Talk:哪吒

Would a Prakrit/Sanskrit/Pali form of naṭakuvera or naḍakuverā be more appropriate, considering 吒 (MC traeH) does not have an l-initial? @Aryamanarora, माधवपंडित Could you assist us in finding the relevant forms in Prakrit, Pali and Sanskrit? Thanks in advance! Wyang (talk) 09:17, 16 October 2017 (UTC)

@Wyang: Pali naṭakuvera is most likely the source, given the Buddhists transmitted the story to China in the Jātaka. The Sanskrit could be a hypercorrection of the Pali/Prakrit forms; I can find Sanskrit नडकूबर (naḍakūbara) and नलकूबर (nalakūbara) in Monier-Williams, which can't be the source of the Pali word. No luck with the Prakrits yet, but I would imagine something like naḍakuvera. —Aryaman ^{(मुझसे बात करो)} 13:54, 16 October 2017 (UTC)

@Wyang: Is 那羅鳩婆羅 / 那罗鸠婆罗 (Nàluójiūpóluó) a variant of this name? It would point to नलकूबर (nalakūbara)/नलकूवल (nalakūvala). The Pali word is Naṭakuvera which is used in the Jataka story. -- mādhavpaṇḍit (talk) 15:56, 16 October 2017 (UTC)

@Aryamanarora, माधवपंडित Thanks both! I agree naṭakuvera or some similar retroflex variant is likely the source. I have modified and expanded the etymology. Btw, we are missing a lot of Sanskrit entries it appears... what does nala in the name mean? (Sorry if I asked the million-dollar question, lol.) Wyang (talk) 08:06, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

@Wyang: No problem! In Sanskrit नल (nala) and नड (naḍa) are variants of each other, chiefly meaning "reed". I have no idea what this has to do with the name but interestingly, the character Nalakubera in the mythology is famed for having been cursed into being turned into a tree (along with his brother Manigriva). -- mādhavpaṇḍit (talk) 08:37, 17 October 2017 (UTC)