A word can have many
meanings as seen in almost all languages of the world.
Yes, it is true as our thoughts are
translated into words with specific and mystic meanings. Expressive words also give description of
things clearly. As seen in comparative etymological
dictionaries, some words have the same phonetic sound and meaning, barring some
corruption in spellings or pronunciation.
We have given examples of such words in some of our earlier Posts. Here is a term ‘dara’ (where ‘a’ is a short
vowel, as in word ‘Kannada’ = ಕನ್ನಡ), which has been attracting my attention for long. This term ‘dara’ is
used as a prefix or suffix in describing a land or place near water bodies.
Mattu Kundara
Mattu Kundara (ಮಟ್ಟು ಕುಂದರ) is a
hamlet in Katapadi. It is on South-West
part of Katapadi-Mattu feeder road to sea coast from Highway before traversing
the bridge on Pangala Rivulet (which joins the Udyavara River at Mattu. On the other side of the road is
Kote-Katapadi, skirted by ingress of the Udyavara River. Kundara is akin to ‘Kandara’ (ಕಂದರ), Kandaka (ಕಂದಕ). We
firmly believe that it has no connection to Kunda Kunda, a famous Jain Muni,
who was meditating at Kundaraadri, a mountain of Sahyadri range around Shimoga.
He was famous as a writer on and preacher of Jainism in (erstwhile) Dakshina
Kannada.
What is surprising is the ramification of place-name
Kundara in coastal belt. There is a town
‘Kundara’, located on the shores of Kanjiracode Lake, a branch of Astamandi
Lake in Kerala. This is a part of Kollam
Metropolitan Area.
‘Kundara’ is a surname in most of the castes and
sub-castes of Tulu Nadu. Does the origin of this surname have any
bearing on Kundara, a word describing landscape of an area? We think so. In the first instance,
Kundara/Kundaran must have been used as a surname among fish-mongers to mean ‘a
man from Kundara geographical features’.
Meaning of dara
Action word (verb) is dari (ದರಿ) in
Tulu. It means ‘burst, break or spring open’. Derivatives
of ‘dari’ are ‘dara’ and ‘dare’ (ದರೆ = an earthen parapet or compound
wall, embankment or earth/land). It was dealt with in our Post-162
of 29th November 2008 in a passing manner.
Dara has many
shades of meaning; some of them are listed below:
1.
A breach or
mouth when a river joins sea, as in Bandara (port, harbour), Dadara, Bhayandara,
etc.
2.
A hole in the
ground, creating ponds and lakes, as in kandara (ಕಂದರ) or kandaka (ಕಂದಕ),
meaning a moat, valley, neck, and cave. Mark the word ‘dariya’, in many
languages, meaning sea or river (Eg. Dariya Daulat, a palace of Tippu Sultan on
the bank of River Kaveri at Shrirangapattana, Dariya Gad in one of the islands
in sea at Malpe (Udupi).
3.
A furrow,
trench in the earth made by a spade or picks axe, esp. for growing vegetables.
4.
A dragging
sound ‘dara dara’.
5.
Price or rate.
Prakrit was a vibrant language widely spoken and it has
influenced many languages. We think
‘Dara’ has its origin in Prakrit.
{Ref:
Tulu Lexicon, p. 1563-64 (TL) and Dravidian Etymological Dictionary (DED)}
Etymology:
Kundara: It is clear that the place name is made of two
words: Kun + dara. ‘’Kun’ means a bow,
stoop, to bend, curve, bent or curved ground, curvature (N), semi-circle,
crook-backed, hunchback (goonu), hump, a hollow place where water
accumulates. The meaning of ‘dara’ is
explained above. So we deduce that it could be a curvaceous bank of a river with
rippling sound during web and wane.
Note the topography of Kaipunjal-Pangala. The entire stretch right from Kaipunjal
(Hamlet of Uliyaragoli) to Mattu is full of ponds or lake-like water bodies. Some of the water-bodies are being filled up
as a sign of development on west-side of Pangala River Bridge on the National
Highway No.66. Would the (gradual)
unplanned development augur well to natural environment? It is a matter of conjecture and clash of
interests (Read our Posts on Uliyaragoli to Malpe).
Kandara/Kandaka: It means a precipitous slope, valley, neck, cave, etc. ‘Kan’
or ‘Kani/kuni’ has the meaning of hole, valley, etc. (Note: As an afterthought, we can
apply one of the meanings of ‘Kana’ to ‘Kana’ in Kanakode in our last
Post-403/19.03.2018). When an area
is dug, naturally there is presence of water. So ‘dara (= dra)’ here means ‘water’
(as in Dravida).
Kandarapada is
one of the ten hamlets of Dahisar and hence the nomenclature ‘Dahisar’. In Dahisar (Northen limit of Greater Mumbai
Municipal Corporation), there is a rivulet/river Dahisar - now a relict of a
river, which is hidden from view because of a bridge. Thanks for the development! It joins the Arabian Sea at Kandarapada
{Dahisar (ದಹಿಸರ್) West}. It is a part of Manori Creek.
We have also noticed many Villages by name Kandara. To
name a few, Kandaragi (Karnataka), Kundarakottai at Cuddalore district (TN),
Kandarasingha at Denkanal (Odisha), and Kandara in Kenya (Africa).
Kandaka has the meaning of trough, dike, ditch, moat,
pitfall, trench and so on. There is a Village Kandaka at Narasimharajapura in Chikamagalur.
Dadar:
Dadar was a part of Dadar-Mahim (Mahimapura), which is
one of the seven islands. These islands
were joined during Portuguese-British colonial time. In Marathi, Dadar stands for ladder as it was
an important doorway, opening or connection between main Mumbai Island and
surrounding islands before joining of seven islands.
Bhayandar:
It is where Ulhas River (Main Branch) debauchs into
Arabian Sea. It was a doorway to Kalyan,
which was a famous port for marine trade in olden days. Ulhas River first branched off at Kalwa
before storming into Thane Creek.
Darawade (ದರವಡೆ)
It is a village near Rajgurunagar, Khed Taluk of Pune
District of Maharashtra. It might have
been named as such
because of Bhima River flowing nearby.
Darbe
Darbe is a hamlet near Puttur in Dakshina Kannada.
Darbe
Darbe is a hamlet near Puttur in Dakshina Kannada.
Summing up
Place names have meanings and not definitions, as said in
our earlier Posts on Onomasticon. We have made an attempt to unpack the mystery
on place names with ‘dara’ element.
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