Airavati, Airāvatī: 13 definitions
Introduction:
Airavati means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, biology. 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
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexAirāvatī (ऐरावती).—(River) A beautiful stream originating from the Himalayas, likened to a lady; served daily by Indra;1 the region surrounding its source described.2
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)
Nighantu (Synonyms and Characteristics of Drugs and technical terms)
Source: WorldCat: Rāj nighaṇṭuAirāvatī (ऐरावती) is another name for Vaṭapatrī, an unidentified medicinal plant, according to verse 5.41-42 of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rājanighaṇṭu. The fifth chapter (parpaṭādi-varga) of this book enumerates sixty varieties of smaller plants (kṣudra-kṣupa). Together with the names Airāvatī and Vaṭapatrī, there are a total of five Sanskrit synonyms identified for this plant.
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 Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: Wisdomlib Libary: VajrayoginiAirāvatī (ऐरावती) is the goddess presiding over one of the six petals of the northern lotus of the vārāhyabhyudaya-maṇḍala, according to the Vārāhyabhyudayatantra (largerly extracted from the 10th century Abhidhānottaratantra). These six petals are presided over by a kuleśvarī (presiding lady) named Locanā. The central deity of the vārāhyabhyudaya-maṇḍala is the twelve-armed Vajravarāhī.
Airāvatī is associated with the sacred site (pīṭha) named Kāmarūpa. All the goddess of the northern lotus petals are to be visualised as dancing naked and being half-male / half-female (ardhanarīśvarī) with their two sides being black and yellow. In their four arms they brandish a bowl and staff, with a ḍamaru and their familial attribute.
Source: academia.edu: A Critical Study of the Vajraḍākamahātantrarāja (II)Airāvatī (ऐरावती) is the name of a Ḍākinī (‘sacred girl’) presiding over Kāmarūpa: one of the four Kṣetras (‘sacred spot’) present within the Vākcakra (‘circle of word’), according to the 9th-centruy Vajraḍākatantra. The Vākcakra is one of three Cakras within the Tricakra system which embodies twenty-four sacred spots or districts resided over by twenty-four Ḍākinīs (viz., Airāvatī) whose husbands abide in one’s body in the form of twenty-four ingredients (dhātu) of one’s body.
Airāvatī has for her husband the hero (vīra) named Aṅkulika. She is the presiding deity of Kāmarūpa and the associated internal location are the ‘arm-pits’ and the bodily ingredients (dhātu) are the ‘eyes’.
Source: academia.edu: The Structure and Meanings of the Heruka MaṇḍalaAirāvatī (ऐरावती) is the name of a Ḍākinī who, together with the Vīra (hero) named Aṅkurika forms one of the 36 pairs situated in the Vajracakra, according to the 10th century Ḍākārṇava chapter 15. Accordingly, the vajracakra refers to one of the four divisions of the sahaja-puṭa (‘innate layer’), situated within the padma (lotus) in the middle of the Herukamaṇḍala. The 36 pairs of Ḍākinīs [viz., Airāvatī] and Vīras each have one face and four arms; they hold a skull bowl, a skull staff, a small drum and a knife; they are dark-bluish-black in color.
Source: OSU Press: Cakrasamvara SamadhiAirāvatī (ऐरावती) is the name of a Ḍākinī (female consort) and one of the deities of the Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala or Saṃvaramaṇḍala of Abhayākaragupta’s Niṣpannayogāvalī, p. 45 and n. 145; (Cf. Cakrasaṃvaratantra, Gray, David B., 2007).—The Cakrasaṃvara mandala has a total of sixty-two deities. [...] Three concentric circles going outward, the body, speech and mind wheels (kāya-vāka-citta), in the order: mind (blue), speech (red), and body (white), with eight Ḍākinīs each in non-dual union with their Ḍākas, "male consorts".
Associated elements of Airāvatī and Vajradehaka:
Circle: vākacakra [=vākcakra?] (speech-wheel) (red);
Ḍākinī (female consort): Airāvatī;
Ḍāka (male consort): Aṅkurika;
Bīja: kāṃ;
Body-part: armpits;
Pīṭha: Kāmarūpa;
Bodily constituent: akṣiṇī (eyes);
Bodhipakṣa (wings of enlightenment): prajñendriya (faculty of wisdom).
