Sanskrit Family Members — Vocabulary
परिवार — शब्दावली
Family Relations in Sanskrit · NCERT Class 6
Key Points to Remember
- ▸Mātā (mother) and pitā (father) → English "mother" and "father" (PIE cognates)
- ▸Bhrātā (brother) → English "brother," Latin "frater," Greek "phratēr" — all from PIE *bhrāter
- ▸Sanskrit has separate words for maternal vs paternal grandparents (4 words)
- ▸"Mātṛdevo bhava, Pitṛdevo bhava" = let your mother and father be your gods (Taittirīya Up.)
Vocabulary List
Sanskrit has highly specific words for every family relationship — even ones English lacks. The family vocabulary appears in NCERT Ruchira Chapter 4 and in the famous command "Mātṛdevo bhava, Pitṛdevo bhava" (Taittirīya Upanishad).
| Sanskrit | Transliteration | Meaning | Root / Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| माता | mātā (f.) | mother | mā (to measure/create) — "she who creates" |
| पिता | pitā (m.) | father | pā (to protect) — "he who protects" |
| पुत्र | putra (m.) | son | from putra = one who saves from the hell "put" |
| पुत्री / दुहितृ | putrī / duhitṛ (f.) | daughter | duhitṛ: duh (to milk) + itṛ — the daughter who milks the cow |
| भ्राता | bhrātā (m.) | brother | cognate with English "brother," Latin frater |
| भगिनी | bhaginī (f.) | sister | bhaga (fortune/share) — she who shares the family fortune |
| पितामह | pitāmaha (m.) | paternal grandfather | pitā (father) + maha (great) = great father |
| पितामही | pitāmahī (f.) | paternal grandmother | pitā + mahī (great, fem.) |
| मातामह | mātāmaha (m.) | maternal grandfather | mātā (mother) + maha = mother's great one |
| पुत्रः / पौत्र | pautra (m.) | grandson | putra's putra = son's son |
| पत्नी | patnī (f.) | wife | pati (lord/master) + nī (feminine suffix) |
| पति | pati (m.) | husband, lord | √pā (to protect) + ti — protector; same root as "despot" (Greek despotēs) |
| पुत्रवधू | putravadhu (f.) | daughter-in-law | putra (son) + vadhū (bride/woman) |
| जामाता | jāmātā (m.) | son-in-law | jāmā = bride's husband |
Exercises (2)
Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks
Complete the family sentence
1. "My mother's father" = मातामह | "My father's father" = _______
Show answer
पितामह (pitāmaha)
2. "My father's mother" = _______
Show answer
पितामही (pitāmahī)
3. Sanskrit for "brother" (and its English cognate):
Show answer
भ्राता (bhrātā) — cognate with English "brother" (both from PIE *bhrāter)
Exercise 2: Short Answer
Explore the root meanings
1. Why does Sanskrit differentiate "pitāmaha" from "mātāmaha"? What does this tell us about the language?
Show answer
Sanskrit distinguishes maternal vs paternal grandparents (4 separate words) — reflects the joint family system where lineages (maternal/paternal) were carefully tracked
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