Alternative spellings of this word include Chalaka.

Images (photo gallery)

In Hinduism

Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)

Source: Shodhganga: Kohala in the Sanskrit textual tradition (ns)

Cālaka (चालक) refers to a “variety of hand-movements” defined in the Kallinātha’s Kalānidhi commentary on the Saṅgītaratnākara 7.349 (Vol. IV, pp.110-125).—He gives the vyutpatti of the word cālaka—“calanāśrayatvāt cālaka samjñā”—“Due to their nature of being in motion they are called cālakas”. Kallinātha also reasons that due to their tremendous popularity in lakṣya, Śārṅgadeva perhaps did not deem it necessary to include an exposition of this subject in his work—Saṅgītaratnākara. But in order to understand a little bit about the lakṣaṇas of these cālakas, he proceeds to give the definitions of Kohala. 

Kohala classifies the different varieties of cālakas viz.

1. anvartha, 
2. nāmagamya,
3. prāyogika and
4. sāmpradāyika. 

Kohala says that there are several other varieties also which have been described by authorities like Bhaṭṭa Taṇḍu. He says that there are a hundred types of cālakas in the auspicious art of nṛtta. Nārada speaks of seven hundred cālakas, and in a work called Deśīnṛttasamudra, Śambhu (Lord Śiva) teaches Taṇḍu a thousand different varieties of cālakas. Kohala says that though there are infinite number of cālakas, the ones that are actively being used in lakṣya alone are being described by him. He proceeds to describe fifty cālakas beginning with viśliṣṭavartita upto navaratnamukha. 

The cālakas mentioned by Kohala are as follows:

1. viśliṣṭavartita;
2. vepathuvyañjaka;
3. apaviddha;
4. laharīcakrasundara;
5. vartanāsvastika;
6. sammukhīnarathāṅga;
7. purodaṇḍabhrama;
8. tribhaṅgīvarṇasaraka;
9. ḍola;
10. nīrājita;
11. svastikāśeṣacālana;
12. mithaḥsamīkṣyabāhya;
13. vāmadakṣavilāsita;
14. maulirecitaka;
15. vartanābharaṇa;
16. ādikūrmāvatāra;
17. aṃsavartanaka;
18. maṇibandhāsikarṣa;
19. kalaviṅgavinoda;
20. catuṣpatrābja;
21. maṇḍalāgra;
22. vālavyajanacālana;
23. vīrudhabandhana;
24. viśṛṅgāṭakabandhana;
25. kuṇḍalicāraka;
26. murujāḍambara;
27. dvāradāmavilāsaka;
28. dhanurākarṣaṇa;
29. sādhāraṇa;
30. samaprakoṣṭhavalana;
31. devopahāraka;
32. tiryaggatasvastikāgra;
33. maṇibandhagatāgata;
34. alātacakraka;
35. vyastotplutānivartaka;
36. urabhrasambādha;
37. tiryaktāṇḍavacālana;
38. dhanurvallīvināmaka;
39. tārkṣyapakṣavilāsaka;
40. kararecakaratna;
41. śarasandhāna;
42. maṇḍalābharaṇa;
43. aṃsaparyāyanirgata;
44. aṣṭabandhavihāra;
45. karṇayugmaprakīrṇaka;
46. paryāyagajadantaka;
47. rathanemi;
48. svastikatrikoṇa;
49. latāveṣṭitaka;
50. navaratnamukha.

After giving a detailed explanation for each of these fifty cālakas, Kohala says that he has just related the details about cālakas as mentioned by Lord Śiva and follows that with the benefits of performing these cālakas (kīrti, maṅgala etc.). He says that these should be used in all types of nṛtta and should be performed in the evening time.

Note: References to cālakas are not found in the pre-Ratnākara treatises. Kallinātha is perhaps the first to present such an elaborate treatment of these hand gestures called cālakas.

context information

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).

In Buddhism

Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper Names

See Talata.

context information

Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).

