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 अवि॑न्द॒न्निगू॑ळ्हा॒: सोमो॒ ग्रावा॑ण॒ ऋष॑यश्च॒ विप्रा॑:॥

     dūrámita paṇayo várīya údgā́vo yantu minatī́ṝténa.
     bṛ́haspátiryā́ ávindannígūḷhā: sómo grā́vāṇa ṛ́ṣayaśca víprā:.

     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.