Pura (placename Element)

Oikonyms in Western, Central, South, and Southeast Asia can be grouped according to various components, reflecting common linguistic and cultural histories. Toponymic study is not as extensive as it is for placenames in Europe and Anglophone parts of the world, but the origins of many placenames can be determined with a fair degree of certainty.
One complexity to the study when discussing it in English is that the Romanization of names, during British rule and otherwise, from other languages has not been consistent.

Names after natural features

In Rajasthan, names are frequently given after rock, stone, ravine, and embankment. In the Gangetic plain, the predominant natural features are trees, grass prairies, and bodies of water. Prominent trees, visible from a long way off, would often serve as landmarks and give their name to places before there was any permanent settlement there. This was especially the case where a large tree indicated a ford across a river; for example, the name Gaighāṭ indicates a ford next to an agai tree. Tree names are especially common in areas that were historically under dense forest cover until recent centuries.

Common affixes

Common affixes used in South Asian oikonyms can be grouped based on their linguistic origin (with examples from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and elsewhere such as in Sanskrit-influenced Indonesia):

Dravidian

''wal'', ''wali'', ''wala'', ''warree'', ''vli'', ''vadi'', ''vali'', ''pady'' and ''palli''

Means hamlet — e.g. Dombivli; Kasan Wala; Sandhilianwali;Gujranwala;Tiruchirappalli

''Kot''

Means "fort" — Pathankot; Sialkot

''Patnam'', ''patham'', ''pattana''

Means "city", or "city of" — e.g. Visakhapatnam'

Indo-Aryan

''Alay''

Means "abode"; from Sanskrit ā-laya. e.g. Meghalaya, Himalaya, Lokā-laya (settlement).

''-aulī'', ''-olī''

These suffixes are very common, especially ''-aulī''. In many cases, they are probably derived from Sanskrit ''palli'', referring to a hamlet or small village. For example, Bārḍolī in Gujarat is attested in a Rashtrakuta-era inscription as ''Vāraḍapallikā''. Names with these suffixes may also come from Sanskrit ''valli'', meaning "section" or "part"; either origin is plausible.

At some point, it seems that ''-aulī'' became regarded as a distinct morpheme by itself, and apparently used independently as a suffix without being derived from an earlier form. For example, the names Shamsaulī and Shekhauliyā must have coined after the Muslim conquest to simply mean something like "Shams ud-Dīn's village".

The form ''-aulī'' also seems to have become standardised and absorbed similar forms by analogy. For example, Dubaulī (from '' Dūbe'') is a common village name in eastern Uttar Pradesh, but it is not the regular, expected form of the name. The regular form would be Dubelī, which exists but is far less common. In most cases, the name was assimilated to ''-aulī'' by analogy with other places with names ending in ''-aulī''.

''Bāns''

Means bamboo, from Sanskrit
vaṃśa
'. It was historically common for villages to be surrounded by bamboo groves that were planted as a form of defence. In many cases, it can be hard to distinguish between places named with ''bāns'' from places named with ''bās'' ("dwelling"), since ''bās'' sometimes becomes nasalised and ''bāns'' sometimes becomes de-nasalised. Examples of places named with ''bāns'' are Bānsgāon and Bānsī.

''Baṛ'', ''Bargad'', ''Vaḍ''

The names ''baṛ'' and ''bargad'' both refer to the banyan tree, ultimately from Sanskrit ''vaṭa''. This is a very common place name element; according to Sankalia, many towns and villages may have originally started out as temporary shelters underneath the wide canopy of a banyan tree. As they grew into more permanent settlements, they kept the name. ''Baṛ'' has the common variations ''baḍ'' and ''baṭ''. Another variant is ''vaḍ'', as in Vaḍodarā.

''Chak''

A common prefix, especially in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary defines ''chak'' (चक) with several meanings, including "a piece of assigned or rent-free land"; "the detached or unconsolidated fields of a village"; and simply "a sub-division of land". It derives the term from Sanskrit
chakra
', meaning "circle". Whalley, on the other hand, preferred a derivation from Persian
chak
', noting that "Chak" is frequently followed by a Muslim name.

''Desh''

Means village, land, country; from Sanskrit देश (desa) for "space" — e.g. Bangladesh. In Indonesia it becomes ''Desa'' which is another Indonesian word for "village".

