Canaka, Caṇaka, Cāṇaka: 22 definitions
Introduction:
Canaka means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Buddhism, Pali, Marathi, biology. 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.
Alternative spellings of this word include Chanaka.
In Hinduism
Ayurveda (science of life)
Dietetics and Culinary Art (such as household cooking)
Caṇaka (चणक) refers to “hemp”, according to the Vālmīkirāmāyaṇa Uttarakhaṇḍa 91.20, and is commonly found in literature dealing with the topics of dietetics and culinary art, also known as Pākaśāstra or Pākakalā.— In Vālmīkirāmāyaṇa, pulses like māṣa (black-gram), mudga (green-gram), kulattha (horsegram) and caṇaka (hemp) are mentioned. [...] According to Carakasaṃhitā, pulses such as mudga (green gram), masūra (lentil), caṇaka (hemp) and kalāya (pea) were parched and eaten.
Caṇaka or “bengal gram” is classified as a type of grain (dhānya) in the section on śimbīdhānya (grains with pods) in the Bhojanakutūhala (dravyaguṇāguṇa-kathana).—In śimbīdhānya-prakaraṇa the properties of grains with pods such as mudga (green gram), māṣa (black-gram), caṇaka (bengal gram), kalāya (field pea), tila (sesame), atasī (linseed), sarṣapa (mustard) and masūra (lentils) are explained.
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Caṇakā (चणका) refers to “chickpeas” (and is a recommended food for elephants during spring), according to the 15th century Mātaṅgalīlā composed by Nīlakaṇṭha in 263 Sanskrit verses, dealing with elephantology in ancient India, focusing on the science of management and treatment of elephants.—[Cf. chapter 11, “33. Daily lingering in fragrant parks, rice porridge with wheat, food mixed with sour milk and oil, little burden bearing and road work (travel), salutary dipping of the elephants at will into rivers, etc.,—this is the regimen for the spring. The foods to be eaten then are Sida cordifolia, kalāya (a kind of pulse), and chickpeas (caṇakā)”.
Unclassified Ayurveda definitions
Caṇaka (चणक) is a Sanskrit word referring to Cicer arietinum (“gram”). It is a type of legume (śamīdhānya), according to Caraka in his Carakasaṃhitā sūtrasthāna (chapter 27), a classical Ayurvedic work. The plant Caṇaka is part of the Śamīdhānyavarga group of medicinal plants, referring to the “group of legumes”. Caraka defined such groups (vargas) based on the dietic value of the plant. Caṇaka is is light, cold, sweet, slightly astringent and roughening in character. It is beneficial for pitta and kapha and useful as pulses and pastes.
According to the Bhāvaprakāśa it has the following synonyms: Harimantha and Sakalapriya. The Bhāvaprakāśa, which is a 16th century medicinal thesaurus authored by Bhāvamiśra.
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.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Cāṇaka (चाणक).—The auspiciousness of Cāṇaka (cowdung) is due to Lakṣmī. (See Lakṣmī, Paras 1 and 6).
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.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Caṇaka (चणक) refers to “chick peas”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 15) (“On the nakṣatras—‘asterisms’”), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “Those who are born on the lunar day of Svātī will delight in keeping birds, deer, horses; will be grain merchants; dealers in beans; of weak friendship; weak, of abstemious habits and skilled tradesmen. Those who are born on the lunar day of Viśākhā will grow trees yielding red flowers and red fruits; be dealers in gingelly seeds, beans, cotton, black gram and chick peas (caṇaka) and worshippers of Indra and Agni. [...]”.
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.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Caṇakā (चणका) refers to one of the “thousand names of Kumārī”, as mentioned in the Kumārīsahasranāma, which is included in the 10th chapter of the first part (prathamabhāga) of the Rudrayāmala-Uttaratantra: an ancient Tantric work primarily dealing with the practice of Kuṇḍalinī-yoga, the worship of Kumārī and discussions regarding the Cakras. This edition is said to be derived of the Rudrayāmalatantra and consists of 6000 verses in 90 chapters (paṭalas) together with the Saralā-Hindīvyākhyopetam (i.e., the Rudrayamalam Uttaratantram with Sarala Hindi translation).—Caṇakā is mentioned in śloka 1.10.47.—The chapter notes that one is granted the rewards obtained by reciting the text even without the performance of pūjā (worship), japa, snāna (bathing) and puraścaryā.
