Know the Etymology: 343
Place Name of the Day: Saturday, 03 May 2014

Ezhuvaan-karai, Paduvaan-karai

எழுவான்கரை, படுவான்கரை
Eḻuvāṉkarai, Paṭuvāṉkarai

Ezhuvaan+karai
Ezhu+vaan+karai
Paduvaan+karai
Padu+vaan+karai


The bank/ side of the rising sun or rising sky (East)

The bank/ side of the setting sun or setting sky (West)

Ezhuvaan	The rising one (sun); Ezhu+vaan: The rising sky (Tamil, DED 851, DED 5381); Ezhu: (verb) To rise, ascend, appear (Tamil, DED 851); Ezhu-gnaayi'ru: Rising sun; Vaan: Also Vaanam: Sky (Tamil, DED 5381);
Paduvaan	The setting one (sun); Padu+vaan: The setting sky (Tamil, DED 3852, DED 5381); Padu: (verb) To set as a heavenly body (Tamil, DED 3852); Padu-gnaayi'ru: Setting sun (Tamil, DED 3852); Vaan: Sky (Tamil, DED 5381)
Karai	Shore, bank, border, side, edge (Tamil, DED 1293)

If Ezhuvaan and Paduvaan are taken as single words of singular masculine endings, they literally mean the rising one and the setting one, i.e., the sun. If they are split into Ezhu+vaan and Padu+vaan, they mean the rising sky and the setting sky, i.e., the East and the West respectively.

Ezhu and Padu respectively mean, rising and setting. When the 'An' suffix added, they become Ezhuvaan and Paduvaan, and mean the rising one and setting one. If Vaan is taken as a word, it means the sky.

Karai means a shore, bank, border, side or edge.

All the words under discussion are Tamil words of Dravidian etymology (DED 851, 3852, 5381, 1293)

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The association of Ezhu and Padu with the rising and setting of heavenly bodies:

“Ezhutharu mathiyam kadat ka'ndaa angku” (Ku'runthokai, 315: 1)

“எழுதரு மதியம் கடற் கண்டா அங்கு” (குறுந்தொகை, 315: 1)

Just as seeing the rising moon in the sea


“Padu chudar adaintha pakuvaay neduvarai” (Natti'nai, 33: 1)

“படு சுடர் அடைந்த பகுவாய் நெடுவரை” (நற்றிணை, 33: 1)

The long hill-range of gaping mouth (saddle of the range) reached by the setting luminary (sun in this context)

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Ezhuvaan-karai and Paduvaan-karai are respectively the stretches of land on the eastern and western banks of the Batticaloa lagoon in the Batticaloa district. Compare the usage with Nægenahira and Batahira in Sinhala, meaning the direction of the rising sun and the direction of the setting sun, i.e., east and west, used in the Sinhala place names.

First published: Saturday, 03 May 2014, 10:06