Religion:Suratrana

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Suratrana (IAST: Suratrāṇa, सुरत्राण) is a Sanskrit word that has the literal meaning "protector of gods",[1] but is often used as a transliteration of the Islamic word "Sultan" into Sanskrit.[2][3] The term consists of two words "sura" (सुर) meaning "deva, gods, deity",[4] and trana (त्राण) meaning "protect, preserve, defend".[5][6][lower-alpha 1]

Suratrana is found in Indian texts and inscriptions, in the post 12th-century medieval period of Hindu-Muslim interaction during Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire.[9] For example, the Vilasa grant of Musunuri Prolaya Nayaka in modern Andhra Pradesh, dated to 1330 CE, refers to Ahammada suratrana ("Muslim Sultan", here the Sultan of Delhi).[10] The term Hinduraya Suratrana is found in a long Sanskrit stone inscription in Nāgarī script found at a temple at Hampi in Karnataka and dated to 1344 CE.[11] The term Hindu raya suratrana is also seen in some stone inscriptions found in Andhra Pradesh, the earliest dated to about 1352 CE.[12]

Benjamin Lewis Rice translates Hinduraya Suratrana as "the Suratrana of Hindu Rayas".[11][lower-alpha 2] Other scholars have interpreted it to mean "the Sultan among Hindu kings" and state this to be an evidence of Islamic political traditions being adopted by Hindu kings.[14][9][lower-alpha 3] Scholar Lorenzen sees this evidence of Indian kingdoms recognizing their identity of being "Hindu" and even a religious Hindu identity by early 14th century.[12] Others interpret the term Hinduraya Suratrana to mean "protectors of the gods of (or among) the Hindu kings".[9][19][20]

A few other inscriptions in South India use the word Suratrana sometimes in modified form. For example, the Akkalapundi Grant inscription of 1368 CE for Kapaya Nayaka of Warangal who fought the Delhi Sultanate armies, refers to the Nayaka as Andhrasuratranah (the Suratrana of the Andhra).[21] It appears in a Warangal inscription dated to about 1570 CE, for Aravidu king Tirumala I, as Urigola Suratranah. Wagoner interprets it as "Sultan of Warangal".[21]

A related term Hinduravu Suradhani (IAST: Hindurāvu Suradhāni) is found in an Ongole inscription for Sariyapati Timmareddi of Andhra region, and is dated to 1482 CE. According to Wagoner, both Suratrana and Suradhani are transliterations of Sultan.[21][lower-alpha 4] Suradhani found in Hindurāvu Suradhāni term is also a composite of two words, "Sura" and "Dhani", with Dhani meaning "possessor, housing, virtuous keeper".[22]

See also

  • Hammira, Sanskrit transliteration of emir
  • Balhara (title), Arabic transliteration of Sanskrit Vallabha

Notes

  1. ↑ Sura, in most contexts means "god, divinity, deity", but also means in other contexts someone "supreme, with superhuman power". A related word Suretara is found in the Bhagavata Purana, which means "other than a Sura, an Asura".[7] The word Trāṇa is found in Vedic literature, such as in Apastamba Mantra Brahmana's section 2.17 and Apastambiya Gryhasutra's section 5.13.[8]
  2. ↑ Raya is a Sanskrit word and means "king, prince".[13]
  3. ↑ The Hinduraya suratrana term in inscriptions has been coupled with long brocaded headdress (kullayi) and others shown in some royalty-related reliefs found in Hampi as additional support for the hypothesis that 'Islamicization of Hindu culture' in 14th-century.[15] The long headdress are also seen in the royalty-related and secular artwork in Pattadakal dated from the 7th and 8th century, about 5 centuries before the first Sultanate was formed in South Asia.[16] Similar conical headdress is seen in other sites such as the Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Aihole and Badami, variously dated from the 2nd century CE to 10th century CE.[17][18]
  4. ↑ Sanskrit and Indian languages have distinct letters "l", "r", "tr" and "t"; for example, one nagari versions are "ल", "र", "त्र" and "त" respectively.

