Abhakshya, Abhakṣya: 15 definitions
Introduction:
Abhakshya means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi, Hindi. 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.
The Sanskrit term Abhakṣya can be transliterated into English as Abhaksya or Abhakshya, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Alternative spellings of this word include Abhakshy.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य) refers to “forbidden (food) stuffs”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.27 (“Description of the fraudulent words of the Brahmacārin”).—Accordingly, as Śiva (in guise of a Brahmacārin) said to Pārvatī: “[...] I know Śiva through and through with all His weighty attributes. I shall tell you the truth. Listen with attention. [...] He holds the skull. Serpents twine round His limbs. Poison has left a mark on his neck. He eats even forbidden stuffs [i.e., abhakṣya-bhakṣa]. He has odd eyes and is definitely awful. His birth and pedigree cannot be traced. He is devoid of the enjoyment of a householder. He has ten arms. He is mostly naked and is ever accompanied by ghosts and goblins. [...]”.
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.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य) refers to the “prohibited elephant food”, according to the 15th century Mātaṅgalīlā composed by Nīlakaṇṭha in 263 Sanskrit verses, dealing with elephantology in ancient India, focusing on the science of management and treatment of elephants.—[Cf. chapter 1, “on the origin of elephants”]: [As sage Pālakāpya said to king Romapāda]: “19. And Pālakāpya played with the elephants, their cows, and the young elephants, roaming with them through rivers and torrents, on mountain tops and in pools of water, and on pleasant spots of ground, living as a hermit on leaves and water, through years numbering twice six thousand, learning all about the elephants, what they should and should not eat (bhakṣya-abhakṣya), their joys and griefs, their gestures and what is good and bad for them and so forth”.
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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य) refers to “prohibited food”.—The definitions of what is not fit to be eaten are given considerable prominence particularly in the later Jainism. The standard Śvetāmbara list of twenty-two abhakṣyas is found as early as Nemicandra’s Pravacana-sāroddhāra v245-246. It has largely ousted the later list of sixteen preferred by Hemacandra (in his Yogaśāstra 3.6-7). Later Digambara lists closely follow Āśādhara’s pattern (in his Sāgāra-dharmāmṛta 3.11-18) and make few noticeable additions to the objects forbidden.
1) Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य) refers to “forbidden food”, according to the Saṃvegasundara by Sārasīṣamāṇarāsa (dealing with the Ethics section of Jain Canonical literature) which is included in the collection of manuscripts at the ‘Vincenzo Joppi’ library, collected by Luigi Pio Tessitori during his visit to Rajasthan between 1914 and 1919.—The Sārasīṣamāṇarāsa was composed in VS 1548 (see above) and deals with ethics of daily life: prohibition from eating after sunset, need to give up violence to living beings, to drink filtered water, avoiding eating of forbidden food (abhakṣya).
2) Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य) is the name of a work dealing with the Ethics section of Jain Canonical literature.
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
Marathi-English dictionary
abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य).—a Inseculent, inedible. Forbidden (by Shastras) to eat.
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
Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य).—a.
1) Not to be eaten.
2) Prohibited from eating.
-kṣyam A prohibited article of food.
Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य).—mfn.
(-kṣyaḥ-kṣyā-kṣyaṃ) Not to be eaten. E. a neg. bhakṣya to be eaten.
Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य).—[adjective] not to be eaten.
Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य):—[=a-bhakṣya] [from a-bhakṣaṇa] mfn. not to be eaten by ([instrumental case] or [genitive case] [Manu-smṛti])
Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य):—[tatpurusha compound] m. f. n.
(-kṣyaḥ-kṣyā-kṣyam) 1) Unfit to be eaten; e. g. in Yājnav.: abhakṣyeṇa dvijaṃ dūṣyandaṇḍya uttamasāhasam (Mitākṣ.: mūtrapurīṣādinā bhakṣānarheṇānnapānādimiśraṇena dravyarūpeṇa vā brāhmaṇaṃ dūṣayitvā &c.); or see the instance s. v. apeya.
2) What ought not to be eaten, prohibited for eating; e. g. Patanjali in the introd. to Pāṇ.: loke tāvat . abhakṣyo grāmyakukkuṭaḥ . abhakṣyo grāmyasūkara ityucyate . bhakṣyaṃ ca nāma kṣutpratighātārthamupādīyate śakyaṃ cānena śvamāṃsādibhirapi kṣutpratihantum . tatra niyamaḥ kriyate . idaṃ bhakṣyamidamabhakṣyamiti. —Manu treats of prohibited articles of food esp. in the fifth book, Yājnavalkya in the first (v. 160 ff.); a list of such eatables may be found too in the Sāntiparvan v. 1313 seqq. (comp. also Mitramiśra's Dharmaś. Ms. E. I. H. 930. I. fol. 192b. seqq.); on the penances inflicted for eating such food see Manu 11. 152 ff., Yājnav. 3. 282, Viṣṇu-Dharmaś. fol. 17 a., Mit. prāº fol. 91 b. ff., Raghunand. I. p. 317 ff. &c. &c. E. a neg. and bhakṣya.
Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य):—[a-bhakṣya] (kṣyaḥ-kṣyā-kṣyaṃ) a. Unfit to be eaten.
[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.
Hindi dictionary
Abhakṣya (अभक्ष्य) [Also spelled abhakshy]:—(a) uneatable, inedible; (nm) forbidden/uneatable food.
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Kannada-English dictionary
Abhakṣya (ಅಭಕ್ಷ್ಯ):—[adjective] not fit to be eaten; not eatable; non-edible.
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)
Starts with: Abhakshyabhaksha, Abhakshyabhakshana, Abhakshyabhakshin, Abhakshyabhakshyaprakarana, Abhakshyabhoktri, Abhakshyatva.
Full-text (+79): Bhakshyabhakshya, Abhakshyabhakshin, Abhakshyabhakshana, Abhakshyabhaksha, Mrid, Caritravant, Bhakshya, Abhakshaniya, Abhakshyatva, Abhaksha, Prerita, Abhakshyabhoktri, Abhakshy, Bakshy, Khadima, Vada, Vrintaka, Suga, Sandhana, Hima.
Relevant text
Search found 13 books and stories containing Abhakshya, Abhakṣya, Abhaksya, A-bhakshya, A-bhakṣya, A-bhaksya; (plurals include: Abhakshyas, Abhakṣyas, Abhaksyas, bhakshyas, bhakṣyas, bhaksyas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Jain Veganism: Ancient Wisdom, New Opportunities < [Volume 12, Issue 7 (2021)]
Framing the Pandemic < [Volume 13, Issue 5 (2022)]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 108 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 1]
Page 35 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 1]
Page 35 < [Hindi-Bengali-English Volume 1]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Page 165 < [Volume 1, Part 3 (1905)]
Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (by Rajendralala Mitra)
Page 276 < [Volume 7 (1883)]
Studies in Indian Literary History (by P. K. Gode)
45. A Topical Analysis of the Bhojana-Kutuhala < [Volume 2 (1954)]
Manasollasa (study of Arts and Sciences) (by Mahadev Narayanrao Joshi)
5. Food and Drinks described in the Manasollasa < [Chapter 3 - Social and Political conditions reflected in Somesvara’s Manasollasa]