Sanskrit: नमः Namah, Namo and Namas

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Jeraru

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España, español y catalán
Hello everyone. I have found some similar Sanskrit words and I'm not sure if they are the same word written differently or separate things. The first one is Namaḥ (नमः) which with a final te (ते) becomes the Namaste salute. The second one appears in a Japanised form in the Japanese Buddhist recitation called Nembutsu: Namu Amida Butsu (南無阿弥陀仏, "Hail the Amitābha Buddha"), being the original Sanskrit: Namo Amitābhāya (नमोऽमिताभाय). Finally I found in a Japanese Wikipedia article that Namas is the origin of the Nembutsu's Namu (南無) -which is also a common Japanese Buddhist devotion word-.

If someone could clarify the matter I would be very grateful

I thank you in advance
 
    • Jeraru said:
    Hello everyone. I have found some similar Sanskrit words and I'm not sure if they are the same word written differently or separate things. The first one is Namaḥ (नमः) which with a final te (ते) becomes the Namaste salute. The second one appears in a Japanised form in the Japanese Buddhist recitation called Nembutsu: Namu Amida Butsu (南無阿弥陀仏, "Hail the Amitābha Buddha"), being the original Sanskrit: Namo Amitābhāya (नमोऽमिताभाय). Finally I found in a Japanese Wikipedia article that Namas is the origin of the Nembutsu's Namu (南無) -which is also a common Japanese Buddhist devotion word-.

    If someone could clarify the matter I would be very grateful

    I thank you in advance
    Click to expand...



    S نمس नमस् namas, s.m. (often used as an interjection; and changeable in comp. to नमः nama, and नमो namo), Bowing, bending, making a bow;—a bow, salutation, reverential salutation, paying honour (by gesture or words); adoration, obeisance (performed by joining the palms and inclining the head;—often used in connection with the name of a deity in the S. dat., e.g. Gaṇeśāya namas, 'salutation or reverence to Ganeś);—a gift, present:—namas-kār, s.m. Uttering the exclamation namas; respectful or reverential address or salutation; adoration, obeisance:—namas-kār karnā (-ko), To salute respectfully or reverentially; to do obeisance to:—namas-kārī, s.f. A sensitive plant:—namo-guru, s.m. A spiritual teacher.




    S نمه नमः nama, s.m.=namas, q.v.
     
    Thank you very much for the answer tonyspeed. I do not want to extend the thread much more but can anyone tell what determines that namas becomes namaḥ or namo?. It's just an issue of phrase musicality or is something more?

    Thanks
     
    In Sanskrit dictionaries, nouns are cited in their basic stem form, in this case namas. The nominative singular is namaḥ, but namaḥ + a- becomes namo. This is called sandhi.
     
    Last edited:
    fdb said:
    In Sanskrit dictionaries, nouns are cited in their basic stem form, in this case namas. The nominative singular is namaḥ, but namaḥ + a- becomes namo. This is called sandhi.
    Click to expand...
    Good answer, indeed.

    Just to add, sandhi (saMdhi) are the rules of Sanskrit phonetics which form part of Sanskrit grammar and they stipulate how words behave when joined together in a sentence or a compound.
     
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