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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Caṇaka (चणक, “chickpeas”) refers to one of the seventeen varieties of dhānya (“grain”) according to Śvetāmbara tradition and listed in Hemacandra’s 12th century Yogaśāstra (verse 3.95). Dhānya represents one of the classes of the external (bahya) division of attachment (parigraha) and is related to the Aparigraha-vrata (vow of non-attachment).
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.
Biology (plants and animals)
1) Canaka in India is the name of a plant defined with Cicer arietinum in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Ononis crotalariodes M.E. Jones (among others).
2) Canaka is also identified with Crotalaria juncea It has the synonym Crotalaria porrecta Wall., nom. nud. (etc.).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Species Plantarum. (1800)
· Bangladesh J. Pl. Taxon. (1994)
· Caryologia (2000)
· Bangladesh Journal of Botany (1981)
· Publications of the Field Museum of Natural History, Botanical series (1937)
· Cytologia (1999)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Canaka, for example chemical composition, side effects, health benefits, extract dosage, pregnancy safety, diet and recipes, have a look at these references.
This sections includes definitions from the five kingdoms of living things: Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists and Monera. It will include both the official binomial nomenclature (scientific names usually in Latin) as well as regional spellings and variants.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
caṇaka : (m.) gram
caṇaka (စဏက) [(pu) (ပု)]—
[caṇa+ṇvu．caṇa dāne,ṇvu,caṇako．,ṭī．451．]
[စဏ+ဏွု။ စဏ ဒါနေ၊ ဏွု၊ စဏကော။ ဓာန်၊ ဋီ။ ၄၅၁။]
[Pali to Burmese]
caṇaka—
(Burmese text): ကုလားပဲ။ စားတော်ပဲ။ မူရင်းကြည့်ပါ။ စဏကမတ္တီ,စဏကမုဋ္ဌိ-လည်းကြည့်။
(Auto-Translation): That's a good sign. Enjoy your meal. Take a look at the original. Also check out Sanak Matthi and Sanak Muththi.
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
caṇakā (चणका).—m (caṇa!) The smart of the sting or bite of a scorpion, snake, flea &c.: also the sharp pain of a pinch, of actual cautery &c. the glow on eating peppers, or on exposure to the sun: the sharp hissing of phōḍaṇī &c. v māra, lāga, basa. 2 A gust or fit of passion. v yē, lāga.
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canakā (चनका).—See caṇakā, caṇakā- vaṇēṃ, caṇakāviṇēṃ.
caṇakā (चणका).—m The smart of the sting or bite of a scorpion, snake, flea &c. A gust or fit of passion.
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
Caṇaka (चणक).—
1) Chick-pea; उत्पतितोऽपि हि चणकः शक्तः किं भ्राष्ट्रकं भक्तुम् (utpatito'pi hi caṇakaḥ śaktaḥ kiṃ bhrāṣṭrakaṃ bhaktum) Pañcatantra (Bombay) 1.132.
2) Name of a gotra.
Derivable forms: caṇakaḥ (चणकः).
Caṇaka (चणक).—m.
(-kaḥ) 1. Chick-pea, (Cicer arietinum.) 2. The name of a sage. f.
(-kā) Linseed. E. caṇ to be given, affix ac and kan added; what is given to horses, &c.
Caṇaka (चणक).—[masculine] the chick-pea.
1) Caṇaka (चणक):—[from caṇa] m. the chick-pea, [Suśruta; Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā xv f.; Pañcatantra; Kathāsaritsāgara]
2) [v.s. ...] Name of Cāṇakya’s father, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
3) [v.s. ...] of a village, [Hemacandra’s Pariśiṣṭaparvan viii, 194]
4) Caṇakā (चणका):—[from caṇaka > caṇa] f. linseed, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
5) Cāṇaka (चाणक):—m. [plural] of kya [gana] kaṇvādi.
Caṇaka (चणक):—[(kaḥ-kā)] 1. m. Chick-pea; name of a sage. f. kā Linseed.
