The concept of sampad in the arthaśāstra, the vedic prose texts and the gītā

The meaning of Sanskrit sampad, typically glossed by terms similar to 'excellence' & 'success', is clarified by a critical examination of its use in Kautilya's Arthasastra, the Brahmanas & other Vedic prose texts, & the Bhagavad Gita. Etymological analyses based on sampadyate 'converges' are rejected, as this meaning holds only for a plural subject; the prefix sam- is interpreted in its aspectual sense of bringing to completion, whereby the whole verb is understood as 'to turn out well, succeed, be fulfilled' &, when construed with a dative, 'to be fit /ready for'. These two basic senses yield a wide variety of acceptable translations for the verbal noun sampad, ranging from 'result' & 'success' to 'achievement' & 'asset, abundance', all derived from the first sense, & the mathematical meanings of 'numerical congruence, equation, correspondence' & even 'conversion' & 'sum'. 44 References. J. Hitchcock