Airavati (ऐरवति) (identified with river Ravi) refers to one of the great rivers of Jambudvīpa, according to the Kāraṇḍavyūha-sūtra chapter 2 (“”).—Accordingly, as Tathāgata Padmottama praises the qualities of this six-syllable mahāvidyā: “As a comparison, in Jambudvīpa there are great rivers that flow day and night. They are the [e.g., Airavati, Ravi] [...]. Each of these rivers has five hundred tributaries. Day and night they flow into the ocean. Noble son, this is how the accumulation of merit increases as the result of a single repetition of the six-syllable mahāvidyā: I can count each drop in those great rivers, but, noble son, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit that comes from repeating the six-syllable mahāvidyā once”.
Note: The Tibetan transliterates this river as Airavati. The Sanskrit has Erāvatī, though it is primarily known as Irāvatī.
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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: archive.org: TrisastisalakapurusacaritraAirāvatī (ऐरावती) is the name of a river, according to chapter 5.1 [śāntinātha-caritra] of Hemacandra’s 11th century Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra: an ancient Sanskrit epic poem narrating the history and legends of sixty-three illustrious persons in Jainism.
Accordingly:—“Because Kapila died in painful meditation, he wandered through many birth-nuclei. He destroyed the karma arising from painful meditation by involuntary destruction of karma, being reborn again and again in animal-and hellish-births. On the bank of the Airāvatī in the forest Bhūtaratna, Kapila became the son, Dharmila, of the ascetic, Jaṭilakauśika, who was devoted to penance, and of his wife, Pavanavegā, like the union of the yoke-pin and the yoke. [...]”.
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.
Biology (plants and animals)
Source: Google Books: CRC World Dictionary (Regional names)Airavati in India is the name of a plant defined with Acacia pennata in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Mimosa torta Roxb. (among others).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Flora Indica (1832)
· The Bombay Flora (1861)
· Species Plantarum.
· Species Plantarum (1753)
· Hort. Beng. (1814)
· Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information Kew (1915)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Airavati, for example diet and recipes, extract dosage, health benefits, pregnancy safety, chemical composition, side effects, have a look at these references.
This sections includes definitions from the five kingdoms of living things: Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists and Monera. It will include both the official binomial nomenclature (scientific names usually in Latin) as well as regional spellings and variants.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryAirāvatī (ऐरावती).—name of a yoginī: Sādhanamālā 427.5.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Airāvatī (ऐरावती):—[from airāvata > aira] f. the female of Indra’s elephant
2) [v.s. ...] Name of a river, [Mahābhārata]
3) [v.s. ...] lightning, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
4) [v.s. ...] a species of fern, [Suśruta]
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Airāvatī (ऐरावती) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Eravaī, Erāvaī.
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 corpusAirāvati (ಐರಾವತಿ):—
1) [noun] (myth.) the female of the celestial elephant that guards the northern quarter of the universe.
2) [noun] the flashing of light produced by a discharge of atmospheric electricity; lightning.
3) [noun] the orange tree; Citrus aurantium (=C. bergamia) of Rutaceae family.
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: Airavatisha, Airavativarnana, Airavativithi.
Full-text: Eravai, Airavata, Ankurika, Aciravati, Kamarupa, Pushya, Akshini, Ankulika, Prajnendriya, Vatapatri, Kam, Eravati, Dharmila, Bhutaratna, Iravati, Jatilakaushika, Vajracakra, Locana, Pavanavega.
Relevant text
Search found 14 books and stories containing Airavati, Airāvatī, Airāvati; (plurals include: Airavatis, Airāvatīs, Airāvatis). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
The Matsya Purana (critical study) (by Kushal Kalita)
Part 2 - Rivers and Mountains of Bhāratavarṣa < [Chapter 8 - Geographical data in the Matsyapurāṇa]
Part 4 - Contents of the Matsyapurāṇa (summary) < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
Amarakoshodghatana of Kshirasvamin (study) (by A. Yamuna Devi)
Flora (5): Trees < [Chapter 5 - Aspects of Nature]
The Brahma Purana (by G. P. Bhatt)
The Skanda Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 119 - Greatness of Balātibaladaityaghnī (Bala-Atibala-daitya-ghnī) < [Section 1 - Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya]
Chapter 2 - A List of Different Sacred Places of Śiva on the Earth < [Section 3b - Arunācala-khaṇḍa (Uttarārdha)]
Chapter 3 - Queries Made by Devī < [Section 1 - Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya]
Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra (by Helen M. Johnson)
Part 10: Kapila’s births < [Chapter I - Five previous incarnations]
The Agni Purana (by N. Gangadharan)