Know the Etymology: 346
Place Name of the Day: Friday, 23 June 2017

Irākkai, Irākkā-vaḷavu, Ṟakkā Road, Mā-raka, Rẹkava, Maha-rẹkma, Rakṣāva, Arak-yāla, Arakā-goḍa

இராக்கை, இராக்கா வளவு, றக்கா றோட், மா-ர[க்]க, ரெ[æ][க்]கவ, மஹ-ரெக்ம, ரக்ஷாவ, அரக்யால, அர[க்]காகொ₃ட₃
Irākkai, Irākkā-vaḷavu, Ṟakkā Road, Mā-raka, Rẹkava, Maha-rẹkma, Rakṣāva, Arak-yāla, Arakā-goḍa

Irākkai
Irākkā+vaḷavu
Ṟakkā+road
Mā+raka
Rẹka+va
Maha+rẹkum+a
Rākṣā+va
Arak+yala
Araka+goḍa

The guard-post or sentinel

The premises of the guard; or the guard-post premises

The guard-post road

The big guard-post

The guard-post

The big guard-post

The guard-post

The protected cultivation field; or the guard-post neighbourhood

The guarding/ guard-post hill or bank

Irākkā	guard post, security post, check post, also a guard, keeper (Eezham Tamil place names); Irakkā: protection, guarding duty (Tamil, inscription, 960 CE, TAS, iii, pp. 159-169); Rakki, Rakkikka: to protect (Tamil, inscription, 1100 CE, TAS, v, p. 34-47); Rakṣippatu: act of protection by guards (Tamil, inscription, c. 800 CE, TAS, iii, p. 65-66); Rakṣai: protection, guardianship (Tamil, inscription, 785 CE, SII, xiv, 25; Eezham Tamil inscription, 1200 CE, University of Ceylon Review, XXI, p. 63-70); Rakṣ: verb root meaning to guard, watch, take care of, protect, save, preserve (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, Monier Williams, CDIAL); Rakṣati: (verb) guards (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, CDIAL 10547); Rakṣa: guarding (Sanskrit, CDIAL 10545); Rakṣā: preservation, care (Sanskrit, CDIAL 10551); Rakh: to protect, watch, help (Prakrit, CDIAL 10547); Rakkhā: guarding (Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 10551). See other boxes for parallels in Sinhala
Irākkai	guard post (Eezham Tamil place names). See box on Irākkā
Ṟakkā	= Irākkā (Eezham Tamil place names). See box on Irākkā
Rakṣāva	also Raḳsā, Raksā: guarding, protecting, watching, sustenance, means of living; "Rẹkīma" (Sinhala. Sorata); Rakṣ: the root for words in Sanskrit meaning to guard, watch, take care of, protect, save, preserve (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, Monier Williams, CDIAL); Rakṣati: guards (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, CDIAL 10547); Rakṣa: guarding (Sanskrit, CDIAL 10545); Rakṣā: preservation, care (Sanskrit, CDIAL 10551); Rakṣaṇa: guarding (Sanskrit, CDIAL 10546). See other boxes for various cognates in Pali, Prakrit, Tamil and Sinhala
Raka	also Rak: protection, preservation; "Ārakṣāva"; (verb) to protect, "Rẹkīmehi" (Sinhala, Sorata); Rakavaḷa: guard, watch, protection (Sinhala, Clough); Rakh: to protect, watch, help (Prakrit, CDIAL 10547); Rakkhā: guarding (Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 10551); Rakṣ: the root for words in Sanskrit meaning to guard, watch, take care of, protect, save, preserve (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, Monier Williams, CDIAL); Rakṣati: guards (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, CDIAL 10547); Rakṣa: guarding (Sanskrit, CDIAL 10545); Rakṣā: preservation, care (Sanskrit, CDIAL 10551). See boxes on Irākkā and Rakṣāva
Rẹkava	from Rẹka: having guarded, watched, preserved (verb form of Rakinavā, Sinhala, Clough); Rẹkīma: guarding, protecting, watching (Sinhala, Clough); Rẹkavaḷā, Rẹkaval: guard, watchman, keeper, "Ārakṣāva, Murakāraya" (Sinhala, Clough, Sorata). See boxes on Irākkā, Rakṣāva and Raka
Rẹkma	= Rẹkum+a (Sinhala, Sorata); Rẹkum, Rẹkīm: guarding, protecting; "Ārakṣā kirīma" (Sinhala, Sorata). See boxes on Irākkā, Rakṣāva and Raka
Araka	also Arak: protection, preservation, "Ārakṣāva" (Sinhala, Sorata); Ārakṣa: protection (Sanskrit, CDIAL 1297, related to the same root as Rakṣa); Ārakkha: guard, watch (Pali, CDIAL 1297); Aṟukkai: protection, as of a fence around a premises (Eezham Tamil, Jaffna usage). See boxes on Irākkā, Rakṣāva and Raka
Vaḷavu	premises (Tamil, DED 5313). See column 482
Yāla	Yā+la; Yā: 1. Paddy field, shifting cultivation field etc., or multitude; "Hēn kuṁburu ādi iḍampeḷa hō Rẹsa" (Sinhala, Sorata); 2. Neighbourhood, "Samīpa" (Sinhala, Sorata). See another column for etymology
Goḍa	hill, bank, village (Sinhala, Sorata, Clough). See column 160
Mā	also Maha: great, big, large; see column 203

