ग्रावन्

From Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂wō (“heavy stone”). Cognate with English quern, Old Irish brao.

It has been suggested that the word used in the Rigveda is unrelated to the sense "stone" and rather refers to a human person, meaning "praiser, singer", possibly deriving from the root गॄ (gṝ).^[1]

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /ɡɾɑ́ː.ʋɐn/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɾɑː.ʋɐn̪/

ग्रावन् • (grā́van) stem, m

1. (Rigvedic) (traditional translation) a stone for pressing out the Soma juice
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 10.108.11:

     दू॒रमि॑त पणयो॒ वरी॑य॒ उद्गावो॑ यन्तु मिन॒तीॠ॒तेन॑।
     बृह॒स्पति॒र्या अवि॑न्द॒न्निगू॑ळ्हाः॒ सोमो॒ ग्रावा॑ण॒ ऋष॑यश्च॒ विप्राः॑॥

     dūrámita paṇayo várīya údgā́vo yantu minatī́ṝténa.
     bṛ́haspátiryā́ ávindannígūḷhāḥ sómo grā́vāṇa ṛ́ṣayaśca víprāḥ.

     Hence, far away, ye Paṇis! Let the cattle lowing come forth as holy Law commandeth,
     Kine which Brihaspati, and Soma, ṛsis, sages, and pressing-stones have found when hidden.

2. (Rigvedic) (proposed modern translation) praiser, singer^[1]
3. a stone or rock
4. a mountain
5. a cloud

• Odia: ଗ୍ରାବ (grāba)
• Tamil: கிராவணம் (kirāvaṇam), சிராவணம் (cirāvaṇam)
• Telugu: గ్రావము (grāvamu)

• Monier Williams (1899) “ग्रावन्”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, , new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 374, column 1.