Cancu, Cañcu, Camcu: 21 definitions

Introduction:

Cancu means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi, Jainism, Prakrit, biology, Tamil. 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 Chanchu.

In Hinduism

Ayurveda (science of life)

Nighantu (Synonyms and Characteristics of Drugs and technical terms)

Source: WorldCat: Rāj nighaṇṭu

Cañcu (चञ्चु) is another name for Cuñcu, an unidentified medicinal plant possibly identified with (i) Marsilea dentata Linn., (ii) Marsilea quadrifolia Linn. or (iii) Marsilea minuta Linn., according to verse 4.144-145 of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rājanighaṇṭu. The fourth chapter (śatāhvādi-varga) of this book enumerates eighty varieties of small plants (pṛthu-kṣupa). Together with the names Cañcu and Cuñcu, there are a total of nine Sanskrit synonyms identified for this plant.

Unclassified Ayurveda definitions

Source: Wisdom Library: Āyurveda and botany

Cañcu (चञ्चु) is another name (synonym) for Raktairaṇḍa: one of the three varieties of Eraṇḍa, which is a Sanskrit name representing Ricinus communis (castor-oil-plant). This synonym was identified by Narahari in his 13th-century Rājanighaṇṭu (verses 8.55-57), which is an Ayurvedic medicinal thesaurus. Certain plant parts of Eraṇḍa are eaten as a vegetable (śāka), and it is therefore part of the Śākavarga group of medicinal plants, referring to the “group of vegetables/pot-herbs”.

Ayurveda book cover
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.

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Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Cañcu (चञ्चु) refers to the “beak (of a dove)”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.4.2 (“The birth of Śiva’s son”).—Accordingly, after Śiva spoke to Viṣṇu: “[...] Saying this He let [the discharged semen] fall on the ground. Urged by the gods Agni became a dove and swallowed it with his beak (cañcu). O sage, in the meantime Pārvatī came there. When Śiva took a long time to return, she hastened there and saw the gods. On coming to know of the incident she became very furious”.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

Cancu (चन्चु).—(Hārīta)—a son of Harita and father of Vijaya and Sudeva (Vasudeva, Viṣṇu-purāṇa).*

  • * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 63. 117; Vāyu-purāṇa 88. 119, 120; Viṣṇu-purāṇa IV. 3. 25.
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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Sports, Arts and Entertainment (wordly enjoyments)

Source: archive.org: Syainika Sastra of Rudradeva with English Translation (art)

Cañcu (चञ्चु) refers to the “beak (of a bird)” (used for preening its feathers), according to the Śyainika-śāstra: a Sanskrit treatise dealing with the divisions and benefits of Hunting and Hawking, written by Rājā Rudradeva (or Candradeva) in possibly the 13th century.—Accordingly, [while discussing the training of hawks]: “[...] Whether it is ‘manned’ or not is to be known by its actions. When it stands on one leg with the eyes closed, when it preens or ‘ reforms’ (cañcu) its feathers, when it ‘mantles’ with its wings [cañcvā kaṇḍūyanaṃ caiva pakṣapālyorvidhūnanam], or looks with a gentle eye at its master, then it is known to be ‘manned’, otherwise not. When the hawk is seen to be manned it should be lured in a creance to a piece of meat from increasing distances. [...]”.

Arts book cover
context information

This section covers the skills and profiencies of the Kalas (“performing arts”) and Shastras (“sciences”) involving ancient Indian traditions of sports, games, arts, entertainment, love-making and other means of wordly enjoyments. Traditionally these topics were dealt with in Sanskrit treatises explaing the philosophy and the justification of enjoying the pleasures of the senses.

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Biology (plants and animals)

Source: Google Books: CRC World Dictionary (Regional names)

1) Cancu in India is the name of a plant defined with Corchorus aestuans in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Triumfetta bogotensis DC. (among others).

2) Cancu is also identified with Corchorus capsularis.

Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):

· Yakugaku Zasshi (2007)
· Taxon (1982)
· African Journal of Traditional, Complimentary and Alternative Medicines (2007)
· Acta Genetica Sinica (1994)
· Hortus Bengalensis, or ‘a Catalogue of the Plants Growing in the Hounourable East India Company's Botanical Garden at Calcutta’ (1814)
· Journal of Fujian Agricultural College (1986)

If you are looking for specific details regarding Cancu, for example side effects, chemical composition, extract dosage, diet and recipes, health benefits, pregnancy safety, have a look at these references.

Biology book cover
context information

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.

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Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

cañcu (चंचु).—f (S) cañcupuṭa n (S) A beak or bill.

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

cañcu (चंचु).—f cañcupuṭa n A beak or bill.

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: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Cañcu (चञ्चु).—a. [cañc-un]

1) Celebrated, renowned, known.

2) Clever (as akṣaracañcu); ओष्ठेन रामो रामोष्ठबिम्बचुम्बनचञ्चुता (oṣṭhena rāmo rāmoṣṭhabimbacumbanacañcutā) Śiśupālavadha 2.14; see चुञ्चु (cuñcu).

