Merudhvaja: 6 definitions
Introduction:
Merudhvaja means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. 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
Kavya (poetry)
Source: Wisdom Library: KathāsaritsāgaraMerudhvaja (मेरुध्वज) is the name of an ancient emperor (sārvabhauma), as mentioned to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 118. Accordingly, “... in it [Devasabha-nagara] there lived a universal monarch named Merudhvaja, the comrade of Indra when war arose between the gods and Asuras... It happened that once, when he was afflicted with these anxieties, he went to the assembly of the gods, on the day of the full moon in the month Caitra, in Indra’s splendid chariot, which he sent to fetch him; for Indra always held a general assembly in the early part of that day, and King Merudhvaja always went to it in his chariot”.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Merudhvaja, 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
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: academia.edu: A Study and Translation of the GaganagañjaparipṛcchāMerudhvaja (मेरुध्वज) refers to the “Meru-flag”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, as Bodhisattva Gaganagañja explains to Bodhisattva Ratnaśrī what kind of concentration should be purified: “[...] (53) [when the Bodhisattvas attain] the concentration called ‘Meru-flag’ (merudhvaja-samādhi), they will surpass all other beings; (54) [when the Bodhisattvas attain] the concentration called ‘Light of Meru’, ten directions will be seen; (55) [when the Bodhisattvas attain] the concentration called ‘Torch of insight’, all manifestations of obstruction or interruption will disappear; [...]”.
Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryMerudhvaja (मेरुध्वज).—(1) name of a Buddha: Gaṇḍavyūha 285.4; (2) name of a Buddha in the east: Sukhāvatīvyūha 97.1; (3) name of a Bodhi- sattva: Gaṇḍavyūha 2.18.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Merudhvaja (मेरुध्वज):—[=meru-dhvaja] [from meru] a m. Name of a king, [Kathāsaritsāgara]
2) [v.s. ...] b m. Name of a Tathāgata, [Sukhāvatī-vyūha ii].
[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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Dhvaja, Meru.
Starts with: Merudhvajapani.
Ends with: Sumerudhvaja.
Full-text: Malayadhvaja, Tapodhana, Trailokyamalin, Kancanagiri, Kancanashekhara, Devasabha, Dridhavrata, Shvetashaila, Pannagastra, Paparipu, Papariputirtha.
Relevant text
Search found 4 books and stories containing Merudhvaja, Meru-dhvaja; (plurals include: Merudhvajas, dhvajas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of Story) (by Somadeva)
Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra (by Robert A. F. Thurman)
Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra (by Charles Luk)
A Dictionary Of Chinese Buddhist Terms (by William Edward Soothill)