{{short description|Word in Indo-Aryan languages}} {{about | the word "madhu"|the actor known as Madhu|Madhu (actor)|other uses}} {{use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} '''Madhu''' (Sanskrit: {{Transliteration|sa|ISO|madhu}}) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or ''sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*médʰu'', whence English ''mead''.
==Metaphorical use== ''Madhu'' has been used for millennia since the Rigveda (1500–1000 BCE)<ref>Jamison and Brereton (2014) The Rigveda, Oxford University Press, p 5</ref> in a similar metaphorical sense as ''wine'' is in English, e.g. "the wine of truth", and employed in that manner in Hindu religious literature. For example, the ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'', believed to have been composed in the first millennium BCE, contains a chapter called the ''Madhu Brahmana'', and "the secret essence of the Vedas themselves, was called the ''Madhu-vidya'' or 'honey doctrine'".<ref name="ref48xuxel">{{Citation | title=Soma: the divine hallucinogen | author=David L. Spess | publisher=Inner Traditions/Bear & Company |year=2000 | isbn=978-0-89281-731-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGjX2sLIJ1oC | quote=... the secret essence of the Vedas themselves, was called the ''Madhu-vidya'' or 'honey doctrine' ...}}</ref><ref name="ref75jufol">{{Citation | title=Sureśvara's vārtika on Madhu Brāhmaṇa | author=Sureśvarācārya, K. P. Jog, Shoun Hino | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |year= 1988 | isbn=978-81-208-0438-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9wiepM1y2EC | quote=... space i.e., Akasa which is in the earth as also in the stomach, though referred to separately, applies equally to the Supreme Brahman described in the Madhu Brahmana (a chapter of Brhadaranyaka Upanishad) ...}}</ref>
==Various opinions== There are different opinions surrounding the word ''Madhu''. Some scholars date metaphorical usage of ''madhu'' to a time very close to the initial composition of the Vedas. Soma, the shared sacred drink of the Indo-Iranians (known as ''haoma'' in Avestan), is often metaphorically referred to as ''madhu'' in the Vedas. However, "the Avesta, which is quite close to the Veda with regard to the terminology of Soma, does not know the equation 'Soma' = 'madhu'."<ref name="ref83lufuc">{{Citation | title=The religion of the Veda | author=Hermann Oldenberg | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1988 | isbn=978-81-208-0392-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uKeubCiBOPQC | quote=... the Avesta, which is quite close to the Veda with regard to the terminology of Soma, does not know the equation 'Soma' = 'madhu'. Here, one does not meet the Vedic poet's fondness for playing with the idea of honey ... | year=1988 | access-date=2016-10-04 | archive-date=2014-06-27 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627045229/http://books.google.com/books?id=uKeubCiBOPQC | url-status=live }}</ref>
In Rigveda 8.48.1 and Rigveda 8.48.3, in the book of soma, soma is clearly addressed and explained as madhu.
==Usage in names== The derivative form ''Madhur'' is used as a Hindu first-name for males and ''Madhu'' is a first-name common among males, although both names can occur for either gender. ''Madhuri'' is a common feminine variant of ''Madhur''.<ref name="ref45cuxof">{{Citation | title=Thought Provoking Hindu Names | author=R.C. Dogra | publisher=Star Publications, 1999 | isbn=978-81-7650-316-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0vNtDHqp5T4C | quote=... Madhu (मधु) (m/f) Sweet, charming, pleasant, delightful, the juice or nector of flowers ... Madhur (मधुर) (a) Sweet, melodious, pleasant, agreeable ...| year=1999 }}</ref> The word ''madhur'' is a combination of ''madhu'' (honey/sweet) and ''-r/-ra'' (like or similar). Several other names are based on the root ''madhu'', such as ''Madhukar'', ''Madhusudhan'', ''Madhulika'' and ''Madhubala''.<ref name="ref18juroc">{{Citation | title=Baby names: over 4000 beautiful Indian names for your child | author=Vimla Patil | publisher=Rupa, 1988 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IGcbAAAAYAAJ | quote=... Madhubala (f), sweet girl; Madhuchhanda (f), pleasing metrical composition ... Madhulekha (f), beautiful girl; Madhulika (f), honey; Madhumalati (f), a flowering creeper ...| year=1988 | isbn=9788171670123 }}</ref>
==See also== *Kvasir, a wise being in Norse mythology born from the spit of the gods and from whose blood the Mead of Poetry is crafted
==References== {{reflist|2}}
Category:Honey Category:Given names Category:Historical alcoholic beverages Category:Sanskrit words and phrases