Bhagini, Bhagi-ini, Bhaginī, Bhāginī: 28 definitions
Introduction:
Bhagini means something in Buddhism, Pali, 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.
In Hinduism
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
Bhaginī (भगिनी, “sister”) refers to a specific “mode of address” (nāman) used in drama (nāṭya), according to Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 19. Bhagini is used in addressing the elder sister.
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).
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Bhagini (भगिनि).—A word used in addressing women. Verse 129 in chapter two of the Manusmṛti lays down that the wife of another person and women who are not one’s relatives should be addressed either as Bhavati, Subhage or Bhagini.
Bhaginī (भगिनी) refers to the “sister”, which should never be looked upon with a reprehensible vision (kudṛṣṭi), according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.2.3. Accordingly, while Dharma eulogised Śiva:—“[...] Sister (bhaginī), brother’s wife and daughter are like one’s mother. A sensible man shall never look at them with a reprehensible vision (kudṛṣṭi). The conclusion of the path of the Vedas is present in your mouth. O Brahmā, how is it that you forgot that under the influence of momentary passion?”.
Bhāginī (भागिनी) refers to the name of a Lady mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. IX.45.11). Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Bhāginī) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.
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.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Bhaginī (भगिनी) refers to “sister”, 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, as the Goddess Kumārī said to Ṛṣi Vyāsa said: “Vyāsa’s state is nothing (real). O Śaṃkara, (there is nothing) of mine (I can give) you. [...] And (there is) Māyā in the form of one's sister [i.e., bhaginī] and she is (one's) daughter due to Māyā. And that pure mother is Māyā. Another Māyā is the (liberating) sixteenth energy (of the moon). [...]”.
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.
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Bhaginī (भगिनी) refers to a “group of supernatural beings” that cause illness, according to the Netratantra of Kṣemarāja: a Śaiva text from the 9th century in which Śiva (Bhairava) teaches Pārvatī topics such as metaphysics, cosmology, and soteriology.—The Netratantra’s Second Chapter begins with the goddess Pārvatī’s request that Śiva reveal to her the remedy for the ailments that afflict divine and worldly beings. [...]. Śiva adds to the list of maladies a group of supernatural beings that cause illness: [e.g., Bhaginīs], [...]. That Śiva discusses supernatural beings that cause such disease demonstrates how invisible forces affect the world in observable ways. In order to counter these forces, Śiva reveals another invisible but observable element, mantra.
Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Bhaginī (भगिनी, “older sister”).—According to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XIV), “all beings obtained the mind of equanimity (samacitta) by thinking of one another with the feelings one would feel (for example) for one’s older sister (bhaginī)”.
In the course of innumerable generations, all beings have been one’s older sister (bhaginī), father, mother, elder brother, younger brother, younger sister and relative. Furthermore, according to the true nature (satyalakṣaṇa) of dharmas, there is no father or mother, no elder or younger brother; but people who are submerged in the error of self believe in their existence and thus there is the question of father and mother, elder and younger brother. Therefore it is not a lie when, by virtue of a wholesome mind (kuśalacitta), we consider one another with the feelings we would feel (for example) for an older sister (bhaginī).
Bhaginī (भगिनी) refers to a “sister”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly: “[...] Then the Bodhisatva Gaganagañja said this to the women: ‘Sisters (bhaginī), bring your respective husbands just as they were’. Then the women, having brought their respective husbands, being filled with rejoicing and happiness of mind, returned to their respective homes. After that, by those magically conjured-up beings, during seven days, the women were brought to maturity, in the way that they attained the stage of not falling back from the supreme and perfect awakening. [...]”.
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)
1) Bhaginī (भगिनी) is the name of Vidyārājñī (i.e., “wisdom queen”) 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 Bhaginī).
2) Bhaginī (भगिनी) also refers to a group of deities summoned by the Yamāntaka-mantra and mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa.
Bhaginī (भगिनी) is the name of a Vākchomā (‘verbal secrect sign’) which has its meaning defined as ‘ḍākinī’ according to chapter 8 of the 9th-century Vajraḍākamahātantrarāja, a scripture belonging to the Buddhist Cakrasaṃvara (or Saṃvara) scriptural cycle. These Vākchomās (viz., bhaginī) are meant for verbal communication and can be regarded as popular signs, since they can be found in the three biggest works of the Cakrasaṃvara literature.
Bhaginī (भगिनी) is the name of a Ḍākinī who, together with the Vīra (hero) named Bhagin forms one of the 36 pairs situated in the Agnicakra, according to the 10th century Ḍākārṇava chapter 15. Accordingly, the agnicakra refers to one of the three divisions of the saṃbhoga-puṭa (‘enjoyment layer’), situated in the Herukamaṇḍala. The 36 pairs of Ḍākinīs [viz., Bhaginī] and Vīras are red in color; they each have one face and four arms; they hold a skull bowl, a skull staff, a small drum, and a knife.
Bhaginī (भगिनी) refers to “sister” and is another name for Wisdom (prajñā), according to the Sampuṭodbhavatantra chapter 1.—Accordingly, “[...] Wisdom (prajñā) is called mother Because she gives birth to the people of the world. Wisdom is also called sister [i.e., bhaginī] Because she betokens a dowry. Wisdom is called washer-woman Because she delights all beings. Accordingly, she is called rajakī. Wisdom is called daughter (duhitṛ) Because she suckles (duhana) the milk of qualities. Wisdom is called artiste On account of being moved by great compassion. [...]”.
