145.Partheno

One of the words that impressed me after reading Dr Abhaya Kaukradi's (1997) work on 'Mugeras' is 'partheno'. The Mugera word 'partheno' is equivalent of the Tulu word 'paD-dana'.Both these words refer to the oral form of folk-songs.

Note the similarity between the words 'Partheno' and the Sanskrit 'prarthana'(=prayer). Abhaya suggests that Mugera tribes are related or similar to Mundala tribes. Thus we can infer that Mugera and Mundala are part of the Early Munda group of tribes. The Early Munda language and culture apparently predates Dravidian and Indo-Aryan presence in India.And therefore the possibility of some of the ancient Munda words being used as substrates in later Indo-Aryan/Dravidian words cannot be ruled out. Consider for example:
Partheno.> Prarthana
Partheno.> PaD-dana

I would like to consider the possibility that the words Prarthana and PaD-dana may have been derived or influenced from the apparently older word Partheno.
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