Abhisarika, Abhisārikā: 17 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
1. Natyashastra
2. Kavya
Languages
1. Pali
2. Marathi
3. Sanskrit
4. Hindi
See also

Introduction:

Abhisarika means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Pali, 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.

In Hinduism

Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)

Source: archive.org: Natya Shastra

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका) refers to “one who moves to her lover” and represents a type of mistress (nāyikā), according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 24. The different nāyikās, or ‘heroines’ of dramatic plays (nāṭaka) are defined according to the rules of king’s etiquette to women.

Accordingly, “a woman who due to love or lust is attracted to her lover and gives up modesty for going out to meet him, is called a heroine (nāyikā) secretly moving to her lover (abhisārikā)”.

Source: Shodhganga: The significance of the mūla-beras (natya)

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका) refers to a “[heroine] who approaches the husband or lover herself” and represents one of the “eight heroines” (aṣṭanāyikā) in a dramatic representation, according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 24 and the Abhinaya-sāra-saṃputa chapter 2.—The aṣṭanāyikās (eight heroines) who are separately described in eight ways according to their different emotional states or moods towards the hero. Chapter 24 of the Nāṭyaśāstra and chapter II of Abhinaya-sara-samputa speak of these aṣṭanāyikās [viz., Abhisārikā] in detail.

context information

Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (shastra) of performing arts, (natya—theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing Dramatic plays (nataka), construction and performance of Theater, and Poetic works (kavya).

Kavya (poetry)

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

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका) refers to a “woman going out to meet someone at night”, according to Bāṇa’s Kādambarī (p. 225-226).—Accordingly, while describing the shire of the Goddess Caṇḍikā, “[Then follows the image of the Goddess Caṇḍikā, which matches the conception of Kālarātri in the passage from the Mahābhārata:] [...] she bore the coquettish apparel of a woman going out to meet Mahākāla at night (mahākāla-abhisārikā), with a vine-like body furnished with a raiment reddened with saffron-dye, with a face with red eyes, whose brows were furrowed into a frown, whose lip was crimsoned with betel that was blood, whose cheeks were reddened by the light shed from ear-ornaments of pomegranate flowers, with a forehead on which there was a tilaka dot of vermillion made by a Śabara beauty, covered by a magnificent gold turban. She was worshipped by goats... mice... antelope and black serpents... She was praised on all sides by flocks of old crows; [...]”.

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’.

Languages of India and abroad

Pali-English dictionary

Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary

abhisārikā : (f.) a courtesan.

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

abhisārikā (अभिसारिका).—f S A female making an assignation.

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

abhisārikā (अभिसारिका).—f A woman who goes to meet her lover at an appointed place.

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

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका).—A woman who either goes to meet her lover or keeps an appointment made by him; यत्रौषधिप्रकाशेन नक्तं दर्शितसंचराः । अनभिज्ञास्तमिस्राणां दुर्दिनेष्वभि- सारिकाः (yatrauṣadhiprakāśena naktaṃ darśitasaṃcarāḥ | anabhijñāstamisrāṇāṃ durdineṣvabhi- sārikāḥ) Kumārasambhava 6.43; R.16.12; अभिसारयते कान्तं या मन्मथवशंवदा । स्वयं वाभिसरत्येषा धीरैरुक्ताऽभिसारिका (abhisārayate kāntaṃ yā manmathavaśaṃvadā | svayaṃ vābhisaratyeṣā dhīrairuktā'bhisārikā) S. D.115; कान्तार्थिनी तु या याति संकेतं साभिसारिका (kāntārthinī tu yā yāti saṃketaṃ sābhisārikā) Ak. The directions as to dress &c. to be observed by the different kinds of अभिसारिका (abhisārikā) are given in S. D.116. The S. D. further recommends the following 8 places as eligible spots for lovers to meet :(1) a field; (2) a garden; (3) a ruined temple; (4) the house of a female messenger; (5) forest; (6) caravansary (a place for pilgrims &c.); (7) a cemetery; and (8) the bank of a river; क्षेत्रं वाटी भग्नदेवालयो दूतीगृहं वनम् । मालयं च श्मशानं च नद्यादीनां तटी तथा (kṣetraṃ vāṭī bhagnadevālayo dūtīgṛhaṃ vanam | mālayaṃ ca śmaśānaṃ ca nadyādīnāṃ taṭī tathā) ||

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

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका).—f.

(-kā) A woman who makes or keeps an assignation. E. abhi before sṛ to go, vun affix which leaves ka, and ṭāp fem. do. also abhisāriṇī.

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

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका).—i. e. abhi -sṛ-aka, f. A woman who goes to a rendezvous.

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

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका).—[feminine] a woman visiting her lover.

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

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका):—[=abhi-sārikā] [from abhi-sṛ] f. a woman who goes to meet her lover or keeps an assignation, [Kumāra-sambhava vi, 43; Raghuvaṃśa xvi, 12, etc.]

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

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका):—[tatpurusha compound] f.

