Know the Etymology: 177
Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 10 January 2018

Kōvila-muduna, Gala-muduna, Mudun-goḍa

கோவிலமுது₃ன, க₃லமுது₃ன, முது₃ன்கொ₃ட₃
Kōvila-muduna, Gala-muduna, Mudun-goḍa

Kōvila+muduna
Gala+muduna
Muduna+goḍa

The summit having a temple

The hill summit or the rocky summit

The hilltop village

Mudun	(plural), Muduna: (singular) the head, top, summit, peak; "Mastakaya, Keḷavara, Isa" (Sinhala, Clough, Sorata); senior, foremost, "Śrēṣṭa"; the leading ox in threshing paddy; "Goyam maḍina harakungen paḷamuva yanna" (Sinhala, Sorata); Mudun-karaṇavā: to heap up (Sinhala, Clough); Mudun-miṇa: gem on the top of a crown (Sinhala, Clough App.); Mudun-vahala: upper roof (Sinhala, Clough); Mudun-pat: arrived at the head, i.e., attained the highest branches of learning, obtained the highest place in office etc. (Sinhala, Clough); Etymology: Mundun: = Mudun (Sinhala, Sorata, inscriptions, EZ, I, 32, 219); Muntu: (verb) to come in front, be prior in time of place, take precedence, take the lead, be first, surpass (Tamil, DED 5020a); Mutal: first in rank or place (Tamil DED 4950); head, top, summit (Tamil, Caṅkam usage, Akanāṉuṟu, 108: 3); Muna: end, top, extremity, tip, point (Sinhala, Clough); Muṉai: front, face, eminence, point, sharpened end, edge, cape, headland (Tamil, DED 5020a); Muṉ: in front, eminence, sign of the locative (Tamil, DED 5020). See columns 125 and 165.
Kōvila	also Kōvil: Brahmanical temple, "Dēvālayaya" (Sinhala, Clough, Sorata); Kōyil, Kōvil: temple (Tamil, DED 2177). See column 72
Gala	stone, rock, hill (Sinhala, see column 46).
Goḍa	bank, hill, village (Sinhala, see column 160).

Muduna in Sinhala place names means a hilltop, summit or peak. In non-toponymic contexts the word also means a top or senior-most position.

Sorata equates Muduna with another Sinhala word Munduna. The etymology corresponds to the Dravidian root Muṉ and to the nouns Muṉai in Tamil and Muna in Sinhala. Muntu is the verb found in Tamil and in one of its shades of meaning in Caṅkam Tamil usage, the derivative noun Mutal was found used to mean head, top or summit.

In Eezham Tamil and Sinhala place names, Muntal/ Mundal meaning a horizontally foremost position (column 125); Muṉai/ Muṉa meaning both horizontal and vertical foremost positions (column 165), and Mutali/ Mudali meaning a foremost position in status (columns 173 and 246) are etymologically related to Muduna/ Munduna meaning a vertical foremost position.

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Mutal meaning top/ hilltop:

"முத்தம் வரை முதல் சிதறியவை போல்" (அகநானூறு, 108: 3)

"Muttam varai mutal citaṟiyavai pōl" (Akanāṉūṟu, 108: 3)

Just like pearls that have scattered on a hilltop [the comparison was made on the fall of hailstones on the head of an elephant]

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Kōvila-muduna is a place in Pujapitiya division of Kandy district.

Gala-muduna is in Minipe division of Kandy district.

Mudun-goḍa is found as a place name in Gampaha division of Gampaha district and in Thambuttegama division of Anuradhapura district.

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Some related place names:

Muduna:

Muduna: Bulathsinhala, Kalutara

Mudunna: Weerambugedara, Kurunegala

Kuru-aṁbē-muduna: Kundasale, Kandy

Muduna-piṭa: Hanguranketha, Nuwara Eliya

Mudun-gama: Dimbulagala, Polonnaruwa

Koṭa-muduna: Badalkumbura, Moneragala. Koṭa: small

Mudun-koṭuva: Kiriella, Ratnapura

Mudun-kaḍavala: Dehiattkandiya, Ampara

Kaḍa-muduna: a summit of 2100 feet near Ūrubokka, Pasgoḍa, Matara (Morawaka OIS)

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Revised: Wednesday, 10 January 2018, 18:30

First published: Tuesday, 04 January 2011, 22:00