This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: Krishna as a female name in Chile
in reply to a message by Rene
Off topic, I would like to mention: in India, Krishna is both a male *and a female* name. The female name ends in a long open -A (as in the vowel in English car), whereas the male name ends in either an indistinct version of the same sound, a schwa (the a- sound in English about) or an o sound ... either the vowel of cot or that in know, depending on the language. The original Sanskrit had a vowel R (a short version of the sound you would write as in krrrrrng), which today becomes ri or ru i various languages, and the S and N were retroflex which often merges into the palatal sh/dental s and dental n in many modern languages. In Eastern India, the male name had also changed the S to an h, and finally gave rise to the form kA(N/n)hA by the common metathesis of hN to Nh.Both the male and female versions arise from the same root: kRSNa means black or dark blue, and the -A is a feminine suffix. The male name (which also is the name of various animals, metals etc. like the Indian antelope) is very old: it appears as the author of a bit of the Rgveda, and is, as you point out, also the name of a famous promiscuous prankster cowherd who was worshipped as a manifestation of the protector viSNu (worker). Many other mythological and historical figures (some good, some bad) had this name.Similarly the female name (which also names various animals, plants etc.) appears already in the mahAbhArata, as the name of the famous draupadI, for example; but also as a name of the goddess durga, etc.The female name is common in Bengal even today.
vote up1vote down

Replies

"the name of a famous promiscuous prankster cowherd"I loved that.
vote up1vote down