In Mahabharata:
Why was Bheesma Brother name was "Vichitraveerya" which direct means was strange semen. as ancient time name reflect the character in fact.
So was his semen strange?
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1[just a note] even name of "Duryodhan" is of meaning like "Bad character". – Mr_Green Sep 20 '14 at 06:53
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2Vichitraveerya could have been his famous name as well (just a guess). But there was indeed a problem with his potency. Before catching up with TB, he lived for quite a few years with his 2 wives, yet couldn't have any children. @Mr_Green, our Sanskrit teacher taught that, the real name was "Suyodhana" which means a "good warrior". But "Duryodhana" didn't mean "bad warrior". It meant "tough in war". Sanskrit works strange sometimes! – iammilind Feb 23 '16 at 08:49
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Duryodhana's actual name was Suyodhana as far as I know – Amit Saxena May 09 '16 at 08:04
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It is true that in ancient times people used to get names as per their qualities and accomplishments. But in this case it can't be said that way because from childhood it couldn't have been known how his semen was going to be. The word virya can also mean valour. So sometimes it is said, he is a viryavan purusha. It doesn't mean the person is full of semen, but full of valour or courage. So if the name Vichitravirya was given to him from his childhood then it could also mean strange or extraordinary valour.
However, it is possible that he got that name later on or this name somehow represented the possible fact that he was impotent. It is because, Bhisma forcibly brought Ambika and Ambalika to get them married with Vichitravirya and even after spending seven years with his two wives he produced no children as his successor (MB - 1.102). So if he got the name later on, then it can imply that he was impotent or unable to produce children.
Update
After getting useless nagging in the comments below, I did a Google search and found a link to a book which also states the same second reason that I gave in the answer. I hope this backs up the answer. I am unwilling to spend my time searching scriptures just to find what a name means even if it exists at all!
Interestingly, Mahabharata also uses the term virayavan to describe Vichitravirya's quality while narrating about his birth:
athāparaṃ maheṣvāsaṃ satyavatyāṃ punaḥ prabhuḥ
vicitravīryaṃ rājānaṃ janayām āsa vīryavān [MB - 1.95.3]Meaning
After that, the lord (king Santanu) again begot to Satyavati the king Vichitravirya, the courageous bowman.
So this backs ups the first reason that the name can mean extraordinary or strange valour.
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1Your answer just seems to be speculation. Does the Mahbharata or other scripture ever discuss why he was named Vichitravirya? – Keshav Srinivasan Sep 19 '14 at 14:46
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@KeshavSrinivasan It is not speculation, it is inference. Even if you say it's speculation, what's the problem with the answer? I don't know what scriptures has to say about it because it's a simple question of meaning of the name. And I am sure if any text mentions it then it will not be differing from what the answer says. – Be Happy Sep 19 '14 at 14:54
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1Well, the problem with the answer is that you don't actually know the reason why he was called Vichitravirya. Whether you call it speculation or inference, the point is that you're just guessing without relying on a source which gives the reason for the name. Your answers are usually excellent, but unfortunately in this case I don't think this is a good-quality answer. – Keshav Srinivasan Sep 19 '14 at 15:03
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2@KeshavSrinivasan See, if you think to give the meaning of something I will have to cite the scripture then you are simply mistaken. I just don't guess and give answers here, even if I don't cite a scripture the answer cannot be wrong or a guess work. If you know the answer from a scripture then give it or point out what's wrong in the answer. Don't try to dictate how or how shouldn't I write my answers. – Be Happy Sep 19 '14 at 15:20
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Well, in this case it's not just an issue of the meaning of a Sanskrit word, it's an issue of why a person was given a particular name, and that is definitely the kind of claim that should be backed up with sources. In any case, I don't mean to offend you; I comment on people's answers all the time in an effort to improve quality. – Keshav Srinivasan Sep 19 '14 at 15:30
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I'm sorry if you feel I was engaging in useless nagging. I didn't mean to annoy you. – Keshav Srinivasan Sep 19 '14 at 15:39
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@KeshavSrinivasan I am familiar and confident enough to answer these kind of questions which require no citing at all. But in any case, I just added a so called back up to the answer. – Be Happy Sep 19 '14 at 15:40
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@Jhabar Thanka for answer which somehow satisfied me . But Yes the real answer is stil far away. – xkeshav Sep 19 '14 at 18:55
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1@Keshav There can be other answers, but I don't know them. I just answered what I thought the name Vichitravirya means and later on backed up my thoughts with sources. – Be Happy Sep 19 '14 at 23:06
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The interpretation that VichitraVeerya could mean 'strange semen' comes form projecting Hindi meanings on Sanskrit words.
In Hindi, Vichitra (विचित्र) means strange. In Sanskrit, strange is not the primary meaning of the word Vichitra, which has the following meanings:
diversified, variegated, spotted, speckled
various, varied
painted
beautiful, lovely as exemplified in the verse: क्वचिद्विचित्रं जलयंचमंदिरं
wonderful, surprising, strange
The word Veeryaha (वीर्यः) has the following meanings:
heroism, prowess, valour
vigour, strength
virility
energy, firmness, courage
power, potency
efficacy (of medicines)
semen virile
splendurous, lustre
the seed of plants
dignity
So, VichitraVeerya could mean the child when born was lovely and beautiful. It could also mean wonderful, courages, splendorous, dignified etc. This sounds like a very good choice of name (at that time) with the word having so many nice meanings.
Also, I think it would be relevant to mention here that the word Veeryajah (वीर्यजः) means 'a son'.
If I were to pick one of the combinations of the words, I would say VichitraVirya means 'lovely and valorous'
Reference used: The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary by Vaman Shivaram Apte.
Amit Saxena
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Plus as I said in your other question you can't split a word and combine the individual meanings. – Surya May 09 '16 at 11:13
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@Surya You can, Dur means hard to do a certain thing, yodhan is for war..so it can also imply hard to beat him at war...altho, initially I thought it means he was bad at war – Amit Saxena May 09 '16 at 11:17
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@Amit But the thing with Sanskrit is one word can be formed through many ways. We can just combine two words to form a new word. The same word can be derived from a verb and a pratyaya. And the same word can be defined using various samasas - the most common way of defining being Tatpurusha and Bahuvreehi Samasa. I shall tell more in the Sanskrit Chat room. – Surya May 09 '16 at 11:23
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@Surya Ofcourse, there are rules on word formation, you just mentioned some of them. In this case, the word cannot be formed any other way except if you want to break down those 2 words into smaller pieces still. – Amit Saxena May 09 '16 at 11:26
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@Amit But in this case I think Vichitra sounds more like an adjective for Veerya. – Surya May 09 '16 at 11:30
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@Surya Vichitra can be seen as an adjective too. I am not saying the meaning I have said is the only one. It can be seen as 'wonderful courage'. I think the main point was to enunciate that it does not mean 'strange semen' :P Also, we cant really know what exact meaning the mother was thinking when she named the baby (or whoever did) because there are so many possible meanings. – Amit Saxena May 09 '16 at 11:35