Gu and ru: the traditional meaning of "guru"
गुशब्दस्त्वन्धकारः स्यात् रुशब्दस्तन्निरोधकः ।
अन्धकारनिरोधित्वात् गुरुरित्यभिधीयते ॥
guśabdastvandhakāraḥ syāt ruśabdastannirodhakaḥ |
andhakāranirodhitvāt gururityabhidhīyate ||
Translation
The syllable gu means darkness, the syllable ru its remover; because he removes darkness, he is called guru.
Meaning
The Advayatāraka Upaniṣad is a short, late Yoga Upaniṣad. After describing the qualities of a true teacher (verses 14–15), it gives this explanation of the word; the same verse is widely quoted, for example in the Guru Gītā tradition.
Nirukti etymologies are a whole genre in Sanskrit: they teach by linking a word to ideas, the way a good mnemonic does.
Word by word · 10 words
| Devanagari | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| गुशब्दः | guśabdaḥ | the syllable gu (nom. sg. m.) |
| तु | tu | now, but |
| अन्धकारः | andhakāraḥ | darkness (nom. sg. m.) |
| स्यात् | syāt | is, would be (3rd sg. optative of √as) |
| रुशब्दः | ruśabdaḥ | the syllable ru (nom. sg. m.) |
| तन्निरोधकः | tannirodhakaḥ | its remover, that which stops it (tat + nirodhaka) |
| अन्धकारनिरोधित्वात् | andhakāranirodhitvāt | because of removing darkness (abl. sg.) |
| गुरुः | guruḥ | guru, teacher (nom. sg. m.) |
| इति | iti | thus, so |
| अभिधीयते | abhidhīyate | is called (passive 3rd sg. of abhi + √dhā) |
Pronunciation
guśabdastvandhakāraḥ syāt ruśabdastannirodhakaḥ |
andhakāranirodhitvāt gururityabhidhīyate ||
- guru: both vowels are short: gu-ru, not "goo-roo".
- andhakāra: aspirated dh, long ā: an-dha-kā-ra.
- A final visarga ḥ is a soft "h" breath that echoes the vowel before it: namaḥ sounds like "nama-ha" (lightly).
- bh, dh, gh, jh, ḍh are voiced consonants followed by breath: dh = d + h, as in "mad-house".