JNVC Stories - Sampath & Sampathi
In highschool I had a friend named VijayaSarathi who had passion for languages. While others were thinking about choices of engineering or medicine, he had a clear goal of learning meanings of every word in 300 page oxford english dictionary by end of 12th class (incredibly enough, he did it!). In 9th class, one day I was with him and another friend Sampath. I wondered "your name sounds so elaborate VijayaSarathi, what does it mean?" He answers "Vijaya + Sarathi = Victory Charioteer = Krishna, one who led Arjun to victory".
I thought wow! Interesting! Language is like mathematics! Words are like equations. Finding meaning is like derivations/deductions! I turned to Sampath and asked him for meaning of his name. He didn't know so he promptly looks at VijayaSarathi (VS) for the answer.
VS: You are named after an animal.
Sampath: What? What you talking about?!!
VS: Don't worry. It is a good animal that turned a situation of despair into hope. It also led to the creation of a great new hero Hanuman.
Sampath: What? You must be kidding!!!
VS: Nope. Listen. When prince of Kishkinda, Angadh reaches edge of the land, he feels very dissapointed that they are unable to locate Sita. The search group he was leading included Hanuman, Jambavan and other mighty vanaras. Angadha did not want to go back to the king Sugriva empty-handed. He sits on a mountain rock and declares that it is better to spend rest of the life there than go back and inform his group's inability to locate Sita. He goes on narrating the entire story how they ended up there. A big bird listening to this discussion hears the name of Jatayu and comes close to this vanara group. Angadha asks "Oh Mighty old bird, who are you?" The mighty old bird responds "I am the elder brother of Jatayu and my name is Sampath(i)".
VS pauses and looks at Sampath. Happy Sampath smiles. Sampathi with brief appearance changed the trajectory of the epic by informing location of Lanka leading to the gaint leap by Hanuman across the ocean.
Wowed by his answer but not completely satisfied, I ask "What if someone asked that mighty bird meaning of his name, what would be his answer?"
VS smiles and says: "Sampathi means wealth and virtues. Sampada, Sampatthi are its related words. Sampath can relate his name to material stuff like wealth or to something far greater. Who am I to tell? Choice is Sampath's. "
Good old days....
