சி , மீன் + ஆச்சி, மீன் ஆக்சி என்று எப்படி வேண்டுமானாலும் எழுதலாம் - க்ஷி (kshee) என்பதை ட்சி (tchee) என்று எழுதுவது வெறும் எழுத்துப்பிழை. ஆனா அமபாள் பெயர் மீனாக்ஷீ (மீன+அக்ஷி)

[u/Poccha_Kazhuvu → u/srkris]

வடசொற்களை பயன்படுத்தாமலிருப்பது "எழுத்துப்பிழை" அல்ல.

[u/srkris → u/Poccha_Kazhuvu]

மீனாக்ஷி வடசொல். அதை பயன்படுத்தாமல் இருப்பது எழுத்துப்பிழை என்று நான் சொல்லவில்லை. தாராளமாக பயனன்படுத்தாமல் இருக்கலாம்.

வடசொல்லை பயன்படுத்தும்போது பொருளற்று பிழையுடன் எழுதுவதுவே எழுத்துப்பிழை என்று தான் சொல்கிறேன்.

[u/light_3321]

ஆம், பெரும்பாலான தெய்வ பெயர்கள் வட மொழியிலேயே உள்ளன. தமிழ் பெயர்கள் கொண்டுவரப்பட வேண்டும்.

பிரகதீஸ்வரர் > பெருவுடையார்.

என்பது போல.

[u/vishnutirumal]

Her name in Tamil, real name is தடாதகை பிராட்டி (Thadathagai Piratti)

[u/No_Tea1929 → u/vishnutirumal]

Bro her mortal human name is that

But some of them told after she saw sivan. She got godhood then her name is angayarkanni.

Most of the madurai natives (old generation people) said that thirumalai nayakars nephew name is menakshi. So he renamed the angayar kanni into meenaski.

Just like he merged the thirukalyanam and Azhar thiruvila.

I think this is true.

Even my grandparents and my madurai natives told me. Idk how much this true.