Languages of India and abroad

Pali-English dictionary

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

1) Calaka, ² (nt.) (perhaps from carv to chew; but Sk. carvana, chewing, is not found in the specific sense of P. calaka. Cp. ucchiṭṭha and cuṇṇa) a piece of meat thrown away after having been chewed Vin. II, 115; IV, 266 (=vighāsa); VvA. 222 (°aṭṭhikāni meat-remnants & bones). (Page 263)

2) Calaka, ¹ (m.) a camp marshal, adjutant D. I, 51≈(in list of various occupations); A. IV, 107 sq. (Page 263)

[Pali to Burmese]

Source: Sutta: Tipiṭaka Pāḷi-Myanmar Dictionary (တိပိဋက-ပါဠိမြန်မာ အဘိဓာန်)

1) calaka—

(Burmese text): စစ်သည်တို့ကို-ပေါင်းစု-စီမံ-တတ်သောသူ၊ စစ်ဆင်တတ်သူ၊ စစ်ဗိုလ်မှူး။

(Auto-Translation): One who can organize and manage soldiers, a capable commander, a military general.

2) calaka—

(Burmese text): စားဖတ်။

(Auto-Translation): Eat and read.

3) calākā—

(Burmese text): [¿]
စလာကာမိဖုရား။

(Auto-Translation): [¿] The Lady Slaka.

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

calāka (चलाक) [or ख, kha].—a ( P) Smart, active, agile, brisk.

--- OR ---

caḷaka (चळक).—f A troop, company, band, body. 2 A discharge or fall of rain, a heavy shower. v yē, paḍa. 3 A forceful gush (of any liquid): a vehement rush (of horsemen, men, cattle, dogs). 4 (Commonly caḷatha) A pile.

--- OR ---

cālaka (चालक).—a (cāla) Swift-going, fleet, quick. 2 (S) That sets in motion: also that moves, carries on, conducts.

--- OR ---

cāḷaka (चाळक).—a (caḷā) Mischievous, full of tricks, pranks, and frolics. 2 Full of blandishments and soft arts--a woman. See cāḷaka bhavānī.

--- OR ---

cāḷaka (चाळक).—a (cālaka S) That sets in motion; or that keeps going, carries on &c. In comp. as cakracāḷaka, viśvacāḷaka, cittacāḷaka, buddhicāḷaka.

--- OR ---

caḷaka (चळक).—. Add:--5 The fusing or beginning to run (of gold &c. in the crucible).

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

calāka (चलाक) [or kha, or ख].—a Smart, active, agile, brisk.

--- OR ---

cālaka (चालक).—a That sets in motion; fleet.

--- OR ---

cāḷaka (चाळक).—a Mischievous; that sets in motion. Full of blandishments.

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

Cālaka (चालक).—A restive elephant.

Derivable forms: cālakaḥ (चालकः).

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

Cālaka (चालक).—m.

(-kaḥ) A restive elephant. E. cal to go, ṇvul aff.

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

1) Cālaka (चालक):—[from cāla] m. a restive elephant (said of a person, [Rājataraṅgiṇī viii, 1644]), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

2) [v.s. ...] ‘id.’ and ‘= cākrika’ [Śiśupāla-vadha v.]

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

Cālaka (चालक):—(kaḥ) 1. m. A restive elephant.

[Sanskrit to German]

Calaka 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.

Hindi dictionary

Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary

1) Cālaka (चालक) [Also spelled chalak]:—(a) a driver; conductor; hence ~[tā] (nf).

2) Cālāka (चालाक) [Also spelled chalak]:—(a) cunning, clever, crafty; —[kauā] (fig.) a crafty crow, cunning fellow.

context information

...

Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Caḷaka (ಚಳಕ):—[noun] a particular

--- OR ---

Caḷaka (ಚಳಕ):—

1) [noun] the quality of being quick; quickness; swiftness.

2) [noun] cleverness; skill; intelligence.

--- OR ---

Cālaka (ಚಾಲಕ):—

1) [noun] a man who organises, schedules manages or controls works; an organiser; a manager.

2) [noun] a man who drives an automobile, cart, etc.; a coachman or chauffeur; a driver.

--- OR ---

Cāḷaka (ಚಾಳಕ):—

1) [noun] a man who organises, schedules manages or controls works; an organiser; a manager.