(-kā) A woman who meets her lover by assignation (Amarak.: kāntārthinī tu yā yāti saṃketaṃ sābhisārikā; Hemach.: yāti yā priyaṃ sābhisārikā; Śabdaratnāv.: kāntamuddiśya saṃketaṃ yāti yā sābhisārikā); Bharata defines this character which is of frequent occurrence in poetry and affords an insight into the amorous customs of the ancient Hindus, as ‘a woman who, having lost all modesty and fear, under the influence of love or passion invites her paramour to come to her (as quoted by Hemach.'s comm.: hitvā lajjābhaye śliṣṭā madanena madena vā— by Vallabhagaṇi: madena ca—. abhisārayate—Vallabh.: abhisārayedyā—kāntaṃ sā bhavedabhisārikā); or as ‘one who cannot even wait for the arrival of the messenger she has sent out, but suffers unbearable pains of thirst after the water of love, desirous as she is to drink the lips of her absent friend’ (Vetalapanch.: yā dūtikāgamanakālamapārayantī sā duḥsahasmarajalārtipipāsiteva . niryātavallabhajanādharapānalobhātsā kathyate munivarairabhisāriketi); similarly the Rasikasarvaswa which defines her as ‘one who having lost all modesty, attracted by her lover’s youth and by love invites him to meet her’ (lajjāṃ hitvā samākṛṣṭā yauvanena madena ca . abhisārayate kāntaṃ kīrtitā sābhisārikā); but if we follow other works on Hindu rhetoric, this definition would only apply to the second or the last of the three categories of the abhisārikā, as mentioned e. g. by the Sāhityadarpaṇa and the Saṅgītadāmodara; the former of which works, after having prefaced the definition that ‘wise men call abhisārikā a woman who under the dominion of love either invites her lover to come to her or goes herself to him’ (abhisārayate kāntaṃ yā manmathavaśaṃvadā . svayaṃ vābhisaratyeṣā dhīrairuktābhisārikā) distinguishes between gentle-women who go to meet their lovers, courtesans and servant girls; ‘the gentle-woman will make herself on such occasions as small as possible, deafen the noise of her ornaments and wrap herself up in a veil; the courtesan will make a display of gay apparel, her ankleornaments will merrily tinkle and her face smile with joy; if a servant girl goes to meet her lover, her speech will stammer with delight, her eyes stare wide open with flurry, and her gait will be awkwardly bewildered’ (Sāhityad.: saṃlīnā sveṣu gātreṣu mūkīkṛtavibhūṣaṇā . avaguṇṭhanasaṃvītā kulajābhisaredyadi .. vicitrojjvalaveśā tu valannūpuranisvanā . pramodasmeravadanā syādveśyābhisaredyadi .. madaskhalitasaṃlāpā vibhramotphullalocanā . āviddhagatisaṃcārā syātpreṣyābhisaredyadi ..). But the rhetorico-musical work Saṅgītadāmodara is apparently more in keeping with the general division of amorous ladies (see nāyikā) into such as are their own mistresses, or such as belong to another (as a married woman and a maiden) and such as belong to every body (comp. svastrī, anyastrī and sādhāraṇastrī), when it substitutes for the servant girl the second category; for its story runs thus: ‘the gentle-woman goes to the lover’s house wrapped up, afraid, bashful, concealing her emotions, confused (?), with downcast looks; a married woman will go to him her speech somewhat stammering, her eye glaring wide open with flurry, her gait awkwardly bewildered, with slow steps, and no one will see her; but a courtesan walks up to her lover in the company of a friend, full of passion, her eyes trembling, fearless, decorated with all kind of ornaments, surrounded by people, with tinkling anklets: (in short) just as she pleases’. This work tells us besides that some of these ladies prefer assignations during the light half of a month, i. e. from new to full moon,—hence called śuklābhisārikāḥ or dames of the light fortnight—and others during the dark half, when the moon is in the wane—hence called kṛṣṇābhisārikāḥ or dames of the dark fortnight; the former wear garlands of Arabian jasmine, are anointed all over with Sandal preparations and dressed in silk, but do not make their appearance by moon-light; the latter are anointed with black aloe unguents, are fond of dark colours, and are also afraid of the moon-rise; (kulajānyāṅganā veśyā tridhā syādabhisārikā .. kulajā saṃvṛtā trastā savrīḍā tadgṛhaṃ vrajet . saṃlīnā sveṣu bhāveṣu srastā vikṣepitānanā .. mandaskhalitasaṃlāpā vibhramotphullalocanā . āviddhagatisaṃcārā śanairgamanakāriṇī . nāyakaṃ paranārī tu vrajennānyena vīkṣitā .. sakhīyuktā madāviṣṭā sphāritākṣī tvaśaṅkitā . nānābharaṇacitrāḍhyā tathā parijanāvṛtā . sanūpurā yathākāmaṃ veśyā sarati nāyakam .. śuklapakṣe kṛṣṇapakṣe dvidhā syādabhisārikā . mallikāmālyadhāriṇyaḥ sarvāṅgenārdracandanāḥ—Ms. E. I. H.; Ms. Paris. sarvāṅgīnārdracandanāḥ—. kṣaumavatyo na lakṣyante jyotsrāyāmabhisārikāḥ . kālāguruviliptāṅgī nīlarāgavadaṃvadā . candrodayaparitrastā kṛṣṇapakṣābhisārikā).