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
Pali-English dictionary
bhaginī : (f.) sister.
Bhaginī, (f.) (Epic Sk. bhaginī) a sister J. VI, 32. The popular etym. of bh. as given at VbhA. 108 is the same as that for bhātar, viz. “bhagatī ti bh.” — Cpd. bhagini-māla a “sister garland” (?) N. of a tree J. VI, 270 (=upari-bhaddaka). (Page 495)
[Pali to Burmese]
1) bhaginī—
(Burmese text): (၁) နှမ၊ အစ်မ၊ ညီမ။ (၂) မညှိုးပန်း။ ဥပသကာပင်။ စကားစိမ်း။
(Auto-Translation): (1) Younger sister, older sister, younger brother. (2) Moonflower. Euphorbia plant. Green words.
2) bhāginī—
(Burmese text): အဖို့အစုရှိသော။ ဘာဂီ-ကြည့်။
(Auto-Translation): There is a group for it. Look at the schedule.
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
bhaginī (भगिनी).—f (S) A sister.
bhaginī (भगिनी).—f A sister.
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
Bhaginī (भगिनी).—[bhagaṃ yatnaḥ aṃśo vā pitrādīnāṃ dravyādāne'styasyāḥ ini ṅīp]
1) A sister.
2) A fortunate woman.
3) A woman in general.
Bhaginī (भगिनी) or Kumārī.—(1), q.v.
Bhaginī (भगिनी).—f. (-nī) 1. A sister. 2. A lucky woman. 3. A woman in general. E. bhaga prosperity, desire, ini and ṅīp affs.
Bhaginī (भगिनी).—i. e. bhaga + in + ī, f. 1. A sister, [Pañcatantra] 214, 25; 222, 9. 2. A woman in general.
1) Bhaginī (भगिनी):—[from bhagin > bhaj] a f. See below.
2) [from bhaj] b f. a sister (‘the happy or fortunate one’, as having a brother), [Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata] etc. (in familiar speech, also for -bhrātṛ, ‘brother’ [Pañcatantra])
3) [v.s. ...] any woman or wife, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
4) Bhāginī (भागिनी):—[from bhāgin > bhāga] f. a co-heiress, [ib.]
Bhaginī (भगिनी):—(nī) 3. f. A sister.
Bhaginī (भगिनी) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Bahiṇiā, Bahiṇī, Bhaigi, Bhaiṇiā, Bhaiṇī, Bhāmiṇī.
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
Bhaginī (भगिनी):—(nf) a sister; ~[pati] brother-in-law, sister’s husband.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Bhagini (ಭಗಿನಿ):—[noun] a woman or girl as she is related to the other children of her parents; a sister.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Bhaginī (भगिनी):—n. 1. sister; 2. fortune woman; lucky woman;
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)
Partial matches: Ini, Bhaja, Bhagin, Na.
Starts with (+4): Bhagineyya, Bhagini Sutta, Bhagini-bhasha, Bhaginibhartri, Bhaginibhratri, Bhaginicitta, Bhaginigama, Bhaginighara, Bhaginija, Bhaginika, Bhaginimala, Bhaginimarana, Bhaginimatti, Bhaginimigi, Bhaginipati, Bhaginipatika, Bhaginipema, Bhaginiputta, Bhaginirakkhita, Bhaginisamika.
Full-text (+101): Dharmabhagini, Yamabhagini, Bhaginipati, Bhagineyya, Indrabhagini, Jetthabhagini, Nagabhagini, Bhratribhagini, Krishnabhagini, Bhaginisuta, Bhaginiputta, Khattiyabhagini, Bhaginipatika, Bhaginisarikkha, Bhaginibhartri, Bhaginivada, Bhaginicitta, Bhaginipema, Bhaginirakkhita, Bhaginighara.
Relevant text
Search found 64 books and stories containing Bhagini, Bhagi-ini, Bhāgī-inī, Bhaginī, Bhāginī, Bhagiṇī, Bhaja-na-ini, Bhaja-ṇa-inī; (plurals include: Bhaginis, inis, inīs, Bhaginīs, Bhāginīs, Bhagiṇīs). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 2.3.28 < [Chapter 3 - Bhajana (loving service)]
Verse 2.4.181 < [Chapter 4 - Vaikuṇṭha (the spiritual world)]
Verse 1.3.33 < [Chapter 3 - Prapañcātīta (beyond the Material Plane)]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 11.171 < [Section XIX - Expiation for Wrongful Sexual Intercourse]
Verse 2.50 < [Section XIII - Initiation (upanayana)]
Vinaya Pitaka (1): Bhikkhu-vibhanga (the analysis of Monks’ rules) (by I. B. Horner)
Translation of the term bhikkhu < [Translator’s Introduction]
The various forms of address < [Translator’s Introduction]
List of Mahabharata people and places (by Laxman Burdak)
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 1.9.16 < [Chapter 9 - Description of Vasudeva’s Wedding]
Verse 1.9.17 < [Chapter 9 - Description of Vasudeva’s Wedding]
Verse 1.6.63 < [Chapter 6 - Description of Kaṃsa’s Strength]