Sabhā
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A sabhā or sabhaa in
Ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...
was an assembly, congregation, or council. Personified as a deity, Sabhā is a daughter of Prajāpati in the
Atharvaveda The Atharvaveda or Atharva Veda (, , from ''wikt:अथर्वन्, अथर्वन्'', "priest" and ''wikt:वेद, वेद'', "knowledge") or is the "knowledge storehouse of ''wikt:अथर्वन्, atharvans'', the proced ...
. In Epic Sanskrit, the term refers also to an assembly hall or council-chamber, and to a hostel, eating-house, or gambling-house. While the term ''Jansabhā'' refers to large public gathering. The ''
Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succe ...
'', Book 2, has a ''Sabhā Parva'' or Sabhā episode, which describes the sabhā under King
Yudhishthira Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...
.Mahābhārata, Book 2, ''Sabhā Parva''
''
Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succe ...
'' sacred-texts.com.
Monier-Williams Sir Monier Monier-Williams (; né Williams; 12 November 1819 – 11 April 1899) was a British scholar who was the second Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, England. He studied, documented and taught Asian languages, especially ...
compares the word to
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''sibb'' "clan" (Old High German ''sippa''), in Modern English surviving in the term ''
gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Etymology The word is from Old English ''godsibb'', from ''god (word), god'' and ''sibb'', the term for the ...
'' (from ''god-sib''). A sabhā in south India, particularly in Tamil Nādu, popularly refers to a body or organization involved in the promotion of fine arts such as
Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...
, Bhāratanāṭyam,
Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
among numerous other arts. These Sabhās are concentrated mostly in and around
Mylapore Mylapore (also spelt Mayilapur), or Thirumayilai, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the celebrated Tamil ...
in Chennai and are instrumental in ensuring that connoisseurs (known as Rasikās) from all parts of the world are treated with variety during the Music and Dance Season of Mārgazhi (December / January mostly).


Modern usage

The term ''Sabha'' has also given rise to modern terms of
Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...
, such as
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
(Lower House) and
Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...
(Upper House), and the Indian states'
Vidhan Sabha The State Legislative Assembly, also known as the Vidhan Sabha or the Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in each of the states and certain union territories of India. Members of the legislative assembly are often directly elected to serve fiv ...
(Legislative Assembly). The Federal Parliament of Nepal uses the word ''Sabha'' () for
Pratinidhi Sabha The House of Representatives, commonly known as Pratinidhi Sabha (), is one of the houses of the Federal Parliament of Nepal, with the other house being the National Assembly (Nepal), National Assembly. Members of the House of Representatives are ...
House of Representatives (Lower house), Rastriya Sabha National Assembly (Upper House), and Pradesh Sabha (Provincial Assemblies).


See also

* Dharma Vardhiny Sabha *
Shreni In Ancient India, a shreni ( or , Prakrit: ) was an association of traders, merchants, and artisans. Generally, a separate shreni existed for a particular group of persons engaged in the same vocation or activity. Shrenis have sometimes been comp ...


References

Ancient India Hindi words and phrases Historical legislatures in India {{India-hist-stub