Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Subhash Kak
Chapman University, 2022

Figure 1. Maheśvara attributed to Khotanese painter Viśa Īrasangä (7th Century)

INTRODUCTION
Saka is the modern term used for the ancient literary language of Khotan in
Central Asia. The name was chosen as this region was associated with the many
Saka (or Śaka) people who inhabited Central Asia from the Caspian Sea to China.
The Saka are named in the Achaemenid inscriptions of Dārayavauš or Darius
 Subhash Kak

(Persepolis h 5-6) and Xšayār̥šā or Xerxes (Pers. h 26). The Chinese Annals speak
of the Sak who had a kingdom in the second century BCE north-west of Kashgar
(Bailey, 1982).
The Śaka were multi-ethnic. Herodotus (1.201, 1.204.1) says that one tribe
of the Śaka consisted of the Getae and Massagetae (cognate with Skt.: Jaṭa and
Mahājaṭa) and it was settled somewhere in the great plains to the east of the
Caspian Sea. Ptolemy’s Geography 6.10.2 sees them much further south near
Kashmir. Many scholars believe that the Getae mentioned amongst the Śaka are
the Jaṭs who are found in very large concentration in India’s northwestern states,
and there is no linguistic evidence suggesting they are an intrusive group in India.
The Śaka must have carried cultural innovations in different directions. A
most striking example of this are the figures on the Gundestrup Cauldron found
in a bog in Denmark and dated to about 150 BCE that are clearly of an Indic
origin: Goddess being adored by two elephants (which is out of place in Europe),
and the meditating figure in a pose that is nearly identical to the famed Paśupati
seal of the Harappan culture (Taylor, 1992). It is generally believed that Thracian
silversmiths most likely connected to the Śaka (and therefore plausibly in
knowledge of the Indian art tradition) were responsible for its creation.
The texts in the Saka language come from the first millennium CE before
the fall of the kingdom in 1006 CE (Bailey, 1945). Saka was one of the languages
in use in Khotan during that period; others included Gāndhārī and Sanskrit.
Gāndhārī is also a modern name coined for a Prakrit language found mainly in
texts dated between the 3rd century BCE and 4th century CE in the northwestern
region of Gandhāra. Mahāyāna sūtras were brought from Gandhāra to China and
translated as early as 147 CE by Kushan monk Lokakṣema. The contents of the
texts from Khotan are of many kinds, ranging from sūtras, literature, and business
transactions.
Khotanese vihāras, or monasteries, produced the translations of the
Buddhist texts from Prakrit and Sanskrit under the patronage of the royal court.
For example, the poem called Jātakastava was rendered into Khotan Saka verse at
the behest of King Viśa (or Vijita) Śūra. The Annals of Li (Khotan) record that
there were sixty-eight larger vihāras, ninety-five of middle size and 148 smaller
vihāras to be found in Khotan itself (Bailey, 1970).
The study of Saka is of great interest to the understanding of the cultural
history of Asia. Sanskrit was widely used in the region during the first millennium
CE but many scholars view the substratum culture as being shaped primarily by
local influences (including Tibetan), and the result of this may be seen in the
etymologies provided for the Saka words in the dictionary of Bailey (1979) and

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the work of Emmerick (1968). These books do consider the materials from the
Buddhist Sanskrit texts but rarely the large corpus of pre-Buddhist Sanskrit
literature. If Sanskrit was already in use in Khotan before the arrival of Buddhism,
this approach is bound to have missed out on important connections.
Multifaced images and multiple hands of divinities are a unique
characteristic of Indian art (Vatsyayan, 1995). This multiplicity serves the
function of communicating abstract qualities and also marks them apart from
humans. The qualities in the Vedic tradition often come as triads (the Vedas call
themselves trayī-vidyā, triple knowledge) and pentads (to generalize to elements
and senses). Multiple faces denote transcendent divinity as in Brahmā’s four
heads, or Krishna’s innumerable heads in the universal form that is revealed in
the Bhagavad Gītā. There are also images of the fusing of Śiva and Viṣṇu
(Harihara) and Śiva and the Goddess (Ardhanārīśvara). The Maheśvara of Figure
1 shows the pervasiveness of a subtle Indian idea in Khotan (Kak, 2021c).
In the present work, I consider the full list of Saka verbs given by
Emmerick (1968) and present Sanskrit etymologies for nearly all of them. Perhaps
this is not surprising because India’s connection with Central Asia is actually
much older than the legend that speaks of Aśoka establishing the first Indian
colony in Khotan in the third century BCE. The persistence of this legend is from
its repetition in the seventh century writings of Xuanzang and old Tibetan texts
according to which Khotan had been conquered and colonized about 200 BC by
Indian immigrants from Taxila (Stein 1904, p.383). But this ignores the fact that
Uttarakuru as the general name for Central Asia north of the Himalayas figures in
late Vedic texts such as the Aitareya Brahmana as well as in the Epics and Purāṇas
(e.g. Kak, 2020).

INDIA AND KHOTAN

In the center of Turkestan’s Tarim Basin lies the Taklamakan Desert that is over
750 miles wide (Figure 2). Flanked on the north by the Tien Shan Mountains, and
on the south by Tibet’s imposing Kunlun range, this barren desert has spring-fed
rivers that support the habitation in Khotan and other cities at the edge of the
desert. The Khotan River (traditionally called the Ranījai ttāja, “the river of
precious stones”, where “rana” is from the Sanskrit “ratna”) yielded cobbles of
jade, the valued green stone sought throughout the ancient Orient. This river itself
is the union of the White Jade (Yurungkash) and Black Jade (Karakash) Rivers
that flow north from the Kunlun Mountains.
In Sanskrit texts, ancient India’s northern lands beyond the Himalayas are
called Uttarakuru (in the east) and Uttaramadra (in the west). These lands do not

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figure in the earliest Vedic books. The name “Kuru” is found just once in Ṛgveda
10.33.4 where there is a reference to Kuruśravaṇa Trasadasyu, who is a king of
the Pūrus. The Kurus are mentioned in late books such as the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa
and the Mahābhārata. Later another name Śākadvīpa is used for this entire region
(Kak, 2022a).
The Purāṇas speak of four regions of Jambudvīpa, Ketumāla, Bhadrāśva
and Uttarakuru. Jambudvīpa is India proper, Ketumāla represents the Oxus region,
Bhadrāśva is the Jaxartes region and Uttarakuru denotes the country beyond it. In
the Mahābhārata, Uttarakuru is paired with Dakṣiṇakuru to the south of the
Himalayas. The distance between these regions may be estimated from the
legendary military campaign of Arjuna described in the Sabhāparvan. After
crossing the White Mountain (Śvetaparvata), Arjuna marches through Haimavata
and reaches the Mānasarovara Lake in the country of the Hāṭakas, dominated by
the Gandharvas. From there he enters the region called Harivarṣa, beyond which
lies Uttarakuru. Clearly, by this time the name Uttarakuru had subsumed
Uttaramadra.
In the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa (8.14), it is stated that the Uttarakurus
consecrate their kings by Vedic rites. Later, in the same text (8. 23), Vāsiṣṭha
Sātyahavya anoints Jānaṃtapi Atyarāti according to the ritual of Aindra
Mahābhiṣeka.
Some scholars see the Kurus sweep further into Persia and later into
Sogdia, Anatolia and beyond. Another section of the Kurus, called Prātipeyas, are
known as Bāhlikas since one of the sons of Pratīpa was called Bāhlika, indicating
association with Bactria.
A Puranic legend provides another important clue. It tells us about Yayāti
who had five sons: Yadu and Turvasu/Turvaṣa, sons by his wife Devayānī, and
Druhyu, Anu and Pūru, sons by his wife Śarmiṣṭhā. The Pūrus ruled around
Kurukṣetra, the Anus to their north, the Druhyus to the west, the Yadus to their
south, and the Turvasus to the east of the Yadus.
At the end of the Ten-kings (dāśarājña) battle of the Ṛgveda, the Pūrus
expand westwards and Anus push outwards into Afghanistan leading to a further
northwards push to the Druhyus who went out into Central Asia. The migration
of these tribes westward from India is to be found in Vāyu P. 99.11‐12, Brahmāṇḍa
P. 3.74.11‐12, Matsya P. 48.9, Viṣṇu P. 4.17.5, Bhāgavata 9.23.15‐16.
The Khotanese called their own language hvatanau or hvatanai, “our
language” derived from hvatana, “my land”, derived from the Sanskrit “svatana”,
“my land”, from which the modern term “vatan” is obtained (Kak, 2021b). The
use of the term hvatanai is like the use of deśī for those who live in Indian deśa.

