Here is a clear, honest etymological journey, with Sanskrit first (देवनागरी), and with strict separation between proven history and conceptual parallel, so the argument stays strong and defensible.

पुस्तक > Buatak > Buk > Book 

---

पुस्तक → Book : An Etymological Journey

1️⃣ Sanskrit foundation (देवनागरी)

पुस्तक (पुस्तक)

Meaning:

• book
• manuscript
• written text

Morphological analysis:

• पुस्त (पुस्त) — bound, tied, arranged
• -क (क) — diminutive / object suffix

➡ पुस्तक = “that which is bound together”

---

2️⃣ Sanskrit root behind पुस्तक

√पुस् / √पुष् (पुस् / पुष्)

Core meanings:

• to bind
• to fasten
• to nourish / support

Closely related forms:

• पुस्त (पुस्त) — bundle, binding
• पुस्तिका (पुस्तिका) — small book, booklet

📌 The defining idea is binding together.

---

3️⃣ Proto-Indo-European comparison

PIE root (reconstructed):

*bhendh- — to bind

This root produces:

• Sanskrit बन्ध (बन्ध) — binding
• English bind, band, bond

⚠️ Important:

• पुस्तक does not come directly from √बन्ध
• But it shares the same conceptual field: binding + collecting

---

4️⃣ Germanic path of book

Proto-Germanic

*bōks — beech tree

Why beech?

• Early Germanic peoples carved runes on beechwood tablets

---

Old English

• bōc — book
• bēce — beech tree

✔ Same word-family.

---

English

• book — bound written work

---

5️⃣ Are पुस्तक and book cognates?

Linguistic verdict (important):

❌ Not direct cognates
❌ Not from the same PIE root

✔ They are functional equivalents formed independently

---

6️⃣ Conceptual convergence (this is where insight lies)

Language	Word	Core idea
Sanskrit	पुस्तक	binding together
Germanic	book	writing on bound wooden leaves
Latin	liber	inner bark
Greek	βίβλος (biblos)	papyrus

➡ Across cultures:

BOOK = material used for writing + binding/collection

This is independent innovation, not borrowing.

---

7️⃣ Why Sanskrit feels “closer”

Sanskrit names the function:

• पुस्तक → that which is bound

European languages name the material:

• book → beechwood
• liber → bark
• biblos → papyrus

That difference creates the illusion of derivation.

---

8️⃣ Final distilled conclusion

पुस्तक and book are not etymological sisters, but civilizational mirrors. Sanskrit defines a book by its binding and order, while Germanic languages define it by the material it was written on. Both arise from the same human act: preserving thought by fixing words into a physical form.

---

One-line scholarly summary

Sanskrit पुस्तक (“that which is bound together”) and English book (“that written on beechwood”) emerge independently within Indo-European cultures, reflecting different material and conceptual paths toward the same intellectual object.

This framing keeps rigorous, credible and insightful which is exactly where your comparative method is strongest.