Namaste or namaskar is used as a respectful form of greeting, acknowledging and welcoming a relative, guest or stranger. It is used with good byes as well. It is typically spoken and simultaneously performed with palms touching gesture, but it may also be spoken without acting it out or performed wordlessly; all three carry the same meaning. Namaste (Namas + te, Devanagari/Hindi: नमः + ते = नमस्ते) is derived from Sanskrit and is a combination of the word Namaḥ and the enclitic 2nd person singular pronoun te. The word Namaḥ takes the Sandhi form Namas before the sound t Namaḥ means bow, obeisance, reverential salutation or adoration and te means to you (dative case). Therefore, Namas te literally means bowing to you In principle Namas te is to be used only when a single person is addressed (since in Sanskrit te is singular). A less common variant is used in the case of three or more people being addressed namely Namo vaḥ which is a combination of Namaḥ and the enclitic 2nd person plural pronoun vaḥ. The word Namaḥ takes the Sandhi form Namo before the sound v. An even less common variant is used in the case of two people being addressed namely Namo vām which is a combination of Namaḥ and the enclitic 2nd person dual pronoun vām. Pressing hands together with a smile to greet Namaste – a common cultural practice in India Excavations for Indus-Sarasvati civilization have revealed many male and female terracotta figures in namaste posture. These archeological findings are dated to be between 3000 BC to 2000 BC. Uses The gesture is widely used throughout Asia and beyond. In Bengali , it also means Nōmōskär ,(নমস্কার). The people around Bengal used to practise it since 2000-3000 BCE. Its usually denoted by joining hands and greeting. More roughly it can be said as some sort of greeting that prevails in Southern Asia. In Bengali often said as Prōnäm (Bengali: প্রনাম) informally. Namaste or namaskar is used as a respectful form of greeting, acknowledging and welcoming a relative, guest or stranger. It is used with good byes as well. In some contexts, namaste is used by one person to express gratitude for assistance offered or given, and to thank the other persons for his or her generous kindness. Namaskar is also part of the 16 upacharas used inside temples or any place of formal Puja (worship). Namaste in the context of deity worship, conclude scholars,[18][19] has the same function as one in greeting a guest or anyone else. It expresses politeness, courtesy, honor, and hospitality from one person to the other. This is sometimes expressed, in ancient Hindu scriptures such as Taittiriya Upanishad, as Atithi Devo Bhav (literally, the guest is god). In Tamil culture, the gesture is known as Kumpiṭu (கும்பிடு),[22] which is composed of two words Kumpu (கும்பு) meaning to cup hands and Iṭu இடு meaning to do; while an equivalent of the salutation would be வணக்கம் (vaṇakkam), which is roughly translated as greetings.[citation needed] Namaste is one of the six forms of pranama, and in parts of India these terms are used synonymously.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 12:24:54 +0000