महत्

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Alternative forms

• महा (mahā) (form used in compounding)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *maȷ́ʰā́, from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s. Cognate with Middle Persian ms (meh), Ancient Greek μέγας (mégas), Armenian մեծ (mec), Latin magnus, English much.

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /mɐ.ɦɐ́t/
• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈmɐ.ɦɐt̪/

Adjective

महत् • (mahát) stem

1. great, large, big, huge, ample, extensive, long, abundant
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.114.7:

     मा नो महान्तम् उत मा नो अर्भकं मा न उक्षन्तमुत मा न उक्षितम् ।
     मा नो वधीः पितरं मोत मातरं मा नः प्रियास्तन्वो रुद्र रीरिषः ॥

     mā no mahāntam uta mā no arbhakaṃ mā na ukṣantamuta mā na ukṣitam .
     mā no vadhīḥ pitaraṃ mota mātaraṃ mā naḥ priyāstanvo rudra rīriṣaḥ .

     O Rudra, harm not either great or small among us, harm not the growing boy, harm not the full-grown man.
     Slay not a sire among us, slay no mother here, and do not harm our own dear bodies, O Rudra.

Declension

Descendants

• Pali: mahant

References

• Monier Williams (1899) “महत्”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, , new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 794/2.
• Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎ (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, pages 337-339