2) [noun] a man who drives an automobile, cart, etc.; a driver; a coachman or chauffeur.

--- OR ---

Cāḷaka (ಚಾಳಕ):—[adjective] skilful in underhand or evil schemes; cunning; deceitful; sly.

--- OR ---

Cāḷaka (ಚಾಳಕ):—[noun] a man who is subtly deceitful, sly, cunning, etc.; a crafty man.

context information

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

Tamil dictionary

Source: DDSA: University of Madras: Tamil Lexicon

Cālaka (சாலக) noun A primary rāga; மேள கர்த்தாக்களு ளொன்று. [mela karthakkalu lonru.] (சங். சந். [sang. san.] 47.)

context information

Tamil is an ancient language of India from the Dravidian family spoken by roughly 250 million people mainly in southern India and Sri Lanka.

Nepali dictionary

Source: unoes: Nepali-English Dictionary

Cālaka (चालक):—n. 1. driver; a charioteer; 2. a conductor;

context information

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: Cala, Cara.

Starts with (+15): Calakabau, Calakabhavani, Calakabolaka, Calakadevi, Calakadhara, Calakai, Calakaipparai, Calakaiyaccu, Calakaiyani, Calakaiyati, Calakaki, Calakakicceti, Calakaku, Calakakudha, Calakalpa, Calakalpaka, Calakam, Calakami, Calakampa, Calakan.

Full-text (+156): Caraka, Pracalaka, Carika, Salaka, Vicaraka, Samcalaka, Nihshalaka, Cariya, Salaga, Avacaraka, Caranaka, Calakapairavi, Madanashalaka, Calakarakam, Shalakapurusha, Vamshashalaka, Pacalaka, Calakapurutar, Pitasalaka, Shalakapari.

Relevant text

Search found 40 books and stories containing Calaka, Cala-nvu, Cala-ṇvu, Calāka, Caḷaka, Cālaka, Cāḷaka, Cālāka, Calākā, Cara-nvu, Cara-ṇvu, Chalaga, Saalaga, Salaga, Salaka; (plurals include: Calakas, nvus, ṇvus, Calākas, Caḷakas, Cālakas, Cāḷakas, Cālākas, Calākās, Chalagas, Saalagas, Salagas, Salakas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Kohala in the Sanskrit textual tradition (Study) (by Padma Sugavanam)

Kohala and Nṛtya (5): The concept of Cālaka < [Chapter 2 - Kohala as seen in citations]

Part 14 - Citations of Kohala in the Saṅgītacintāmaṇi < [Chapter 3 - Kohala as seen in citations—an analysis]

Part 15 - Citations of Kohala in the Kalānidhi < [Chapter 3 - Kohala as seen in citations—an analysis]

+ 3 more chapters / show preview

Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)

Verse 2.3.149-150 < [Chapter 3 - Bhajana (loving service)]

show preview

Physician as depicted in Manasollasa (by Sri B. S. Hebballi)

9. Surgery in Ayurveda < [Chapter 4 - Ancient treatises on Indian medicine]

Chapter 3b - Sapta Dhatus (the seven dhatus)

show preview

A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)

Page 129 < [Volume 13 (1912)]

Page 222 < [Volume 4, Part 1 (1907)]

Page 51 < [Volume 17 (1914)]

+ 1 more chapters / show preview

Surgery in ancient India (Study) (by P. P. Prathapan)

4. Classification of Surgical Instruments < [Chapter 5 - Surgical instruments in Sushruta Samhita]

14. Application of the Salaka Yantras < [Chapter 5 - Surgical instruments in Sushruta Samhita]

15. Application of Probes according to Sushruta < [Chapter 5 - Surgical instruments in Sushruta Samhita]

+ 2 more chapters / show preview

International Ayurvedic Medical Journal

Anjana: a traditional ocular treatment of ayurveda < [2016, Issue XI November]

A review on agnikarma and its probable mode of action < [2023, Issue 10. October]

Effect of agnikarma in periarthritis of shoulder joint < [2022, Issue 5, May]

+ 11 more chapters / show preview

 

Click here for all 40 books