Vararuci, Vara-ruci: 17 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
In Buddhism
1. General definition
Languages
1. Sanskrit
2. Kannada
3. Tamil
See also
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Introduction:

Vararuci means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Tamil. 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.

Alternative spellings of this word include Vararuchi.

In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

Vararuci (वररुचि).—An ancient Indian scholar in astronomy and astrology. (Some details regarding Vararuci are given under Bhartṛhari). Birth. It is stated in Kathāsaritsāgara, Kathāpīṭhalambaka, Taraṅga 1, that Vararuci was the rebirth of a Gaṇanāyaka (guard of Śiva) named Puṣpadanta. Once Śiva happened to tell Pārvatī some previous stories of the Vidyādharas. Puṣpadanta eavesdropped and heard everything. Pārvatī understood this and cursed him to become a man. Accordingly Puṣpadanta was born in the city of Kauśāmbī under the name Vararuci or Kātyāyana. (For details about the curse see under Guṇāḍhya). (See full article at Story of Vararuci from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

Vararuci (वररुचि).—The expert in the art of dancing (nāṭyaveda) acted as milkman for the Gandharvas to milk the cowearth.^*

* Matsya-purāṇa 10. 25.

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

Vararuci (वररुचि) is the name of an incarnation of Puṣpadanta, a subordinate of Śiva who was cursed by Pārvatī after overhearing Śiva narrating the adventures of the seven Vidyādharas, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara. Vararuci also goes by the name Kātyāyana. Pārvatī cursed Puṣpadanta together with Mālyavān (a gaṇa, who intervened and recommended for mercy) to become mortals.

When asked by Pārvatī what happened to these cursed gaṇas (servants), Śiva answered: “My beloved, Puṣpadanta has been born under the name of Vararuci in that great city which is called Kauśāmbī. Moreover Mālyavān also has been born in the splendid city called Supratiṣṭhita under the name of Guṇāḍhya. This, O goddess, is what has befallen them.”

Puṣpadanta (as Vararuci) would be released from the curse, when, upon encountering the Yakṣa named Supratīka, recalls his own origin (as Puṣpadanta) and tells Supratīka the story of the seven vidyādharas.

The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Vararuci, 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: Shodhganga: The Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara

Vararuci (वररुचि) is the name of an important person (viz., an Ācārya or Kavi) mentioned in Rājaśekhara’s 10th-century Kāvyamīmāṃsā.—Possibly a number of literary men with this name occur in Indian history. But there the one śloka referred to him as an grammarian and his work named Kaṇthāvaraṇa.

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’.

Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar)

Source: Wikisource: A dictionary of Sanskrit grammar

1) Vararuci (वररुचि).—A reputed ancient grammarian who is identified with Katyayana, the prominent author of the Varttikas on the Sutras of Panini. Both the names वररुचि (vararuci) and कात्यायन (kātyāyana) are mentioned in commentary works in connection with the Varttikas on the Sutras of Panini, and it is very likely that Vararuci was the individual name of the scholar, and Katyayana his family name. The words कात्य (kātya) and कात्यायन (kātyāyana) are found used in Sloka varttikas in the Mahabhasya on P.III.2.3 and III.2.118 where references made are actually found in the prose Varttikas (see कविधेो सर्वत्र प्रसारणिभ्यो डः (kavidheो sarvatra prasāraṇibhyo ḍaḥ) P.III. 2. 3 Vart and स्मपुरा भूतमात्रे न स्मपुराद्यतने (smapurā bhūtamātre na smapurādyatane) P.III.2.118 Vart. 1)indicating that the Slokavarttikakara believed that the Varttikas were composed by Katyayana. There is no reference at all in the Mahabhasya to Vararuci as a writer of the Varttikas; there is only one reference which shows that there was a scholar by name Vararuci known to Patanjali, but he was a poet; cf. वाररुचं काव्यं (vārarucaṃ kāvyaṃ) in the sense of 'composed' (कृत (kṛta) and not प्रोक्त (prokta)) by वररुचि (vararuci) M.Bh. on P. IV. 2.4.

2) Vararuci.—वररुचि (vararuci) is also mentioned as the author of the Prakrta Grammar known by the name प्राकृतप्रकाश (prākṛtaprakāśa) or प्राकृतमञ्जरी (prākṛtamañjarī), This वररुचि (vararuci), who also was कात्यायन (kātyāyana) by Gotra name, was a grammarian later than Patanjali, who has been associated with Sarvvarman, (the author of the first three Adhyayas of the Katantra Sutras), as the author of the fourth Adhyaya. Patanjali does not associate वररुचि (vararuci) with Katyayana at alI. His mention of वररुचि (vararuci) as a writer of a Kavya is a sufficient testimony for that. Hence, it appears probable that Katyayana, to whom the authorship of the Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya and many other works allied with Veda has been attributed, was not associated with Vararuci by Patanjali, and it is only the later writers who identified the grammarian Vararuci,who composed the fourth Adhyaya of the Katantra Grammar and wrote a Prakrit Grammar and some other grammar works, with the ancient revered Katyayana, the author of Varttikas, the Vijasaneyi Pratisakhya and the Puspasutra;

3) Vararuci.—There was a comparatively modern grammarian named वररुचि (vararuci) who wrote a small treatise on genders of words consisting of about 125 stanzas with a commentary named Lingavrtti, possibly written by the author himself.

