The Sanskrit terms Saptākṣara and Saptakṣāra can be transliterated into English as Saptaksara or Saptakshara, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Hinduism

Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)

Source: archive.org: Catalogue of Pancaratra Agama Texts

Saptākṣara (सप्ताक्षर) refers to a particular method of making an image of Rāma, as discussed in the thirtieth chapter of the Agastyasaṃhitā (agastya-suīkṣṇa-saṃvāda edition), an ancient Pāñcarātra Āgama text dealing with the worship of Rāma, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa and Hanumān.—[Cf. the chapter daśākṣaravidhi]:—[...] Three other methods—the “saptākṣara”, the “aṣṭākṣara” and the “ekākṣara”—are described : One reveals Rāma primarily as a warrior with Lakṣmaṇa, another as a warrior without Lakṣmaṇa, and the third as central figure among His male retinue and without Sītā. Other methods are alluded to, any one of which might be used for worship or meditation icons of Rāma. The way one worships any one of these ( groups of ?) images is by nyāsa, mūla-mantras (=japa), etc.—just so long as it has been “vitalized” [prāṇapratiṣṭhā] according to the rules. The mantras used for Lakṣmaṇa, Śatrughna and Hanumān are to be prepared according to the rules, also. [...]

context information

Pancaratra (पाञ्चरात्र, pāñcarātra) represents a tradition of Hinduism where Narayana is revered and worshipped. Closeley related to Vaishnavism, the Pancaratra literature includes various Agamas and tantras incorporating many Vaishnava philosophies.

In Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: archive.org: The Indian Buddhist Iconography

Saptākṣara (सप्ताक्षर) refers to one of the various emanations of Akṣobhya having their Sādhana described in the 5th-century Sādhanamālā (a collection of sādhana texts that contain detailed instructions for rituals).—His Āsana is the ālīḍha; his Prajñā is Vajravārāhī; He has three faces and six arms.—This variety of Hevajra is called Saptākṣara or “seven-syllabled” because his Mantra consists of seven syllables. Like Dvibhuja-Sambara mentioned above, he is also embraced by Vajravārāhī, who in all respects resembles her consort.

The Dhyāna (meditation instructions) of Saptākṣara described in the Sādhanamālā as follows:—

[Like Sambara this god also tramples upon Kalarātri and holds the Viśvavajra on the crown. He has also the crescent on his head, is endowed with the six suspicious symbols, and stands in the ālīḍha attitude on the orb of the sun. He has three faces of blue, yellow and green colour and carries the vajra, the ghaṇṭā and the human skin in the three left hands and the kapāla the khaṭvāṅga and the triśūla in the three right.]

[The sādhana further adds that on each of the six spokes of the wheel of the sun on which the god stands there are six deities, namely, (commencing from the right) Herukī, Vajravārāhī, Ghoracaṇḍī, Vajrabhāskarī, Vajraraudrī and Vajraḍākinī. They have respectively blue, yellow, red, green, smoky and white colour. All of them have dishevelled hair, fierce appearance, three eyes and the quarters as garments. They carry the resounding ḍamaru and the ghaṇṭā in the first pair of hands, and the human skin in the other pair. They stand on the orb of the sun placed on a corpse. Their head-dresses are decorated with rows of skulls, and they stand in the ālīḍha attitude.]

[In another sādhana devoted to the worship of Saptākṣara, a slight variation is noticed. In it, it is said that the god carries, in the first pair of hands, engaged in embracing the Prajñā, the vajra and the ghaṇṭā; in the second pair, the human skin only, and in the third pair the kapāla and the triśūla. The khaṭvāṅga hangs from his shoulder as usual. Vajravārāhī is identical with the Prajñā mentioned before, with this difference that she should have in her second pair of hands the bow and the arrow instead of the human skin.]

context information

Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.

Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

saptakṣāra (सप्तक्षार).—m pl (S) The seven salts (medicinal); viz. tila, apāmārga, karañja, palāśa, arka, yava, ciñcā. Note. Other enumerations are made, presenting divers salts vegetable and mineral; but the probability is that there is no duly-authorized saptakṣāra, and that the canonical catalogue is aṣṭakṣāra, which see under ADDENDA.

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: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Saptākṣara (सप्ताक्षर).—[feminine] ī seven-syllabled.

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

1) Saptākṣara (सप्ताक्षर):—[from sapta > saptan] mf(ī)n. containing 7 syllables, [Maitrāyaṇī-saṃhitā; Pañcarātra]

2) [v.s. ...] m. a word or a Pāda which contains 7 s°, [Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary]

[Sanskrit to German]

Saptakshara 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.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Partial matches: Akshara, Kshara, Sapta.

Full-text: Ghoracandi, Vajrabhaskari, Vajraraudri, Heruki, Pranapratishtha, Ashtakshara, Ekakshara, Vajravarahi, Vajradakini, Dashaksharavidhi.

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