Jimutavahana, Jimuta-vahana, Jīmūtavāhana: 16 definitions
Introduction:
Jimutavahana means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Wisdom Library: Varāha-purāṇaJīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन).—One of the three sons of Jyotiṣmān, who was a son of Priyavrata, according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 74. Priyavrata was a son of Svāyambhuva Manu, who was created by Brahmā, who was in turn created by Nārāyaṇa, the unknowable all-pervasive primordial being.
Source: archive.org: Puranic EncyclopediaJīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन).—A Vidyādhara. (demi-god). He was the son of Jīmūtaketu, who was the ruler of a city named Kāñcanapura in a valley of the Himālayas. Being childless he had been sad for a long time. At last he approached the divine tree Kalpaka (a heavenly tree that yields every wish) that stood in his garden and requested it to bless him with a child. Thus a son was born to him. The famous Jīmūtavāhana was that son. When Jīmūtavāhana came to know of the divine powers of the Kalpaka tree, from the ministers, with the permission of his father he went to the Kalpaka tree, bowed before it and said to it, "Oh noble tree! You have granted all the wishes of my forefathers. But I have one wish. No body should be miserable in the world. So I wish to give you to the world with that purpose in view". Instantly an ethereal voice said from the tree. "If you are forsaking me I am going away. But I will fulfil your wish." Thus according to the wish of Jīmūtavāhana the Kalpaka tree shed gold everywhere in the world and then went to heaven and disappeared. The earth became wealthy and prosperous. The fame of Jīmūtavāhana spread throughout the three worlds, and all the Vidyādharas grew jealous of him. As the heavenly tree Kalpaka, which yielded all the wishes, had returned to heaven, they thought it the most propitious time and arrayed their army against Jīmūtavāhana. His father Jīmūtaketu had completed all preparations to meet the enemy. But Jīmūtavāhana approached his father and said, "Father ! I am perfectly sure that no body could defeat you in battle. But see how mean it is to destroy so many lives and win the country merely for the pleasures of this fragile body. So let us go away from here. Leave the kingdom to them." (See full article at Story of Jīmūtavāhana from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
Dharmashastra (religious law)
Source: archive.org: History Of DharmashastraJīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन) gives very little Information about himself. In the colophons of his works he is described as Pāribhadrīya Mahāmahopādhyāya and at the end of the Vyavahāramātṛkā he tells us that he was born of the Pāribhadra family (kula). It is said that this name of the family still survives in the Parihal or Pāri Gai, a section of Rāḍhīya Brāhmaṇas. It is also said that Edumiśra in his Kulakārikā tells us that Jīmūtavāhana was chief judge in the reign of Viṣvaksena of Bengal and that he was 9th in descent from Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa, one of the five Brāhmaṇas brought by Ādiśūra.
The fact that Jīmūtavāhana was a native of Rāḍhā is testified by his statement in the Kālaviveka that Agastya (Canopus) rose in Ujjayinī when four days of the month of Bhādrapada remained, but that in Rāḍhā Agastya rose when seven days of the month were yet to run. Extremely divergent views have been held as to the date of Jīmūtavāhana. He has been assigned to various dates from the 11th to the 16th century.
Source: Wikipedia: Dharma-shastra
Jīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन) (c. 12th century) was an Indian Sanskrit scholar and writer of legal and religious treatises of early medieval period. He was the earliest writer on smriti (law) from Bengal whose texts are extant. Jīmūtavāhana is known for his three major works. These three works are probably the parts of a bigger comprehensive digest, the Dharma Ratna.
Dharmashastra (धर्मशास्त्र, dharmaśāstra) contains the instructions (shastra) regarding religious conduct of livelihood (dharma), ceremonies, jurisprudence (study of law) and more. It is categorized as smriti, an important and authoritative selection of books dealing with the Hindu lifestyle.
Kavya (poetry)
Source: Wisdom Library: KathāsaritsāgaraJīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन) is the son of King Jīmūtaketu (lord of the Vidyādharas) and was, at one time, cursed by Śiva in a former birth, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 22. Accordingly, the curse was set in motion as follows: “Thus it is; formerly I (Jīmūtavāhana) was a sky-roaming Vidyādhara, and once on a time I was passing over a peak of the Himālaya. And then Śiva, who was below, sporting with Gaurī, being angry at my passing above him, cursed me, saying: ‘Descend into a mortal womb, and after obtaining a Vidyādharī for your wife, and appointing your son in your place, you shall remember your former birth, and again be born as a Vidyādhara.’ Having pronounced when this curse should end, Śiva ceased and disappeared; and soon after I was born upon earth in a family of merchants. And I grew up as the son of a rich merchant in a city named Vallabhī, and my name was Vasudatta.”