4) Vararuci.—There was also another modern grammarian by name वररुचि (vararuci) who wrote a work on syntax named प्रयोगमुखमण्डन (prayogamukhamaṇḍana) discussing the four topics कारक, समास, तद्धित (kāraka, samāsa, taddhita) and कृदन्त (kṛdanta).

context information

Vyakarana (व्याकरण, vyākaraṇa) refers to Sanskrit grammar and represents one of the six additional sciences (vedanga) to be studied along with the Vedas. Vyakarana concerns itself with the rules of Sanskrit grammar and linguistic analysis in order to establish the correct context of words and sentences.

Ayurveda (science of life)

Kalpa (Formulas, Drug prescriptions and other Medicinal preparations)

Source: Ancient Science of Life: Yogaśataka of Pandita Vararuci

Vararuci (वररुचि) is the author of the Yogaśataka.—According to Priyavat Sharma, author of this book is perhaps the same person who has written Vararuci-saṃhitā. This saṃhitā is also not available but its reference available in other books. He has also written Abhidhānacintāmaṇi commentary on Yogaśataka of Kaṇṭhadāsa. From this, Priyavrat Sharma decides the time of this author and book to be 10th A.D.

context information

Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.

General definition (in Hinduism)

Source: WikiPedia: Hinduism

1) Vararuci (वररुचि).—In Somadeva’s Kathasaritsagara and Kshemendra’s Brihatkathamanjari one can see that Katyayana was called Vararuci. The oldest commentator of Prakrita Prakasa was Bhamaha an inhabitant of Kashmir who was also a rhetorician as well as a poet.

2) The characters in one of the several stories in Pancatantra are King Nanda and Vararuci. This story appear as the fifth story titled A Three in One Story in Strategy Four : Loss of Gains.

3) Vararuci (Tamil Nadu, 13th century CE): This astronomer is the author of the well-known Vākyakaraṇa, which is the source book of the Vākya Panchānga, popular in South India, especially the Tamil region.

4) Vararuci is the name of the author of the oldest extant grammar of Prakrit, titled Prākṛt Prakāśa. In this work Vararuci has considered four different dialects: Maharashtri the older form of Marathi, Sauraseni which evolved into the Braj language, Magadhi the former form of Bihari, and Paisaci a language no longer extant.

5) Vararuci (Kerala, fourth century CE) is the father figure in a legend in Kerala popularly referred to as the legend of the twelve clans born of a pariah woman (Parayi petta panthirukulam). Vararuci of Kerala legend was also an astute astronomer believed to be the author of Chandravākyas (moon sentences), a set of numbers specifying the longitudes of the Moon at different intervals of time.

In Buddhism

General definition (in Buddhism)

Source: academia.edu: The Chronological History of Buddhism

Vararuci II (1090-1000 BCE) and Saptavarman were the grammar teachers of King Udayana. Saptavarman was the author of Kalapa Vyakarana. Vararuchi II was a junior contemporary of Nagarjuna II. He belonged to the country of Radha, east of Magadha. He became Buddhist probably under the influence of Nagarjuna II. He authored many Buddhist texts.

Vararuchi also went to Varanasi during the reign of King Bhumishukla. The King wanted to marry off his daughter Vasanti to Vararuchi but arrogant Vasanti refused to marry Vararuchi because she considered herself a great scholar than him. Vararuchi II vowed to teach a lesson to Vasanti. He found a handsome cowherd in Magadha who was cutting the branch while sitting on it. He somehow managed to befool Vasanti and convinced her to marry the cowherd. After knowing the real identity of his husband, Vasanti tried to educate him. The cowherd used to worship the goddess of Kali every day with flowers. Gradually, he became a learned man and came to be known as Kalidasa.

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Vararuci (वररुचि).—Name of a poet and grammarian (one of the 'nine gems' at the court of king Vikrama; see navaratna; he is identified by some with Kātyāyana, the celebrated author of the Vārtikas on Pāṇini's Sūtras).

Derivable forms: vararuciḥ (वररुचिः).

Vararuci is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms vara and ruci (रुचि).

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

Vararuci (वररुचि).—m.

