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244
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[August, 1908.
was also his grandfather's name. The son of had no hand in the naining. When the child Gangadharrio Madhavrio Chitnavie, C.I.E., was born, he was in England on duty, and was a member of the Viceroy's Council, is named not so close student of custom as he is now, Madhavrko, after his grandfather and so is and bad his child named Rama. It so happened Gangadharrao bimself.
that the wife of one of his uncles had just lost The Guptês of Salsette, to which the present
a good-looking boy of that name, and her super
stitious feelings were grievously hurt. And then writer belongs, have adopted the custom for a long wbile. His name of Bålkrishna was decided on
within a year another of her sons, a promising for the following reasons. When he was born graduate, died leaving a child-widow behind. his grandfather was alive, and so he was named
The loss of her son and the presence of the poor after his great-grandfather, whose uncle was also young widow roused her to such an extent
that she sent us word:-"Go and tell BAlkrishna named Balkfishna after the same personage, who was, of course, the uncle's grandfather. The
that my son is here laid, and that there is another writer's paternal grandfather was named Janár- Vacancy in the names for him to appropriate for dan after his deceased grandfather, and this name
his song." This was a veritable bomb thrown is now that of the writer's uncle's grandson.
into the family-circle and all the gotrajás The eighth ancestor, who was the founder of
(cognates ) were aghast, strongly believing
that the name unfortunately given to our son the family in the Deccan, the Karkhånis at
was the cause of all the trouble. One result was Raigadh under Sivajt of historical fame, was
that the writer's next son should have been, in named Ramaji”, and among the writer's cognate
the ordinary course, named Lakshman, but that there have been Råmas, Rámájis, and Råmchan
was the name of the deceased graduate. He had dras ever since. The father of Rao Bahadur
by that time learnt his experience and searched Appájt Ramchandra Gupte, formerly Accountant
about for a safe name and found it in RaghuGeneral of Baroda and the right-hand man of Sir
nåth. Theodore Hope, the author of the Bombay
1 This personal experience is related to place the Account Code, was an example in the last genera
existence of the feeling and custom beyond all tion. So, again, the writer's uncle is named
doubt, but here is another instance in the family Jayaram and bis son Rama ( R&mchandra).
to show how the stigma of a wrongly-bestowed The idea is that a boy named after an eminent name sticks. In 1861 Dadob died in England, ancestor will take after him, and if, at birth,
and of him the relatives were particularly proud. a boy cries a great deal, the belief is still current
A cousin numed his grandson after bim, and the that an ancestor who left some desires unfulfilled
ill-feeling aroused thereby is quite lively to the has been born again in him and demande
present day. The generation that caused the a repetition of his name. He is solemnly promised
trouble bas passed away, but a few years ago the that the demand shall be granted. On the 12th
present writer observed the cynical smile that day after birth, the namakaran ceremony takes
passed over the face of a direct descendant of place and the babe is addressed thus: “We
Dadob on hearing a boy shouting for another acoept you as so and so and thus give you your 80 named and belonging to the branch, which he name. May you shine and prosper as you considered had usurped the name. did in your former birth, and may your desires A son of the Dadoba, who had been given the be fulfilled."
usurped name, should, in the ordinary course, All this is done in the belief that the soul will have named his own son Dadoba, but he was wise have no salvation until the unfulfiled desire bas in his generation and called him Sankar, # title been satisfied and must be reincarnated until that of Sadasiva. The ceremonial name of the child consummation is reached. But there is another was, of course, DAdobí, but the additional and aspect of this belief, as there is a fixed idea that invariably used name Sankar was supposed to naming a child after a living representative of countract its evil effect, owing to the attributes the name in the family shortens the life of the of the deity after whom it was given. person whose name has been taken. If also there In yet another instance bad blood was avoided. is any emulation or jealousy between branches An uncle had named his child Madhav while of a family it is held to be an affront, amounting at a distance from the family home, but to an insult, to name a child after « cousin just a brother also bad that name, and as soon as the dead. The present writer, about twenty years ago, mother of the newly-named Madhav heard of it, unwittingly got into a serious family scrape over she changed the name of her babe to Mahader the name Rame, which he gave to his son, and in and there was family peace. this trouble his wife was involved, though she
B. A. GUPTE. No claim in made to a descent from the ancient Guptas. * 4 represents jaya, sucoess, and is an ati of respect
