Samarth

What does Samarth mean?

Samarth means ‘capable’, ‘able’ or ‘powerful’, from Sanskrit samartha. Wiktionary records these senses in Sanskrit and Hindi, including the given name. The Sanskrit adjective is connected with purpose or an aim and can describe something suitable or competent for a task. The word also functions as an honorific, which provides a cultural connection beyond its ordinary adjective use.

Source: Wiktionary, समर्थ. How we use sources.

Spelling and pronunciation

समर्थ is read sa-marth, in two Hindi syllables with short vowels. Samartha retains the Sanskrit ending. Sound the r before the final t, which is made near the teeth and released with breath. This th differs from English th in ‘earth’.

Also spelled Samartha.

Samarth in tradition and story

Samarth is the honorific used for Ramdas, the seventeenth-century Marathi saint-poet and author of the Dasbodh. In that setting it means ‘the capable one’, illustrating the adjective's use as a title.