आर्द्रिका - ArdrikA - ginger

We all love a 'kadak adarak-wali chai' - strong ginger tea (with milk, black tea leaves and sugar - of course)

Wah Taj! 
Raindrops dancing on my balcony railing ...
... while I don't have to drive :)

and all that come rushing to the mind.

But what is up with the word 'adarak'? Where did that come from?

I always wondered these things way back in middle school - where do words come from? How did potato come to India? Where did ginger come from? Imported? Do we know if we had potato sabji 3000 years ago? Or ginger cold remedy back in 2000 BCE? And if not imported, what were they called earlier? And how did the new names come up?

Seems that ginger has been around for a while.
It was called aardrika/ArdrikA (आर्द्रिका).
Comes from the base word - aardra = आर्द्र = moist

Now, if you are an old timer, and have seen raw ginger or turmeric (or if you grab the fresh ginger at the vegetable vendor) , you will know that the ginger roots are moist when fresh. So, is turmeric. And then you dry them. Chop them in small pieces or grind them to powder, and use liberally to strengthen your immunity and bones.

So what is turmeric called?

adarak is also called - आर्द्रकम् (aardrakam)

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(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।

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Ginger merchant and ship - किमार्द्रकवणिजः

किमार्द्रक-वणिजो वहित्र-चिन्तया
kimArdraka-vaNijo vahitra-chintayA
kimārdraka-vaṇijo vahitra-cintayā

What [would] a ginger merchant [have to do] with worry about ships?

This nyAyaH (न्यायः) is used to denote totally unrelated subjects. e.g. Why would a merchant who sells ginger, worry about ships?

Interestingly, the present word for ginger in Hindi is adaraka/adarakha (अदरक/अदरख), a direct descendant from the Sanskrit Ardraka. This is the fresh ginger root, which is moist. The word Ardra (आर्द्र) means moist, wet.

Other interesting words for ginger are :

• Ardra-ja = आर्द्रज = Ardra+ja = born (-ja) in moist[ure] (Ardra)
• uShaNA = उषणा = heat (uShNa) producing
• kaTu-kanda =कटु-कन्द = sharp tasting (kaTu) stem  (kanda)
• kaphAri = कफारि = kapha+ari = enemy (-ari) of kapha (phlegm)
• indra-bheShaja = इन्द्र-भेषज = medicine (bheShaja) of the gods (indra the king of gods)

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and now the language aspects of the shloka -

kim = how
Ardraka-vaNijo = Ardraka + vaNijaH
Ardraka = ginger
vaNika = merchant
vANijya = commerce

vahitra-chintayA = by/with ship-worry
vahitra = ship, one that carries
chintayA = by/with worry (chintA)

so the intent is, what does a ginger merchant [have to do] with ship-worry?




(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।

https://PracticalSanskrit.com/

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