Catura: 26 definitions
Introduction:
Catura means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Buddhism, Pali, the history of ancient India, 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.
Alternative spellings of this word include Chatura.
Images (photo gallery)
In Hinduism
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
1) Catura (चतुर).—One of the 108 karaṇas (minor dance movement) mentioned in the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 4. The instructions for this catura-karaṇa is as follows, “the left hand with Añcita, (i.e., Alapallava) gesture, the right hand with Catura gesture, the right feet in Kuṭṭita (i.e. Udghaṭṭita) pose.”. A karaṇa represents a minor dance movements and combines sthāna (standing position), cārī (foot and leg movement) and nṛttahasta (hands in dancing position).
2) Catura (चतुर, “clever”) also refers to a specific gesture (āṅgika) made with the eyebrows (bhrū), according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 8. These gestures of the eyelids (puṭa) are supposed to be performed in accordance with the corresponding gestures of the eyeballs (tārā) and the eyelids (puṭa). These gestures form a part of the histrionic representation (abhinaya).
(Instructions): slightly moving and excending (?) the eyebrows in a pleasing manner. (Uses): in love (śṛṅgāra), sportiveness (lalita), pleasing object (saumya), pleasing touch and awakening (sukhasparśa).
3) Catura (चतुर) also refers to a gesture (āṅgika) made with a ‘single hand’ (asaṃyuta), according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 8. The hands (hasta) form a part of the human body which represents one of the six major limbs (aṅga) used in dramatic performance. With these limbs are made the various gestures (āṅgika), which form a part of the histrionic representation (abhinaya).
(Instructions): The four fingers stretched and the thumb bent near the middle finger. (Uses): It is to be applied in representing policy, discipline, penance, cleverness, a young girl, a sick person, perfidy, gambling, proper words, salutary truth, and tranquillity.
1) One of six movements of the Brows: Catura: the brows meeting and faintly quivering. It is used in touching one another’s face, heart’s bliss, and excitement.
2) One of the Twenty-eight Single Hands (hasta):—Catura: the thumb is bent to touch the base of the third finger, the first and adjoining fingers outstretched together, and the little finger extended (separately). Usage: musk, a little,gold, copper etc., wet, sorrow, aesthetic emotion (rasāsvāda),eyes, difference of caste, oath, playful converse (sarasa), slowstepping,breaking to pieces, seat (āsana), oil or ghī, etc.
According to another book: in the Patāka hand, the thumb is made to touch the middle line of the third finger, and the Kttlefinger is stretched out. It originates from Kaśyapa, who usedthis hand to show the way to Garuḍa when he wished to steal thenectar. Its sage is Valakhilya, its colour variegated, its racemixed, its patron deity Vainateya. Usage: gorocana, dust, playful converse, red paint (laktaka), concentration of mind (or attention), camphor, eye, chin, earring, face, brow, side glance, beloved, policy, musk, sugar, honey, oil, ghī, cleverness, mirror, gold, diamond, emerald, sufiiciency, a little, a moderate quantityof anything, indigo, white colour, mixed caste, sword, cheek, tip of the ear.
Catura (चतुर) refers to “expanding the eye-brows slightly up”, and is classified as one of the seven movements of the eye-brows, which forms a part of upāṅga (minor body-parts) in Nāṭyaśāstra. Catura can be used in amorous gestures, grace, calmness, touching.
1) Catura (चतुर) refers to one of the twenty-two Asaṃyuktahastas or “single hand gestures” (in Indian Dramas), according to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, an ancient Sanskrit text which (being encyclopedic in nature) deals with a variety of cultural topics such as arts, architecture, music, grammar and astronomy.—The hasta-mudrās (lit. “hand-gestures”) are very essential to denote some particular action or state in dancing and these mudrās are formed with the help of hands and fingers.—The Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa says that in catura-hasta, the middle finger of the hand remains vertical, the thumb should be kept in the middle and the rest of the fingers are stretched out. According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, some colours are pointed with this hand gesture. When the hand is raised in catura posture, it denotes white colour. When the hand moves in circular way and in semi-circular motion in catura-hasta, it denotes yellow and red colour respectively. In compacted form it shows blue colour. When the hand is kept in normal position with catura-hasta, it denotes black and the other remaining colours.