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Sometimes they called their land hvatana-kṣīra from the Sanskrit kṣetra.

Figure 2. Taklaman Desert, Khotan, and India

The king of Khotan claimed lineal descent from Vaiśravaṇa, that is

Kubera. The Chinese monk and traveller Faxian (337-422) arrived here in 399
CE, on his way to India, and stayed for three months. He noted that it was a
pleasant and prosperous kingdom with four great monasteries, not counting the
smaller ones, where the Mahāyāna doctrine was taught. The king lodged him in a
monastery called Gomati which had three thousand monks.
Faxian saw Khotan’s famed ratha-yātrā, where images are taken in a
procession. The city was cleaned and decorated and the king and queen took up
temporary residence in a large tent pitched near the city gate.
Here’s Faxian’s account of the procession: “The monks of the Gomati
monastery, being Mahayana students, and held in greatest reverence by the king,
took precedence of all the others in the procession. At a distance of three or four
li from the city, they made a four-wheeled image car, more than thirty cubits, high,
which looked like the great hall moving along. The seven precious substances
were grandly displayed about it, with silken streamers and canopies harging all
around. The (chief) image stood in the middle of the car, with two Bodhisattvas
in attendance on it, while devas were made to follow in waiting, all brilliantly
carved in gold and silver, and hanging in the air. When (the car) was a hundred
paces from the gate, the king put off his crown of state, changed his dress for a
fresh suit, and with bare feet, carrying in his hands flowers and incense, and with
two rows of attending followers, went out at the gate to meet the image; and, with
his head and face (bowed to the ground), he did homage at its feet, and then
scattered the flowers and burnt the incense. When the image was entering the gate,

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the queen and the brilliant ladies with her in the gallery above scattered far and
wide all kinds of flowers. (The ceremony) began on the first day of the fourth
month, and ended on the fourteenth, after which the king and queen returned to
the palace.” (Legge, 1886).

SAKA LANGUAGE
Instead of the modern name “Saka” for the language, Kaniṣka in the Rabatak
Inscription calls the language of the Kushans, who incorporated Khotan into their
empire, as Ārya (Mukherjee, 1995). It is noteworthy that the Buddhist monks in
Khotan were called ārya-monks as members of the Ᾱrya-saṅgha. (Bailey, 1982).
Saka transformed most intervocalic consonants that are known to us from
Sanskrit. As summarized by Bailey in his dictionary, -p, -b- were transformed to
-v-; -t-, -d- to -y-; -k- to -g- or it was lost; -g- is lost; -f-, -θ-, -x- to -h-, and later
to a variant of -z- and then lost, and so on. The use of doubled śś and ṣṣ was a
convention used for the unvoiced consonant and the single ś and ṣ was for the
voiced consonant, but it was not consistently employed.

Table 1. Shift in sounds from Sanskrit to Saka

meaning Sanskrit Saka
envy īrṣyā arejsa
mirror ādarśa āyäna
worthy arhant āṣaṇa
shoulder skandha kṣāna
dominion kṣā kṣāra
throat gala gaḍa
mountain giri gara
roar garj ggalj
liver yakṛt gyagarrä
age jariman jäman
hot tāva ttaus
see cakṣus tcäṣ
hand hasta dasta
cow dhenu dīnū
smoke dhūma dumä
betraying dru drrūja

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When considering etymology of words from a prior source, one needs to

remember that there are shifts of meaning with time, or different shades of
meaning can get fused into derived words. Thus the word for “say” in Panjabi is
“das” from Sanskrit darśa (“to show”) whereas in Kashmiri it is “van” from
Sanskrit varṇan (“to narrate”). The source words can be different from the latest
meanings.

Table 2. Shift in sounds from Sanskrit to Saka (continued)

meaning Sanskrit Saka
water nīra nīrä
leaf parṇa perä
ask pṛcch puls
carry bhar bar
binding bandhana baṃdana
vomit vam bam
born jāta ysāta
thousand sahasra ysāra
prince rājaputra rräspūra
hundred śata sata
cold śarada sāḍa
count saṅkhya- haṃkhīys-
army senā hīnā
thigh ūru hurā
seven sapta hauda
superior jyeṣṭha hvāṣṭa
sweat sveda hvī

There are regular sound shifts when words of one language are pronounced
in another language. Speakers who are fluent in both unconsciousnly do a code
switch as they go from one to another. Thus the same Kashmiri speaker who has
perfect pronounciation of the words devī and lakṣmī in Sanskrit will switch to dīvī
and lyekhmī in Kashmiri. It is not surprising that Saka has some shared words with
Kashmiri (for they are neighboring regions, Figure 3). Here are a few examples
of shared words: Saka māṃṇḍa is the same as Kashmiri myoṇḍa for “lump”
(Sanskrit piṇḍa); Saka suṃjsañu is like Kashmiri sotscin for “needle” (Sanskrit
sūcī); Saka ṣumār is the same as Kashmiri ṣumār for “count” (Sanskrit smāra).
This sharing of words needs further investigation.

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Since Saka was written in the phonetic Brāhmī script which was used
widely in India for writing Sanskrit, we know how words in this language were
pronounced, although the pronounciation of Sanskrit words must have had a local
flavor.

Kashmir

Figure 3. Kingdoms of Khotan and Kashmir

SOME HISTORY
The Gandharan kingdom flourished from the 3rd century BCE to the 4th century
CE (eventually falling in the 6th c. CE to Hephtalites or Śveta-Hūna). Starting
with King Ashoka (273-232 BCE), Gandhāra was closely linked to the trading
centers of Khotan that served as a gateway between India and the trans-Himalayan
world, promoting the spread of Sanskrit, art, and mercantile culture to Central
Asia and China.
Mahāyāna or “Great Vehicle” Buddhism spread from India to China via
the trade route during the reign of the Han Emperor Ming Ti (r. 57-75). Faxian
(337 – 422 CE), a monk from China, travelled through the Khotan province on
foot on his way to India to obtain Buddhist texts. Starting his journey about age
60, he visited sacred sites between 399 and 412 CE, of which 10 years were spent
in India. He took with him a large number of Sanskrit texts, which provide a
terminus ante quem for many historical names and texts.
During this age the Chinese Empire witnessed a boom in the construction
of Buddhist monasteries, stupas, and grottos (cave sanctuaries). Grottos carved
into soft sandstone cliffs were especially abundant on the edge of the Taklamakan

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Desert. The Mogao grottos at Tun-huang at the edge of the desert’s crossing have
yielded some of the richest caches of Buddhist art and ancient documents, dating
from the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-535 CE). Also known as the Caves of the
Thousand Buddhas, they were heavily used during the Sui and T’ang Dynasties
during the second half of the first millennium.
Further evidence for the popularity of Buddhism in China comes from the
writings of seventh century traveller Xuanzang. Upon his return, he built the
“Great Goose Pagoda” in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), the capital of the T’ang
Dynasty, to house the over 600 texts he had brought with him.
Sven Hedin’s descriptions of the buried cities (Hedin, 1899) inspired the
Hungarian archaeologist and linguist M. Aurel Stein to explore Khotan and
surrounding areas. Stein organized four expeditions into Turkestan and western
China from 1900-1930 (Stein, 1912; Stein, 1933).

