Images (photo gallery)

In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: Wisdom Library: Bhagavata Purana

Jantu (जन्तु):—One of the sons of Somaka (one of the four sons of Mitrāyu). (see Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.22.1)

Source: Wisdom Library: Skanda-purana

Jantu (जन्तु) refers to “creatures”, according to the Skandapurāṇa 2.2.13 (“The Greatness of Kapoteśa and Bilveśvara”).—Accordingly: as Jaimini said to the Sages: “[...] [Dhūrjaṭi (Śiva)] went to the holy spot Kuśasthalī. He performed a very severe penance near Nīla mountain. [...] By the power of his penance that holy spot became one comparable to Vṛndāvana, the forest near Gokula. [...] It was full of different kinds of flocks of birds. It was a comfortable place of resort for all creatures [i.e., sarva-jantu-sukhāśrayā]. Since by means of his penance Śiva became (small) like a dove, he came to be called Kapoteśvara at the behest of Murāri (Viṣṇu). It is at his bidding that the Three-eyed Lord always stays here along with Mṛḍānī (Pārvatī)”.

Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

Jantu (जन्तु).—General information. A King of the Pūru dynasty. It is mentioned in Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 278, that he was the son of the King Somaka and father of the King Vṛṣatanu. Jantu born again. Somaka had hundred wives. But only one of them gave birth to a child. That child was Jantu. He was a pet of all the hundred wives. Once Jantu was bitten by an ant. All the hundred queens began crying and shouting and all ran to him. Hearing the tumult in the women’s apartment of the palace, the King and the minister ran to that place. When the tumult was over the King began to think. "It is better to have no sons at all, than to have only one son. There are hundred queens. But none of them bears a child. Is there a solution for this?"

At last the King summoned his family-priests and consulted them. The decision of the priests was that if the King should sacrifice his only son, then all his wives would become pregnant and all would give birth to children, and that among the sons thus born, Jantu also would be reborn. The mother of Jantu did not look at this project with favour. "How can we be sure that Jantu also will be there among the sons to be born, after his death?" She was worried by this thought. The priests consoled her and said that there will be a golden mole on the left flank of Jantu. Finally the mother agreed to their plan. Sacrificial dais was arranged. Sacrificial fire for holy offerings was prepared. The priests tore the child into pieces and offered them as oblation in the fire. When the sacrifice was finished, all the hundred queens became pregnant. Each of them gave birth to a child. As the priests had predicted, there was a golden mole on the left flank of the child delivered by the mother of Jantu. (Mahābhārata Vana Parva, Chapters 127 and 128). (See full article at Story of Jantu from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

1a) Jantu (जन्तु).—A son of Purudvat and Bhadrasenā, the Vaidarbhi. Wife of Aikṣvākī, and son Sātvata.^*

• * Matsya-purāṇa 44. 45-6.

1b) A son of Somaka; was killed (before he got an heir? Ajamīḍha and Dhūmini had to start the line again).^*

• * Matsya-purāṇa 50. 16-19; Vāyu-purāṇa 99. 209.

context information

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.

Kavya (poetry)

Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara

Jantu (जन्तु) is the name of child who was sacrificed in order to perform a burnt-offering for a king, so that he may obtain as many sons as wifes, as told in “the story of Devasmitā” of the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 13. This story was told by Vasantaka to Vāsavadattā in order to divert her thoughts as she was anxiously awaiting her marriage with Udayana.

The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Jantu, 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.

Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (kavya)

Jantu (जन्तु) refers to a “(living) being”, according to Kālidāsa’s Raghuvaṃśa verse 8.88-90.—Accordingly: “The wise say that death is the natural state of embodied creatures and life is a change in that state. If a being (jantu) remains breathing even for a moment it is surely fortunate. The foolish man regards the loss of his dear one as a dart shot into his heart. Another man looks on the same as a dart that has been pulled out, for it is a door to beatitude. When we are taught that our own body and soul unite and then separate, tell me which wise person should be tormented by separation from the external objects of the senses?”.

context information

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’.

Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)

Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by Varahamihira

Jantu (जन्तु) refers to “creatures” (e.g., reptiles and venomous creatures) [?], according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 11), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).— Accordingly, “Maṇi Ketu is a comet which appears for only 3 hours occasionally; it possesses an invisible disc and appears in the west; its tail is straight and white and it resembles a line of milk drawn from a human breast. There will be happiness in the land from the very time of its appearance for four and a half months; reptiles and venomous creatures [i.e., kṣudra-jantu] will come into existence”.

context information

Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.

Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram

Jantu (जन्तु) refers to “living beings”, according to the Ṭīkā (commentary) on the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā..—Accordingly, “[...] Or else, it is like the flower (of menses). Blood flows in the female genitals every month. How can living beings (jantu) who are forms of Nature be born from just the semen that comes from the father without that? In the same way, one should not reveal this Sequence of Twenty-eight to one who is devoid of a line of teachers, initiation, the hereafter, lineage and transmission of the teachers”.

context information

Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.

Yoga (school of philosophy)

Source: ORA: Amanaska (king of all yogas): A Critical Edition and Annotated Translation by Jason Birch

Jantu (जन्तु) refers to “animals”, according to verse 3-52 of the Śivasaṃhitā.—Accordingly, “Through the power of practice, the Yogin obtains Bhūcarī Siddhi, whereby he can move like the animals (jantu) which are hard to catch when hands are clapped”.

context information

Yoga is originally considered a branch of Hindu philosophy (astika), but both ancient and modern Yoga combine the physical, mental and spiritual. Yoga teaches various physical techniques also known as āsanas (postures), used for various purposes (eg., meditation, contemplation, relaxation).

In Buddhism

Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper Names

1. Jantu - A devaputta. He saw a number of monks in a forest lodge on the slopes of the Himalaya, muddled in mind, loose of speech and heedless. He appeared before them on an uposatha day and reminded them of their duties. S.i.61f.

2. Jantu - One of the five queens of Okkaka, founder of the third Okkaka dynasty. DA.i.258f; SNA.i.352f; MT.131.

3. Jantu - Son of the third Okkaka, by a woman whom he appointed to be his chief queen when his first one, Hattha, died. This woman was promised a boon and she asked that her son Jantu be appointed to succeed Okkaka, in preference to his other children. Okkaka first refused but was obliged to yield. His other sons and daughters thereupon left the kingdom and became the founders of the Sakiyan race (DA.258f; SNA.i.352f; MT.131).

The Mahavastu (i.348) calls Jantu, Jenta, and his mother Jenti. He reigned in Saketa.

context information

Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).

General definition (in Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Buddhism

1) Jantu (जन्तु) refers to one of the sons of Okkāka (Ikṣvāku) according to the Dulva (the Tibetan translation of the Vinaya of the Sarvāstivādins). Accordingly, “In agreement with the Dulva, the Mahāvaṃsa-ṭīkā mentions only four sons of Okkāka (Ikṣvāku) who were banished from the country; the fifth is Jantu to whom the brothers have to give way”.

Jantu possibly corresponds with Jenta, one of the sons of king Sujāta born to the concubine named Jentī: an ancient king from the Solar dynasty (sūryavaṃśa) and a descendant of Mahāsaṃmata, according to the Mahāvastu chapter II.32 of the Mahāsaṃghikas (and the Lokottaravāda school). Accordingly, as a Buddhist nun said to Sujāta’s concubine Jentī thus: “[...] your son [viz., Jenta] has no right to his father’s estate, not to speak of that of a king’s. It is those five boys, the sons of a noble woman, who have the right to their father’s kingdom and estate”.

2) Jantu (जन्तु) refers to one of the five wives of Okkāka: an ancient king from the Solar dynasty (sūryavaṃśa), according to the Mahābuddhavaṃsa or Maha Buddhavamsa (the great chronicle of Buddhas) Anudīpanī chapter 1, compiled by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw. The wives of King Okkāka, the last of the 252,556 kings, were five: Hatthā, Cittā, Jantu, Jālinī, and Visākhā. Each of them had five hundred ladies-in-waiting.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Source: archive.org: Trisastisalakapurusacaritra

Jantu (जन्तु) refers to “forms of life”, i.e., worms, insects, etc., (that might be crushed on the road), according to chapter 2.1 [ajitanātha-caritra] of Hemacandra’s 11th century Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra: an ancient Sanskrit epic poem narrating the history and legends of sixty-three illustrious persons in Jainism.—Note: Nidāna was often made by some one in order to gain the power of punishing an enemy in a future birth. It is forbidden in Jain dharma.

