खलु

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /kʰɐ́.lu/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ˈkʰɐ.l̪u/

खलु • (khálu)

1. indeed; certainly; verily (particle indicating certainty or emphasis)
2. pray; may (particle indicating entreaty)
   • c. 400 CE, Kālidāsa, Abhijñānaśākuntalam Act 1:

     न खलु न खलु बाणः सन्निपात्योऽयमस्मिन्
     मृदुनि मृगशरीरे पुष्पराशाविवाग्निः ।

     na khalu na khalu bāṇaḥ sannipātyoʼyamasmin
     mṛduni mṛgaśarīre puṣparāśāvivāgniḥ.

     Heaven forbid this arrow be shot into that feeble body of the fawn like fire upon a heap of flowers!

3. now; now then; now further; furthermore (particle indicating continuation, e.g. in reasoning or narration)
   • c. 1 CE – 200 CE, Vimalakīrtinirdeśa 11.1:

     अथ खलु भगवान् विमलकीर्तिं लिच्छविम् एतद् अवोचत्

     atha khalu bhagavān vimalakīrtiṃ licchavim etad avocat

     Then the Blessed One said to Vimalakīrti the Licchavi, ...

4. particle indicating prohibition

   खलु कृत्वा ― khalu kṛtvā ― don't do that; stop doing that already

• Rarely used alone at the beginning of an expression; often combined with another particle such as अथ (atha). It can be merely expletive.
• As a prohibitory particle, it is often used with the gerund.

• Ashokan Prakrit: 𐨑𐨆 (kho) (Shāhbāzgarhi, Mansehra)
• Pali: khalu, kho

• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1890) “खलु”, in The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary, Poona: Prasad Prakashan
• Monier Williams (1899) “खलु”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, , new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 338/2.