Jīmūtavāhana is mentioned as the son of king Jīmūtaketu and is an incarnation of a portion of a Bodhisattva, according to sixteenth story of the Vetālapañcaviṃśati in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 90: “... the king [Jīmūtaketu] supplicated that divine tree, and obtained by its favour a son [Jīmūtavāhana], who remembered his former birth, and was the incarnation of a portion of a Bodhisattva. He was a hero in munificence, of great courage, compassionate to all creatures, attentive to the instructions of his spiritual adviser, and his name was Jīmūtavāhana. And when he grew up to manhood, his father, the king, made him crown prince, being impelled thereto by his excellent qualities, and the advice of the ministers”.
Jīmūtavāhana fell from his high position by revealing his own virtuous deeds according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 113. Accordingly, as Kaśyapa said to Naravāhanadatta: “... there were in former days Ṛṣabha, and other emperors, and they, being seized with various faults, were ruined, and fell from their high state. [...] And the Vidyādhara prince, Jīmūtavāhana, when the sage Nārada came and asked him the reason of his obtaining the rank of emperor, told him how he gave away the wishing-tree and his own body, and thus he fell from his high position by revealing his own virtuous deeds”.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Jīmūtavāhana, is a famous Sanskrit epic story revolving around prince Naravāhanadatta and his quest to become the emperor of the vidyādharas (celestial beings). The work is said to have been an adaptation of Guṇāḍhya’s Bṛhatkathā consisting of 100,000 verses, which in turn is part of a larger work containing 700,000 verses.
Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.
In Buddhism
General definition (in Buddhism)
Source: archive.org: The Buddhist legend of JīmūtavāhanaJīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन).—The Buddhist legend of Jīmūtavāhana is related twice in the course of the Kathāsaritsāgara, in the 22nd and 90th chapters, and is dramatised in a play called the Nāgānanda. The first of these works, the title of which means the “Ocean-river of Story”, is a production of the 10th or 11th century a.d. It is entirely in verse, founded by its author, Somadeva, on an earlier collection of existing legends related in a work called Vrihat Kathā, which goes back to the 2nd century a.d. The drama, the Nāgānanda, follows the line of the legend very closely, as given in the 22nd chapter of the Kathāsaritsāgara. Nāgānanda signifies “The joy of the world of serpents”, and refers to the hero Jīmūtavāhana, who is the centre of the drama. The authorship is uncertain, though all duly qualified judges assign the 7th century a.d. as the date of its composition.
Jīmūtavāhana has a human side, as well as a divine side, and the divine side is eventually victorious. The position of Jīmūtavāhana at the beginning of the drama is that which Buddhists call a “Bodhisat”, one who has passed through all the births necessary to attain perfection but one, and the next birth is to place him on a level with the Supreme Buddha, and he will attain to Nirvana. In the case of Jīmūtavāhana this is not what happens, as we might have expected. His self-sacrifice ought to have brought him to Nirvana, but it does not. After his death he returns to earth in his former position, only much more glorious and magnificent, raised to life again by the famous Gaurī, the “Brilliant” goddess, the wife of Śiva, who stands at the head of the Hindu Pantheon. And here it seems as if we had an example of the compromise between Buddhism and Hinduism, and which, as I have already suggested, seems to be formulated by this drama.
India history and geography
Source: What is India: Inscriptions of the Śilāhāras1) Jīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन) of the Śilāra (i.e., Śilāhāra) line of kings is mentioned in the Paṭṭaṇakuḍi plates of Avasara II.—“There was the meritorious son of Jīmūtaketu, Jīmūtavāhana by name, who was the illustrious lord of the vidyādharas, and was always devoted to the service of other people... Who, thinking his life as no better than a blade of grass, courageously offered himself to Garuḍa, for the protection of the Nāgas (serpents). From him was born the (royal) family known as Śilāra (i.e. Śilāhāra)”.
These copper plates (mentioning Jīmūtavāhana) were obtained from Tonappa Parisa Upadhye, the priest of the Jain basti of Paṭṭaṇakudi, who claims that they have been preserved as heirloom in his family. The inscription refers itself to the reign of the Śilāra (i.e. Śilāhāra) king Avasara II, ruling from Balinagara. The inscription is dated in the expired Śaka year 910 (expressed in words), the cyclic year being Sarvadhārin, on Monday, the fifth tithi of the bright fortnight of Kārttika.
2) Jīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन) of the Śilāra line of kings is mentioned in the Paṭṭaṇakuḍi plates of Avasara II.—“While the illustrious Satyāśraya of the flourishing family of the Cālukyas is thus governing the Raṭṭapāṭī (i.e. the kingdom of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas)... There was the lord of the Vidyādharas, Jīmūtavāhana by name, a good son of Jīmūtakētu, who sacrificed his life to Garuḍa... From him was descended the Śilāra family, the best among the royal families of Siṃhala—which became extremely powerful as it had the good fortune of the blessings of abundant beings”.
