Yagesvara
Summary
This philological essay investigates the obscure Sanskrit word yāgeśvara, which appears in a passage of the Pañcatantra and elsewhere. The author cites a story in which a brahmin asks a companion to guard his wallet and yāgeśvara while he bathes. Previous scholars had translated the term as ‘lord of sacrifice’ or even ‘money’, but the article argues that such renderings ignore the context. By comparing variants across manuscripts and examining Mallinatha’s commentary on the Naṭeśvara’s poem, the author concludes that yāgeśvara refers to a sphatika‑liṅga (a crystal emblem of Śiva) or some other sacred object carried by the traveller. The article then surveys other occurrences of the term in Sanskrit literature and lexicons to show that it often designates a lingam made of rock crystal. The author emphasises the importance of linguistic nuance and context in interpreting rare words and cautions against hasty etymologies.
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Conclusion
The conclusion is that yāgeśvara in the Pañcatantra passage cannot mean ‘money’ but denotes a sacred object, most likely a crystal Śiva‑linga. This reinterpretation underscores the need for careful philological analysis when dealing with unusual terms in classical texts.