Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s21.894

v1.c3.s21.894

Pitā-maha, beside Tatāmaha, denotes from the Atharvaveda onwards¹ the ‘paternal grandfather,’ apparently as a ‘father in a higher sense.’² The great-grandfather is Prapitāmaha and Pratatāmaha.³ It is significant that there are no corresponding Vedic words for maternal grandparents, and that the words used in the latter language, such as Mātāmaha, are imitations of the terms for paternal relations.