KHOTAN AND SANSKRIT

For centuries, Khotan was a center of the great translation efforts from Sanskrit
into Chinese and one would imagine that this exchange led to diffusion of
vocabulary and ideas in the larger Indic cultural area (Kak, 2022a; Kak, 2022b).
Even if one were to assume that the primary influence on Khotan was through the
Buddhist sūtras, one cannot dismiss the diffusion of non-Buddhist literature into
the region. This is especially because its neighbor Kashmir during the first
millennium CE was intellectually one of the most exciting places on earth, which
made contributions to a variety of fields including the arts, sciences, medicine,
architecture, and philosophy. Apart from being a center of Buddhism, it was also
a great center of Śaivite thought (Kak, 2021a).
The influential Lotus Sūtra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra) maps the
perennial nature of Vedic knowledge into the ideas that there are several means
(upāyakauśalya or upāya) adapted to the needs of the disciple, and Buddha lives
on amongst us in the forms of bodhisattvas, who have attained enlightenment for
the benefit of all beings.
The 25th chapter of the Lotus Sūtra describes Avalokiteśvara as a
bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. But bodhisattvahood
itself requires worship of the Self within. The Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī is a chant
popular all over East Asia said to have been recited by Avalokiteśvara in praise of
the compassion shown by Harihara (Viṣṇu and Śiva), especially as Śiva who drank
halāhala poison at the churning of the ocean to save the world, which has made
his neck blue (nīlakaṇṭha in Sanskrit) (Kak, 2022a). The Vedic connections can
be helpful in unraveling many aspects of Khotanese beliefs such as the name of

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the goddess Śśandrāmatā (Kak, 2022b).

Note further that Mahāyāna Buddhist incorporates Vedic and Tantric
systems, with all the devas such as Indra, Śiva, Viṣṇu and Sarasvatī, and just
places the Buddha at the head of the system (as in Vidyākara’s Treasury). There
was also Krishna worship in Khotan and we find the Rāma story in Khotanese
language (Bailey, 1939).
The Buddhists put a characteristic spin on the Rāma story, which has had
immense power on the imagination of the people all over Asia. In their variant,
Rāvaṇa, after losing the war is spared his life, and becomes a worthy Buddhist to
accord with the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, set in Laṅkā, in which the Buddha instructs
Rāvaṇa.
The Khotanese Rāmāyaṇa is not the standard Rāma story. In it Daśaratha,
who is called Sahasrabāhu (“thousand-armed”), fights with Paraśurāma and gets
killed, and his sons Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are saved by a queen. When they grow
older they slay Paraśurāma in revenge and become masters of all Jambudvīpa.
Meanwhile, the Rākṣasas are ruled by Rāvaṇa (Daśagrīva). A daughter is
born to his chief queen and it is prophesied that she will be the cause of his ruin.
So he orders the girl, Sītā, to be cast upon the great river in a box. A ṛṣi chances
upon the box and raises the girl lovingly. This is of course somewhat similar to
the account in the Adbhuta Rāmāyaṇa.
Later in the story, Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā are in the forest and as the
brothers leave to hunt, Lakṣmaṇa draws the magic circle around Sītā for
protection. Daśagrīva sees this lovely woman from the air, and not knowing she
is his own daughter, approaches her and persuades her to step out of the circle to
abduct her.
There is war and Daśagrīva is defeated. But in the end Rāma doesn’t kill
him. At the end of the story, the Buddha Śākyamuni is identified with Rāma and
Maitreya with Lakṣmaṇa. Daśagrīva comes to the Buddha and receives instruction
in the Dharma as in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra.
The Golden Light Sutra, Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra, was popular in Khotan
and its fame spread later into China and Japan. Its chapter on healing,
Vyadhipraśamanaparivarta, has Āyurvedic precepts. It extolls the goddesses
Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī, and Dṛḍhā to protect anyone who will uphold and teach the
sūtra (Kak, 2022b).

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LIST OF SAKA VERBS

Here’s the list of Saka verbs from Emmerick’s book and their proposed Sanskrit
roots. Some of the Sanskrit etymologies are given by Emmerick, but mostly they
are new. Bailey and Emmerick make a distinction between what they call Old
Indic and Buddhist Sanskrit, where by Old Indic they mean Buddhist texts in
classical Sanskrit. Since, we assume that Sanskrit not only formed the substratum
culture but that along with Buddhist texts other Indian literature also diffused into
Khotan, we do not make any such distinction.

Saka Sanskrit

1. ajs-, “to pursue” saj-, sañj-, “sticking to”

2. añāy-, “to order” ājñā, ājñāya

3. adhiṣṭh-, “to bless” adhiṣṭhā, “to arrive at”

4. anandīśś, “to be indifferent to” anātura, anādṛta 1

5. anuj-, “to inquire” anuprach

6. anuvartt-, “to conform to” anuvartana

7. armūv-, “to congratulate on” anumodaya

8. avamāñ-, “to despise” avamāna, apamāna

9. aviṣṣiṃj-, “to consecrate” avasiñc-

10. ah-, “to be” asti

1
“indifferent”, “without respecting”

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Saka Sanskrit

11. ahamañ-, “to despise” avamāna, apamāna

12. ahävāys-, “to endure” adhivāsa 2

13. ākūṭ-, “to punish” ākoṭanā

14. ākṣuv-, “to begin” ākṣi, “to abide”

15. āchāy-, “to donate” āchi, “stretching”

16. āchänn-, “to cut off” ācchinna, “to cut off”

17. ājīṣ-, “to ask for” a ājīv, “to live by”

18. ājum-, “to bring” āhṛ, “to bring” 3

19. ātas-, “to fall down” ārtos, “to fall into”

20. ātim-, “to desire” autkyam, “desire”

21. āphär-, “to be disturbed” bhār, “burden”

22. āphīr-, “to disturb” bhār, “burden”

23. ābei'ls-, “to turn” āvarta

2
adhivāsanā, “obedience, compliance”
3
See also ājur, “forced service”

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Saka Sanskrit

24 āyāc-, “to request” āyāc, “to implore”

25 āyv-, “to heat” ātāpa

26 āysän-, “to adorn” ā-snāya

27 ārr-, “to grind” ā-mṛd

28 ārāh-, “to please” ārāma

29 ārīs-, “to decrease” hrāsa

30 ārih-, “to share” ardha

31 ārūh-, “to move” ārūḍha

32 ālaṃgr-, “to adorn” alaṅkṛt

33 āljs-, “to sing” arcati

34 āvad-, “to obtain” āvad, “to address”

35 āvun-, “to approve” anusamman

36 āvul-, “to strike” hāvu 4

37 āśvāś-, “to comfort” āśvāsa

4
An exclamation of approval (used in chanting a sāman)

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Saka Sanskrit

38 āstañ-, “to begin” asti

39 āspara-, “to tread” spharaṇam

40 āh-, “to sit; remain” āstar-, “to cover”