These copper plates (mentioning Jīmūtavāhana) were found by a Brāhmaṇa of Khārepāṭan, a town in the Devagaḍ tālukā of the Ratnāgiri District. The inscription refers itself to the reign of the Śilāra king, Māṇḍalika Raṭṭarāja. As his predecessors were loyal feudatories of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas, it gives first the genealogy of that family from Dantidurga to Kakkala. The inscription is dated, in lines 41-42, on the full-moon tithi of Jyeṣṭha in the śaka year 930, the cyclic year being Kīlaka.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryJīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन).—
1) Name of Indra.
2) Name of a king of the Vidyādharas, hero of the play called Nāgānanda; (mentioned also in kathāsaritsāgara). [He was the son of Jīmūtaketu and renowned for his benevolent and charitable disposition. When his father's kingdom was invaded by his kinsmen, he scorned the idea of fighting with them and induced his father to leave it to those who sought for it and to repair with him to the Malaya mountain to lead a holy life. It is related that there he one day took the place of a young serpent who was, by virtue of an agreement, to be offered to Garuḍa as his daily meal, and induced, by his generous and touching behaviour, the enemy of serpents to give up his practice of devouring them. The story is very pathetically told in the play].
Derivable forms: jīmūtavāhanaḥ (जीमूतवाहनः).
Jīmūtavāhana is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms jīmūta and vāhana (वाहन).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryJīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन).—m.
(-naḥ) 1. Indra. 2. The author of “Dayabhaga” a celebrated work on inheritance. E. jīmūta a cloud, and vāhana vehicle. jīmūtaḥ meghaḥ vāhanam asya .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryJīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन).—[masculine] a man’s name.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus CatalogorumJīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—Nyāyaratnamālikā [dharma]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Jīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन):—[=jīmūta-vāhana] [from jīmūta] m. (= megha-v) Indra, [Horace H. Wilson]
2) [v.s. ...] Name of a son (of Sāli-vāhana, [Horace H. Wilson]; of Jīmūta-ketu, [Inscriptions] (A.D 1095), [Kathāsaritsāgara xxii 23])
3) [v.s. ...] of a Vidyā-dhara, [Bālarāmāyaṇa iv, 7]
4) [v.s. ...] of the author of Dāyabhāga.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryJīmūtavāhana (जीमूतवाहन):—[jīmūta-vāhana] (naḥ) 1. m. Indra; a celebrated writer on law.
[Sanskrit to German]
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusJīmūtavāhana (ಜೀಮೂತವಾಹನ):—[noun] Indra, who moves on the clouds.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Jimuta, Vahana.
Starts with: Jimutavahana paribhadriya, Jimutavahana shilaharanarendra, Jimutavahanadana.
Full-text (+23): Kalaviveka, Jimutashtami, Vyavaharamatrika, Dharmaratna, Dayabhaga, Tithyarkaprakashanukramanika, Bhuratna, Nyayaratnamalika, Jimutavahana shilaharanarendra, Jimutaketu, Jimutavahana paribhadriya, Jayakrishna bhattacarya, Vallabhi, Mahadhana, Balinagara, Citrangada, Mitravasu, Hiranyadatta, Kalinjara, Shankhacuda.
Relevant text
Search found 17 books and stories containing Jimutavahana, Jimuta-vahana, Jīmūta-vāhana, Jīmūtavāhana; (plurals include: Jimutavahanas, vahanas, vāhanas, Jīmūtavāhanas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Amarakoshodghatana of Kshirasvamin (study) (by A. Yamuna Devi)
The Concept of Heaven < [Chapter 4 - Cultural Aspects]
Politics and Administration (5): Law and Administration < [Chapter 3 - Social Aspects]
Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)
Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of Story) (by Somadeva)
Chapter XC < [Book XII - Śaśāṅkavatī]
Chapter XXII < [Book IV - Naravāhanadattajanana]
Vetāla 16: The Sacrifice of Jīmūtavāhana < [Appendix 6.1 - The Twenty-five Tales of a Vetāla]
Kuntaka’s evaluation of Sanskrit literature (by Nikitha. M)
7. Nāgānanda in Kuntaka’s treatment < [Chapter 4 - Kuntaka’s evaluation of Sanskrit Plays of other Poets]
3.8 (f): Compositional figurativeness or prabandha-vakratā < [Chapter 1 - Vakroktijīvita: A Synoptic Survey]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 9.103 < [Section XI - Summary of the Law Relating to Husband and Wife]
Verse 9.86 < [Section VIII - Seniority among Co-wives]
Verse 9.116 < [Section XIII - Separation of the Brothers: Partition: Allotment of Shares]
Atithi or Guest Reception (study) (by Sarika. P.)
Part 8 - Nibandhas (digests) < [Chapter 5 - The Dharmaśāstra Literature]
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