Romance of Names – Their Environmental and Religious Significance

TRANSCEND MEMBERS, ENVIRONMENT, 11 Apr 2016

Dr Ravi P Bhatia – TRANSCEND Media Service

What’s in a name?

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, Shakespeare had written in the play Romeo and Juliet.

But in this small essay I argue that many Indian names do mean something definite and promote a positive attitude towards our physical environment — a healthy environment that promotes peace and amity.

An Indian child is given a name very carefully. Usually a priest is asked what name a newborn baby should be given. The priest after consulting his almanac suggests some names and leaves it to the baby’s parents to pick up one.

There are countless numbers of names for people in India and new ones are being added every year. However, many names among the Hindu population have special significance. I will try to analyse some of these and what they mean or signify.

Some Common Names (For Boys or Girls):

Aakash, Anil, Chand,  Daya, Dewakar, Dharam, Dinkar, Ganga, Gulab,  Kiran, Kusum, Mangal, Pran, Prakash, Prithvi,  Ratan Rakesh, Rajni, Ravi,  Shabnam, Surya,  Savitri,  Som, Sunil, Tara, Ved,  Vijay and countless others.

Of These, Several Relate to Our Physical Environment:

Aakash – sky

Anil or Sunil —  air

Bhaskara, Dewakar, Dinkar, Ravi, Surya – the Sun

Chand, Som, Shashi – the Moon

Prakash, Kiran – rays (usually of the sun)

Ganga – the River —  jal or water

Pran – life

Kusum,  Shabnam —dew

Kusum also is a name of a flower

Gulab  — rose flower

Mangal – the (planet) Mars

Prithvi – the Earth

Rajni – night

Tara — star

This is an indication that our common names refer to the physical environment that we live in and this helps us, even if unconsciously, to appreciate out environment and not to degrade or pollute it.

Many people are also given names after Hindu deities.  Some of these are:

Ram, Krishan, Radha, Bajrangi, Shiva, Ganesh, Durga, Saraswati to name a few of the several Hindu Gods and goddesses. These are also used for naming babies at birth just as Mary, Christine are common names given to many female babies

Our slogan “Bharat mata ki jai” or “Jai Hind” means Hail to our motherland.

We treat our country and the land on which the country and its vast biodiversity are located as our motherland.  Again, this signifies our respect and gratitude to the land that gives us life and substance. We must keep it clean and pure so that we can survive on it without overexploiting nature and helping maintain a healthy and peaceful environment.

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Dr Ravi P Bhatia – Educationist and Peace Researcher. Retired Professor, Delhi University.  ravipbhatia@gmail.com

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 11 Apr 2016.

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