नारि

Sanskrit

Etymology

A rare, dialectal alternative form of नारी (nā́rī), attested in the Middle Vedic period. Similar alteration in vowel length is also observed in नप्ती (naptī́) ~ नप्ति (naptí) and रात्रि (rā́tri) ~ रात्री (rā́trī). The presence of such alteration in other languages (see नप्ति (napti)) suggests that this vowel shortening was not innovated by Sanskrit but rather inherited from Proto-Indo-Iranian and Proto-Indo-Europenan. This term goes back to Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hnā́riš, which was a dialectal variant of the more widely used *Hnā́riH. See नारी (nā́rī) for cognates.

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /nɑ́ː.ɾi/
• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈn̪ɑː.ɾi/

Noun

नारि • (nā́ri) stem, f

1. (Vedic) Alternative form of नारी (nārī); a woman
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.43.6:

     शं नः॑ कर॒त्यर्व॑ते सु॒गं मे॒षाय॑ मे॒ष्ये॑ ।
     नृभ्यो॒ नारि॑भ्यो॒ गवे॑ ॥

     śáṃ naḥ karatyárvate sugáṃ meṣā́ya meṣyé.
     nṛ́bhyo nā́ribhyo gáve.

     May he (Rudra) grant health to our steeds, wellbeing to our rams and ewes,
     To men, to women, and to the cows.

   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 10.86.11:

     इन्द्राणीमासु नारिषु सुभगामहमश्रवम् ।
     नह्यस्या अपरं चन जरसा मरते पतिर्विश्वस्मादिन्द्र उत्तरः ॥

     indrāṇīmāsu nāriṣu subhagāmahamaśravam.
     nahyasyā aparaṃ cana jarasā marate patirviśvasmādindra uttaraḥ.

     So I have heard Indrāṇī being called most fortunate among these women,
     For never shall her Consort die in future time through length of days. Supreme is Indra overall.

Declension

Feminine i-stem declension of नारि (nā́ri)
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	नारिः nā́riḥ	नारी nā́rī	नारयः nā́rayaḥ
Vocative	नारे nā́re	नारी nā́rī	नारयः nā́rayaḥ
Accusative	नारिम् nā́rim	नारी nā́rī	नारीः nā́rīḥ
Instrumental	नार्या / नारी¹ nā́ryā / nā́rī¹	नारिभ्याम् nā́ribhyām	नारिभिः nā́ribhiḥ
Dative	नारये / नार्यै² / नारी¹ nā́raye / nā́ryai² / nā́rī¹	नारिभ्याम् nā́ribhyām	नारिभ्यः nā́ribhyaḥ
Ablative	नारेः / नार्याः² / नार्यै³ nā́reḥ / nā́ryāḥ² / nā́ryai³	नारिभ्याम् nā́ribhyām	नारिभ्यः nā́ribhyaḥ
Genitive	नारेः / नार्याः² / नार्यै³ nā́reḥ / nā́ryāḥ² / nā́ryai³	नार्योः nā́ryoḥ	नारीणाम् nā́rīṇām
Locative	नारौ / नार्याम्² / नारा¹ nā́rau / nā́ryām² / nā́rā¹	नार्योः nā́ryoḥ	नारिषु nā́riṣu
Notes	¹Vedic ²Later Sanskrit ³Brāhmaṇas