Instead of showing colours, in the Abhinayadarpaṇa the catura posture denotes some metals like gold, copper and iron. This posture also shows the application of some greasy substances like oil, ghee etc on the face.
2) Catura (चतुर) refers to one of the 108 kinds of Karaṇa (“coordination of precise movements of legs and hands”), according to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa.—Accordingly, karaṇas are the coordination of precise movements of legs and hands performed in a particular posture. The Nāṭyaśāstra also gives its view point in the same spirit. In the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, one hundred and eight kinds of karaṇas are accepted, e.g., Catura.
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).
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Caturā (चतुरा) 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).—Caturā is mentioned in śloka 1.10.42.—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)
Caturā (चतुरा) refers to “skilful (examination)”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “A bad birth is hard to be accomplished even in a dream for him whose judgment, which is extremely skilful at examination (vicāra-caturā) like a door-keeper, shines in the mind. Having got rid of the multitude of imaginings, when the steady mind holds onto [its] nature, then it is indeed the best [form of] stopping the influx of karma for a mendicant”.
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.
India history and geography
Catura.—cf. caturaka; a square. Note: catura is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
catura : (adj.) clever; skilled; shrewd.
Catura, (Deriv. uncertain. Perhaps from tvar to move, that is quickly. Sk. catura) clever, skilled, shrewd J. III, 266; VI, 25.—Der. f. abstr. caturatā cleverness Vbh. 351 (=cāturiya). (Page 261)
[Pali to Burmese]
1) catura—
(Burmese text): (၁) လိမ္မာ-ကျွမ်းကျင်-သော၊ သူ။ (၂) တင့်တယ်-စံပယ်-သော၊ တင့်တယ်-စံပယ်-ခြင်းနှင့်ပြည့်စုံသော၊ သူ။
(Auto-Translation): (1) A clever and skillful person. (2) A person who is elegant, graceful, and complete in elegance and grace.
2) cātura—
(Burmese text): တင့်တယ်-စံပယ်-သော။
(Auto-Translation): Slim-Standard-Quality.
3) cātura—
(Burmese text): ယဇ်ပူဇော်ခြင်းငှါ ပြုပြင်စီရင်အပ်သော-အကျည်မြင့်-ကုန်းမြင့်။
(Auto-Translation): For the purpose of worship, high-quality and elevated attire is required.
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
catura (चतुर).—a (S) Shrewd, sagacious, intelligent, ingenious, clever.
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cātura (चातुर).—a (S Common in poetry and ballads.) Shrewd, sagacious, intelligent, ingenious, clever.
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cātūra (चातूर).—a (cātura S) Shrewd, sagacious &c.
catura (चतुर).—a Shrewd, sagacious, intelligent, ingenious, clever.
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cātura (चातुर).—a Shrewd, clever.
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
Catura (चतुर).—a. [cat-urac]
1) Clever, skilful, ingenious, sharp-witted; सर्वात्मना रतिकथाचतुरेव दूती (sarvātmanā ratikathācatureva dūtī) Mu.3.9; Amaruśataka 15.44; मृगया जहार चतुरेव कामिनी (mṛgayā jahāra catureva kāminī) R.9.69;18.15.
2) Quick, swift.
3) Charming, beautiful, lovely, agreeable; न पुनरेति गतं चतुरं वयः (na punareti gataṃ caturaṃ vayaḥ) R.9.47; Kumārasambhava 1.47; 3.5;5.49.
-raḥ 1 A round pillow.
2) Crooked gait.
3) An elephant's stable.
-ram 1 Cleverness, ingenuity.
2) An elephant's stable.
Catura (चतुर).—mfn.
