Cauri, Caurī, Cāurī: 12 definitions

Introduction:

Cauri means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India, Marathi, 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 Chauri.

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In Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Caurī (चौरी) is another name for Caurimā—one of the “Fifty-eight Wrathful Deities” (Tibetan: khro bo lha nga brgyad) according to various sources such as the Guhyagarbha Tantra and the Tibetan Book of the Dead.—They feature in Tantric teachings and practices which focus on purifying elements of the body and mind. These deities [e.g., Caurī] form part part of the the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities who manifest to a deceased person following the dissolution of the body and consciousness whilst they are in the intermediate state (bardo) between death and rebirth. Caurimā is part of the “eight wrathful females” and is also known as Caurī, Caurā, Tsaurima. She is known in Tibetan as (1) tso'u ri (2) chom rkun ma.

Source: Wisdom Library: Tibetan Buddhist Teachers, Deities and other Spiritual beings

Caurī (चौरी) refers one of the eight Gaurīs, commonly depicted in Buddhist Iconography, and mentioned in the 11th-century Niṣpannayogāvalī of Mahāpaṇḍita Abhayākara.—Her Colour is yellow; her Symbol is the noose; she has two arms.—The second goddess in the Gaurī group is Caurī.

Caurī is described in the Niṣpannayogāvalī (pañcaḍāka-maṇḍala) as follows:—

Caurī is yellow in colour and holds in her right hand the noose”.

[She shows the raised index finger in the left like all other deities of this group.

All the deities are violent in character with fearful appearance and ornaments, and garlands of heads. They dance in pratyālīḍha and show the raised index finger with clasped fist against the chest, as the common gesture.]

Source: archive.org: The Indian Buddhist Iconography

Caurī (चौरी) is also mentioned as the Ḍākinī of the northern gate in the Jñānacakra, according to the 10th century Ḍākārṇava chapter 15. Accordingly, the jñānacakra refers to one of the three divisions of the saṃbhoga-puṭa (‘enjoyment layer’), situated in the Herukamaṇḍala. The four gate Ḍākinīs [viz., Caurī] each has the same physical feature as the four Ḍākinīs starting with Lāmā.

Source: academia.edu: The Structure and Meanings of the Heruka Maṇḍala
Tibetan Buddhism book cover
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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.

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India history and geography

Cauri.—(ASLV), spelt chowrie in English; a flywhisk; some- times the right of its use was granted to persons as a mark of honour. See cāmara, cavarālu. Note: cauri is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Indian Epigraphical Glossary
India history book cover
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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.

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Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

caurī (चौरी).—f A chowrie; see cavarī.

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

1) Caurī (चौरी):—[from caura] a f. a female thief. (heart-) captivator, [Kathāsaritsāgara vc, 54; civ, 168]

2) [v.s. ...] = ra-karman, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

3) [from caura] b ind. (See ra) in [compound]

4) [v.s. ...] f. (See ra) in [compound]

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

[Sanskrit to German]

Cauri in German

Caurī (चौरी) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Corī.

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

Cauri (ಚೌರಿ):—

1) [noun] the long hair of yak (Bos gruniens).

2) [noun] a fan made of this.

3) [noun] a bunch of long hair tightly tied at one end and let loose at the other, interwoven with the hair of women while braiding.

4) [noun] a kind of ornament for the head used by women.

5) [noun] an erstwhile coin used during the reign of the provincial rulers of Citradurga, in Karnāṭaka.

6) [noun] an ornamental tuft used to decorate pandals, podia, platforms, etc.

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus
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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

Cauri (சௌரி) noun < sauri. (பிங்கலகண்டு [pingalagandu])

1. Saturn; சனி. [sani.]

2. Yama, the God of Death; யமன். [yaman.]

3. Karṇa; கன்னன். [kannan.]

--- OR ---

Cauri (சௌரி) noun < saurī. The Jumna; யமுனை நதி. (பிங்கலகண்டு) [yamunai nathi. (pingalagandu)]

--- OR ---

Cauri (சௌரி) noun < śauri. Viṣṇu; திருமால். (பிங்கலகண்டு) [thirumal. (pingalagandu)]

--- OR ---

Cauri (சௌரி) noun < camarī. Chowry. See சவரி¹. [savari¹.]

Source: DDSA: University of Madras: Tamil Lexicon
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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Nepali dictionary

1) Cāurī (चाउरी):—n. wrinkle; pucker;

2) Caurī (चौरी):—n. yak;

Source: unoes: Nepali-English Dictionary
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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.

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