añji saktha

 Añji Saktha (अञ्जिसक्थ) is a Sanskrit compound meaning “having coloured thighs,” typically used as an epithet for sacrificial animals in Vedic rituals.

Etymology and Linguistic Analysis

The term Añjisaktha is a bahuvrīhi compound in Sanskrit, combining:

• añji (अञ्जि) – meaning “unctuous, shiny, lubricated, or brilliant,” and in 
• some contexts referring to a mark or pigment 

  1

  .
• saktha (सक्थ) – derived from shakthi, meaning “coloured” or “marked” 

  1

  .
• 

  

  2 Sources
• 
  

Hence, Añjisaktha literally translates to “having coloured or marked thighs”.

Vedic and Cultural Context

In the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā and other Vedic texts, Añjisaktha is used as 

a descriptive epithet for sacrificial animals, particularly those offered 

to deities like Indra and Agni during the Aśvamedha (horse sacrifice)

Wisdom Library

 .

It highlights the physical appearance of the sacrificial animal, emphasizing 

distinctive coloration as part of ritual specifications.

Usage

• Grammatical: adjective (mfn.), qualifying nouns like animals: “a victim 
• having coloured thighs.”
• Literary: Appears in Vedic hymns and Pāṇini’s grammar texts, underlining
• formalized compounds and precise descriptive terminology 

  1

  .
• Symbolic: The marked or coloured thighs may serve a ritualistic purpose,
• signifying auspicious or notable features in the context of Vedic sacrifice.
• 

  1 Source
• 
  

Summary

Añji Saktha is a precise Sanskrit compound describing a physical 

trait—coloured thighs—and is associated with ritualistic sacrificial animals.

Its components are añji (unctuous, shiny, brilliant) and saktha (coloured). 

Such compounds reflect the intricate Vedic convention of naming and 

describing sacrificial offerings meticulously 

Wisdom Library+1

.