Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v1.c17.s1.30

v1.c17.s1.30

∗ In Sanskrit, *Īsh*, ‘Lord,’ *ādi*, ‘the first,’ *matti*, ‘Earth.’ [The derivation is absurd: *matti*, ‘clay,’ is modern Hindi.] Here the Sanskrit and Hebrew have the same meaning, ‘first lord of the earth.’ In these remote Rajput regions, where early manners and language remain, the strongest phrase to denote a man or human being is literally ‘earth.’ A chief describing a fray between his own followers and borderers whence death ensued, says, *Meri matti māri*, ‘My earth has been struck’: a phrase requiring no comment, and denoting that he must have blood in return.