Know the Etymology: 377
Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 05 November 2014

Puran-wela,
Maa'ligaa-purana

புரன்வெல, மாளிகா₃புரன
Puran-vela, Māḷigā-purana

Puran+wela
Maa'lgaa+purana

The fallow or wasteland paddy field

The fallow paddy fields of the palace or temple

Pura'na	fallow or wasteland (Sinhala, Clough); Puran: fallow land, “Kumburehi ta'na ko'la aadiya æti veema” (spoken Sinhala, Sorata); fallow or wasteland (Eezham Tamil, Batticaloa dialect, V.C. Kanthaiya, 1964, p 106); 1: Pu'ran: also Pu'ram: outside (Tamil, DED 4333); Pu'ran-tha'l'liyathu: discarded or set aside (Tamil usage); Pura'ni: anything that is outside (Tamil, DED 4333); paddy field for dry farming (Tamil, inscription, 997 CE, SII, v, 667); Pu'ravu: also Pu'ravam: jungle, forest tract (Tamil, DED 4333); Puraay: a term for a kind of paddy field (Tamil, inscription, 1000 CE, TAS, II. pp 173-207); Puravadai: a kind of paddy field (Tamil, inscription, 1340 CE, ARE, 1934, 059); 2: Puraa'na: old, ancient, former (Sinhala); ancient (Sanskrit, CDIAL 8283); old, worn out (Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 8283); Pauraa'na: relating to the past, ancient (Sanskrit, CDIAL 8420); Pora'na, Para'na: old, ancient (Sinhala)
Wela	paddy field (Sinhala); Veali: paddy field (Tamil, related to DED 5538); Vi'lai: paddy field (Tamil, related to DED 5437)
Maa'ligaa	also Maaligaawa, Maaligaya: palace (Sinhala); Maa'likai: palace, temple, mansion, house (Tamil, DED 4796a); Maadam: storied house, house, mansion, hall, hut (Tamil, DED 4796a); Maada: upper story of a house (Sanskrit, CDIAL 9996); Maalikaa: white washed upper storeyed house (Sanskrit, CDIAL 9996). CDIAL traces the etymology to Dravidian. See column on Bodhi-ma’luwa.

The term Puran in Sinhala and Batticaloa dialect of Eezham Tamil mean a fallow paddy field or wasteland.

In the sense of a former cultivation land, A Comparative Dictionary of Indo Aryan Languages (CDIAL 8420) traces the etymology of Puran to Pauraa'na in Sanskrit, meaning anything of the past.

However, Puran meaning a fallow or wasteland paddy field in Sinhala/ Eezham Tamil seems to be a different word from Puraa'na, Pora'na and Para'na coming in Sinhala language and place names, meaning old, ancient or former and related to Puraa'na or Pauraa'na in Sanskrit.

In the related place names given below, note the difference in the usage of Puran and Puraa'na in the Sinhala place names.

Puran, in its specific shade of meaning related to paddy field, seems to be a cognate of Pu'ra'ni, Pu'raay, Puravidai etc. that were found used in Tamil inscriptions to mean a dry paddy field. The Tamil usages are etymologically related to Pu'ran meaning outside and Pu'ravam meaning jungle (DED 4333). Pu'ran in Tamil usage also means anything that is discarded or set aside (Pu'ran-tha'l'liyathu).

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Pu'ra'ni as dry land for cultivation:

“Vilai ko'ndu udaiya poomi pu'ra'ni ivvoor chaavanthi poothan choamanaathar pearaal” (South Indian Inscriptions, V, 667)

“விலை கொண்டு உடைய பூமி புறணி இவ்வூர் சாவந்தி பூதன் சோமனாதர் பேரால்” (South Indian Inscriptions, V, 667)

The dry land that was purchased and owned by Chaavanthi Poothan Choamanaathar (a personal name) of this village


Pu'raay as a term for a kind of paddy field:

“Pa'raiyan pu'raayumaay” (Travancore Archaeological Series, II, pp 173, 207)

“பறையன் புறாயுமாய்” (Travancore Archaeological Series, II, pp 173, 207)

Including the Puraay (a type of paddy field) of a Pa'raiyan (a member of the drummer community)


Pu'ravidai as a cultivation-land different from wet and dry lands:

“Nagnchey pugnchey pu'ravadai thoaddappattu mattum” (Annual Report of Epigraphy, 1934, 059)

“நஞ்செய் புஞ்செய் புறவடை தோட்டப்பற்று மற்றும்” (Annual Report of Epigraphy, 1934, 059)

The wet cultivation land, dry cultivation land and Pu'ravidai (cultivation land set aside or different from the former two) and garden land and also..

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Puran-wela is in Welimada division of Badulla district

Maa'ligaa-purana is in GI Korale division of Kandy district. The place has extensive paddy fields that are now cultivated

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Some related place names:

Puran:

Puran-potta: The range of fallow or wasteland paddy fields; Ruwanwella division, Kegalla district

Purang-kumbura: The fallow or wasteland paddy fields; Walapane division, Nuwara Eliya district


Puraa'na:

Puraa'na Meerigama: The old part of the Meerigama village; Mirigama division, Gampaha district

Puraa'na-gama: The old or ancient village; Hanguranketha division, Nuwara Eliya district

Girithale Puraa'na-gama: The old or ancient village at Girithale; Hingurakgoda division, Polonnaruwa district

First published: Wednesday, 05 November 2014, 23:41