Alternative spellings of this word include Ashuchi.

Images (photo gallery)

In Hinduism

Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)

Source: eScholarship: Chapters 1-14 of the Hayasirsa Pancaratra

Aśuci (अशुचि) refers to “one who is unclean”, representing an undesirable characteristic of an Ācārya, according to the 9th-century Hayaśīrṣa-pañcarātra Ādikāṇḍa chapter 3.—The Lord said:—“I will tell you about the Sthāpakas endowed with perverse qualities. He should not construct a temple with those who are avoided in this Tantra. [...] He with whom one constructs a temple should not be a Śaiva, or a Saura, nor a Naiṣṭhika, nor a naked one, nor born of mixed marriage, nor unclean (aśuci), old, or one who is of a despicable form or marked by great sin. [...] A god enshrined by any of these named above (viz., aśuci), is in no manner a giver of fruit. If a building for Viṣṇu is made anywhere by these excluded types (viz., aśuci) then that temple will not give rise to enjoyment and liberation and will yield no reward, of this there is no doubt”.

context information

Pancaratra (पाञ्चरात्र, pāñcarātra) represents a tradition of Hinduism where Narayana is revered and worshipped. Closeley related to Vaishnavism, the Pancaratra literature includes various Agamas and tantras incorporating many Vaishnava philosophies.

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Aśuci (अशुचि) refers to one who is “unclean”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.2.16. Accordingly as Brahmā narrated to Nārada:—“[...] On hearing these words of mine—of Brahmā—in the presence of Viṣṇu, Śiva, the lord of worlds spoke to me with his face beaming with a smile: [...] Of what avail is a beloved to me in this world since I am in the path of abstinence delighting myself in my own soul, freed of attachment, unsullied, with the body of an ascetic, possessed of knowledge, seeing himself, free from aberrations and a non-reveller. Besides I am always unclean (aśuci) and inauspicious. Hence say now what can I do with a loving wife?”.

context information

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)

Source: gurumukhi.ru: Ayurveda glossary of terms

Aśuci (अशुचि):—Absence of cleanliness; Impure

context information

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.

Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)

Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by Varahamihira

Aśuci (अशुचि) refers to “impure men”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 16) (“On the planets—graha-bhaktiyoga”), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “[...] Saturn also presides over binders, bird hunters, impure men (aśuci), boatmen or fishermen, ugly men and old men; over dealers in hogs, chiefs of tribes, men of weak resolution, hill men, harbarous mountain tribes and over poor men”.

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.

Yoga (school of philosophy)

Source: ORA: Amanaska (king of all yogas): A Critical Edition and Annotated Translation by Jason Birch

Aśuci (अशुचि) refers to “one who is (constantly) impure” (as opposed to Śuci), according to the Kaṭhopaniṣat 3.7-8.—Accordingly, while describing the metaphor of the Self (ātman) as the owner of the chariot: “[That charioteer] who has not discerned [the supreme Brahma], who is mindless [of it] and constantly impure (aśuci), he does not obtain that [supreme] state and goes [on living in] the cycle of life and death. However, the one who has discerned [the supreme Brahma], who is mindful [of it] and constantly pure (śuci), goes to the [supreme] state from which he is not born again [into the cycle of life and death”.

context information

Yoga is originally considered a branch of Hindu philosophy (astika), but both ancient and modern Yoga combine the physical, mental and spiritual. Yoga teaches various physical techniques also known as āsanas (postures), used for various purposes (eg., meditation, contemplation, relaxation).

In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra

Aśuci (अशुचि) or Aśucidharma refers to “impurities”, according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter 31).—Accordingly, “[...] Thrown on the fire (agni), the body becomes ash (bhasman); devoured by insects (kurmi) it becomes dung (purīṣa); placed in the earth, it decays, decomposes, and becomes earth; put into the water, it swells up and decays or it is eaten by water-insects. Of all corpses (kuṇapa), that of man is the most impure: his impurities (aśuci-dharma) will be explained at length in reference to the nine concepts (navasaṃjñā). [...]”.

context information

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.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Source: The University of Sydney: A study of the Twelve Reflections

1) Aśuci (अशुचि) (Cf. Aśucitva) refers to “impure”, according to the Praśamaratiprakaraṇa 149-50 (p. 93-4).—Accordingly, “(A monk) should reflect, upon transcient [sic] nature of the world, helplessness, loneliness, separateness of the self from non-self, impurity (aśucitva) (of the body), cycle of births sand [sic] rebirths, inflow of Karmas and stoppage of inflow of Karmas; Shedding of stock of Karmas, constitution of the universe, nature of true religion, difficulty in obtaining enlightenment, which are (called) twelve pure Bhāvanās (reflections)”.

2) Aśuci (अशुचि) refers to “impurity”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “If this body were not covered with skin, then who would be able to protect [it] from flies, worms and crows? The structure of the body of embodied souls is always filled with diseases, always the abode of impurity (aśuci—sarvadaivāśucer gṛham) [and] always destined for death”.

Synonyms: Mala.

context information

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

Pali-English dictionary

Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary

asuci : (m.) dirt; excrement; dung; semen. (adj.) impure; unclean.

Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary

Asuci, (adj.) (a + suci) not clean, impure, unclean Sn. 75 (°manussā, see Nd² 112); Pug. 27, 36; Sdhp. 378, 603. (Page 89)

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

aśuci (अशुचि) [or अशुचिर्भूत, aśucirbhūta].—a S Unclean or impure lit. fig.