(-raḥ-rā-raṃ) 1. Dexterous, ingenious, clever. 2. Visible, perceptible. m.
(-raḥ) 1. A round pillow, one for the cheek. 3. An elephant stable. E. cat to ask, Unadi affix urac.
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Cātura (चातुर).—mfn.
(-raḥ-rī-raṃ) 1. Perceptible, visible. 2. Speaking well or amiably. 3. Driving, one who drives, a driver, a charioteer, &c. 4. Clever, able, ingenious. 5. Relating to four. f. (-rī) Dexterity, ability, cleverness. m.
(-raḥ) A small round pillow for resting the cheek upon. n.
(-raṃ) a four-wheeled carriage, a cart holding four people. E. catura dexterous, or catur four, aṇ affix; also with kan added cāturaka.
Catura (चतुर).—I. adj., f. rā. 1. Dexterous, [Pañcatantra] 161, 2. 2. Ingenious, [Pañcatantra] 158, 9. 3. Charming, [Raghuvaṃśa, (ed. Stenzler.)] 8, 94. 4. Quick, [Rājataraṅgiṇī] 3, 176; ºram, adv. 188. Ii. n. Cleverness, [Amaruśataka, (ed. Calcutt.)] 20.
Catura (चतुर).—1. [adjective] swift, quick, dexterous, clever, skilful in (—°); [abstract] tā [feminine], tva [neuter]
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Catura (चतुर).—2. (—°) v. catvār.
1) Catura (चतुर):—[from catasṛ] 1. catura mfn. ifc. = tur (cf. upaand tri-, [Pāṇini 5-4, 77], [vArttika]; a-,vi-,su-, [Vopadeva vi, 29])
2) 2. catura mf(ā cf. [gana] arśa-ādi)n. (√cat, [Uṇādi-sūtra]) swift, quick, [Kathāsaritsāgara x, 108; Rājataraṅgiṇī iii, 176]
3) dexterous, clever, ingenious, shrewd, [Raghuvaṃśa; Vikramorvaśī; Kumāra-sambhava; Pañcatantra] etc.
4) charming, agreeable, [Raghuvaṃśa; Bhartṛhari]
5) visible, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
6) m. a round pillow (cf. cāt), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
7) the fish Cyprinus Rohita, [Demetrius Galanos’s Lexiko: sanskritikes, anglikes, hellenikes]
8) ([scilicet] hasta) a particular position of the hand, [Purāṇa-sarvasva]
9) n. = -tā [gana] arśa-ādi
10) an elephant’s stable, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
11) Cātura (चातुर):—1. cātura mfn. ([from] catur) drawn by 4 (a carriage), [Pāṇini 4-2, 92; Kāśikā-vṛtti]
12) 2. cātura mfn. ([from] 2. cat) clever, shrewd, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
13) speaking kindly, flattering, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
14) visible, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
15) governing, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
16) m. a small round pillow, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.] (cf. galla-cāturī)
1) Catura (चतुर):—[(raḥ-rā-raṃ) a.] Dexterous; perceptible. m. A round pillow, one for the cheek; elephant’s stable.
2) Cātura (चातुर):—[(raḥ-rā-raṃ) a.] Perceptible; speaking well; clever; driving of four. m. A small round pillow. f. Dexterity. n. A carriage or cart for four people.
Catura (चतुर):—1. (von catvar) vier in acatura, upa, tri, vi, su [Vopadeva’s Grammatik 6, 29.] am Ende eines adv. comp. gaṇa śaradādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 5, 4, 107.] [Vopadeva’s Grammatik 6, 62.] Vgl. ācaturam .
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Catura (चतुर):—2. [Die Uṇādi-Affixe 1, 38.]