''-ehrā''

In many cases, this ending is probably a "worn-down" descendant of earlier ''-kheṛa'' ("village").

''Gaṛh''

Means fortress — Chandigarh, Ramgarh

''Gaṛhī''

According to Whalley, ''Gaṛhī'' when used as a prefix probably in most cases originally referred to a village surrounded by a ditch.

''Maū'', ''-mai''

In many cases, the place name element ''Maū'' (or ''mai'') may be derived from Sanskrit
maryādā
', meaning "shore" or "bank". This name is usually given to places by a river, stream, or '' jhil'' (for example, Ḍalmaū on the Gaṅgā). Examples of these names are Arghaṭmaū ("the bank or shore where the water-wheel is"), Bhainsmai ("shore where cattle or horses graze"), or Pathrāmai ("stony shore"). In other cases, ''maū'' is a contraction of ''mahuā'': the mahua tree, ''Madhuca longifolia''.

Some places have ''Maū'' as a standalone name (for example, Maū, Uttar Pradesh), while in other cases ''-maū'' is a suffix or even a prefix. The name Māwai is a variant of ''Maū''.

''Nagar''

Means city, land, country, village; from Sanskrit नगर (nagara) — e.g. Ahmednagar, Biratnagar. In Indonesian, the word ''Negara'' means "country" and the word '' Nagari'' is a term used in West Sumatra referring to "village". Also used in Borneo island, e.g. Negara Brunei Darussalam

Many modern names using ''nagar'' in full are relatively recent origin; older names with ''nagar'' have often been shortened to ''nār'' or ''ner''.

At least in northern India, ''nagar'' is not used as a prefix. Instead, the forms ''Naglā'' or, more rarely, ''Nagrā'', are used. About 100 places also have the feminine forms ''Nagariyā'' and ''Nagariyā''.

''Nawādā''

Apparently derived from Sanskrit
nivāsa
', "dwelling", combined with the Persian name ''Nauābād'' ("new settlement"). Nawādā, along with its feminine variant Nawādiyā, is a very common village name by itself, and it is also used as a prefix for other names.

''-on''

In many cases, this ending is probably a "worn-down" descendant of earlier ''-gāon'' ("village") or ''-ban'' ("forest").

''-padra'', ''-vadra'', ''-darā''

The Sanskrit term ''padra'' denoted a roadside village or residence (related to
pad
', meaning "foot"). Beginning around the 5th century, a regular sound change took place where /p/ became /v/ between vowels, turning this suffix into ''-vadra'' in many place names. In many modern place names, ''-vadra'' has further morphed into ''-darā''. For example, Vaḍodarā is from an earlier attested form ''Vaṭapadra'', Talodrā is from ''Talapadra'' or ''Talapadraka'', and Lāṭhodrā is from ''Lāṭhivadra'' (attested in Chaulukya-era epigraphy). Similar names like Saḍodarā and Raṇodarā probably share the same origin, although their older forms are not directly attested.

''Pahāṛ'' and ''Pahār''

''Pahāṛ'', with the retroflex ''ṛ'', means a hill, cliff, or overhanging river bank. ''Pahār'' with a non-retroflex ''r'' is a personal name, derived from Sanskrit
prahāra
'. It can be hard to tell these place name elements apart because they can be easily confused in other scripts.

''Paṭṭī''

From Hindi
paṭṭī
', meaning "strip", itself derived from Sanskrit ''paṭṭikā''. As a place name element, it is used in the sense of "a strip of land". In some cases it refers to a share of land held in joint tenure by a ''pattidar'' (literally "shareholder").

''Pilkhu'', ''Pilkhan'', ''Pākaṛ'', ''Pākhaṛ''

These are all names for the pilkhan tree, one of several varieties of fig tree viewed as sacred in Hinduism. The forms ''pilkhu'' and ''pilkhan'' come from Sanskrit ''plakṣā'', while ''pākaṛ'' and ''pākhaṛ'' come from Sanskrit
#Sanskrit parkaṭī
'. One place with this name is Pilkhuwā.

''Pind''

literally "lump" or a small altar of sand

''Pīpal''

The pīpal tree, ''Ficus religiosa'', is a common place name element.

