History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c82.364

v6.c82.364

The Br. J. (II. 2-3), Sārāvalī (IV. 10-11) and Rājamārtanda (verses 8-15) set out the various names for the sun, the moon and the other seven planets. They are specified in the note⁸⁵⁶ below and the names underlined are deemed by Western writers to have been derived from Greek; but it should be noted that no Greek name for the moon occurs in these or other works and I am not convinced that Jīva is a Greek word or adaptation of a Greek word The word Jīva occurs in the Ṛgveda itself in many places (as in Ṛg. I 164 30, X 18 37 ) and means 'living being, an individual' and in Chāndogya Upaniṣad VI. 3 2 it means 'individual soul'. When Bṛhaspati came to be regarded as the most prominent of planets and was said to preside over knowledge and happiness (as in Br. J. II 1 'Jīvo jñāna-sukham') he came to be regarded as the very life of beings and was called Jīva The Sārāvalī (X. 116) says that Bṛhaspati is the life of men (Bṛhaspatir-nṛṇāṁ jīvaḥ). In Bhujabala it is said '*what will all the planets do to him in whose horoscope Jupiter is in kendra position. A herd of wild elephants is killed by a single lion.*'⁸⁵⁷ The Br. J. and Sārāvalī provide that further synonyms may be derived from popular usage.