The Patils

[Madhuri]

No: HPFGUIDX 29663

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., butagirl at a... wrote:

> Just out of interest, I looked up the meanings of the Patil twins' 
names.  While Padma has the lovely Hindi name of "lotus", poor 
Parvati's name means "mountainous". Sounds like she got the raw deal 
there.
 
> It is, however, likely that Parvati was named after Lord Shiva's 
consort, who was also named Parvati. Does anyone have any theories 
whether these names came from JKR's knowledge of Hinduism, or merely 
from girls she once knew?
 
> Sharon Brindle

The names of the Patil twins are very interesting, actually. Parvati 
is named after the consort of Lord Shiva, as you said. Parvati is the 
warrior goddess, an incarnate of Kali. The Goddess Parvati's name 
doesn't mean 'mountainous', really, she's named after her father 
Parvat, the God of the mountains. She is fierce and bold, and 
therefore it would make sense that her namesake Parvati Patil would 
be sorted into Gryffindor. 

Padma is named after the consort of Lord Vishnu, the other dominant 
Hindu God. She is the Goddess of wealth and learning, and Padma Patil 
is therefore sorted into Ravenclaw. 

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)"  wrote:

 I suspect that the names don't come from any knowledge of Hinduism 
> that JKR might have, because Parvati is (as you said) a Shaivaya 
> name and I believe that Padma is a Vishnava name (I hope I got 
those 
> words right: worshippers of Shiva and worshippers of Vishnu) 

The Vaishnavite and Shaivaite distinctions aren't really that big a 
deal nowadays. Many Vaishnavite parents give Shaivate names to their 
children, and vice-versa.

  
>A lot of people have told me that all the people they know named 
Patil 
> (Patel) are Muslims.

For all we know, the twins could have a Hindu mother and a Muslim 
father. But Patil and Patel are common Hindu names as well, 
especially in the north-eastern and north-western parts of India 
where there is a higher concentration of Muslims.

Madhuri