Ashlesha, Āśleṣā, Aśleṣā, Āśleṣa, Āśleśā: 23 definitions
Introduction:
Ashlesha means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. 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 terms Āśleṣā and Aśleṣā and Āśleṣa and Āśleśā can be transliterated into English as Aslesa or Ashlesha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Images (photo gallery)
In Hinduism
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Āśleṣā (आश्लेषा):—Name for a particular section of the ecliptic. It is also known as Āśleṣānakṣatra. Nakṣatra means “Lunar mansion” and corresponds to a specific region of the sky through which the moon passes each day. Āśleṣā means “the embrace” and is associated with the deity known as Naga (Dragons). The presiding Lord of this lunar house is Budha (Mercury).
Indian zodiac: |16°40'| – |30° Karka|
Karka (कर्क, “crab”) corresponds with Cancer.
Western zodiac: |12°40'| – |26° Leo|
Leo corresponds with Siṃha (सिंह, “lion”).
Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Āśleṣā (आश्लेषा).—On the left hind foot of the śiśumāra.1 Its importance for śrāddha;2 the seventh nakṣatra.3
- 1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa V. 23. 6; Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 24. 135.
- 2) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 18. 5.
- 3) Vāyu-purāṇa 82. 5.
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.
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
Āśleṣā (आश्लेषा) is the Sanskrit name for an asterism (Hydrae). According to the Nāṭyaśāstra 3.14-15, the master of the dramatic art (nāṭyācārya) should perform raṅgapūjā after offering pūjā to the Jarjara (Indra’s staff). Accordingly, “After proceeding thus according to rules and staying in the phayhouse for the night, he should begin pūjā as soon as it is morning. This pūjā connected with the stage should take place under the asterism Ārdrā, Maghā, Yāmyā, Pūrvaphalgunī, Pūrvāṣāḍhā, Pūrvabhādrapadā, Aśleṣā or Mūlā”.
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).
Vastushastra (architecture)
Āśleṣā (आश्लेषा) refers to the ninth of twenty-seven constellations (ṛkṣa), according to the Mānasāra. Ṛkṣa is the third of the āyādiṣaḍvarga, or “six principles” that constitute the “horoscope” of an architectural or iconographic object. Their application is intended to “verify” the measurements of the architectural and iconographic object against the dictates of astrology that lay out the conditions of auspiciousness.
The particular nakṣatra, also known as ṛkṣa (e.g., āśleṣā) of all architectural and iconographic objects (settlement, building, image) must be calculated and ascertained. This process is based on the principle of the remainder. An arithmetical formula to be used in each case is stipulated, which engages one of the basic dimensions of the object (breadth, length, or perimeter/circumference). In the context of village planning and measurement, the text sates that among the stars (ṛkṣa), the ones that are pūrṇa (odd), are auspicious and the ones that are karṇa (even), inauspicious.
Vastushastra (वास्तुशास्त्र, vāstuśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian science (shastra) of architecture (vastu), dealing with topics such architecture, sculpture, town-building, fort building and various other constructions. Vastu also deals with the philosophy of the architectural relation with the cosmic universe.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Toxicology (Study and Treatment of poison)
Āśleṣā (आश्लेषा) (Nakṣatra) is considered negative for the recovery for a person to be bitten by snake, as taught in the Kāśyapa Saṃhitā: an ancient Sanskrit text from the Pāñcarātra tradition dealing with both Tantra and Viṣacikitsā, which represents the Ayurvedic study on Toxicology (Agadatantra or Sarpavidyā).—The malignant asterisms and baneful lunar phases and astral combinations, with reference to snake-bite, are discussed in the tail-end of the fourth Adhyāya. [...] The Kāśyapasaṃhitā mentions the following details regarding the Nakṣatras:—The stars of a malignant nature that determine the virulence of the poison of the snake bite are [e.g., Āśleṣā] (Cf. verse IV.108)
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.