41 āhus-, “to sweat” āsrava

42 āhusāñ-, “to sweat” āsravaṇa

43 īs-, “to return” ita

44 uchänn-, “to cut off” ucchinna

45 upekṣ-, “to neglect” upekṣa

46 upev-, “to produce” upādaya

47 uysan-, “to breathe out” avān

48 uysgärn-, “redeem” utsāha 5

49 uysgun-, “to open” uṣas, “dawn”

50 uysgru-, “to tear” udgraha

5
Bailey has uysgārnu mā karyo, “repay my labour”, but it could very well be “encourage my
work”

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Saka Sanskrit

51. uysdav, “remove” utsad, “destroy”

52. uysdīśś, “to confess” uddeśya

53. uysdai, “to look up” udīkṣa

54. uysdem-, “to extinguish” upadasta

55. uysbāy-, “to lead out” upanāya

56. uysvāñ-, “to throw up” āvapana

57. usahy-, “to come; go” sahya

58. usāv-, “to encourage” utsāha

59. uskuj-, “to rise up” utsū 6

60. uskoś-, “throw out” kuṣ-, “pull out”

6
“To cause to go upwards”; utsuka, “eager”?

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Saka Sanskrit

61 uskhaj-, “to rise up” -khac, “to rise forth”

62 ustar-, “to remove” utsad, “to withdraw”

63 usthaṃj-, “to pull out” ulluñc

64 uspaśd-, “to produce” utpāda

65 usphan-, “to be happy” avaspartṛ

66 usphīs-, “flash” visphur, “to flash” 7

67 uhar-, “to watch over” upahar-

68 uhy-, “to shoot” ruh-

69 ūm-, “to sleep” ūma, (sky?) 8

70 umijs-, “to awake” unmīl-, awaken

71 ūy-, “to survey” vā, going

7
Emmerick has “bhajati”
8
“upayam” is “to sleep with”

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Saka Sanskrit

72. eṣṭ-, “to act” ceṣṭa

73. oys-, “to be angry” āyasta

74. auś-, “to be angry” āyasta

75. aurāśś-, “to inform” āpraṣṭavya

76. kaṃggan-, “to dig” khan

77. kañ-, “to throw” kṣepan

78. kalj-, “to strike” khad-; jas-; kaś 9

79. kas-, “to fall” kṣaya

80. kāñ-, “to throw” kṣepaṇ

81. kār-, “to pull” karṣa

82. kät-, “to protect, think” ghuṭa

83. kuṣ-, “observe” kāś, “light”

84. kūṭ-, “to grind” kūṭa

9
garj, “to roar”

17
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

85 kūś-, “to seek” gaveṣ 10

86 ker-, “to plant” kṛṣi
87 krris-, “to be beaten” kṣar
88 kṣam-, “to endure” kṣam, kṣamā, “Earth)
89 kṣiṃj-, “to desire” kāṅkṣ
90 kṣiy-, “to be thrown” kṣepaṇ
91 kṣär-, “to be ashamed” kṣār
92 kṣāv-, “throw” kṣav-, “cough”
93 kṣer-, “to make ashamed” kṣār, “caustic”
94 khad-, “hurt” khad-, “strike”
95 khan-, “laugh” khan, “dig”
96 kh-, “to open” kha, “sky”
97 khāś-, “to eat” khādati
98 khij-, “to be troubled” khedita

10
See, “khoj” (Hindi)

18
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

99. khauys-, “to move” kṣaudra, “water”

100 khvih-, “to be disturbed” kṣveḍa, noise

101 gach-, “to suffer” gach-, “to go”

102 ggaḍ-, “to lie about” gaḍa, “impediment”

103 gganih-, “to moisten” kledan

104 ggalj-, “to thunder” garja

105 ggän-, “to buy” kraya

106 gguph-, “dispraise” gumpha, “string” 11

107 ggūs-, “to escape” gṛhītadiś, “escaped”

11
“gup”, to beware of, shun, avoid, detest, spurn, despise (with accusative)

19
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

108. ggumerāñ-, “to remove” gumphanā, “arrange”

109. guṣprrīs-, “to shine” ghraṃsa
110. gguhad-, “to harm” ghāti
111. ggūch-, “to deliver” garbhacyuti
112. gūrās-, “to quarrel” kalaha
113. ggei’ls-, “circle” cakra
114. grañ-, “to growl” garjana
115. grūs-, “to call” ghoṣ
116. gvach-, “to be digested” pacca
117. gvays-, “to be separated” vyaveta
118. gvir-, “to be revealed” vivara-, “opening”
119. gvir-, “to talk” vivarta 12
120. gver-, “to reveal” vivara

12
“to turn around”

20
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

121. car-, “to practice” cara

122. cav-, “transmigrate” cala

123. ciṃd-, “to meditate” cintan

124. jaṃph-, “to argue” jalpa

125. gyays-, “to offer” yajas

126. jah-, “to be cleaned” kṣal

127. jāy, “to meditate” dhyāya

128. jin-, “to destroy” jin, “victorious” 13

129. jīy-, “to disappear” kṣi

130. jiṣ-, “to boil” jiṣ, “conquer”

131. juv-, “to live” jīv, “to make live”

132. juv-, “to fight” juvas, “speed”

13
“chinna”, to destroy is another possibility

21
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

133. jūh-, “to long, yearn” jyok

134. jsan-, “to slay” han
135. jsā-, “to go” gacch
136. kṣau-, “amount” kṣaudra
137. ttajs-, “to run” dhāvīyas
138. ttav-, “to be hot” tapta, “hot”
139. ttäjser-, “to disappear” tirasya
140. ttäṣ-, “to cut” karta
141. ttahvah-, “cross” ta, tarati
142. ttuvar-, “to bring” udvaha 14

14
“carrying or leading up”

22
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

143. ttuvāy-, “to convey” udvaha, atyūh 15

144. ttṛṣṭh-, “to stand” uttiṣṭha
145. ttaus-, “to become hot” tapta
146. tcabalj-, “to scatter” samāvap, “to scatter together”
147. tcabrīs-, “to be scattered” suvyasta
148. tcäs-, “to perceive” cakṣ
149. ttrām-, “to cross over” ātṝ
150. ttrāy, “to rescue” tṝ, to cross over
151. tvaśd, “to transfer” utprekṣa
152. tvāñ, “strengthen” tanu, “body”
153. tsām, “swallow” cam, “eat”
154. tsu-, “to go” artum

15
atyūh, “to convey across”

23
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

155 thaṃj-, “to pull” tan, “stretch”

156 thurs-, “oppressed” druta, “melted, dissolved” 16
157 thūs-, “to kindle” dhukṣ-, “kindle”
158 daj-, “ripen” pac
159 dajs-, “burn” daha, daz (Kashmiri)
160 dam-, “to blow” dhaman, “blowing”
161 darrv-, “to dare” dhṛ
162 dalś-, “to make firm; load” dṛḷh
163 dāśś-, “finish” dāś-, “grant”
164 did-, “to appear” dīdivi, “shining”
165 dīśś-, “to throw” dhras
166 dṛjs-, “to hold” tras
167 dīm-, “to tame” damayati
168 dai-, “to see” dīdivi-

16
“dhukṣ”, “animated, inflamed”

24
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

169. dyāñ-, “to make appear” dhyāna 17

170. drāh-, “to fly up” ḍī

171. drem-, “to drive away” dram

172. najs-, “to make noise” ninad

173. namas-, “to worship” namas, “to bow”

