Ashtami, Aṣṭamī: 11 definitions

Introduction:

Ashtami means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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 Aṣṭamī can be transliterated into English as Astami or Ashtami, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

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In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

Aṣṭamī (अष्टमी).—The third skandha of Devī Bhāgavata states that the goddess, Bhadrakālī, came into life on an Aṣṭamī day to block up the yāga of Dakṣa. That is why the day is considered to be holy and important.

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

1) Aṣṭamī (अष्टमी) refers to the “8th day of a fortnight”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.2.15. Accordingly as Brahmā narrated to Nārada:—“[...] Firmly resolved in her desire to secure Śiva as her husband, she (viz., Devī as Satī) propitiated him in her own house with the permission of her mother. [...]”.

On the eighth day [viz., Aṣṭamī] in the dark half of Mārgaśīrṣa (November-December), Satī worshipped Śiva with cooked barley and gingelly seeds and spent the other days (in devotion).

On the eighth [viz., Aṣṭamī] and fourteenth days in the bright half of Śrāvaṇa (July-August), she worshipped Śiva with holy sacred threads and cloths.

On the eighth [viz., Aṣṭamī] of the bright half in the month of Āśvina: Satī observed a fast and worshipped Śiva with great devotion. When her Nandā rites were concluded on the ninth day (Navamī), while she was engrossed in meditation, Śiva became visible to her.

2) According to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.5, as Brahmā narrated to Nārada the birth of Menā’s daughter:—“[...] Desirous of obtaining a child, she worshipped Śivā everyday for twenty-seven years beginning it in the month of March-April [i.e., caitra-māsa]. Observing a fast on the eighth day [i.e., aṣṭamī-upavāsa] of the lunar fortnight, she made charitable gifts of sweets, offerings of oblation rice cakes, puddings and fragrant flowers on the ninth day. [...]”.

Purana book cover
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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.

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Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)

Source: Pure Bhakti: Arcana-dipika - 3rd Edition

Aṣṭamī (अष्टमी) refers to one of the various “lunar days” (tithi):—There are approximately 29.5 lunar days in a lunar month. The first fifteen days begin with the first phase of the waxing moon (pratipat) and end with the full moon (pūrṇimā). [...] In accordance with the lunar day, one would utter, [for example, aṣṭamī-tithau].

Vaishnavism book cover
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Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).

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Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram

Aṣṭamī (अष्टमी) or Śivāṣṭamī refers to the “(auspicious) eighth (day of the lunar month)”, according to the second recension of the Yogakhaṇḍa of the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—Accordingly, “In the meantime, once the goddess had crossed over the most excellent Yoga and once the fifth night had passed, she emerged from the middle of the Liṅga. (This took place) in an auspicious (śiva) month on the auspicious (śiva) eighth (day of the lunar month) [i.e., śiva-aṣṭamī] at the end of the middle of the night. She has the form of a sixteen (year-old girl), is dark blue and red and has three eyes. She laughs subtly and is adorned with six faces. She has twelve arms, a crooked form and faces downwards”.

Shaktism book cover
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Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.

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Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)

Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by Varahamihira

Aṣṭamī (अष्टमी) refers to the “eighth lunar day”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 5), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “What eclipses the moon is bigger than the moon; what eclipses the sun is smaller than the sun. Hence in semi-lunar and semi-solar eclipses, the luminous horns are respectively blunt and sharp. [...] It is wrong to say that there can be no eclipse unless five planets are in conjunction and it is equally wrong to suppose that on the previous Aṣṭamī (eighth lunar) day, the coming eclipse and its properties can be ascertained by examining the appearance of a drop of oil on the surface of water”.

Jyotisha book cover
context information

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.

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Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

aṣṭamī (अष्टमी).—f (S) The eighth lunar day of each fortnight.

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

aṣṭamī (अष्टमी).—f The 8th lunar day of each fort- night.

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.

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Sanskrit dictionary

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

Aṣṭamī (अष्टमी):—[from aṣṭama > aṣṭan] f. (id est. rātri) the eighth day (night) in a half-month, [Āśvalāyana-gṛhya-sūtra; Manu-smṛti iv, 128, etc.]

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

Astami (अस्तमि) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Atthama.

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.

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Hindi dictionary

[«previous next»] — Ashtami in Hindi glossary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary

Aṣṭamī (अष्टमी):—(nf) the eighth day of the lunar fortnight according to the Hindu calendar.

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Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Aṣṭami (ಅಷ್ಟಮಿ):—[noun] the eighth day of a lunar fortnight.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

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