मह्

Inherited from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s.

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /mɐ́ɦ/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /mɐɦ/

मह् • (máh) stem

1. (Rigvedic) great, strong, powerful, mighty, sublime
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.100.1:

     स यो वृषा वृष्ण्येभिः समोका महो दिवः पृथिव्याश्च सम्राट् । सतीनसत्वा हव्यो भरेषु मरुत्वान्नो भवत्विन्द्र ऊती ॥

     sa yo vṛṣā vṛṣṇyebhiḥ samokā maho divaḥ pṛthivyāśca samrāṭ. satīnasatvā havyo bhareṣu marutvānno bhavatvindra ūtī.

     May he who hath his home with strength, the Mighty, the King supreme of earth and spacious heaven, Lord of true power, to he invoked in battles, may Indra, girt by Maruts, be our succour.

   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 8.70.9:

     उदू षु णो वसो महे मृशस्व शूर राधसे । उदू षु मह्यै मघवन्मघत्तय उदिन्द्र श्रवसे महे ॥

     udū ṣu ṇo vaso mahe mṛśasva śūra rādhase. udū ṣu mahyai maghavanmaghattaya udindra śravase mahe.

     O Vasu, O thou Hero, raise us up to ample opulence. Raise us to gain of mighty wealth, O Maghavan, O Indra, to sublime renown.

   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 5.41.15:

     पदेपदे मे जरिमा नि धायि वरूत्री वा शक्रा या पायुभिश्च । सिषक्तु माता मही रसा नः स्मत्सूरिभिर्ऋजुहस्त ऋजुवनिः ॥

     padepade me jarimā ni dhāyi varūtrī vā śakrā yā pāyubhiśca. siṣaktu mātā mahī rasā naḥ smatsūribhirṛjuhasta ṛjuvaniḥ.

     Duly to each one hath my laud been offered. Strong be Varutri with her powers to succour. May the great Mother Rasā here befriend us, straight-handed, with the princes, striving forward.

The declension is defective and is supplemented with forms from महत् (mahát) and मह (mahá).

मह् • (mah)

1. to elate; gladden; exalt; arouse; excite
2. to magnify; esteem highly; honour; revere
3. to rejoice; delight in (with instrumental or accusative cases)
4. to give; bestow

• Verbal derivations:
  • महति (mahati, class 1, active voice, present), महते (mahate, class 1, middle voice, present)
  • महयति (mahayati, class 10, active voice, present), महयते (mahayate, class 10, middle voice, present)
  • मह्यते (mahyate, passive voice, present)
  • महिष्यति (mahiṣyati, active voice, future)
  • महित्वा (mahitvā, gerund)
• मह (mahá)
• महत् (mahát)
• महन् (mahán)
• महस् (máhas)
• महनीय (mahanīya)
• महित (mahita)
• महिष (mahiṣá)
• मह्य (mahya)

• Monier Williams (1899) “मह्”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, , new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 794, column 1.
• Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025) “mah”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.
• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1890) “मह्”, in The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary, Poona: Prasad Prakashan, page 1246
• Arthur Anthony Macdonell (1893) “मह्”, in A practical Sanskrit dictionary with transliteration, accentuation, and etymological analysis throughout, London: Oxford University Press, page 220
• Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) “mahā́nt-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎ (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, pages 337-9
• Wackernagel, Jakob (1896-1964) Altindische Grammatik [Grammar of Ancient Indian] (Indogermanische Bibliothek. 2. Reihe: Wörterbücher) (in German), Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, section 138, pages 251-2