वृक

Alternative forms

• बृक (bŕk)

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit वृक (vṛka).

Noun

वृक • (vŕk) m

1. a wolf

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-Aryan *wŕ̥kas, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wŕ̥kas (“wolf”), from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos (“wolf”). Cognate with Avestan 𐬬𐬆𐬵𐬭𐬐𐬀‎ (vəhrka), Old Persian 𐎺𐎼𐎣 (varka) (whence Persian گرگ‎ (gorg)), Latin lupus, Ancient Greek λύκος (lúkos), Lithuanian vilkas, Old Church Slavonic влькъ (vlĭkŭ). Native grammarians etymologize it as "the tearer" and connect it to root √vrasc, compare वृक्ण (vṛkṇa).

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /ʋŕ̩.kɐ/
• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈʋr̩.kɐ/

Noun

वृक • (vṛ́ka) m

1. a wolf
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.183.4

     मा वां वृको मा वृकीरा दधर्षीन्मा परि वर्क्तमुत माति धक्तम्।
     अयं वां भागो निहित इयं गीर्दस्राविमे वां निधयो मधूनाम्॥

     mā vāṃ vṛko mā vṛkīrā dadharṣīnmā pari varktamuta māti dhaktam.
     ayaṃ vāṃ bhāgo nihita iyaṃ gīrdasrāvime vāṃ nidhayo madhūnām.

     Let not the wolf, let not the she-wolf harm you.
     Forsake me not, nor pass me by or others.

   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.183.4

     यो नः पूषन्नघो वृको दुःशेव आदिदेशति।
     अप स्म तं पथो जहि॥

     yo naḥ pūṣannagho vṛko duḥśeva ādideśati.
     apa sma taṃ patho jahi.

     Drive, Pūṣan, from our road the wolf, the wicked inauspicious wolf,
     Who lies in wait to injure us.

2. dog; jackal
3. crow; owl
4. thief; kshatriya
5. plough
6. thunderbolt
7. moon; sun
8. (botany) a kind of plant (= बक (baka))
9. the resin of Pinus longifolia, now Pinus palustris

Proper noun

वृक • (Vṛ́ka) m

1. name of an Asura
2. name of a son of Krishna
3. name of a king
4. name of a son of Ruruka (or Bharuka)
5. name Prithu
6. name of a son of Shura
7. name of a son of Vatsaka
8. (in the plural) name of a people and a country (belonging to मध्यदेश (madhya-deśa)) (compare वार्केण्य (vārkeṇya))

References

• “वृक” in Carl Cappeller, A Sanskrit–English Dictionary: Based upon the St. Petersburg Lexicons, Strasbourg: Karl J. Trübner, 1891, OCLC 186102264, page 516.
• Sir Monier Monier-Williams (1898) A Sanskrit-English dictionary etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to cognate Indo-European languages, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 1008
• Arthur A. Macdonell, A practical Sanskrit dictionary with transliteration, accentuation, and etymological analysis throughout, London: Oxford University Press, 1893, page 294
• Horace Hayman Wilson, A dictionary in Sanscrit and English, 2nd ed., Calcutta: Education Press, Circular Road, 1832, page 700