Nomenclature, Orthography and Etymology
Many Hindu temples are known by different names around the world, depending upon the language.
The word mandir or mandiram is used in many languages and is derived from a Sanskrit word, mandira, for house (of a deity by implication).
Temples are known as :
- Mandir (मंदिर) in Marathi and Hindi
- Gudi(గుడి), Devalayam(దేవాలయం), Devasthanam(దేవస్థానము), Kshetralayam(క్షేత్రాలయం), Punyakshetram(పుణ్యక్షేత్రం), or Punyakshetralayam(పున్యక్షేత్రాలయం) in Telugu
- Deula (ଦେଉଳ)/Mandira(ମଦିର) in Oriya
- Devasthana (ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ) in Kannada
- Mondir (মন্দির) in Bengali
- Kshetram (ക്ഷേത്രം) or Ambalam (അമ്പലം) in Malayalam
- Koil, or kō-ail (கோயில்) and occasionally (especially in modern formal speech) Aalayam (ஆலயம்) in Tamil. The etymology is from kō (கோ) or lord, and il (இல்) home. (Besides meaning a deity's home, this term could also mean a king's home, since the term kō (கோ) is used interchangeably for royalty and divinity.)
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“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
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