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

aśuci (अशुचि).—a Impure, unclean.

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

Aśuci (अशुचि).—a.

1) Not clean, dirty, foul, impure; पतन्ति नरकेऽशुचौ (patanti narake'śucau) Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 16.16. सोऽशुचिः सर्वकर्मसु (so'śuciḥ sarvakarmasu); in mourning; त्रिरात्रमशुचिर्भवेत् (trirātramaśucirbhavet).

2) Black.

-ciḥ The black colour.

-ciḥ f.

1) Impurity.

2) Degradation; °tā (= grīṣmābhāvaḥ)

1) Absence of purity.

2) (= grīṣmābhāvaḥ) The months of ज्येष्ठ (jyeṣṭha) and आषाढ (āṣāḍha) (cf. वैशाखे माधवो, राधो ज्येष्ठः शुक्रः शुचिस्त्वयम् । आषाढे श्रावणे तु स्यात् नभाः श्रावणिकश्च सः (vaiśākhe mādhavo, rādho jyeṣṭhaḥ śukraḥ śucistvayam | āṣāḍhe śrāvaṇe tu syāt nabhāḥ śrāvaṇikaśca saḥ) || Ak.; अशुचिता यदि केलिवने, कथं शुचिरवचिरवाचितषटपदैः (aśucitā yadi kelivane, kathaṃ śuciravaciravācitaṣaṭapadaiḥ) | Rām. Ch.5.2.

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

Aśuci (अशुचि).—f.

(-ciḥ) 1. Impurity. 2. Disgrace, degradation. mfn. (-ciḥ-ciḥ-ci) Foul, impure. E. a neg. śuci purity.

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

Aśuci (अशुचि).—adj. impure, [Hitopadeśa] ii. [distich] 24.

Aśuci is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms a and śuci (शुचि).

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

Aśuci (अशुचि).—[adjective] impure.

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

Aśuci (अशुचि):—[=a-śuci] mfn. ([Pāṇini 6-2, 161]) impure, foul, [Manu-smṛti etc.]

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

Aśuci (अशुचि):—[a-śuci] (ciḥ-ciḥ-ci) a. Impure.

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

Aśuci (अशुचि) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Asui.

[Sanskrit to German]

Asuci 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.

Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Āśuci (ಆಶುಚಿ):—

1) [adjective] not clean; dirty; unclean; filthy; foul.

2) [adjective] ceremonially impure.

--- OR ---

Aśuci (ಅಶುಚಿ):—[noun] = ಅಶುಚಿತ್ವ [ashucitva].

context information

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)

Partial matches: Shuci, A.

Starts with: Ashucibhakshana, Ashucibhava, Ashucibhavana, Ashucidharma, Ashucigriha, Ashucikara, Ashucikrita, Ashucikunapa, Ashucilipta, Ashucinamaka, Ashucirbhuta, Ashucisamjna, Ashucisukha, Ashucita, Ashucitva, Ashucitvabhavana, Ashucitvanuprekshe, Ashucivrata, Asucika, Asucisamcara.

Ends with (+32): Aggalasuci, Agrasuci, Amlasuci, Anekashuci, Aptavajrasuci, Ardhasuci, Bandasuci, Bharatasuci, Bijashuci, Dalasuci, Darbhasuci, Gandasuci, Gramthasuci, Jalashuci, Jatisthanashuci, Kamtadhruvasuci, Kamtasuci, Kancanasuci, Karnasuci, Karyasuci.

Full-text (+22): Asui, Ashauca, Ashucitva, Shuci, Diguccha, Ashucita, Ashucibhava, Ashucilipta, Ashucivrata, Ashucikara, Patipita, Asucika, Kayasuci, Acuci, Jeguccha, Mutodi, Bhavna, Svakaya, Stri, Parshva.

Relevant text

Search found 19 books and stories containing Asuci, Ashuci, Aśuci, A-shuci, A-śuci, A-suci, Āśuci; (plurals include: Asucis, Ashucis, Aśucis, shucis, śucis, sucis, Āśucis). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)

Preliminary note on the ten concepts (daśa-saṃjñā) < [Chapter XXXVII - The Ten Concepts]

VIII. The concepts of death (maraṇa-saṃjñā) and impurity (aśuci-saṃjñā) < [Chapter XXXVII - The Ten Concepts]

II. Conflicting emptions and the traces of conflicting emotions < [VIII. Destroying the traces of the conflicting emotions]

+ 12 more chapters / show preview

Tattvartha Sutra (with commentary) (by Vijay K. Jain)

Verse 9.7 - Deep reflections (anuprekṣā) < [Chapter 9 - Stoppage and Shedding of Karmas]

show preview

Shrimad Bhagavad-gita (by Narayana Gosvami)

Verse 16.10 < [Chapter 16 - Daivāsura-sampada-yoga]

Verse 18.27 < [Chapter 18 - Mokṣa-yoga (the Yoga of Liberation)]

show preview

Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)

Verse 1.7.175 < [Chapter 7 - Śrī Viśvarūpa Takes Sannyāsa]

show preview

Vaisheshika-sutra with Commentary (by Nandalal Sinha)

Sūtra 6.2.6 (What objects are impure or unholy) < [Chapter 2 - Of the Production of Dharma and A-dharma]

show preview

Apadana commentary (Atthakatha) (by U Lu Pe Win)

Commentary on the stanza on service (sevā) < [Commentary on biography of Silent Buddhas (Paccekabuddha)]

show preview

 

Click here for all 19 books