Sports, Arts and Entertainment (wordly enjoyments)
Āśleṣa (आश्लेष) refers to a “(sexual) embrace”, according to the Śyainika-śāstra: a Sanskrit treatise dealing with the divisions and benefits of Hunting and Hawking, written by Rājā Rudradeva (or Candradeva) in possibly the 13th century.—Accordingly, [while discussing the outlines of hawking]: “The throwing of Vāsas on to birds resembles a sexual embrace (āśleṣa) [vihitāśleṣaḥ śṛṅgāram], sometimes pushing and sometimes pulling. When the quarry is caught and in the struggle its feathers drop from the sky, the feathers look like a shower of flowers from the hands of the delighted Indra. [...]”.
This section covers the skills and profiencies of the Kalas (“performing arts”) and Shastras (“sciences”) involving ancient Indian traditions of sports, games, arts, entertainment, love-making and other means of wordly enjoyments. Traditionally these topics were dealt with in Sanskrit treatises explaing the philosophy and the justification of enjoying the pleasures of the senses.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Āśleṣā (आश्लेषा) refers to one of the twenty-seven constellations (nakṣatra) according to according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XIV).—Āśleṣā is the Sanskrit equivalent of Chinese Lieou, Tibetan Skag and modern Hydrae.
Āśleṣā is classified in the second group: “The moon revolves around the earth in 28 days. If the moon enters one of the six following constellations (e.g., Āśleṣā), then at that moment the earth trembles as if it would collapse and this trembling extends as far as the Nāgas. Then there is no more rain, the rivers dry up, the year is bad for grain, the emperor (T’ien tseu) is cruel and the great ministers are unjust”.
Āśleṣā (आश्लेषा) is the name of a Nakṣatra mentioned in chapter 18 of the Candragarbha: the 55th section of the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra, a large compilation of Sūtras (texts) in Mahāyāna Buddhism partly available in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese.—Chapter 18 deals with geographical astrology and, in conversation with Brahmarāja and others, Buddha explains how he entrusts the Nakṣatras [e.g., Āśleṣā] with a group of kingdoms for the sake of protection and prosperity.
The Āśleṣānakṣatra comprises the following realms:
- Ki-sa-li (Kesari?),
- Mo-ho-ni-t'i (Mahāniti?),
- Wou-tch'ang (Udyāna?),
- Siu-ni-k'i (Sunikhi?),
- Po-lo-p'o (Pahlava),
- Yeou-lo-p'o (Urava?),
- K'iu-tch'a (Kūṭa?),
- Ni-k'ia (Nikha?),
- K'ien-tch'a-po-lo-p'o (Kaṇṭhapahlava),
- P'o-ki-to or So-kit-to (Vaketa or Saketa?),
Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Āśleṣā (आश्लेषा) refers to one of the various Nakṣatras mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Āśleṣā).
Āśleśā (आश्लेशा) refers to the ninth of the 28 nakṣatras (“constellations”) of the zodiac, as commonly depicted in Buddhist Iconography, and mentioned in the 11th-century Niṣpannayogāvalī of Mahāpaṇḍita Abhayākara.—The nakṣatras are described collectively in the dharmadhātuvāgīśvara-maṇḍala of the Niṣpannayogāvalī. In this maṇḍala the nakṣatras are given one face and two arms, which are clasped against the chest in the añjalimudrā:—“the deities [viz., Āśleśā] are decked in bejewelled jackets and they all show the añjali-mudrā”.—In colour, however, they differ. [viz., Āśleśā is given the colour white].
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
Sanskrit dictionary
Aśleṣā (अश्लेषा).—[na śliṣyati yatrotpannena śiśunā, śliṣ-ghañ Tv.]
1) The 9th Nakṣatra of lunar mansion containing five stars.
2) Disunion, disjunction.