174. narām-, “to go out” nirgam

175. naltsu-, “to go out” niścar

176. naṣ-, prefix for “out” niś-, prefix for “out”

177. naṣkār-, “to drag away” niś-kār

17
“Meditation, reflection, thought; contemplation”

25
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

178 naṣḍam, “extinguish” naṣṭam, “destroy”

179 naṣkirr-, “to cut out” niś-kartana

180 naṣkoś-, “to bale out” niś- koś

181 naṣkhaj-, “to remove” niś-khac

182 naṣkhan-, “to laugh” niś-gaggh

183 naṣpul, “hiss” niśvas

184 naṣphaj, “obtained” niṣpad

185 naṣphan-, “to come out” niṣpanna

186 naṣphaśt-, “to remove” niś-protsad

187 naṣphiśś-, “to avoid” parisṛj 18

188 nikṣuv-, “promote” nikṣipta

189 näjs-, “fight” niyuddha

18
With an extra prefix “niś”

26
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

190. näd-, “to sit down” niṣatta

191. nās-, “to take” nyas

192. nimandrai-, “to invite” nimantraṇa

193. nijsvāñ, “to show” nidarśa

194. nämäjs-, “to wink” nimiṣ

195. nirīkṣ-, “examine” nirīkṣa

196. nirūj-, “to break open” nigrāha 19

197. närmän-, “create” nirmāna

198. närśay-, “to present” niveśa

199. nivartt-, “to repel” nivṛt

200. niśś-, “to throw away” nikṣipta

201. näṣam-, “to be stilled” nāśa

202. näṣa’s-, “to end” nāśa

19
“nigrāhya”, to be (or being) suppressed or punished

27
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

203 niṣem-, “remove” niṣeddha 20

204 niṣkal-, “to expound” niṣkala

205 nihalj-, “to destroy” niḥsṛj

206 nihujs-, “to sink down, set” nihṛṣ

207 nähvarr-, “to long for” vāñchā

208 nuvad-, “to lie down” nidra

209 nuvaṃth-, removed vyapnayati

210 nuvalyas-, flow down ni-val

211 nyūj-, “teach” āhvanaya

212 nyūḍ-, rush down nyuṣ, “burn down”

20
“Warding or keeping off, hindering, prevention, prohibition”

28
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

213 nṛhīśś-, “to restrain” nigrihīta

214 nei’hvah-, “to cross over” niśraya

215 nyas-, “to despise” nikṛṣṭa

216 nyāp-, “to be known” jñāpita, “made known”

217 nyūj-, “to teach” nidṛś, “to teach”

218 nyūṣṭ-, “wrap up” niveṣṭ-

219 nyūs-, “to learn” jijñāsu 21

220 nvāy-, “to grasp” niveṣṭ, “to grasp”

221 nvāśś-, “to make a noise” nirhrād, “sound”

222 pakuṭ-, “to strike” praghāta

223 pacas-, “to confess” pratipatti 22

224 pach-, “to cook” paca

225 pachus-, “to vanish” prayāt

226 pajaruṣṭ-, “to envelop” parāveṣṭ

21
“desirous of knowing, inquiring into, examining, testing”
22
“admission, acknowledgment”

29
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

227. pajāy-, “to beg” prayāc, “to beg”

228. pajāys-, “to enjoy” paribhuj, “to enjoy”
229. pajād-, “to ask for” pṛṣṭ, “question”
230. pachīys-, “to be called” pṛcchasi-
231. pajīya-, “to decay” pracyuti
232. pajud, “to conceal” prachāda
233. pajs-, “to cook” paca
234. pajsan-, “to be struck” paryasta
235. pajsameva, “to honor” pra-samvit
236. paṃjs-, “to put on” pravas
237. paṭhu-, “to burn up” puṣṭ 23
238. pat-, “to fall” pat

23
“incubated, brooded over”

30
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

239 pattaṃj-, “to produce” prayuj

240 pattav-, “to illuminate” prabhāti

241 patäts-, “to abandon” patati

242 patämar-, “to report” pratismār

243 patält-, “to cut off” pra-karta

244 patīs-, “to withdraw” pracchid

245 padajs-, “to burn” pruṣ, pruṣṭa 24

246 padīm-, “to make” upadīkṛ

247 padaus-, “to swell” sampraviddha

24
“burnt to ashes”

31
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

248. panam-, “to rise” paṇa, “wealth”

249. panāśś-, “to lose” parājaya

250. paniys-, “to bind up” pra-nibadh

251. panem-, “to raise” pronnam

252. pandis-, “ to catch fire” bharaṇyu

253. paphan-, “to rejoice” prahṛṣ

254. paphāñ-, make happy phaṇa, phena, “froth”

255. paphūj-, “to collect” prāpti

256. pabāñ-, “to bind” prabandha

257. paysān-, “to recognize” praty-abhijñāna 25

258. paranirv-, “to attain nirvana” paranirvāṇa

259. parāth-, “to sell” pradā

260. parrām-, “to grasp” pragraha

25
“abhijñāna”, recogntion

32
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

261 parikalp-, “to imagine” parikalpa

262 pariṇām, “result” pariṇāma

263 paridīv-, “to lament” pari-vedati

264 parī-, “to order” pari-

265 parrus-, “to shine” prakāśati

266 pareh-, “to restrain” prasah

267 parauś-, “to drown” paryuṣaṇa 26

268 parchāś-, to consume paribhakṣ

269 parnai-, “to touch” pariṇaya

270 parbav-, “overcome” prabhava

271 parvach-, “to ripen” paripacya

272 parś-, “to serve” upaseva

273 pars-, “to escape” palāyan

274 paljsem-, “to go about” pratigam

275 paltciṃph-, “to check” parīkṣaṇa

276 paśś-, “to release” pramuc

26
“spending the rainy season”

33
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

277. paṣauj-, “to wash” prakṣālan

278. paṣkūj-, “strike” paṣ-, “bind”

279. paṣkaus-, “swell” paṣka-, “full”

280. paṣṭ-, “to rise” puṣṭ

281. pasad-, “to be good” praśasta 27

282. pasamaṇḍ-, “to rub” maṇḍana

283. pasūj-, “to light” pradyota

284. pastrīs-, “to be stiffened” prastabdha

285. pahāj-, “to flee” palāya

286. pahīys-, “to disappear” paribhu

287. pahīs-, “to flee” parāvṛj

288. paher-, “to steep” pratakvan

289. pahvā’ñ-, “to dry up” pai

290. pār-, “to be full” bhar-

27
“praised, commended, considered fit or good”

34
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

291 pārīs-, “to diminish” parikṣīṇa

292 pājsaṣ-, “to look at” paśyati

293 patāy-, “to speak” vacana

294 pātal-, “to prosper” poṣya

295 pārajs-, “to be supported” pāra-yaś

296 pārah-, established pāra 28

297 pätem-, “confound” patana

298 pärāñ-, “scatter” pari-stṛṇ

299 pärān-, “to sow” pari-ropa

300 päṣkal-, “to analyze” viśleṣa

301 pähad-, “to strike” prahara

302 pīp-, “drink” pibati

303 pīm-, “to bring” pṝ, pronnī 29

28
“to reach the end, go through, fulfil, carry out, study or learn thoroughly [as a science]
29
“to lead or bring up, raise, elevate”

