Golden Triangle + Rishikesh (November)

atala · Oct 10th, 2007, 19:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spanky

Thanks for the informative post, atala. I did not realize V is spoken as B (I have a lot to learn about India!). So would Varanasi be pronounced by Indians as 'Baranasi'? If so, I guess this would help explain the British name 'Benares'.

I realize this is way off topic now, but what is the basis for this pronunciation? Is this basically English influenced by Hindi?

To be sure about this I asked a Pali-scholar friend, as I knew that Benares is mentioned a lot in the Suttas by the Buddha.

here is my friend's answer

Quote:

The normal word for Banaras in the suttas is Baaraa.nasii (hope you understand the translit sheme OK). The word is made up of two components, Baaraa.naa and Asii, which are the two rivers that flow through it, and join up with the Ganga. The name is very ancient, well established before the Buddha's time but not found in the early Vedas. Vaaraa.nasii is simply a variant spelling. B many times appears in Pali for V in Sanskrit...

Spanky · Oct 11th, 2007, 11:10

Thanks atala!

Dilliwala · Jan 1st, 2008, 23:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spanky

Thanks for the informative post, atala. I did not realize V is spoken as B (I have a lot to learn about India!). So would Varanasi be pronounced by Indians as 'Baranasi'? If so, I guess this would help explain the British name 'Benares'.

I realize this is way off topic now, but what is the basis for this pronunciation? Is this basically English influenced by Hindi?

It is not - not uniformly. In some regions, and in Sanskrit and 'pure' Hindi, V is V and B is B. But, for example, as u move east from Delhi, V gradually becomes B. In other words, technically a mispronunciation but so widespread that it can be clubbed under "regional variations". By the time u get to Bengal, Orissa and Assam, the V is done away with in the scripts altogether. So e.g. Vikram is spelled and pronounced Bikram.

The name Varanasi is derived from the sangam (confluence) of two rivers, the Varun and the Asi.

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Oct 11th, 2007, 11:10	#17
Spanky Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: US (San Jose) Posts: 113	Thanks atala!

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