—[A specimen of the gentle-woman is doubtless Urvaśī—in the drama Vikramorv. act 2, scene 2—, when she comes to meet Purūravas in a purple dress with pearl ornaments (cf. Wilson’s Hindu theatre I. p. 230 note: abhisārikāveśā; Bollensen: kṛtābhisaraṇaveśā; ‘Urvaśi: I feel my strength desert me; bring him quickly—or quickly lead me to his royal palace’; or Rādhā in the Gītagov.; comp. e. g. the words of her friend, ed. Lassen V. 19: sabhayacakitaṃ vinyasyantīṃ dṛśau timire pathi . pratitaru muhuḥ sthitvā mandaṃ padāni vitanvantīm . kathamapi rahaḥ prāptāmaṅgeranaṅgataraṅgibhiḥ . sumukhi subhagaḥ paśyaṃsa tvāmupaitu kṛtārthatām); a specimen of the married woman may be found in the daughter of alderman Samudradatta, in the third story of the Vetālapañchaviṃśati. Instances of the courtesan are e. g. Mithyādṛṣṭi (Heresy) in the drama Prabodhach. (comp. e. g. act 2, scene 9: …nīlendīvaradāmadīrghatarayā dṛṣṭyā dhayantī mano dolāndolanalolakaṅkaṇaraṇatkārottaraṃ sarpati); or Amaruśat. v. 28 and 69. A servant girl who makes love in the manner described, is exhibited in the Sāhityadarpaṇa: her betel-stained teeth she always displays; with horselaughter she laughs, but no one knows why; from place to place she sets, to please, her staggering steps, and dancing high her hips, she slily stops before young men’.] The best time for abhisārikās to meet their lovers is, according to the Saṅgītad., ‘during a dense fog, a winter-night, complete darkness, at noon of a summer-day, while a whirlwind rages, during an uproar, at moon-rise, during a revolution, when the king is ill, or the town is on fire, during a great festival, and in the evening’, for it seems ‘that on such occasions the cowkeeper girls as well as the dames of the dark as those of the light fortnight had their amatory sport with Kṛṣṇa’; (but their meeting at moon-rise is apparently at variance with the preceding definition; sphārikujjhaṭihemantarajanīdhvāntasaṃcayāḥ . grīṣmamadhyāhgavātālīkolāhalavidhūdayāḥ . rāṣṭrabhaṅganṛpātaṅkapuradāhamahotsavāḥ . pradoṣāśceti kathitā dvādaśānehasaḥ kramāt (Ms. E. I. H.; Ms. Paris. dvādaśānekaśaḥ kramāt) . gokulasthāḥ puraiteṣu kaṃsārātiriraṃsayā . suveśāstarasā yānti kṛṣṇaśuklābhisārikāḥ). The Rasamañjarī (as quoted by Rādhākāntadeva) distinguishes in general between abhisārikās who meet their paramours in day-time, by moon-shine and in the dark (see divābhisārikā, jyotsnābhisārikā, andhakārābhisārikā); comp. e. g. Ṛtusaṃhāra: sutīkṣṇamuccai rasatāṃ payomucāṃ ghanāndhakārāvṛtaśarvarīṣvapi . taḍitprabhādarśitamārgabhūmayaḥ prayānti rāgādabhisārikāḥ striyaḥ; or Kumārasambh.: yatrauṣadhiprakāśena naktaṃ darśitasaṃcarāḥ . anabhijñāstamisrāṇāṃ durdineṣvabhisārikāḥ. For the places of assignation see abhisārasthāna. E. sṛ with abhi, kṛt aff. ṇvul, fem. aff. ṭāp.

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

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका):—[abhi-sārikā] (kā) 1. f. A woman who keeps an assignation.

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

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Ahisāriā.

[Sanskrit to German]

Abhisarika 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

Abhisārikā (अभिसारिका):—(nf) a woman who goes to meet her lover or keeps an assignation.

context information

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Search found 13 books and stories containing Abhisarika, Abhisārikā, Abhi-sarika, Abhi-sārikā; (plurals include: Abhisarikas, Abhisārikās, sarikas, sārikās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Text 7.100 < [Chapter 7 - Literary Faults]

Text 10.230 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]

Text 7.83 < [Chapter 7 - Literary Faults]

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Part 2b - Justification of the title (Ubhayābhisārikā) [ubhaya-abhisārikā] < [Chapter 2 - Bhāṇa (critical study)]

Difference between the Daśarūpaka and the Nāṭyaśāstra < [Introduction]

Dhanañjaya on the hero and other characters < [Introduction]

+ 2 more chapters / show preview

2.7. Dress of Prostitutes < [Chapter 2 - Costumes]

2.14. Dress for Stage performance < [Chapter 2 - Costumes]

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Verse 4.19.24 < [Chapter 19 - A Thousand Names of Srī Yamunā]