35
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

304. puror-, “to take away” spṛh

305. puls-, “to ask” pṛcch

306. puva’d-, “to fear” paribhaya

307. pūy-, “to look” paśya

308. pūhāt-, “to bind” parivayati

309. pai-, “to protect” pālya

310. peh-, “to obtain” upeti

311. pyan-, “to cover” vyāpan

312. pyūṃj-, “to deny” apajñā

313. pyūṣ-, “to hear” śrū

314. pracar-, “to proceed” pracara

315. prracav-. “to transmigrate” punarbhava 30

316. praysai-, “to have faith” pratyaya

30
“new birth, transmigration”

36
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

317 pravartt-, “to turn” pravartana

318 pravai-, “to enter ascetic life” pravraj

319 prahālj-, “to open” prabhid

320 prahīs-, to open prasphut

321 prahauy-, clothe vṛṇoti

322 prīh-, conceal vṛṇoti

323 prev-, “to obtain” pra-āp, paryāp

324 pvā’ñ-, frighten bhaya, vibhi

325 pvīś-, “to cover” vṛkṣ

326 pver-, “to remove” parāva

327 phast-, “to flutter” bhram 31

328 phūm-, “to blow” phulla 32

329 baj-, “broken” bhajya

330 bad-, produce vad

331 bajev-, “to break” bhajya

332 bañ-, “to bind” bandha

333 baḍ-, “to move” paṭ

31
“to quiver (as the fetus in the womb); flicker, flutter, reel, totter”
32
phūṃ (Hindi)

37
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

334. ban-, “to cry out” bhan

335. bam-, “to vomit” vam
336. bar-, “to carry” bhar
337. bāysdai-, “to observe” vetti
338. baś-, “to be suitable” bhavya
339. baṣṭarr-, “to bestow” parāsṛj
340. bathaṃj-, “to pluck out” parimathnāti
341. bār-, ber-, “to rain” varṣa, rain
342. bichān-, “neigh” vyākhyān
343. bijsā-, “depart” viyā 33
344. bitam-, “perplexing” vitaṇḍā
345. bitar-, “to develop” vistar
346. bitcañ -, “to break up” vibhañjan
347. bitcūśś-, “to cover, adorn” vibhūṣ

33
“to go or pass through, traverse, cross, drive through”

38
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

348 bid-, “to pierce” bhid

349 binam-, “to split apart” vinām 34
350 biyāśś-, “arrange” vyās
351 biysaṃj-, “to arrange” vyasana
352 birāś-, “to spread” visṛṣṭ
353 bārāh-, “to soar up” upariga
354 birāṭ-, “to split” vidār
355 birrīys-, “to shake” vīrya
356 bāruñ-, “to shine” varcana
357 bihar-, “to dwell” viharati
358 bud-, “to know” bodhati
359 bihiś-, “to increase” bhṛ

34
“writhing of the body (from pain)”

39
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

360. bīṭh-, “to writhe” vivṛt

361. bīr-, “to be broken” bhinna 35
362. buysut-, extinguish vidhamana 36
363. burūvāñ-, “destroy” bhagna
364. burṣ-, “to break up” bhajya, bhur 37
365. bulj-, “to honor” bhaj 38
366. buva’d-, “to mount, ride” upārūḍh
367. buvāñ-, “to destroy” pūna

35
“split, broken, shattered, pierced, destroyed”
36
“blowing out, extinguishing”; bujhānā, (Hindi)
37
“palpitate, quiver, struggle”
38
“to serve, honour, revere, love, adore”

40
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

368 buśś-, “to be fragrant” puṣp

369 būṣv-, “to place” bhū

370 berāñ-, “to rain” parjanya

371 byajs-, “to dissolve” viṣyand

372 byav-, “to be hot” vyakta 39

373 byalś-, “to overcome” vyatī

374 byāj-, “to dissolve” bhañj

375 byāñ-, “to cover” pidhāni 40

376 byūṃj-, “to abuse” vinindā 41

377 byūv-, “to burn” pruṣ

378 byūs-, “to dawn” pruṣ

379 byūh-, “to change; translate” vyūha

380 byev-, byeh-, “to obtain” bhav

381 byau-, “to be” bhava

39
“caused to appear, manifested, apparent, visible, evident”
40
pidhānikā, “cover, lid”
41
“reproach, abuse”

41
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

382. braśś-, “to fall” bhraṃś

383. brījs-, “to roast” bhṛṣṭ

384. brūṣc-, “to afflict” bhṛśavismita 42

385. brem-, “to weep” bāṣpāya 43

386. bhāv-, “to meditate on” bhāva

387. makṣ-, “to rub” marṣa

388. mañ-, “to consider as” manas

389. mad-, “to be intoxicated” mad

390. man-, “to harm” mṛṇ

391. maṃth-, “to agitate” manthana

392. marṣ-, “to forgive” marṣa

393. māñ-, “to remain”; “to resemble” māna

394. michāñ-, “to cause to miscarry” muhyan 44

395. mār-, “to die” mṛti, māri

396. murr-, “to rub” mṛṇ

42
bhṛśapīḍita, “very much afflicted”
43
“to shed tears”
44
“fainting”; vyabhicar, “to go astray”

42
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

397 mūys-, “to be foolish” mūḍha

398. mūr-, “to teem” mūra 45

399. mvīr-, “to move” amūra

400. yan-, “to make” vena

401. ysan-, “to give birth” janī, sūti

402. ysah-, “to cease” asta

403. ysān-, “to shine” yaśa

404. ysār-, “to sing” svarati, vicār

405. ysän-, “to take by force” āvaśa

406. ysänāj-, “to bathe” avasnāta

45
“teeming, impetuous”

43
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

407. ysänāh-, “to bathe” snāyati

408. ysun-, “to pour” vyukṣ

409. ysūṣ-, “to value; to approve” juṣ

410. ysai-, “to be born” jā

411. yseh-, “to give up” tyajati

412. ysauy-, “to disappear, to cease” vyeti

413. ysyāñ-, “to cause to be born” prasūn

414. rakṣ-, “to protect” rakṣ

415. ram-, “to enjoy” ram

416. rrāys-, “to cry out (of birds)” rava

417. rrāś-, “to rule” rāja

418. rrīj-, “to leave behind; to excel” rah; dhrij 46

419. rrīnth-, “to flutter” ṛghāya

420. rrīys-, “to tremble” ṛghāya 47

421. rrus-, “to shine” ruc

422. rrūd-, “to grow” ruh

423. rrūy-, “to lose” rudh 48

46
“to go, move”
47
ṛghāyati, “to tremble as in Rv.2.25.3, To tremble with anger, rage, rave”
48
“to lose, be deprived of”

44
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

424. rrūh-, “to attack” ārūḍha

425. rrv-, “to remove” riktīkṛ, vitarati

426. vajsäṣ-, “to perceive” vicakṣ, vicint 49

427. vaṃj-, “to dispute” vivad

428. vatajs-, “to flow down” viśrava

429. vatciṣ-, “to be sprinkle” vijita

430. vatsu-, “to go down” vatsa

431. van-, “to honor” van

432. vanās-, “to quiver” van

433. vanau-, “to become inactive” vananva

434. vanvāñ-, “to make inactive” vananva 50

435. vaphaśt-, “to make tremble” vapuṣa

436. vabār-, “to rain down” vāri 51

49
“to perceive, discern, observe”
50
vananvat, “possessing; belonging to oneself, own”
51
Vārivāhana, “rain-cloud”

45
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

437. vamas-, “to experience” vah

438. vamurr-, “to vanquish” varphati, mṛ

439. vaysān-, “to recognize” vijñā 52

440. var-, “to tear away” jar

441. varrad-, “to scratch” virad

442. varāś-, “to experience” vedya

443. vartt-, “to practice” vṛtti 53

444. valj-, “to go astray” vicalati

445. vavaj-, “to be reborn” parivṛt 54

446. vavat-, “to fall down” vṛt

447. vaśiv-, “to experience” vaicakṣa

52
pehcān (Hindi)
53
“practice”
54
“to be reborn in”