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Āśleṣa (आश्लेष).—
1) Embracing, clasping, an embrace; आश्लेषः लोलुपवधूस्तनकार्कश्यसाक्षिणीम् (āśleṣaḥ lolupavadhūstanakārkaśyasākṣiṇīm) Śiśupālavadha 2.17; Amaruśataka 17,74,95- कण्ठाश्लेषप्रणयिनि जने (kaṇṭhāśleṣapraṇayini jane) Meghadūta 3,18.
2) Contact, intimate connection; relation; सामीप्याश्लेषविषयैर्व्याप्त्याधारश्चतुर्विधः (sāmīpyāśleṣaviṣayairvyāptyādhāraścaturvidhaḥ) Mugdha.
3) The site of an act.
-ṣāḥ f. (pl.) Name of the ninth Nakṣatra.
Derivable forms: āśleṣaḥ (आश्लेषः).
Aśleṣa (अश्लेष).—m., non-binding, disconnection, freedom: Aṣṭasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā 294.18—19 yaḥ…rūpasyāsaṃbandhaḥ sa rūpasyāśleṣaḥ …sa rūpasyānutpādo 'nirodhaḥ.
Aśleṣā (अश्लेषा).—f.
(-ṣā) 1. The ninth Nakshatra or lunar mansion, containing five stars. 2. Disunion, disjunction. E. a neg. and śleṣa union.
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Āśleṣa (आश्लेष).—m.
(-ṣaḥ) 1. Embracing, an embrace. 2. Site of any act. 3. Intimate connexion. E. āṅ before śliṣ to fold, ghañ aff.
Āśleṣa (आश्लेष).—i. e. ā-śliṣ + a, m. An embrace, [Meghadūta, (ed. Gildemeister.)] 105.
Āśleṣa (आश्लेष).—[masculine] close contact, embrace. [feminine] āślevā sgl. & [plural] [Name] of a lunar mansion.
1) Aśleṣā (अश्लेषा):—[=a-śleṣā] f. sg. [plural] (= aśleṣā q.v.) Name of the seventh (in later times the ninth) lunar mansion (containing five stars), [Mahābhārata xiii, 3262; Jyotiṣa; Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā]
2) Āśleṣa (आश्लेष):—[=ā-śleṣa] [from ā-śliṣ] m. intimate connection, contact
3) [v.s. ...] slight contact, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
4) [v.s. ...] embracing, embrace
5) [v.s. ...] intwining, [Mahābhārata; Bhāgavata-purāṇa; Meghadūta; Amaru-śataka] etc.
6) [v.s. ...] adherence, clinging to, [Nyāyamālā-vistara]
7) Āśleṣā (आश्लेषा):—[=ā-śleṣā] [from ā-śleṣa > ā-śliṣ] f. and (ās) f. [plural] Name of the seventh Nakṣatra, [Atharva-veda; Taittirīya-saṃhitā; Suśruta; Mahābhārata; Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā]
1) Aśleṣā (अश्लेषा):—(ṣā) 1. f. 9th lunar mansion.
2) Āśleṣa (आश्लेष):—[ā-śleṣa] (ṣaḥ) 1. m. Embracing.
Aśleṣā (अश्लेषा):—(von 3. a + śleṣa) f. [Śāntanācārya’s Phiṭsūtrāṇi 1, 20.] N. des 9ten Mondhauses [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 111.] [Colebrooke I, 90. 109. II, 334. 355. 363. 381. 387. 465. 474.]
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Āśleṣa (आश्लेष):—
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Aśleṣā (अश्लेषा):—sg. [Mahābhārata 13, 3262] (ā ed. Bomb.). pl. Name des 7ten Nakṣatra (in der älteren Zeit) [WEBER, Nakṣ. 2, 315. 371.] aśleṣārdha [355.] [Jyotiṣa 26.] aśleṣāsu (so fast alle Hdschrr.) [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 9, 28.] — Vgl. āśreṣā, āśleṣā .