(-ciḥ) A poet and philosopher, one of the ornaments of the court of Bhoja, or one of the nine gems usually ascribed to Vikramaditya'S court. E. vara pre-eminent, ruci light or renown.

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

Vararuci (वररुचि).—[masculine] [Name] of a poet and scholar.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus Catalogorum

1) Vararuci (वररुचि) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—an ancient writer, to whom, as in the case of other celebrated authors, a number of most modern and contemptible pieces are attributed. He is quoted in the Tribhāṣyaratna 1, 18. 2, 14. 19. 4, 40 etc. As a grammarian he is sometimes identified with Kātyāyana, the author of the Vārttika to Pāṇini: Aṣṭādhyāyīvṛtti. Ekākṣarakośa, Ekākṣaranighaṇṭu, Ekākṣaranāmamālā, Ekākṣarābhidhāna, Aindranighaṇṭu. Kārakacakra [nyāya] Kārikā [grammatical] Oppert. 8230. Caitrakuṭī [grammatical] Daśagaṇakārikā [grammatical] Pattrakaumudī, a letter-writer. Prayogaviveka [grammatical] Prayogavivekasaṃgraha [grammatical] Prākṛtaprakāśa. Phullasūtra. See Puṣpasūtra. Yogaśata med. Rākṣasakāvya. L. 782. Rājanīti. Burnell. 141^b. Liṅgaviśeṣavidhi, Liṅgavṛtti, Liṅgānuśāsana [grammatical] Vararucivākya kāvya. Vādataraṅgiṇī. Vārttika [grammatical] Oppert. Ii, 6422. Vivekasaṃgraha [grammatical] Lahore. 6. See Prayogavivekasaṃgraha. Śabdalakṣaṇa. Śrutabodha. B. 3, 64. Peters. 3, 396. Samāsapaṭala [grammatical] Peters. 3, 393. Amongst all these works, only the Prākṛtapra-kāśa has any claim to belong to the old Vararuci. Verses of his are given Śp. p. 82. [Sūktikarṇāmṛta by Śrīdharadāsa] [Subhāshitāvali by Vallabhadeva] Bhojaprabandha Oxf. 150^b.

2) Vararuci (वररुचि):—Kārakasamāsataddhitapratyayādisaṃkṣepa. Bhārgavamuhūrta jy.

3) Vararuci (वररुचि):—Kātantravṛtti. Śabdacakra.

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

1) Vararuci (वररुचि):—[=vara-ruci] [from vara] mfn. taking pleasure in boons (Name of Śiva), [Śivagītā, ascribed to the padma-purāṇa]

2) [v.s. ...] m. Name of a grammarian (also a poet, lexicographer, and writer on medicine, sometimes identified with Kātyāyana, the reputed author of the Vārttikas or supplementary rules of Pāṇini; he is placed by some among the nine gems of the court of Vikramāditya, and by others among the ornaments of the court of Bhoja; he was the author of the Prākrit grammar called Prākṛta-prakāśa, and is said to be the first grammarian who reduced the various dialects of Prākṛt to a system), [Pañcatantra; Kathāsaritsāgara etc.]

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

Vararuci (वररुचि):—(ciḥ) 2. m. Name of a poet and philosopher.

[Sanskrit to German]

Vararuci 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.

Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Vararuci (ವರರುಚಿ):—

1) [noun] great splendour.

2) [noun] a good taste in the fields of art, literature, music, etc.

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

Vararuci (வரருசி) noun < Vararuci. The sage who wrote the Vārtikam supplementing Pāṇini’s grammar; பாணினிவியாகரணத்துக்கு வார்த்திகஞ் செய்த முனிவர். ((சங்கத்தகராதி) தமிழ்சொல்லகராதி) [paniniviyagaranathukku varthigagn seytha munivar. ((sangathagarathi) thamizhsollagarathi)]

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.

Relevant text

Search found 17 books and stories containing Vararuci, Vara-ruci, Vararusi, Vararuchi; (plurals include: Vararucis, rucis, Vararusis, Vararuchis). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Story of Vararuci

Story of Pāṇini

Story of Pākkanār

+ 4 more chapters / show preview

Part 1 - Vararuci—The author and the date of the play (Ubhayābhisārikā) < [Chapter 2 - Bhāṇa (critical study)]

Part 14 - Conclusion < [Chapter 2 - Bhāṇa (critical study)]

Part 8 - Styles (vṛtti) of the Bhāṇa < [Chapter 2 - Bhāṇa (critical study)]

+ 9 more chapters / show preview

4. The source of the Mudrārākṣasa < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]

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Part 3.11 - Nature of Vākya (sentence) and their types < [Chapter 5 - Analyasis and Interpretations of the Kāvyamīmāṃsā]

Appendix 1 - Ācārya, Kavi and important persons mentioned in the Kāvyamīmāṃsā