46
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

448. vaṣṭ-, “to remain” vaś 55

449. vaṣprīs-, “to burst” visphuṭita

450. vasus-, “to become pure” vasutva

451. vasūj-, “to purify” vasūj

452. vahaj-, “to accompany” vaha

453. vahāñ-, “to disappear” hanan

454. vahīys-, “to descend” vahīyas 56

455. vahīś-, “to make descend” vahīyas

456. vāj-, “to hold” vāja

457. vāñ-, “to scatter” vāna

458. vāys-, “to perfume” vāyasa

459. vāś-, “to recite” vācayati

460. vikalp-, “to imagine” vikalpa

55
“authority, power, control, dominion”
56
“drawing or driving or carrying better, swifter”

47
 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

461. vibram-, “to be excited” vibhṛ 57; vibhram 58

462. vimath-, “to tear off” vitap 59

463. virāh-, “to displease” viraha

464. viśt-, “to place, establish” vyavastha

465. vähañ-, “to be depressed” vaiman

466. vihīl-, “to injure” vihruta

467. vīv-, “to shine” vibhā

468. vūs-, “to fast” vyaśana 60

469. vau’s-, “to swoon” vyaśana

470. vyach-, “to vanish” vyac 61

471. vyāgar-, “to prophecy” vyākaraṇa

472. vyusthah-, “to stand up” vyutthā 62

57
“to spread out”;
58
“to be excited, to quiver”
59
“to force asunder, tear, penetrate”
60
“abstinence from eating, fasting”
61
“to cheat, trick, deceive”
62
vyutthāna, “rising up, awakening”

48
 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

473. śāś-, “to ask for” yāc

474. śūh-, “to prepare” śuśrū

475. śaul-, “to suck” cūṣ

476. śver-, “to tell” svara

477. śś-, “to lie down” śaś 63

478. ṣāñ-, “to shake down” śvāsa 64

479. ṣumār-, “to count” smāra 65

480. ṣer-, “to make a noise” svara

481. ṣkīm-, “to create” skambha (Śiva)

482. ṣṭ-, “to make” stha

483. ṣṣaddah-, “to believe” śraddhā

484. ṣṣan-, “to protect” saṃgrah

485. ṣṣarr-, “to exhilarate” psaras 66

486. ṣṣiṣ-, “to take hold off” ṣaṣ

487. ṣṣun-, “to throw” chinna

488. saṃkhal-, “to be tainted” khal 67

63
association with the moon.
64
śāṃs (Kashmiri)
65
shumār (Kashmiri)
66
“enjoyment, delight”
67
“base, villainous, inferior, mean”

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 Subhash Kak

Saka Sanskrit

489. sad-, “to appear” sad

490. sam-, “to agree” sam

491. samev-, “to appoint” samaye

492. saṃbaj-, “to succeed” saṃvardha

493. sarb-, “to rise” śarva

494. sahy-, “to endure” sahya

495. sāj-, “to learn” sādhya

496. sāñ-, “to raise” saṃprāp 68

497. sāh-, “to prepare” sādh

498. sūch-, “to call; name” sūca 69

499. sūjs-, “to burn” śuc

500. sauy-, “to rub” saṃghṛṣ

501. skau-, “to touch” spṛś

502. starr-, “to spread” stṛ

68
“attain”
69
“pointing out, indicating”

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 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

Saka Sanskrit

503. stav-, “to praise” stava

504. stās-, “to come to standstill” stha

505. strīs-, “to stiffen” styai 70

506. spal-, “to twitch” sphur

507. spāśś-, “to see, appear” paśya

508. spai-, “to satisfy” suhyati

509. sphan-, “to agitate” spanda

510. haṃkhīś-, “to count” saṅkhya, saṃkhyā

511. haṃggalj-, “to gather; assemble” samākṛ 71

512. haṃggār-, “to draw together” samavakṛ

513. haṃggun-, “to cover up” samaguṇa

514. haṃggār-, “to draw together” samakār

515. haṃggūj-, “to meet” samakūja

516. haṃggūjs-, “to fear”” sama-klośa

70
“to be collected into a heap or mass; to spread about, be diffused”
71
“to bring together, unite”

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Saka Sanskrit

517. haṃggūjṣ-, “to heed” sama-ūhati 72

518. haṃgrīs-, “to assemble” sambhṛt

519. haṃgrīh-, “to raise, uphold order” sambhṛt

520. haṃjsul-, “to kindle” samādhā

521. haṃjsem-, “to gather” samakṣema

522. haṃtrāñ-, “to diminish, remove” saṃtrāsa

523. haṃthraj-, “to oppress” samprabādh

524. haṃthrīs-, “to be oppressed” saṃtrāsa

525. handaj-, “to be ripened” sampakva

526. haṃdjas-, “to gallop” tvaṅgata

527. handār-, “to care for” ādhāra

528. haṃdev-, “to ripen” sampakva

72
ūha, “consideration, deliberation, examination”

52
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Saka Sanskrit

529. haṃdrṃj-, “to keep” saṃniruddha 73

530. haṃdrīs-, “to hold together” saṃdhṛ

531. haṃphāj-, “to take hold of” sampragrah

532. haṃphīśś-, “to mix” sammikṣ

533. haṃbañ-, “to compose” sambhārya

534. haṃbad-, “to stop” sambaddha

535. haṃbid-, “to pierce” sam+ biddhaḥ 74

536. haṃbīṭh-, “to retain” saṃdhṛ

537. haṃbīr-, “to be filled” saṃbhṛta

538. haṃbujs-, “to bow down” saṃprahva

539. haṃbus-, “to agree” sambravīti

540. haṃber-, “to fill” saṃbharaṇa

541. haṃbrāñ-, “to heal” saṃbharaṇa

542. haṃbrīh-, “to share” saṃvibhajya

73
“held fast, restrained”
74
biddhaḥ, “being pierced”

53
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Saka Sanskrit

543. haṃbrūd-, “to heal” samārūḍha

544. hagav-, “to long” spṛha

545. hajsem-, “to send” avasṛṣṭa

546. hataljs-, “to flutter” sañcalati, saṃcal

547. hatīś-, “to give” sāta

548. hatcañ-, “to break” sacchala

549. hatcy-, “to be broken” sacchidra

550. hats-, “to take off” tiraskṛ

551. hanam-, hanem-, “to bend down” naman

552. hanaśś-, “to go astray” naṣṭaiṣa, hvāra 75

553. haphan-, “to move, quiver” spanda

554. haphast-, “to flutter” sphal 76

555. haphär-, “to be distracted” sphur 77

556. hamän-, “to make” samāna 78

75
“go crooked”
76
“quiver, shake, vibrate, burst”
77
“tremble, throb, quiver, palpitate”
78
“common, general, universal”

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Saka Sanskrit

557. hamäh-, hamih-, “to change” samā 79

558. hamurr-, “to crush” saṃvṛ 80

559. hayär-, “to rejoice” hlād

560. hays-, “to drive, send” saṃvah 81

561. haysān-, “to be aware” abhijñā 82

562. haysñ-, “to bathe” asnāyi

563. haraṇ-, “to throw” ṛ

564. harays-, “to extend” prasa

565. harät-, “to burst” sphalati

566. harīys-, “to tremble” vihvala

567. harrūñ-, “to shine” ghṛṇ

568. hars-, “to be left, remain” saṃsrav 83

569. haṣkīm-, “to make” kṣur 84

79
“year”
80
“to ward off, keep back, restrain, check, stop”
81
“to carry or move”
82
“to perceive, become aware”
83
“any remainder”
84
“to make lines or furrows”