''Pur'', ''Purī''

Means village, town, state, country; from Sanskri
पुर
(''pura'') — e.g. Jamalpur; Kanpur; Khanpur. In Southeast Asian and some south Asian countries, it is known as ''pura'', e.g. Anuradhapura, Singapura, and Indonesian cities such as Jayapura, Siak Sri Indrapura, etc. In Indonesia, ''pura'' also refers to a Hindu temple.

In ancient times, the word ''pura'' strictly referred to a fort, but its meaning was gradually broadened to include any town regardless of its particular function. By the early medieval period, ''pura'' was often used to denote a commercial centre – especially in southern India, where the typical form was ''puram''.

In many cases, old names originally ending in ''-pura'' have become shortened to ''-or'' over the centuries. In the case of Mangrol (originally ''Maṅgalapura''), the suffix has become ''-rol'' instead.

The variant ''purā'' often originally referred to a suburb, or to a Muslim colony.

''Pur'' is not used as a prefix. Instead, the form ''Purā'' is used. In west-central Uttar Pradesh, around Kanpur and Etawah, the prefix takes the form ''Purwā''. Farther east, toward Basti, it takes the form ''Pure''. The feminine form ''Purī'' is rarely found as a prefix.

''Semal'', ''semar'', ''simra'', ''sambal''

Many places are named after the semal tree. There are many variations of this place name. One place with this name is Sambhal, where the form ''sambal'' ended up becoming aspirated.

''-vāḍā''

According to Sankalia, this suffix has two possible origins: from ''-pāṭaka'', which originally designated "a large, but private house, or settlement within a village"; and ''-vāṭaka'', which denoted "a temporarily enclosed place, such as a garden, plantation, or an enclosure of a (low caste) village consisting of boundary trees". The shortened form ''pāḍā'' appears early on in Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit, and in early Jain literature refers to a suburb of a larger town. In Gujarat, the present form ''-vāḍā'' first appears in inscriptions dating to the Chaulukya period. ''-Vāḍā'' continued to be used productively to form new place names; it would have been originally given to private settlements "characterised either by a personal name or a prominent physiographical feature". Modern names ending in ''-vāḍā'' are descended from either ancient names that originally ended in either ''-pāṭaka'' or ''-vāṭaka'', or more recent names that originally ended in ''-vāḍā''.

An example is Delvāḍā. This name is attested in a Maitraka inscription as ''Devakula-pāṭaka'', which would have later been contracted to *''Devalvāḍā'' and then ''Deülavāḍā'' (which is attested in a Chaulukya inscription) before finally reaching the present form.

In Maharasthra, the term '' vāḍā'' refers to a built-up area, with or without an enclosure, belonging to a private citizen.

''-vasaṇa''

From Sanskrit, meaning "dwelling" or "residence" (of either an individual or a group). This suffix is especially common in northern Gujarat. Some places, such as Jetalvasana, contain the entire suffix without any modification. Others, like Chadasana, Jhulasan, Lunasan, Nandasan, and Ranasan (all of which are mentioned in medieval inscriptions with the suffix ''-vasaṇa''), have had the suffix modified to ''-saṇ(ā)'' or ''-san(ā)'' over time.

''-wāṛī''

From Sanskrit
vāṭikā
', meaning "orchard" or "garden". Commonly paired with tree names, e.g. Siswārī. Some examples with tribal names are also found; these are probably references to an individual person; examples are Bharwārī and Lodhwārī.

Persian or Arabic

''Ābād/abat/apat''

(): - -abad is a Persian "dwelling of" or "town of", combined with a person's or group's name (usually the founder or primary inhabitant(s)) — e.g. Hyderabad; Islamabad; Mirza Abad; Ashgabat; Leninabad; Vagharshapat; Sardarabad; Sardarapat . Being a generic and an ambiguous term referring to small isolated farms, village (but not city) on one hand, and towns and cities, on the other hand. See also abadi (settlement).

''Bandar''

Means "port" ( wikt:بندر) — e.g. Bandar Abbas; see

''Dasht''

Means field, desert ( wikt:دشت) — e.g. Hulandasht; see

''Ihtimalī'' and ''Ghair Ihtimalī''

From Perso-Arabic
iḥtimāl
', meaning "probability". In historical South Asian revenue terminology, ''Ihtimali'' referred to flood-prone lands along river banks or in low-lying areas. ''Ghair Ihtimali'' meant the opposite, i.e. not liable to flooding during the rainy season. These were used in place names to distinguish two villages with the same name, such as Todarpur Ihtimali and Todarpur Ghair Ihtimali in present-day Aligarh district, India.

