Etymology of P. V. Narasimha Rao

© Abhishek Avtans

P.V. Narasimha Rao (1921 – 2004), often hailed as the “Father of Indian Economic Reforms,” served as the 9th Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996. His tenure marked a pivotal moment in Indian history, characterized by sweeping economic liberalization policies that transformed the country’s economy and set the stage for its emergence as a global player. He implemented consequential economic reforms, dismantling the License Raj and opening up the Indian economy to globalization. Rao’s leadership laid the foundation for India’s rapid economic growth in the following decades.

P.V. Narasimha Rao was born in a Telugu speaking family in the village of Laknepalli of present-day Telangana (then part of Hyderabad state), India.

P.V. Narasimha Rao’s  full name was Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao పాములపర్తి వెంకట నరసింహారావు पामुलपर्ति वॆंकट नरसिंहारावु. Here is the etymology of his name – 

Pamulaparthi

The naming conventions in Telugu speaking regions in India, dictate that the first element of a personal name is often a family name which could be the word indicating ancestral place name, village or town name. In this case Pamulaparthi పాములపర్తి पामुलपर्ति indicates the ancestral place name of P.V. Narasimha Rao’s family. Pamulaparthi పాములపర్తి पामुलपर्ति means ‘of the swampy land with snakes’. It is the genitive form of pāmula parru “marshy land with snakes’. In Telugu language, pāmulu పాములు पामुलु means snakes, which is the plural of pāmu పాము पामु. Parthi పర్తి पर्ति is the genitive form of Telugu place name suffix parru పఱ్ఱు  which is connected to Telugu పఱ్ఱ parra पऱ्ऱ ‘swamp, marsh, bog, or fen’. This place name suffix -parru is one of the most frequently used place name suffixes for Telugu village names. pāmu and parru both are of Dravidian origin.

Venkata

The second element in the name of P.V. Narasimha Rao, Venkata is a given name. This word వెంకట veṅkaṭa वेङ्कट is the name of a hill among Seshachalam Hills, located in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is appended to many Hindu male names in South India, as a short form of Sanskrit वेंकटेश्वर Veṅkaṭeśvara वेङ्कटेश्वर or Veṅkaṭeśa వేంకటేశ वेङ्कटेश ‘Lord of the Veṅkaṭa Hills’. Veṅkaṭeśvara is one of the many names of Lord Vishnu, who is the presiding deity of Tirupati Balaji temple at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Narasimha

Narasiṃha నరసింహా नरसिंह  is the second given name of the former prime minister of India. It is a Sanskrit origin word formed of two words nara नर (man) plus siṃha सिंह (lion) together meaning ‘man-lion’, which is an epithet of Lord Vishnu in his fourth incarnation. He is revered for his role in protecting his devotee Prahlada and restoring cosmic balance by slaying the demon Hiranyakashipu.

Narasiṃha is a hugely popular deity in Andhra Pradesh, and the state has various Narasiṃha temples spread across its length.

Rao

Rao (in Telugu rāvu రావు रावु) is the last name of P. V.  Narasimha Rao. Usually the last names in Telugu names are a marker of caste or ethnic community, but in this case Rao is a popular last name used across caste or community lines. It is derived from the Sanskrit word  राजन् rājan (king, ruler).

References

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Apte, Vaman Shivaram. Revised and enlarged edition of Prin. V. S. Apte’s The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary. Poona: Prasad Prakashan, 1957-1959

Krishnamurti B. & Gwynn J. P. L. (1985). A grammar of modern telugu. Oxford University Press.

Narayana Rao V. (2003). Hibiscus on the lake : twentieth-century telugu poetry from india. University of Wisconsin Press.

Lavanya Vemsani (2009) Narasiṃha, the Supreme Deity of Andhra Pradesh: Tradition and Innovation in Hinduism—An Examination of the Temple Myths, Folk Stories, and Popular Culture, Journal of Contemporary Religion, 24:1, 35-52, DOI: 10.1080/13537900802630489

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