Word origin · etymology
Sanskrit mūla, a root or foundation.
The dictionary records both the plant root and an underlying base or source. These attested senses support root imagery; a more remote derivation of the word is not asserted here.
Monier-Williams (1899): mūla — University of Hyderabad digital edition ↗
How we know · epistemology
Lexical attestation, ritual tradition and a stated coordinate convention
The root meaning and deity association are textual evidence. Describing a person as destructive or destined for suffering would be an additional, unsupported inference.
Monier-Williams (1899): mūla — University of Hyderabad digital edition ↗Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa YV 32–35 / RV 25–28, in Indian Astronomy: A Source-book §12.10.1 ↗Monier-Williams and Apte: nirṛti — dictionary reprints at Kosha ↗
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