References

  1. ↑ P. Acharya (1946), Jajnagar from epigraphic and literary sources from Orissa and Bengal, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 9 (1946), pp. 215-227, Quote: "Suratrana means the protector of gods"
  2. ↑ Habib, Irfan (1997). "The Formation of India: Notes on the History of an Idea". Social Scientist 25 (7/8): 3–10. doi:10.2307/3517600. ISSN 0970-0293. , Quote: "Hindu-suratrana ('the Hindu Sultan')"
  3. ↑ Chattopadhyaya, Representing the Other? (1998), p. 30: ... Suratrāṇa, which, having been derived from Sultan remained an honorific...
  4. ↑ Sura, Monier Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged, Oxford University Press, page 1234
  5. ↑ Trāṇa, Monier Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged, Oxford University Press, page 457
  6. ↑ Daniélou, Alain (1964). The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-89281-354-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=1HMXN9h6WX0C. 
  7. ↑ Monier Monier Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged, Oxford University Press, pages 457-458
  8. ↑ A Vedic Concordance, Maurice Bloomfield, Harvard University Press, page 448
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Pollock, Sheldon (1993). "Ramayana and Political Imagination in India". The Journal of Asian Studies (Cambridge University Press) 52 (2): 284–285. doi:10.2307/2059648. 
  10. ↑ Chattopadhyaya, Representing the Other? (1998), pp. 57–58: "While king Prataparudra was ruling the kingdom in this manner, bitter hostility arose between him and Ahammada suratrana, the lord of the Turushkas [Turks]. The suratrana, who was the Yama (Death) to the kings, stamped out the remnants of the royal families left undestroyed by Jamadagnya (Parasurama). Although Prataparudra vanquished that suratrana who had an army of 9,000 horses seven times, he had to submit to the Turushka at last ... owing to the decrease of the good fortunes of the people of the earth."
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Benjamin Lewis Rice (1905). Epigraphia Carnatica: Inscriptions in the Kolar District. Mysore Government Central Press. pp. 113–114. https://books.google.com/books?id=sscUAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA113. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lorenzen, David (2017). J. E. Llewellyn. ed. Defining Hinduism: A Reader. Taylor & Francis. pp. 73–75. ISBN 978-1-315-47563-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=GyEvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT114. 
  13. ↑ राय, Monier Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged, Oxford University Press, page 878
  14. ↑ Rajat Kanta Ray (2003). The Felt Community: Commonalty and Mentality Before the Emergence of Indian Nationalism. Oxford University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-19-565863-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=3UxuAAAAMAAJ. 
  15. ↑ Wagoner, "Sultan among Hindu Kings" (1996), p. 853.
  16. ↑ George Michell (2002). Pattadakal. Oxford University Press. pp. 65–68, 54–73. ISBN 978-0-19-565651-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=AcgYAAAAYAAJ. 
  17. ↑ Lisa Owen (2012). Carving Devotion in the Jain Caves at Ellora. BRILL Academic. pp. 68–71. ISBN 978-90-04-20630-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=MUszAQAAQBAJ. 
  18. ↑ Walter M. Spink (2005). Cave by Cave. BRILL Academic. pp. 38–40, 78–79, 225–227. ISBN 90-04-15644-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=UPqUHXlwXdcC. 
  19. ↑ Habib, Irfan (1999). "The Envisioning of a Nation: A Defence of the Idea of India". Social Scientist 27 (9/10): 18–29. doi:10.2307/3518100. 
  20. ↑ A.R. Kulkarni (1970), Social Relations in the Maratha Country in the Medieval Period, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 32, Issue 1, pp. 231-268, Quote: "Suratrana has been interpreted by some as the 'protector of gods' (...)"
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Wagoner, "Sultan among Hindu Kings" (1996), p. 862.
  22. ↑ Vijayaraghava Rangacharya (1985). A topographical list of the inscriptions of the Madras Presidency. Asian Educational Services. p. 786. https://books.google.com/books?id=bLe1AAAAIAAJ. 
Sources



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