Cirayus, Cirāyus, Cira-ayus: 10 definitions
Introduction:
Cirayus means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit. 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 Chirayus.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Puranic EncyclopediaCirāyus (चिरायुस्).—An ancient King of the country Cirāyu. Nāgārjuna was a minister of this King. Nāgārjuna knew the secret of 'Rasāyanasiddhi'. Once Nāgārjuna prepared a medicine for himself and the King which if taken would keep them eternally young. They took medicine accordingly.
After some days a child of the minister died. Griefstricken Nāgārjuna decided to prepare Amṛta which would eradicate death from this world. He had prepared it but there remained one more medicine to be added to this. The auspicious moment to add the same was to come only after five days and Nāgārjuna waited. The devas were frightened. If Amṛta was made available on earth men would become Devas. Devas could not bear this and so they sent the Aśvinīkumāras to the earth to persuade Nāgārjuna to desist from his work of preparing Amṛta. Further they informed him that his dead child was living happily in heaven. He agreed to stop his work. (See full article at Story of Cirāyus from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)
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.
Kavya (poetry)
Source: Wisdom Library: KathāsaritsāgaraCirāyus (चिरायुस्) is the name of a city and similarly-named king, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 41. Accordingly, “in the city of Cirāyus there was in old time a king, named Cirāyus, who was indeed long-lived, and the home of all good fortune. He had a compassionate, generous and gifted minister, named Nāgārjuna, who was sprung from a portion of a Bodhisattva, who knew the use of all drugs, and by making an elixir he rendered himself and that king free from old age, and long-lived”.
The story of Cirāyus was narrated by Marubhūti in order to demonstrate that “this world of living beings was appointed by the Creator unstable, and full of grief hard to ward off, and even with hundreds of efforts it is impossible for anyone to do anything here which the Creator does not wish him to do”.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Cirāyus, is a famous Sanskrit epic story revolving around prince Naravāhanadatta and his quest to become the emperor of the vidyādharas (celestial beings). The work is said to have been an adaptation of Guṇāḍhya’s Bṛhatkathā consisting of 100,000 verses, which in turn is part of a larger work containing 700,000 verses.
Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Google Books: ManthanabhairavatantramCirāyus (चिरायुस्) refers to a “long life”, according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—Accordingly, “Thus the goddess enjoins that after feeding the initiates, teachers and Yoginīs, in front of the Krama—then one should offer the bali outside in the ten directions, in due order. It should first be held in front of the god and the Mothers. In this way, (the rite is) freed of obstacles, (the worshipper) has a long life [i.e., cirāyus] and certainly obtains the desired fruit by the power of my Command”.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryCirāyus (चिरायुस्).—a. long-lived. (-m.) a god.
Cirāyus is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms cira and āyus (आयुस्).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryCirāyus (चिरायुस्).—mfn. (-yuḥ-yuḥ-yu) Long-lived. m.
(-yuḥ) A deity, a divinity. E. cira long, and āyus life. ciramāyuryasya .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryCirāyus (चिरायुस्).—[adjective] long-lived.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Cirāyus (चिरायुस्):—[from cira] mfn. long-lived, [Suśruta]
2) [v.s. ...] m. a deity, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
3) [v.s. ...] a crow, [Demetrius Galanos’s Lexiko: sanskritikes, anglikes, hellenikes]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryCirāyus (चिरायुस्):—[cirā+yus] (yuḥ) 5. m. A deity, a divinity. a. Long-lived.
[Sanskrit to German]
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Cirayusha, Cirayushmati, Cirayushya.
Ends with: Sucirayus.
Full-text: Nagarjuna, Sucirayus, Cirayusha, Shatayus, Jivahara, Dhanapara.
Relevant text
Search found 2 books and stories containing Cirayus, Cirāyus, Cira-ayus, Cira-āyus; (plurals include: Cirayuses, Cirāyuses, ayuses, āyuses). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of Story) (by Somadeva)
Chapter XLI < [Book VII - Ratnaprabhā]
Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)