Caṇaka (चणक):—(von caṇa)
1) m. a) Kichererbse [Amarakoṣa 2, 9, 18.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1171.] [Suśruta 1, 73, 8. 197, 13. 2, 77, 1. 412, 1.] [Kathāsaritsāgara 6, 40. fg.] [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 15, 14. 16, 34.] ucchalito pi hi caṇako bhrāṣṭraṃ bhaṅktuṃ na śaknoti [Pañcatantra I, 148.] — b) Nomen proprium eines Muni, des Vaters von Cāṇakya, [Śabdaratnāvalī im Śabdakalpadruma] caṇakātmaja m. = cāṇakya [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 853.] —
2) f. caṇakā Linum usitatissimum (atasī) [Ratnamālā im Śabdakalpadruma] (u. atasī), Leinsamen [Wilson’s Wörterbuch] nach derselben Aut. Vgl. caṇḍikā . —
3) f. caṇikā ein best. Gras, = kṣetrajā, godugdhā, sunīlā, himā [Rājanirghaṇṭa im Śabdakalpadruma]
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Cāṇaka (चाणक):—adj. von cāṇakya gaṇa kaṇvādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 4, 2, 111.] — Vgl. cāṇakya [2.]
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Cāṇaka (चाणक):—im pl. ist der pl. zum patron. cāṇakya .
Caṇaka (चणक):——
1) m. — a) Kichererbse [Indische sprüche 7677.] — b) Nomen proprium — a) *des Vaters von Cāṇakya. — b) eines Dorfes [Hemacandra's Pariśiṣṭaparvan 8,194.] —
2) *f. caṇakā Linum usitatissimum , Leinsamen. —
3) *f. caṇikā ein best. Gras [Rājan 8,147.]
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Cāṇaka (चाणक):—Adj. von cāṇakya 1).
Caṇaka (चणक) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Caṇa, Caṇaa.
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
Caṇaka (ಚಣಕ):—[noun] = ಚಡ್ಡಿ [caddi]1 - 1.
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Caṇaka (ಚಣಕ):—[noun] = ಚಣಗೆ [canage].
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)
Starts with (+13): Canakaccaru, Canakah, Canakai, Canakakkatakam, Canakala, Canakalavana, Canakaloni, Canakam, Canakamata, Canakamatti, Canakamla, Canakamlaka, Canakamlavar, Canakamlavara, Canakamukkan, Canakamutalai, Canakamutthi, Canakantakam, Canakantam, Canakapita.
Full-text (+44): Canakatmaja, Canakamlaka, Mundacanaka, Canakam, Canakka, Canakaloni, Canakamutthi, Canakya, Canakamatti, Kimcanaka, Canakina, Cana, Canakalavana, Canakamla, Canakaccaru, Krishnacancuka, Canakah, Bhrishtacanaka, Canakayavasaktu, Ardracanaka.
Relevant text
Search found 40 books and stories containing Canaka, Cana-nvu, Caṇa-ṇvu, Canakā, Caṇakā, Caṇaka, Cāṇaka; (plurals include: Canakas, nvus, ṇvus, Canakās, Caṇakās, Caṇakas, Cāṇakas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Studies in Indian Cultural History (by P. K. Gode)
Part 24 - Some Notes on the History of Canaka (Cicer Arietinum) < [Section 3 - Studies in the history of Indian Plants]
Part 28 - The Role of Yava and Canaka (gram) in Regimen of Indian Horses < [Section 3 - Studies in the history of Indian Plants]
Part 27 - The Use Of Canaka (Gram) As Horse-Food In The Ashva-Shastras < [Section 3 - Studies in the history of Indian Plants]
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verses 4.8.26-27 < [Chapter 8 - In the Story of the Yajña-sītās, the Glories of Ekādaśī]
Agriculture and Animal husbandry in the Puranas (by Purboshri Borpuzari)
Part 27 - Agricultural Products Used as Medicines < [Chapter 2 - Agriculture and its importance]
Part 21 - Agricultural Products as Mentioned in the Proposed Purāṇas < [Chapter 2 - Agriculture and its importance]
Part 22 - Description of the Akṣaya Tṛtīyā festival (i.e., Akha Teej) < [Chapter 5 - Modern relevance of Purāṇic agriculture and Animal Husbandry]
Brihatkatha-kosha (cultural study) (by Himanshu Shekhar Acharya)
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 188 < [Malayalam-English (1 volume)]
Page 222 < [Tamil-English-Malayalam (1 volume)]
Page 736 < [Kannada-English-Malayalam (1 volume)]
International Ayurvedic Medical Journal
A comparitive analytical study to assess the nutritional value of palalam (laddu) prepared individually from tila (black sesame), mudga (green gram), canaka (bengal gram), makushthaka (moth < [2020, Issue 6, June]
Pathyapathya in prameha < [2021, Issue 8, August]
Yava (barley) the disease specific diet in prameha < [2014, Issue VI Nov-Dec]