1) adj. f. ā gaṇa arśaādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 5, 2, 127.] a) schnell, rasch: caturaiḥ padaiḥ [Rājataraṅgiṇī 3, 176] ([TROYER]: quatre pas!). caturam adv.: niścitya [188.] — b) geschickt, gewandt, verschmitzt [Amarakoṣa 2, 10, 19.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 343. 384.] [Anekārthasaṃgraha 3, 553.] pakṣiṇāṃ madhye caturo (in der Folge st. dessen dhūrta) yaṃ vāyasaḥ śrūyate [Pañcatantra 158, 9. 160, 22.] [Raghuvaṃśa 9, 69. 18, 14.] [Vikramorvaśī 56.] [Amaruśataka 15.] [Vetālapañcaviṃśati 20, 17.] līlācaturā [Kumārasaṃbhava 1, 48.] vacanaracanā [Pañcatantra 161, 2.] (cakṣuḥ) prapañcacaturam [Amaruśataka 44.] — c) lieblich, reizend: na punareti gataṃ caturaṃ vayaḥ [Raghuvaṃśa 9, 47.] pūrvākārādhikacaturayā saṃgataḥ kāntayā [8, 94.] Hierher könnten auch einige u. a. aufgeführte Stellen gezogen werden. — d) sichtbar (netragocara) [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha] —
2) m. ein rundes Kissen (vgl. cātura) [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha] —
3) n. a) Geschicklichkeit, Gewandtheit gaṇa arśaādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 5, 2, 127.] anyonyavilakṣadṛṣṭicature tasminnavasthāntare [Amaruśataka 20.] — b) Elephantenstall [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 998.] — Vgl. cātura, cāturya, ācaturya .
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Cātura (चातुर):—1. (von catvar) adj. von Vieren gezogen: śakaṭa [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 4, 2, 92,] [Scholiast] Daher cātura n. a carriage, a cart holding four people [Wilson’s Wörterbuch]
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Cātura (चातुर):—2. (von catura)
1) adj. a) geschickt, gewandt [Śabdaratnāvalī im Śabdakalpadruma] — b) Schmeicheleien sagend. — c) dem Auge zugänglich [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha 3, 553.] [Medinīkoṣa r. 154.] — d) lenkend, regierend [Medinīkoṣa] Vgl. cāturika . —
2) m. ein rundes Kopfkissen [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 2, 6, 41.] [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha] [Medinīkoṣa] Vgl. gallacāturī . —
3) f. ī = cāturya [Siddhāntakaumudī.250,a,7.] [Vopadeva’s Grammatik.4,12.] Geschicklichkeit (lies: dākṣya) [Medinīkoṣa]
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Catura (चतुर):—2.
1) a) vāhanāni [Kathāsaritsāgara 10, 108] (ca turāṇi gedr.) adv.: caturaṃ gatvā [101, 96.] — b) śiṣyāḥ [Lassen’s Anthologie (II) 87, 18.] — c) vāc [Spr. 3018. Z. 3] lies b) st. a). —
3) a) [Amaruśataka 20] [?(Spr. 1749)] gehört zu
1) c). —
4) m. (sc. hasta) Bez. einer best. Stellung der Hand [Oxforder Handschriften 86,a,29. 202,a,10.b,2.]
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Cātura (चातुर):—2.
3) Geschicklichkeit: yā lokadvayasādhanī tanubhṛtāṃ sā cāturī cāturī [Spr. 2477.] Liebreiz [Sāhityadarpana 738.]
Catura (चतुर):—1. —
1) Adj. (f. ā) — a) schnell , rasch. m Adv. — b) geschickt , gewandt , verschmitzt. — c) lieblich , reizend. — d) *sichtbar. —
2) m. — a) *Cyprinus Rohita [Galano's Wörterbuch] — b) *ein rundes Kissen. — c) eine best. Stellung der Hand. —
3) *n. — a) Geschicklichkeit , Gewandtheit. — b) Elephantenstall.
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Catura (चतुर):—2. am Ende einiger Compp. = catvar.
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Cātura (चातुर):—1. Adj. von Vieren gezogen (Karren).
