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अष्टकर्णी (aSTakarNI)

 
Spoken Sanskrit
English
अष्टकर्णी aSTakarNI
f.
 cow branded on the ear
गोकर्णशिथिल gokarNazithila
adj.
 swinging like a cow-ear
गोकर्ण gokarNa
adj.
 cow-eared
गोकर्ण gokarNa
m.
 cow's ear
उपगु upagu
ind.
 near a cow
चतुर्हायणी caturhAyaNI
f.
 cow of 4 years
द्विहायनी dvihAyanI
f.
 2-year old cow
चतुर्वर्षिका caturvarSikA
f.
 cow 4 years old
द्विवर्षा dvivarSA
f.
 2 years old cow
बाल bAla
m.
 one year old cow
गोमयति gomayati verb smear with cow-dung
उत्काका utkAkA
f.
 cow calving every year
यमवत्सा yamavatsA
f.
 cow bearing twin calves
दित्यवह् dityavah
f.
 two-year-old steer or cow
समांसमीना samAMsamInA
f.
 cow bearing a calf every year
स्यन्दिनी syandinI
f.
 cow bearing two calves at once
क्षितिधेनु kSitidhenu
f.
 earth considered as a milch-cow
इन्द्रियलोष्या indriyaloSyA
f.
 cow one year old with reddish eyes
कर्णचामर karNacAmara
n.
 cowrie as ornament for the ear of an elephant
अभिगमन abhigamana
n.
 act of cleansing and smearing with cow-dung the way leading to the image of the deity
Monier Williams Cologne
English
अष्ट—कर्णी॑ (ई॑),
f.
 a cow branded on the ear,
RV.
 x, 62, 7.
Vedic Reference
English
Aṣṭa-karṇī is an expression which occurs in one passage of
the Ṛigveda, ^1 and which Roth^2 was at first inclined to interpret
as a proper name. There can, however, be no doubt that
it means a cow, not a man, as suggested by Grassmann. The
exact reason why a cow should be so described is uncertain.
Roth^3 was later inclined to see in it the sense ‘having pierced
ears, ’ similar epithets being at a later period known to Pāṇini^4
(bhinna-karṇa, chinna-karṇa). Grassmann's more obvious
rendering, ‘having the sign for (the number) 8 marked on the ear, ’
is supported by the similar epithets, ‘having the mark of a lute on
the ear’ (karkari-karṇyaḥ), ‘having the mark of a sickle on the ear’
(dātra-karṇyaḥ), ‘having the mark of a stake on the ear’ (sthūṇā-
karṇyaḥ), ‘having the ears bored’ (chidra-karṇyaḥ), and viṣtya-
karṇyaḥ, given in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā.^5 The simple mean-
ing, ‘with marked ears, ’ is, however, supported by the same
passage of the Maitrāyaṇī, where the verb akṣ occurs in the
sense ‘to mark.’ In the Atharvaveda the mark used is the
Mithuna, no doubt as a magical device to secure fertility.
The marking of ears was apparently a regular practice. It is
twice referred to in the Atharvaveda.^6 The mark is termed
lakṣman, ^7 and was made with a copper-knife^8 (lohita). The
Maitrayaṇī Saṃhitā^9 forbids the use of an arrow-shaft (tejana),
or of iron, but permits that of a stem of sugar-cane (ikṣu-kāṇḍa)
or copper.
1) x. 62, 7.
2) St. Petersburg Dictionary, s.v.
3) Cf. Böhtlingk, Dictionary, s.v.
4) vi. 3, 115.
5) iv. 2, 9.
6) vi. 141, 1. 2
xii. 4, 6.
7) Av. vi. 141, 2
Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā,
loc. cit.
8) Av., loc. cit.
9) Loc. cit.
Cf. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, 234,
348
Delbrück, Gurupūjākaumudī, 48,
49
Weber, Indische Studien, 13, 466
Whitney, Translation of the Atharva-
veda, 387.