How 'Panauti' Came To Be Used For Bad Luck: Understanding Etymology Of This Indic Word Amid Political Heat

The word 'panauti' (meaning unlucky in popular discourse) has been making headlines since Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi using the word and blamed him for India’s loss in the ICC World Cup final.

During a public rally in Balotra, Rajasthan, Gandhi suggested that PM stands for ‘Panauti Modi’ (Bad luck Modi). While BJP is demanding an apology from the Congress leader, let's have a look at the etymology of the word.

According to Dr Suresh Pant, an expert on the Hindi language and word origins, panauti has the root word pan (meaning water) and suffix auti (excess), thus suggesting that panauti means flood, indicating a bad thing.

Dr Pant explains another meaning as well where pan means (condition, phase) and auti (bad), suggesting its usage that refers to a phase ruled by Saturn (shani ki dasha), meaning bad times.

He further explains that since both explanations signify a bad time, the word panauti gained prominence in usage for bad luck. He is the author of two books, Shabdon ke saath-saath and Bhasha ke bahane.

A similar explanation is given by Abhishek, a lecturer of Indic languages at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He said, "Panautī is a Gujarati/Marathi origin word in Hindi, meaning an extended period of bad luck/a person affected by this misfortune. In Gujarati પનોતી (< Sanskrit पर्वन् parvan) is a period of certain planetary situation which brings misery."