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Cātura (चातुर):—2. —
1) *Adj. — a) geschickt , gewandt. — b) Schmeicheleien sagend. — c) dem Auge zugänglich. — d) lenkend , regierend. —
2) *m. ein rundes Kopfkissen. —
3) f. ī — a) Geschicklichkeit [Jayadeva's Prasannarāghava 32,21.53,6.] [Vikramāṅkadevacarita 6,12.] — b) Liebreiz.
Catura (चतुर) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Caura.
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
Catura (चतुर) [Also spelled chatur]:—(a) clever, shrewd; wise; skilful, skilled; ~[tā/pana] cleverness, shrewdness; wisdom; skill.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Catura (ಚತುರ):—[adjective] = ಚತು [catu].
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Catura (ಚತುರ):—
1) [adjective] having or showing an alert mind or high intelligence; clever; intelligent; wise.
2) [adjective] characterised by much action or motion; lively, active, agile, quick.
3) [adjective] having ability; able to do things well; skilled; competent; capable.
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Catura (ಚತುರ):—
1) [noun] an intelligent, clever man.
2) [noun] a capable, competent man.
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Cātura (ಚಾತುರ):—
1) [adjective] skilful, talented; quick to understand or react.
2) [adjective] pleasing to the senses; pleasant; beautiful; enticing.
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Cātura (ಚಾತುರ):—
1) [noun] the quality of being ingenious; cleverness; ingenuity.
2) [noun] the act of speaking pleasing words (mainly to gratify another).
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Catura (चतुर):—adj. 1. clever; skillful; adroit; 2. quick; active; vigorous; 3. beautiful; affectionate;
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: Nura, Ura, Catura, Na.
Starts with (+23): Catura-aghata-vishuddha, Caturabdhi, Caturabha, Caturabhava, Caturabhisamayasiddhi, Caturabhisheka, Caturacalai, Caturaccakkaram, Caturaccanti, Caturacudamani, Caturaga, Caturagamana, Caturahasta, Caturakalli, Caturakkal, Caturakkampam, Caturakkampi, Caturakrama, Caturamatam, Caturamati.
Full-text (+179): Caturanana, Caturanga, Caturata, Caturangula, Caturashra, Caturiya, Caturashramya, Tricatura, Acatura, Upacatura, Caturam, Acaturam, Caturaka, Caturika, Padacatura, Dvitricaturam, Caturakalli, Caturatva, Caturakrama, Upacaturam.
Relevant text
Search found 72 books and stories containing Catura, Cata-ṇura, Cata-nura, Cata-ura, Cātura, Cātūra, Caturā, Catura-na, Catura-ṇa; (plurals include: Caturas, ṇuras, nuras, uras, Cāturas, Cātūras, Caturās, nas, ṇas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 212 < [Tamil-English-Malayalam (1 volume)]
Page 672 < [Gujarati-Hindi-English, Volume 1]
Page 118 < [Hindi-English-Nepali (1 volume)]
Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī)
Verse 2.4.57 < [Part 4 - Transient Ecstatic Disturbances (vyābhicāri-bhāva)]
Verse 3.3.44 < [Part 3 - Fraternal Devotion (sakhya-rasa)]
Verse 2.3.76 < [Part 3 - Involuntary Ecstatic Expressions (sattvika-bhāva)]
Rig Veda (translation and commentary) (by H. H. Wilson)
Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana (by Gaurapada Dāsa)
Text 10.52 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Text 10.163 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Text 1.5 < [Chapter 1 - The Purpose of Poetry]
Sanskrit Words In Southeast Asian Languages (by Satya Vrat Shastri)
Page 694 < [Sanskrit words in the Southeast Asian Languages]
Page 498 < [Sanskrit words in the Southeast Asian Languages]
Brihat Jataka by Varahamihira [Sanskrit/English] (by Michael D Neely)
Verse 16.3 < [Chapter 16 - Results of the Nakṣatras]
Verse 18.1 < [Chapter 18 - Disposition of the Zodiac Signs]