Know the Etymology: 231
Place Name of the Day: Tuesday, 20 November 2012

Naarang-goda-paa’luwa

நாரங்கொ₃ட₃ பாளுவ
Nāraṅgoḍa Pāḷuva

Naraang+goda+paa’luwa

The wasteland or desolate land of Naarang-goda

Paa’luwa	Waste, desolation, devastation (Sinhala); Paa’lu: Unoccupied, uncultivated, waste, devastated, destroyed, desolate (Sinhala); Paa’lu-idama: Vacant or waste spot (Sinhala); Paazh: (verb) to go to ruin, be laid waste, become useless, be accursed (as a place or house); (noun) Desolation, ruin, damage, loss, corruption, baseness, evil, emptiness, barrenness, barren or waste land (Tamil, DED 4110); An empty place, void, desolation, waste, vain, useless (Malayalam, DED 4110); Ruin, desolation, a waste (Kannada, DED 4110); Paa’lu, Haa’lu: Ruin, destruction, desolation, desolate, waste, ruined, destroyed (Tulu, DED 4110). Cognates are found in 12 Dravidian languages
Naarang	Mandarin orange, Citrus nobilis (Sinhala); Naaram, Narantham, Naarangkam, Naa’raththai: Orange (Tamil, DED 3653); Naaraththang-kaay: Bitter orange (Eezham Tamil); Naaram: Lemon plant (Malayalam/ Tiyya, DED 3653); Naarang-gaayi, Naarenggi: A kind of orange (Tulu, DED 3653); Naarangga: Orange (Sanskrit, CDIAL, 7073). Also see column on Naaranthanai.
Goda	Hill, hillock (in place names), heap, mass, land (as of a bank or shore), village, hamlet (Sinhala); Godælla: Hill, mound, rising ground (Sinhala); Koadu: Summit of a hill, peak, mountain (Tamil, DED 2049); Bank of stream or pool (Tamil, DED 2200); A place name suffix for mountains and hills (Tamil, Malayalam), Gudda, Guddu: Hill, mountain (Kannada, DED 1682); Gutta, Gutte: Hillock (Kannada DED 1642); Gudde: Heap, pile (Kannada, DED1682); Hill (Tulu, DED 1642); Heap (Kodagu, DED 1642); Gude: Hill (Konda, DED1682); Gutta: Hill, hillock, mountain, heap (Telugu, DED 1682); Guddamu, Guddaamu: A plot of land, field (Telugu, DED 1682); Gudde, Guddi: Field on mountain slopes (Telugu, DED 1682); Guti: Bank of river; Gudia, Gudiya, Gudeeka: Dry land, dry land for cultivation (Some other Dravidian languages, DED 1682). See columns on Veyangoda, Para-goda

Naarang-goda means the hill, hillock, high ground or bank found with orange trees.

Naaraang-goda-paa’lwa means the wasteland or desolate land, adjacent or belonging to Naarang-goda village. The wasteland must have become a village of its own later.

Paa’lwa and Paa’lu in the context of Sinhala place names mean a land that is waste, desolate, devastated, destroyed, unoccupied or uncultivated.

The Sinhala words correspond to the Tamil Word Paazh, of Dravidian etymology, meaning the same in the context of a landscape. Cognates of the words are found in 12 Dravidian languages (DED 4110). One of them found in Tulu is identical to the Sinhala word. (See table)

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Usage examples for the Tamil word Paazh in Changkam literature and in inscriptions:

“Kudi pathip peyarntha chuddudai muthu paazh,” (Akanaanoo’ru 77:6)

“குடி பதிப் பெயர்ந்த சுட்டுடை முது பாழ்,” (அகநானூறு 77:6)

The old devastated land pointed out as an example for a place evacuated by people



“Paazh naaddu aththam” (Natti’nai 126:6)

“பாழ் நாட்டு அத்தம்” (நற்றிணை 126:6)

The arid tract of barren places



“Ka’larum kan’rum meay paazhum,” (Transactions of the Archaeological Society of South India (TASSI) 1958-59 pp41-83)

“களரும் கன்றும் மேய் பாழும்,” (Transactions of the Archaeological Society of South India (TASSI) 1958-59 pp41-83)

The alkaline land, belittled land and the wasteland for grazing

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Naarang in Sinhala means Mandarin Orange, fruit as well as tree.

The cognates in Tamil, taken as words of Dravidian origin by DED, are Naaram, Narantham, Naarangkam and Naaraththai. Early usage examples are found in the Changkam literature.

The words are not in much use in modern Tamil, except for the word Naaraththai that invariably means today bitter orange widely used in the preparation of pickles.

Early usage examples in Tamil:

“Narantham na’rum poo naa’l malar uthira” (Akanaanoo’ru 141:26)

“நரந்தம் நறும் பூ நாள் மலர் உதிர” (அகநானூறு 141:26)

The day’s (fresh) fragrant flowers of Narantham tree drop (due to a monkey leaping on the tree)



“Naaram narantham naarangkam naaraththai” (Pingkala Nika’ndu 9:35)

“நாரம் நரந்தம் நாரங்கம் நாரத்தை” (பிங்கல நிகண்டு 9:35)

Naaram, Narantham, Naarangkam mean Naaraththai

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The popular place name component Goda in Sinhala means a heap, mass and land at the edge of a water body. In place names it also stands for a hill or hillock. It means a village or hamlet in instances of their association with a high ground landscape. Another related word in Sinhala, Godælla, means a hill, mound or a rising ground.