The toponymic terms Irākkai, Irākkā, Rākkā and Ṟakkā in Eezham Tamil and Raka, Rẹka, Rẹkma, Raḳṣāva, Arak and Araka in Sinhala, mean protection, guarding, guard-post, sentinel, guard etc. They are cognates of the root verb Rakṣ in Rig Vedic Sanskrit, nouns Rakṣa/ Rakṣā in Sanskrit and Rakkha in Prakrit and Pali.

The Tamilised forms are seen in inscriptions dating from 8th century CE.

The word form Irakkā itself is seen in a Tamil inscription dated to 960 CE.

Noticeably, early evidences for the word forms Irakkā and Rakkā come from the Tamil inscriptions of Kerala (Travancore Archaeological Series, Vol II and III).

Ārākṣa-related or Arak/ Araka-related place names are not seen in Eezham Tamil. But a word, Aṟukkai in the meaning of protection, could be noticed in Jaffna Tamil usage.

* * *

The usage of the word-form Irakkā in Tamil:

"இரக்கா போகம் ஆட்டு.." (Tamil inscription, 960 CE, TAS, iii, pp. 159-168)

"Irakkā pōkam āṭṭu.." (Tamil inscription, 960 CE, TAS, iii, pp. 159-168)

The annual tax for the protection service [Irakkā: protection service; Pōkam: tax; Āṭṭu: annual]


Alternative usage of Irakṣi and Rakki in Tamil:

"அறுநூற்றுவரும் அஞ்சுவண்ணம்மு மணிக்கிராமமும் இரக்ஷிக்கக் கடவர்" (Tamil inscription, 885 CE, TAS, ii, pp. 80-82)

"Aṟunūṟṟuvarum Añcuvaṇṇammu Maṇikkirāmamum irakṣikkak kaṭavar" (Tamil inscription, 885 CE, TAS, ii, pp. 80-82)

(The guilds) The-600, Añcuvaṇṇam and Maṇikkirāmam should protect (this)


"எதிரங்க வீரனும் அவன் பெண்ணு பிள்ளையும் ரக்கிக்கக் கடவர்" (Tamil inscription, 1110 CE, TAS, v, p. 34-47)

"Etiraṅka vīraṉum avaṉ peṇṇu piḷḷaiyum rakkikkak kaṭavar" (Tamil inscription, 1110 CE, TAS, v, p. 34-47)

The person Etiraṅka Vīraṉ, and his wife and son should protect (this)


