According to the anti-hindu feminists of the modern day, the oppressive nature of Hindu culture reflects in Indian languages. The word Pati, according to them, means owner. For example, Karod-pati means the owner of one crore. Husband is called Pati because he owns his wife and he is entitled to persecute his wife and so on.
Is it true?
The word Pati is derived from the sanskrit root पा to protect. Hence पति means protector. पाति रक्षति इत् पतिः It is true that you protect your possessions. It does not mean you have to own something to protect it.
The the word pati is not gender specific. In Sanskrit literature, you find the word Pati used to refer to women as well. For example, the sentence गवां पतिः स्त्री is found in Siddhanta Kaumudi of Bhattoji Dikshita. It refers to a woman who owns and protects cows. She is pati of the cows. Likewise, we find words like गृहपति, meaning a woman who takes care of a house. According to the grammarian Panini, the word can be optionally spelt as गृहपत्नी if it refers to a woman. The Indian president is called Rashtra-pati. As per the sanskrit grammar, it is perfectly al right to refer to a woman president as Rashtapati. The word pati is used to refer to a husband also as it is his duty to protect his wife. भर्ता रक्षति यौवने (Manusmriti).
Then why the wife is called patnī? The sutra of Panini पत्युर्नो यज्ञसंयोगे। (4.1.33) answers this question. Yajna is a vedic ritual. A man or woman cannot perform a a vedic ritual all alone. It is to be performed by both man and wife together and both receive its result. दम्पत्योः सहाधिकारात्. According to the grammarians, the word pati is used used to refer to a woman also when she takes care of the yajna and holds her stake in the result of yajna. Then the word पति gets an augment न and a suffix ङीप् and changes into पत्नी. The life of a Gṛhastha is centred araund ẏajña. ḥence, pati and patni are men and women who perform yajna together.
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