Madhura
Encyclopedia
Madhu is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages
meaning honey
or sweet. It also means mead
and is used for alcohol
. The word originates in Sanskrit
and has cognates in most Indo-European languages
.
language, and are Indo-European
cognate
s of the English
mead
, Greek
μέθν, Avestan
madu, Persian
may and Old Church Slavonic
мєдъ (medŭ).
In this sense, these terms are also used for additional words related to alcohol. For instance, madhushala is a Sanskrit term for an establishment that serves alcohol, as is madiralaya (lit. abode of alcohol, c.f. himalaya, abode of snow). Madmast (मदमस्त, مدمست) means intoxicated due to alcohol, and is a word frequently used in poetry and song in the region, sometimes as a stylized reference to being in an emotional state resembling intoxication for other reasons, such as romantic love.
, believed to have been composed in the first millennium BCE, contains a chapter called the Madhu Brahmana and "the secret essence of the Vedas
themselves, was called the madhu-vidya or honey doctrine."
Scholars date this metaphorical usage of madhu to a time very close to the initial composition of the Vedas. Soma
, the shared sacred drink of the Indo-Iranians (known as Haoma in Avestan), is often metaphorically referred to as Madhu in the Vedas. However, "the Avesta, which is quite close to the Veda with regard to the terminology of Soma, does not know the equation Soma = madhu."
first-name for males and Madhu is a first-name common among females, although both names can occur for either gender. Madhuri is a common feminine variant of Madhur. The word madhur is a combination of madhu (honey/sweet) and -r/-ra (like or similar). Several other names are based on the root madhu, such as Madhukar, Madhusudhan, Madhulika and Madhubala.
Indo-Aryan languages
The Indo-Aryan languages constitutes a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family...
meaning honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
or sweet. It also means mead
Mead
Mead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...
and is used for alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
. The word originates in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and has cognates in most Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
.
Alcohol and mead
Madhu, and the related terms mad (मद, مد) and madira (मदिरा, مدِرا), also mean alcohol. These words are all derived from the SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
language, and are Indo-European
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
cognate
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
s of the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
mead
Mead
Mead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
μέθν, Avestan
Avestan language
Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name...
madu, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
may and Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
мєдъ (medŭ).
In this sense, these terms are also used for additional words related to alcohol. For instance, madhushala is a Sanskrit term for an establishment that serves alcohol, as is madiralaya (lit. abode of alcohol, c.f. himalaya, abode of snow). Madmast (मदमस्त, مدمست) means intoxicated due to alcohol, and is a word frequently used in poetry and song in the region, sometimes as a stylized reference to being in an emotional state resembling intoxication for other reasons, such as romantic love.
Metaphorical use
Madhu has been used for millennia in a similar metaphorical sense as wine is in English, e.g. "the wine of truth," and employed in that manner in Hindu religious literature. For example, the Brihadaranyaka UpanishadBrihadaranyaka Upanishad
The Upanishad is one of the older, "primary" Upanishads. It is contained within the Shatapatha Brahmana, and its status as an independent Upanishad may be considered a secondary extraction of a portion of the Brahmana text. This makes it one of the oldest texts of the Upanishad corpus...
, believed to have been composed in the first millennium BCE, contains a chapter called the Madhu Brahmana and "the secret essence of the Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
themselves, was called the madhu-vidya or honey doctrine."
Scholars date this metaphorical usage of madhu to a time very close to the initial composition of the Vedas. Soma
Soma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
, the shared sacred drink of the Indo-Iranians (known as Haoma in Avestan), is often metaphorically referred to as Madhu in the Vedas. However, "the Avesta, which is quite close to the Veda with regard to the terminology of Soma, does not know the equation Soma = madhu."
Usage in names
The derivative form Madhur (मधुर, مدھُر) is used as a HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
first-name for males and Madhu is a first-name common among females, although both names can occur for either gender. Madhuri is a common feminine variant of Madhur. The word madhur is a combination of madhu (honey/sweet) and -r/-ra (like or similar). Several other names are based on the root madhu, such as Madhukar, Madhusudhan, Madhulika and Madhubala.
See also
- KvasirKvasirIn Norse mythology, Kvasir was a being born of the saliva of the Æsir and the Vanir, two groups of gods. Extremely wise, Kvasir traveled far and wide, teaching and spreading knowledge. This continued until the dwarfs Fjalar and Galar killed Kvasir and drained him of his blood...
, a wise being in Norse mythology born from the spit of the gods and from whose blood the Mead of Poetry is crafted