Guard-post connections of the term:

"பாகூருங் கூழைக்கோட்டு வூராருங் கை-காவலால் புறநின்று ரக்ஷிப்பது" (Tamil inscription, c. 800 CE, TAS, iii, p. 65-66)

"Pākūruṅ Kūḻaikkōṭṭu vūrāruṅ kai-kāvalāl puṟaniṉṟu rakṣippatu" (Tamil inscription, c. 800 CE, TAS, iii, p. 65-66)

The villagers or assemblies of the villages, Pākūr and Kūḻaikkōṭu have to provide protection through a guard-post or body of guards placed outside. [Kai-kāval: guard post of body of guards; see column 451 on Sinhala place name Kayikāvala]


Rakṣai in early medieval Tamil and Eezham Tamil inscriptions:

"இப் பொன் நாட்டார் ரக்ஷை" (Tamil inscription, 785 CE, SII, xiv, 25)

"Ip poṉ Nāṭṭār rakṣai" (Tamil inscription, 785 CE, SII, xiv, 25)

This gold comes under protection or trusteeship of the assembly


"ஊராத்துறையில் பரதேசிகள் வந்து இருக்கவேணுமென்றும் அவர்கள் ரக்ஷைப்பட வேணுமென்றும்" (Eezham Tamil inscription, c. 1200 CE, University of Ceylon Review, XXI, pp. 63-70)

"Ūrāttuṟaiyil paratēcikaḷ vantu irukkavēṇumeṉṟum avarkaḷ rakṣaippaṭa vēṇumeṉṟum" (Eezham Tamil inscription, c. 1200 CE, University of Ceylon Review, XXI, pp. 63-70)

Foreigners should come and reside in the port of Ūrāttuṟai and they should receive protection

* * *

Irākkai is a locality in Iṭaikkāṭu in Valikamam East division of Jaffna district (Balasundaram, p. 125).

Irākkā-vaḷavu is a land-deed name in Toṇṭaimāṉāṟu in Vadamaradchi Northeast division of Jaffna district. There is also a locality name called Rākkā/ Irākkā at this place. Another land-deed name in this place is Irākkap-paṉai (Balasundaram, p. 63, 334, 375). Toṇṭaimāṉāṟu village is strategically located at the mouth of the sea-inlet of that name. This is a point to cross the lagoon at its mouth, from one geographical unit to another in the Jaffna Peninsula.

Ṟakkā Road is located near the Kaccēri area of Jaffna city, which was the European quarter of the city in colonial times.

Mā-raka is a place in Wilgamuwa division of Matale district.

Rẹkava is noticed as a place name in Tangalle division of Hambantota district and in Maspotha division of Kurunegala district.

Maha-rẹkma is in Kalutara division of Kalutara district.

Rakṣāva is a place in Ganga Ihala Korale division of Kandy district.

Arak-yāla is in Kuliyapitiya East division of Kurunegala district.

Arakā-goḍa is in Millaniya division of Kalutara district.

* * *

Some related place names:

Vaṭa-rẹka: Homagama, Colombo; Bope-Poddala, Galle; Mawathagama, Kurunegala. Vaṭa: enciclement

Rẹkaḍa-hēna: Elpitiya, Galle

Rẹkiṭi-pē: Hanguranketha, Nuwara Eliya

Bẹdi-rẹkka: Mahaoya, Ampara. Bẹdi: forest, jungle, thicket; "Vana lẹhẹba" (Sinhala, Sorata)

Arakā-vila: Ingiriya, Kalutara

Rak-vāna: Godakawela, Ratnapura. Āna: 1. Place, "Āyatanaya, Sthānaya"; 2. Forest, "Vanaya, Kẹḷệva, mūkaḷan" (Sinhala, Sorata); Rak could also mean the mineral red arsenic; from Rakta * * *


Revised: Friday, 23 June 2017, 18:30

First published: Thursday, 15 May 2014, 22:59