The corresponding word in Tamil, Koadu, has nearly 35 shades of meanings in its literary usages (Glossary of Historical Tamil Literature, Vol II). They as well include all the shades of meanings that come for Goda and Godælla in Sinhala. The Tamil word Koadu in the said shades of meanings is listed as a word of Dravidian etymology. They come under two word morphemes listed in the Dravidian etymological Dictionary (DED 2049 and 2200). See table for related cognates in the other Dravidian languages.

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Examples from Changkam Tamil literature for usages of Koadu in meanings corresponding to Goda and Godælla in Sinhala:

Koadu as a heap:

“Adumpu ivar ma’nat koadu oora nedum panai ku’riya aakum” (ku’runthokai 248:5)

“அடும்பு இவர் மணற் கோடு ஊர நெடும் பனை குறிய ஆகும்” (குறுந்தொகை 248:5)

The tall palmyra palms (in the seashore) would become shortened by the move of the Adampan creeper grown sand dunes (as the shifting dunes cover the stems of the trees)



Koadu as a peak of a hill:

“Koadu uyar pi’rangkal malai” (Ku’runthokai 253:7)

“கோடு உயர் பிறங்கல் மலை” (குறுந்தொகை 253:7)

The hill seen with the rising peak



Koadu as a hill:

“Mazhai thavazhum thuyal kazhai nedung koaddu” (Chi’rupaa’naattuppadai 265-66)

“மழை தவழும் துயல் கழை நெடுங் கோட்டு” (சிறுபாணாற்றுப்படை 265-66)



Koadu as an ascending ground:

“Ma’nat koadu ea’ri” (Natti’nai 163:5)

“மணற் கோடு ஏறி” (நற்றிணை 163:5)

Climbing the sand dunes (in this context, a horse chariot climbing the coastal sand dunes)



Koadu as a peaking mass:

“Koadu uyar thi’ni ma’nal” (Akanaanoo’ru 30:11)

“கோடு உயர் திணி மணல்” (அகநானூறு 30:11)

The mass of sand (dune) with a rising top



Koadu as bank of a water source or land at the edge of water:

“Koadai needinum ku’raipadal a’riyaath thoa’l thaazh ku’laththa koadu” (Perumpaa’naattuppadai: 272-73)

“கோடை நீடினும் குறைபடல் அறியாத் தோள் தாழ் குளத்த கோடு” (பெரும்பாணாற்றுப்படை: 272-73)

The bank or bund of the pond of shoulder-deep water that doesn’t know depletion even if summer prolongs



“Ma’nal koadu ea’ru eruththaththu irum punal” (Paripaadal 20: 24)

“மணல் கோடு ஏறு எருத்தத்து இரும் புனல்” (பரிபாடல் 20: 24)

The surging flood (of river Vaiyai) the sides of which were rising on the sandy bank



“Koadea…Nee’l punal karaiyum nikazhththum ki’lavi” (Thivaakara Nika’ndu 11:104)

“கோடே… நீள் புனல் கரையும் நிகழ்த்தும் கிளவி” (திவாகர நிகண்டு 11:104)

Koadu …(a long list of meanings)..is a word that also means the bank of big waters



See column on Ælla-goda for examples of Koadu coming as village names

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As far as objective written evidences testify, Goda is one of the earliest place name components found in the island. It appears in a couple of instances in the early Brahmi inscriptions and in several instances in the late Brahmi inscriptions.

The almost parallel occurrence of Koadu in Changkam Tamil literature and Goda in the Brahmi inscriptions of the island is perhaps an evidence for language formation branching from a common substratum between Tamil and Sinhala. See table for the cognates of Goda in various Dravidian languages.



Goda as a place name component found recorded in a late Brahmi inscription. The marked part of the inscription reads “Goda Pavata Patana,” meaning the port town of the hillock or the port town of the coastal hillock. The Dravidian word Goda and the Prakrit word Pavata (from Parvata in Sanskrit) mean the same. Either they are put together as nouns of same meaning in apposition, or Goda in this context means coast. The place was a port in ancient times and the inscription is found on a rocky hillock. The place is called today as Godawaya (goda-yaya), meaning the expanse of the hillock or coastal high ground.

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Naarang-goda-paa’luwa is a place in the Ja-Ela division of Gampaha district

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Some related place names:

Paa'lu-pæl-pita: The backside of the unoccupied watch hut; Dompe division, Gampaha district

Paa'lu-gama: The desolate or abandoned village; Dompe division, Gampaha district; Deltota division, Kandy district; Walapane division, Nuwara Eliya district; Welimada division, Badulla district

Sooriya-paa'luwa: The desolate or abandoned place of Sooriya trees; Mahara division, Gampaha district

Kænda-liyædda-paa'luwa: The uncultivated or abandoned paddy field beds in the locality of Kænda trees; Mahara division, Gampaha district

Paalu-koapi-watta: The abandoned coffee plantation; Thumpane division, Kandy district

Paalu Hombaawa: The destroyed or abandoned front; Galewela division, Matale district. Homba: face, front (spoken Sinhala, Sorata)

Paa'lu Us-wæwa: The ruined tank in the upper area; Kotavehera division, Kurunegala district

Wal-paaluwa: The forest wasteland; Maho division, Kurunegala district; Wariyapola division, Kurunegala district; Mahakumbukkadawala division, Puththa'lam district

Koada-paa'luwa: Warakapola division, Kegalle district.

Paal-cheanai: Probably, Paazh-cheanai: The abandoned or uncultivated shifting cultivation field; Koa'ra'laippattu North division, Batticaloa district

Paalu-kadawala: Paa'lu-kadawala: The desolate/ abandoned passage or the desolate/ abandoned locality to pass through; Galgamuwa division, Kurunegala district

First published: Tuesday, 20 November 2012, 06:47