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Āśleṣa (आश्लेष):—
1) a) [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 10, 13, 34.] kṛtāśleṣā [Kathāsaritsāgara 64, 123.] —
2) [WEBER, Nakṣ. 2, 300. 387.] āśleṣāyām [Mahābhārata 13, 3262 ed. Bomb.] st. a der ed. Calc. [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 3, 1.] pl. [9, 28.]
Aśleṣa (अश्लेष):—m. das Nichthaften [Bādarāyaṇa’s Brahmasūtra 4,1,13.]
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Aśleṣā (अश्लेषा):—f. Sg. und Pl. = āśleṣā.
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Āśleṣa (आश्लेष):——
1) m. (adj. Comp. f. ā) — a) unmittelbare Berührung. — b) Umschlingung , Umarmung. — c) was hängen — , kleben bleibt [Jaiminiyanyāyamālāvistara 10,1,5.] —
2) f. ā Sg. und Pl. das 7te Mondhaus.
Aśleṣā (अश्लेषा) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Asilesā.
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
Āślēṣa (ಆಶ್ಲೇಷ):—
1) [noun] a taking of another person into arms and pressing to the bosom with affection; an embrace.
2) [noun] a close relationship; intimate connection.
3) [noun] a bright star in the southern constellation Hydra; Epsilon Hydra; Alpha Hydra.
4) [noun] the fact of two or more things being in union.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Āśleṣa (आश्लेष):—n. 1. embracing; an embrace; 2. contact; intimate connection; relation;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Ashleshabhava, Ashleshabhu, Ashleshaja, Ashleshaka, Ashleshana, Ashleshanakshatra, Ashleshanakshatrashanti, Ashleshashanti, Ashleshashantiprayoga, Ashleshashantividhana, Ashleshavidhana, Ashleshavidhi.
Full-text (+151): Ashleshabhava, Samashlesha, Ashleshabhu, Kanthashlesha, Ashleshavidhi, Ashleshashanti, Ashleshanakshatra, Ahideva, Auraga, A shi li sha, Ashresha, Bhujamgabha, Ashleshaja, Bhasamdhi, Bhujangama, Liu su, Bhaujamga, Naganakshatra, Sarpa, Bhujaga.
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Search found 70 books and stories containing Ashlesha, A-shlesha, A-slesa, A-śleṣā, Ā-śleṣa, Ā-śleṣā, Ashlesa, Ashleshas, Āśleṣā, Aśleṣā, Āśleṣa, Aśleṣa, Aslesa, Āśleśā, Āślēṣa, Aślesa; (plurals include: Ashleshas, shleshas, slesas, śleṣās, śleṣas, Ashlesas, Ashleshases, Āśleṣās, Aśleṣās, Āśleṣas, Aśleṣas, Aslesas, Āśleśās, Āślēṣas, Aślesas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Narada Purana (English translation) (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 56.25 - Description of Puṃsavana (Rite for the Birth of a Male child) < [Part 2 - Pūrva-bhāga: Dvitīya-pāda]
Chapter 56.3 - Description of the Moon (Candracāra) < [Part 2 - Pūrva-bhāga: Dvitīya-pāda]
Chapter 56.14 - Description of the Asterisms (Nakṣatras) < [Part 2 - Pūrva-bhāga: Dvitīya-pāda]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 121 < [Tamil-Hindi-English, Volume 1]
Page 90 < [Malayalam-English-Kannada (1 volume)]
Page 122 < [Tamil-English-Malayalam (1 volume)]
Indian Astronomy (a source book) (by B. V. Subbarayappa)
Chapter 12 - Stars and Asterisms (naksatra)
Chapter 11 - Ancient Indian Calendar (pancanga)
Brahma Sutras (Govinda Bhashya) (by Kusakratha das Brahmacari)
A History of Indian Philosophy Volume 3 (by Surendranath Dasgupta)
Part 2 - A General Idea of Nimbārka’s Philosophy < [Chapter XXI - The Nimbārka School of Philosophy]
Sankhayana-grihya-sutra (by Hermann Oldenberg)
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