DADHĀMI AND DADĀMI ARE NOT THE SAME

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DADHĀMI AND DADĀMI ARE NOT THE SAME

This will be a short post dealing with the meaning of the two words Dadhāmi and Dadāmi which are interchanged by many people who speak Samskrita and also those who translate the texts. Both of these words have a huge difference in their meaning. Let us look at one or both of them by taking an example from the Vēdic verses.

DADHĀMI (दधामि):

The word Dadhāmi is derived from the root word Dhā (धा), which has the meaning of Dhārana (to hold), to support or also Pōṣaṇa (nourish). It does not have the meaning of giving or offering which people normally think about. The Vēdic text also uses Dadhāmi for nourishment. This Dhātu belongs to the Juhōtyādi Gaṇa.

Let us look at a famous line to understand this:

नम॒स्ते नो॑ मृडयन्तु॒ ते यं द्वि॒ष्मो यश्च॑ नो॒ द्वेष्टि॒ तं-वोँ॒ जम्भे॑ दधामि ॥ (KYV TS 4.5.11)

I deliver those of my enemies and those who consider me as my enemy for their nourishment, into their (Bahurudras) wide-open mouths.

The normal English translation misses out on the important part of nourishment. We ask for the betterment of our enemies so that they can be in harmony with us. The normal translations make it sound like we are just asking for our enemies to go away, but one who knows the language can understand the beauty of the verse.

The word Dadhāmi changes the meaning of the verse drastically and shows how even the Vēdas themselves want the betterment of all beings even the enemies.

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DADĀMI (ददामि):

This is derived from the root word Dā (दा) which means to give. This also belongs to the Juhōtyādi Gaṇa. Whenever Dadāmi is used it is used only for asking something or requesting something, it has no meaning of nourishment. That is why even in the Vēdas this term is used to ask something from the Dēvas.

An example is given below:

सोमो॒ राजा॒ राज॑पतिः । रा॒ज्यम॒स्मिन्, य॒ज्ञेयज॑मानाय ददातु॒ स्वाहा᳚ ।

Sōma is the King and is the Lord of all the Kings. May the Yajamāna gain the nation from this Yajña.

Here we are only asking for a kingdom and hence the word Dadāmi is used. Here the word Dadātu is in Lōṭ Lakāra (request), whereas as Dadāmi is in Laṭ Lakāra (present).