''Khās''

From Arabic
khāṣṣ
', meaning "selected" or "private". In India, it was historically used to refer to a place managed directly by the government or by a jagirdar, without any intermediaries. For example, Jamal Mohd Siddiqi identifies six places with "''khās''" in their name in present-day Aligarh district, India. All six were founded by Rajput chiefs during the Mughal period, and they all occupy a prominent position on high ground. ''Khās'' is also sometimes used in cases where there are two villages with the same name; in this case, ''khās'' is affixed to the older and/or larger one.

''Kuy''

Means "neighborhood" ( wikt:کوی) — e.g. Kordkuy; see

''Mazar''

(in various languages) shrine, grave, tomb, etc. (from wikt:مزار), cf. "Mazar (mausoleum)". The placename usually refers to a grave of a saint, ruler, etc.: Mazar-i-Sharif; see

''Mazra'' or ''Majra''

Derived from Arabic
mazraʕ
', which originally refers to a farm field. In parts of India, though, the term refers to a hamlet or cluster of houses that is separate from, but subordinate to, a larger village. (The reason for the hamlet's separation is so that farmers can be closer to their crops.) Places with ''Majra'' in their name typically originated in this manner and later became independent villages of their own.

''Milk''

Derived from Arabic
milk
', meaning "possession" or "property". Like ''chak'', it was historically used to designate a rent-free piece of land. ''Milk'' in particular usually designated land held by Muslim zamindars.

''Munzabtah''

Derived from Perso-Arabic ''munzabt'', meaning "confiscated". For example, the village of Raipur Munzabtah in Aligarh district got its name because it was confiscated by the British government after its ''pattidar'' participated in the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

''Mutafarriqat''

From Arabic
mutafarriqāt
', literally meaning "miscellaneous". This was used historically to denote a fiscal or administrative unit consisting of various scattered pieces of land. Villages called "mutafarriqat" are so named because they belonged to such a unit.

''Nisfi''

Derived from Arabic
niṣf
', meaning "half". For example, the village of Marhauli Nisfi Ashrafabad in present-day Aligarh district was formed by taking out a half portion from Ashrafabad.

''Raiyyat''

From Perso-Arabic
ra'iyyat
', meaning "subjects, peasants, cultivators". It is used, for example, in the name of Lalpur Raiyyatpur in present-day Aligarh district, which likely originated as a settlement of peasants under the zamindar of nearby Lalpur.

''Shahr, shehr''

Means "city" — e.g. Bulandshahr

''

Kale'', '' Kaleh'', '' Qala'', '' Qalat'', ''Qila''

Means fort, fortress, castle; see also "Qalat (fortress)" — e.g. Makhachkala, Akhalkalaki, Solzha-Ghala, Dzaudzhikau

''Ganj'', ''gunj'', ''gunge''

Persian-Urdu, taken to mean neighborhood in Indian context. For example, Daryaganj, Sunamganj

''Basti''

Refers to a granted habitat, also sanctuary from the Persian suffix, ''bastī''''— e.g.'' Basti Maluk, Azam Basti

''Nahr''

wikt:نهر, river, e.g., Nahr-e Mian; see

''Nahri''

Means (irrigation) canal

''Dera''

Means "tent" — e.g. Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan

''-gerd/-kert''

Examples: Darabgerd, Dastagird, Dastjerd, Khosrowjerd, Farhadgerd, Stepanakert, Tigranakert

''-Stan, Estan''

Means "a place abounding in...", "place of..." Quote= ستان (p. V2-0030) ستان (۲) Suffix meaning 'a place abounding in'. Ex. گلستان a flower or rose-garden. Syn. زار See گازار Note. This suffix is pronounced stan or setan after a vowel, as in بوستان boostan, a garden, and هندوستان hendoostan, India; and estan after a consonant. Ex. گلستان golestan, and ترکستان torkestan. However, for poetic license, after a consonant also, it may be pronounced setan. Ex. گلستان golsetan — e.g. Afghanistan; Pakistan

See also

*Place names in India, for a more in-depth explanation of various place names in India.

References

Sources

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Further reading

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Western and South Asia, Oikonyms in
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Oikonyms
Oikonyms
Oikonyms
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Names of places in India
Names of places in Pakistan