Accordingly: “After the great Muni Arindama had delivered this sermon, he set out to wander elsewhere. For ascetics do not stay in one place. Then he (Vimalavāhana) wandered constantly with his preceptor, like his shadow, in villages, cities, forests, mines, towns accessible by land and water, etc. Versed in carefulness about walking, he went on a road traveled by people, touched by the light of the sun, for the protection of lower forms of life (i.e., jantu), his eyes fixed on the road for a distance of six feet. [...]”.

Source: The University of Sydney: A study of the Twelve Reflections

Jantu (जन्तु) refers to “living beings”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “The body of embodied souls attaches to bad Karmas through actions which possess constant exertion and which kill living beings (jantu-ghātaka)”.

context information

Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.

Languages of India and abroad

Pali-English dictionary

Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary

jantu : (m.) a creature; living being.

Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary

1) Jantu, ² a grass Vin. I, 196. (Page 278)

2) Jantu, ¹ (Vedic jantu, see janati) a creature, living being, man, person S. I, 48; A. IV, 227; Sn. 586, 773 sq. , 808, 1103; Nd² 249 (=satta, nara, puggala); Dh. 105, 176, 341, 395; J. I, 202; II, 415; V, 495; Pv. II, 9⁴⁹ (=sattanikāya, people, a crowd PvA. 134). (Page 278)

context information

Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

jantu (जंतु).—m (S) An animated creature gen.; but commonly the word is applied to insects or reptiles--to beings of the lowest organization.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

jantu (जंतु).—m An animated creature gen. but commonly the word is applied to insects or reptiles, beings of the lowest organization.

context information

Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Jantu (जन्तु).—[jan-tun]

1) A creature, a living being, man; Ś.5.2; Manusmṛti 3.77.

2) The (individual) soul.

3) An animal of the lowest organization.

4) People, mankind.

Derivable forms: jantuḥ (जन्तुः).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Jantu (जन्तु).—(°-), in Divyāvadāna 418.1 jantu-gṛhaṃ praveśayitvā dagdhā (Tiṣyarakṣitā); note conjectures jatu-, lac. But compare Pali jantu, Vin. i.196.6, a kind of grass used for making coverlets (corresponds to Divyāvadāna 19.22 janduraka; see s.v. eraka); a house made of jantu-grass would make possible sense.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Jantu (जन्तु).—m.

(-ntuḥ) Any animal, any being endowed with animal life; it is more usually applied however to beings of the lowest organization. E. jan to be born, tun Unadi aff.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Jantu (जन्तु).—[jan + tu], m. 1. A creature, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 3, 77. 2. A man, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 4, 240. 3. A proper name, [Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, (ed. Burnouf.)] 9, 22, 1.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Jantu (जन्तु).—[masculine] creature, being, any animal, [especially] worms, insects, etc.; man, person (sgl. also coll.); attendant, servant; child, descendant.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Jantu (जन्तु):—[from janīya] m. a child, offspring, [Ṛg-veda; Kathāsaritsāgara iic, 58]

2) [v.s. ...] a creature, living being, man, person (the sg. also used collectively e.g. sarva j, ‘everybody’ [Śakuntalā v, 5/6]; ayaṃ jantuḥ, ‘the man’ [Kaṭha-upaniṣad ii, 20; Śvetāśvatara-upaniṣad iii, 20; Manu-smṛti xii, 99]), [Ṛg-veda; Manu-smṛti] etc.

3) [v.s. ...] a kinsman, servant, [Ṛg-veda i, 81, 9 and 94, 5; x, 140, 4]

4) [v.s. ...] any animal of the lowest organisation, worms, insects, [Manu-smṛti vi, 68 f.; Mahābhārata xiv, 1136; Suśruta]

5) [v.s. ...] (n.), [Hemacandra’s Yoga-śāstra iii, 53 and; Subhāṣitāvali]

6) [v.s. ...] a tree, [Demetrius Galanos’s Lexiko: sanskritikes, anglikes, hellenikes]

7) [v.s. ...] Name of a son of Somaka, [Mahābhārata iii, 10473ff.; Harivaṃśa 1793; Bhāgavata-purāṇa ix, 22, 1; Kathāsaritsāgara xiii, 58ff]

8) [v.s. ...] cf. kṣiti-, kṣudra-, jala-.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Jantu (जन्तु):—(ntuḥ) 2. m. Any animal.

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Jantu (जन्तु) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Jaṃtu.

[Sanskrit to German]

Jantu in German

context information

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.

