ऊर्णवाभि

Sanskrit

FWOTD – 24 October 2024

Alternative scripts

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *-nós

Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂

Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hwŕ̥HnaH

Sanskrit ऊर्णा॑ (ū́rṇā)

Proto-Indo-European *webʰ-

Sanskrit ऊ॒र्ण॒वाभि॑ (ūrṇavā́bhi)

From ऊर्णा॑ (ū́rṇā, “wool”) + Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to weave, braid”), referring to the spider weaving silken strands. Compare English weave, web. The term is alternatively read as ऊ॒र्णा॒वाभि॑ (ūrṇāvā́bhi).

Pronunciation

(Vedic) IPA^(key): /uːɾ.ɳɐ.ʋɑ́ː.bʱi/
(Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /uːɾ.ɳɐˈʋɑː.bʱi/

Noun

ऊ॒र्ण॒वाभि॑ • (ūrṇavā́bhi) stem, m

a spider
- c. 700 BCE, Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.1.20:
  स यथोर्णवाभिस् तन्तुनोच्चरेत्। यथाग्नेः क्षुद्रा विष्फुलिङ्गा व्युच्चरन्त्येवमेवास्मादात्मनः सर्वे प्राणाः सर्वे लोकाः सर्वे देवाः सर्वाणि भूतानि सर्व एत आत्मानो व्युच्चरन्ति तस्योपनिषत्सत्यस्य सत्यमिति प्राणा वै सत्यं तेषामेष सत्यम्
  sa yathorṇavābhis tantunoccaret. yathāgneḥ kṣudrā viṣphuliṅgā vyuccarantyevamevāsmādātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni sarva eta ātmāno vyuccaranti tasyopaniṣatsatyasya satyamiti prāṇā vai satyaṃ teṣāmeṣa satyam
  As a spider sends forth itself by its thread, and as tiny sparks spring forth from a fire, so indeed do all the vital functions, all the worlds, all the gods, and all beings spring from this Self. Its hidden name (upaniṣad) is 'The truth behind the truth', for the truth consists of the vital functions, and the self is the truth behind the vital functions.
- late 1st millennium BCE, Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad 1.6.9:
  कालकाञ्जा वा असुरा इष्टका अचिन्वत दिवमारोक्ष्यामा इति तानिन्द्रो ब्राह्मणो ब्रुवाण उपैत् स एतामिष्टकामप्युपाधत्त प्रथमा इव दिवमाक्रमन्त अथ स ताम् आबृहत् तेऽसुराः पापीयांसो भवन्तोऽपाभ्रंशन्त या उत्तमा आस्तां तौ यमश्वा अभवताम् येऽधरे त ऊर्णावाभयः
  kālakāñjā vā asurā iṣṭakā acinvata divamārokṣyāmā iti tānindro brāhmaṇo bruvāṇa upait sa etāmiṣṭakāmapyupādhatta prathamā iva divamākramanta atha sa tām ābṛhat teʼsurāḥ pāpīyāṃso bhavantoʼpābhraṃśanta yā uttamā āstāṃ tau yamaśvā abhavatām yeʼdhare ta ūrṇāvābhayaḥ
  The Asuras called Kālakāñja attempted to stack an altar up to the sky. Indra, passing himself off as a Brahmin, inserted one of his bricks into the altar. As soon as the Kālakāñja ascended, Indra removed the brick and they fell: the two who were at the top became Yama's dogs, the others who remained further down, they became spiders.

Declension

Masculine i-stem declension of ऊर्णवाभि (ūrṇavā́bhi)
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ऊर्णवाभिः ūrṇavā́bhiḥ	ऊर्णवाभी ūrṇavā́bhī	ऊर्णवाभयः ūrṇavā́bhayaḥ
Vocative	ऊर्णवाभे ū́rṇavābhe	ऊर्णवाभी ū́rṇavābhī	ऊर्णवाभयः ū́rṇavābhayaḥ
Accusative	ऊर्णवाभिम् ūrṇavā́bhim	ऊर्णवाभी ūrṇavā́bhī	ऊर्णवाभीन् ūrṇavā́bhīn
Instrumental	ऊर्णवाभिना / ऊर्णवाभ्या¹ ūrṇavā́bhinā / ūrṇavā́bhyā¹	ऊर्णवाभिभ्याम् ūrṇavā́bhibhyām	ऊर्णवाभिभिः ūrṇavā́bhibhiḥ
Dative	ऊर्णवाभये ūrṇavā́bhaye	ऊर्णवाभिभ्याम् ūrṇavā́bhibhyām	ऊर्णवाभिभ्यः ūrṇavā́bhibhyaḥ
Ablative	ऊर्णवाभेः / ऊर्णवाभ्यः¹ ūrṇavā́bheḥ / ūrṇavā́bhyaḥ¹	ऊर्णवाभिभ्याम् ūrṇavā́bhibhyām	ऊर्णवाभिभ्यः ūrṇavā́bhibhyaḥ
Genitive	ऊर्णवाभेः / ऊर्णवाभ्यः¹ ūrṇavā́bheḥ / ūrṇavā́bhyaḥ¹	ऊर्णवाभ्योः ūrṇavā́bhyoḥ	ऊर्णवाभीनाम् ūrṇavā́bhīnām
Locative	ऊर्णवाभौ / ऊर्णवाभा¹ ūrṇavā́bhau / ūrṇavā́bhā¹	ऊर्णवाभ्योः ūrṇavā́bhyoḥ	ऊर्णवाभिषु ūrṇavā́bhiṣu
Notes	¹Vedic

Derived terms

औ॒र्ण॒वा॒भ (aurṇavābhá, name of a demon)

References

Monier Williams (1899) “ऊर्णवाभि”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 221/3.