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Saka Sanskrit

570. haṣprīs-, “to bloom” puṣp 85

571. hasamīṭh-, “to destroy” bhakṣ
572. haspäs-, “to strive” vispand
573. haspīj-, “to urge” suvati
574. hasv-, “to swell” śvaya 86
575. hahäls-, “to be glad” saṃhṛ
576. hāy-, “to help” hāya
577. häm-, “to be” āma
578. hävy-, “to appropriate” hārya
579. hīs-, “to come” īś
580. hūṣ-, “to become dry” śuṣka
581. hei-, “to send” preṣ
582. hot-, “to be able” abhūta
583. haur-, “to give” vīryak
584. hauś-, “to carry off” vāhas
585. hvañ-, “to be called” āhvāna
586. hvar-, “to consume” āhārya
587. hvah-, “to strike” prahara
588. hvāñ-, “to speak” budhān 87
589. hvā’ñ-, “to make dry” śoṣaṇ

85
bhāsuratva, “splendor”
86
“swelling, increase”
87
“wise, learned, prudent”

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 Saka Verbs and Sanskrit

REVIEW OF THE ETYMOLOGIES

The etymologies for Saka verbs proposed here include some that are well
recognized through Prakrit and Sanskrit connections, but a vast majority are new.
There are some that would be judged unsatisfactory but I estimate that to be less
than ten percent of the total.
Since Sanskrit has a huge number of synonyms for common words and
concepts, the question of which one to choose for the relationship across
languages becomes important. For example, the Amarakośa has nearly twenty
names for “house” as shown below and likewise many other synonyms are by the
dozen or more: “earth” has over fifty names.

Figure 4. Sanskrit words for “house”

One can make a mistake by taking a specific word out of any group of
synonyms, privileging its as the original word for the language, and building a
theory on that choice.
Let me give a few examples with illustrations for Saka and Kuchean
(Tocharian B) for which one may consult the dictionary (Adams, 2013) or
examine Kuchean texts:

1 Sanskrit “army” has senā and pṛtana. Saka has hīnā, which is clearly
derived from senā, and Kuchean retke seems to be like pṛtana.
2 Sanskrit “binding” has bandhana and saṃyam. Saka has baṃdana and
Kuchean has ś(c)änm. Both are derived from Sanskrit, but their
etymologies are different.

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 Subhash Kak

3 “Water” in Sanskrit has many synonyms that include kaḥ, vāri, uda, āp,
nīra, pānī, peya, jala. Saka has nīrä and Kuchean has war. They are both
derived from Sanskrit. It is also fascinating that the words for “water” in
different European languages have cognates amongst this list (Kak,
2021b).
4 “Mountain” in Sanskrit includes the words giri and śaila; Saka has gara
whereas Kuchean has ṣale.
5 For the word “roar”, Sanskrit has garj and krandan; Saka has ggalj and
Kuchean has käln.
6 “Looking” in Sanskrit has cakṣus and loka, and Saka as tcäṣ and Kuchean
has läk.
7 “Falsehood” and betrayal is Sanskrit could be druḥ and anṛtam; Saka has
drrūja whereas Kuchean has ankaiṃ.
8 “Cow” is both dhenu and gauḥ; Saka has dīnū and Kuchean words related
to it are based on keu.
9 “Hand” is hasta or kara. Saka has dasta, whereas Kuchean has ṣar.

There may also be different words with the same meaning even though the
scholars may not be generally aware of this. For example, consider “sneeze”,
which in Sanskrit is normally kṣut or hañji; yet there is another word spanda –
normally vibration or tremor – with the same meaning and it is attested in the
Kashmiri ponda for sneezing.
Yet another example of this is “shame”, associated with being humiliated or
distressed, which is rendered hrī or lajjā in Sanskrit. But if one were to take the
opposite of this as the sense of being unmoved by virtue of no “salt” or emotion
in one’s personality, then akṣārma could be an appropriate synonym for
“shamelessness”, and this is how this word shows up in Saka.
Some words have “poetic” origin or are metaphors. Thus the Kuchean word
for “sun” is kauṃ, which is related to Sanskrit kamā for “radiance”. Somewhat
similarly, ākāśá for “sky” is iprer (abhra in Skt.) in Kuchean, quite like ora in
Saka.
One can also ask fascinating questions: If baga of Saka is clearly based on
Sanskrit bhaga for divinie, is ñakte of Kuchean for god (with ñäkteñña for
goddess) based on āñj, “to honor”, just like its other synonym yajata?

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CONCLUDING REMARKS
The etymologies proposed for Saka verbs in this paper must be seen as an initial
effort that needs considerable elaboration and further investigation. I will be
happy to receive corrections and ideas for improvement.
The motivation for this study was to test the hypothesis that the substratum
culture of Khotan before the arrival of Buddhism around 200 BCE was Indic, as
asserted by the Indian tradition. By showing that literally all the verbs listed in
Emmerick’s book on Saka grammar have sound (and plausible) Sanskrit
etymologies indicates that this hypothesis is correct. Although some words from
the general vocabulary were examined, the focus of the study was verbs because
even when proper names are borrowed from other languages through cultural
contact, the verbs usually remain unchanged.
This work is a contribution towards establishing that Saka was a Prakrit
language like the other two Prakrits, namely Gāndhārī and Buddhist Sanskrit, used
in Khotan in the first millennium. In a future study, the general vocabulary of the
language will be examined.
The work is also of relevance in the study of other Central Asian languages
such as Kuchean (Tocharian B), which has attracted considerable scholarly
interest due to the implications for the understanding for the spread of the Indo-
European languages and their possible mutual relationships.

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REFERENCES

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Bailey, H.W. The Rāma story in Khotanese. Journal of the American Oriental
Society, vol. 59, pp. 460- 468, 1939.

Bailey, H.W. Khotanese Texts. Cambridge University Press, 1945.

Bailey, H.W. Saka studies: The ancient kingdom of Khotan. Iran, 8: 65-72, 1970.

Bailey, H.W. Dictionary of Khotan Saka, Cambridge University Press, 1979.

Bailey, H.W. The Culture of the Sakas in Ancient Iranian Khotan. Caravan Books,
1982

Emmerick, R.E. Saka Grammatical Studies. Oxford University Press, 1968.

Grierson, G.A. A Dictionary of the Kashmiri language. Asiatic Society of Bengal,

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Hedin, S. Through Asia. New York and London, Harper Brothers, 1899.

Kak, S. Uttarakuru and the Slavs. Itihas Darpan, vol. 25, 1-2, pp. 59- 66, 2020.

Kak, S. The Wonder That Was Kashmir. Chapman University, 2021a.

Kak, S. Sanskrit and ancient migrations. Itihas Darpan, vol. 26, pp. 12-18, 2021b.

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Kak, S. The Vedic Tradition: Cosmos, Connections, and Consciousness.

SVYASA University, 2022a.

Kak, S. The Khotanese Goddess Śśandrāmatā. Chapman University, 2022b.

Legge, J. tr. and ed., A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms Being an Account by the
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Mukherjee, B.N. The Great Kushana Testament. Indian Museum Bulletin,

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Stein, M. A. Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan. Hurst and Blackett, 1904.

Stein, M. A. Ruins of Desert Cathay. 1912.

Stein, M. A. On Ancient Central-Asian Tracks. Pantheon Books, 1933.

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