Samaas or Samas (समासम्)
English to Sanskrit similarity goes too well when one moves in the deeper realms of both the languages. Previously, we have talked about number of Sanskrit symbols and Sanskrit words that are similar or somewhat similar in English language too, and in this article we will talk about similarity of conjunct words used in both the languages.
In English
Whenever, there is a need to make a conjunct word expression some action or moment, English allows us to combine two words and make them mean as one word.
For example, time-tested. This word is a combination of two words “time” and “tested”. The meaning the conjunct words conveys is that something is tested for its reliability over some time. Overall, the meaning conveys that object is reliable.
Similarly, a lot of words are made in English language.
In Sanskrit
In Sanskrit, there are two versions of making a conjunct word. One is called “Sandhi–सन्धी” while the other one is called “Samaas–समास”. In Sandhi, two words are joined and a particular set of rules in followed for various types of words. More often than not, a lot of vowels are merged in the previous word from the following word.
However, in Samaas, English-like rules are used. No vowel is merged. It is simply a combination of two individual Sanskrit words.
Examples would be: Chandra-mukh or Kamal-Nayan (चन्द्र-मुख, कमल-नयन). In both the words, the individual words retain their meaning and are clearly depicting the meaning that they contain.