Hindi dictionary

Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary

Jantu in Hindi refers in English to:—(nm) a creature, an animal..—jantu (जंतु) is alternatively transliterated as Jaṃtu.

context information

...

Prakrit-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary

Jaṃtu (जंतु) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Jantu.

context information

Prakrit is an ancient language closely associated with both Pali and Sanskrit. Jain literature is often composed in this language or sub-dialects, such as the Agamas and their commentaries which are written in Ardhamagadhi and Maharashtri Prakrit. The earliest extant texts can be dated to as early as the 4th century BCE although core portions might be older.

Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Jaṃtu (ಜಂತು):—

1) [noun] any living organism excluding plants, esp. of the lowest organisation as worms, insects.

2) [noun] in gen. an animal.

3) [noun] a kind of soft-bodied, parasitic worm that infects the intestine in humans.

4) [noun] ಜಂತಿನ ಓಮ [jamtina oma] jantina ōma the plant Artemisia maritima of Asteraceae family; wormwood; worm seed plant; ಜಂತಿನ ಪುಡಿ [jamtina pudi] jantina puḍi a colourless, poisonous, crystalline compound, C15H18O3, obtained from certain species of wormwood and formerly used in medicine to expel worms and other parasites from the intestinal tract.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

Tamil dictionary

Source: DDSA: University of Madras: Tamil Lexicon

Jantu (ஜந்து) noun < jantu. Living being, creature. See செந்து¹ [senthu¹], 1.

context information

Tamil is an ancient language of India from the Dravidian family spoken by roughly 250 million people mainly in southern India and Sri Lanka.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Starts with (+16): Jamtuga, Jamtuhulu, Jamturoga, Jamtuya, Jantu Sutta, Jantudhana, Jantugama, Jantughataka, Jantughna, Jantughni, Jantugriha, Jantuhantri, Jantuhimsana, Jantujatamaya, Jantujita, Jantuka, Jantukambu, Jantukari, Jantukarna, Jantula.

Ends with (+5): Amtarjamtu, Anejamtu, Bahukoshiya-jantu, Bhujantu, Dhurtajantu, Dhurttajantu, Dighajantu, Durdharshajantu, Himsrajantu, Jadajamtu, Jalajantu, Jivajantu, Karkatijantu, Kshitijantu, Kshudrajantu, Narajamtu, Nirjantu, Pani-jantu, Parajantu, Sarvajantu.

Full-text (+71): Jalajantu, Jantukambu, Jantuphala, Bhujantu, Kshudrajantu, Jantunashana, Jantughna, Kshitijantu, Dhurtajantu, Jamtu, Jantupadapa, Jantuhantri, Jantumarin, Dhurttajantu, Jantumant, Jantula, Nirjantu, Himsrajantu, Marin, Jantuka.

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Search found 36 books and stories containing Jantu, Jamtu, Jaṃtu, Janthu; (plurals include: Jantus, Jamtus, Jaṃtus, Janthus). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Dhammapada (Illustrated) (by Ven. Weagoda Sarada Maha Thero)

Verse 395 - The Story of Kisā Gotamī, Wearer of Refuse-Rags < [Chapter 26 - Brāhmaṇa Vagga (The Brāhmaṇa)]

Verse 107 - The Story of Venerable Sāriputta’s Nephew < [Chapter 8 - Sahassa Vagga (Thousands)]

Verse 54-55 - The Story of the Question Raised by the Venerable Ānanda < [Chapter 4 - Puppha Vagga (Flowers)]

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Rig Veda (translation and commentary) (by H. H. Wilson)

Rig Veda 7.58.3 < [Sukta 58]

Rig Veda 9.67.13 < [Sukta 67]

Rig Veda 3.3.6 < [Sukta 3]

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Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)

Verse 2.1.236 < [Chapter 1 - The Beginning of the Lord’s Manifestation and His Instructions on Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana]

Verse 3.2.283 < [Chapter 2 - Description of the Lord’s Travel Through Bhuvaneśvara and Other Placesto Jagannātha Purī]

Verse 1.16.286 < [Chapter 16 - The Glories of Śrī Haridāsa Ṭhākura]

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Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)

Story of Jantu

Story of Lomaśa

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Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)

Verse 10.30 < [Section II - Mixed Castes]

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Mahabharata (English) (by Kisari Mohan Ganguli)

Section CXXVII < [Tirtha-yatra Parva]

Section CXXVIII < [Tirtha-yatra Parva]

Section II < [Sangraha Parva]

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