ADIYEN - WORD ETYMOLOGY

 what does 'adiyEn' mean?

By Guest guest,  in The Sri Vaishnava Forum

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Posted 

[ A readers asked privately what the word 'adiyEn' means.

I thought this may be of general interest, so I am

posting my reply to the list as a whole. ]

 

'adiyEn' is Tamil for 'Your servant'. It has been used for

years in Tamil as a humble way of saying 'I', since the

usage of 'I' presumably signifies the ego. It was commonly

used by servants in old Tamil society when they needed to

refer to themselves in front of a king. The Alvars drew

from this model and often referred to themselves as 'adiyEn'

when speaking to God.

 

Even today Sri Vaishnavas say 'adiyEn' when speaking to

respected elders and swamis. However, we should be careful

not to overuse this expression. As Sri Anbil Ramaswamy

wrote over a year ago, "an indiscriminate use of expressions

such as 'Adiyen' and 'Dasan' without understanding their

meaning and purport also tend to make them look artificial."

 

Or, as another member privately expressed, sometimes it

seems that people say 'adiyEn' (Your servant) so vociferously

that it actually seems like they mean 'adippEn' (I will hit you). :-)

 

Mani

 

-----

> Hi

> I am sorry But I have to ask a really basic question:

>

> What is Adiyen? Why do people use it in place of "I" (at least it looks as

> though that is how it is used).

>

> Thanks in advance !!

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