-ñcuḥ 1 A deer.

2) Name of a casteroil plant (Mar. rakta eraṃḍa).

-ñcuḥ, -ñcūḥ f. A beak, bill.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Cañcu (चञ्चु).—nt., in Divyāvadāna 131.21, 22, 24, and same passage Mūla-Sarvāstivāda-Vinaya i.250.9 ff., said to mean lit. box (compare cañca), and to be applied to a type of famine: trividhaṃ durbhikṣaṃ bhaviṣyati, cañcu śvetāsthi śalākāvṛtti (Divyāvadāna mss. °ttiṃ; Mūla-Sarvāstivāda-Vinaya ms. śilakā°) ca. tatra cañcu ucyate samudgake, tasmin manuṣyā vījāni prakṣipyānāgate (Mūla-Sarvāstivāda-Vinaya °ta- sattvāpekṣayā sthāpayanti mṛtānām (Mūla-Sarvāstivāda-Vinaya asmākam) anena te vījakāyaṃ (Mūla-Sarvāstivāda-Vinaya anena bījena manuṣyāḥ kāryaṃ) kariṣyantīti. idaṃ samudgakaṃ baddhvā cañcu ucyate.

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

Cañcu (चञ्चु).—f.

(-ñcuḥ) A beak; also cañcū. m.

(-ñcuḥ) 1. The castor oil plant. 2. A kind of potherb. 3. A deer. E. cañcu to go, to eat, affix un.

--- OR ---

Cañcū (चञ्चू).—f.

(-ñcūḥ) A beak: see cañcu, the affix being ū.

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

Cañcu (चञ्चु).—f. The beak, [Pañcatantra] i. [distich] 28.

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

Cañcu (चञ्चु).—[adjective] known or renowned by (—°); [abstract] [feminine], tva [neuter]

— [masculine] [Name] of a man & [several] plants; [feminine] (also cancū) beak, bill.

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

1) Cañcu (चञ्चु):—mfn. ifc. (= caṇa, cuñcu) renowned or famous for, [Mahābhārata xiii, 17, 107; Bhartṛhari iii, 57]

2) skilled, clever in

3) m. a deer, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

4) the castor-oil plant, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.] (cf. -taila)

5) a red kind of the same plant, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

6) the plant Go-nāḍīka (or Nāḍīca), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

7) the plant Kṣudracañcu, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

8) Name of a son of Harita, [Harivaṃśa 758; Viṣṇu-purāṇa iv, 3, 15]

9) f. a beak, bill, [Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā; Pañcatantra; Hitopadeśa]

10) = -pattra, [Bhāvaprakāśa]

11) (n. ?) a box (applied as a Name to one of the 3 kinds of famine), [Divyāvadāna]

12) Cañcū (चञ्चू):—[from cañcu] f. a beak, bill, [Vopadeva iv, 31]

13) [v.s. ...] = ñcu-pattra, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

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

1) Cañcu (चञ्चु):—(ñcuḥ) 2. f. A beak. m. The castor oil plant; a deer.

2) Cañcū (चञ्चू):—(ñcūḥ) 3. f. A beak.

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

Cañcu (चञ्चु) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Caṃcu.

[Sanskrit to German]

Cancu 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.

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Prakrit-English dictionary

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

Caṃcu (चंचु) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Cañcu.

context information

Prakrit is an ancient language closely associated with both Pali and Sanskrit. Jain literature is often composed in this language or sub-dialects, such as the Agamas and their commentaries which are written in Ardhamagadhi and Maharashtri Prakrit. The earliest extant texts can be dated to as early as the 4th century BCE although core portions might be older.

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Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Caṃcu (ಚಂಚು):—[noun] = ಚಂಚ [camca].

--- OR ---

Caṃcu (ಚಂಚು):—

1) [noun] the horny jaws of a bird, usu. projecting to a point; the beak.

2) [noun] the plant Ricinus communis of Euphorbiacae family; castor bean plant.

3) [noun] its oil yielding seed; castor bean.

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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Tamil dictionary

Source: DDSA: University of Madras: Tamil Lexicon

Cañcu (சஞ்சு) noun < cañcu.

1. Bird's beak; பறவை மூக்கு. கனியிற் றீண்டுபு சஞ்சடர்த்திட [paravai mukku. kaniyir rindupu sanchadarthida] (இரகுவமிசம் குறைகூ. [iraguvamisam kuraigu.] 31).

2. Castor plant. See ஆமணக்கு. (வைத்திய மலையகராதி) [amanakku. (vaithiya malaiyagarathi)]

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Cañcu (சஞ்சு) noun [K. cañcu.] Manners, customs, habits, as peculiar to individuals or castes; குலதருமம். [kulatharumam.] (W.)

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Cañcu (சஞ்சு) noun cf. saṃ-yaj. Likeness, form, shape; சாயல். [sayal.] (J.)

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.

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