Citi, Cí tǐ, Ci ti: 22 definitions
Introduction:
Citi means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Pali, Marathi, Hindi, 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 Chiti.
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In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
1a) Citi (चिति).—A Jayadeva.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 4. 2.
1b) (ety.) he who gathers the means for enjoyment.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 4. 38.
1c) The twins of Prajāpati in the 23rd kalpa; Cinta came out of contemplation.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 21. 53.

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.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Citi (चिति) refers to the “(power of) consciousness)”, according to Arṇasiṃha’s Mahānayaprakāśa verse 134.—Accordingly, “The Śāmbhava (state) is the one in which the power of consciousness (citi) suddenly (sahasā) dissolves away into the Great Void called the Inactive (niḥspanda) that is profound and has no abode. Cognitive awareness (jñāna) arises here in the form of a subtle wave of consciousness out of that ocean of emptiness, which is the perfectly peaceful condition of the dissolving away of destruction. [...] Again, that same (principle) free of the cognitive process (saṃvittikalanā) is the supreme absolute (niruttara) said to be the Śāmbhava state of emptiness (vyomaśāmbhava)”.

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.
Ganitashastra (Mathematics and Algebra)
Citi (चिति) refers to the “summation of series”, and represents a technical term occurring in the Gaṇitasāra-saṅgraha—an ancient Sanskrit text dealing with ancient Indian algebra and mathematical problems written by Mahāvīra (Mahāvīrācārya) in the 9th century.

Ganita (गणित) or Ganitashastra refers to the ancient Indian science of mathematics, algebra, number theory, arithmetic, etc. Closely allied with astronomy, both were commonly taught and studied in universities, even since the 1st millennium BCE. Ganita-shastra also includes ritualistic math-books such as the Shulba-sutras.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
citi : (f.) a heap; a cairn.
Citi, (f.) (From ci, cināti, to heap up) a heap, made of bricks J.VI, 204 (city-avayata-piṭṭhikā). See also cetiya. (Page 265)

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
citī (चिती).—f P Mould, esp. white mouldy concretion.
ciṭī (चिटी) [-ṭhī-ṭhṭhī, -ठी-ठ्ठी].—f A note. A bill of exchange. ciṭī utaraṇēṃ To get a writ to die. ciṭhī ṭākaṇēṃ To cast lots. ciṭī phiraviṇēṃ To recover after a desperate sickness.
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citī (चिती).—f Mould, esp. white mouldy con- cretion.
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
Citi (चिति).—f. [ci-ādhāre ktin]
1) Collecting, gathering.
2) A heap, multitude, quantity.
3) A layer, pile, stack; सभ्यावसथ्यं चितयोऽसवो हि ते (sabhyāvasathyaṃ citayo'savo hi te) Bhāgavata 3.13.37.
4) A funeral pile.
5) An oblong with quadrangula rsides.
6) The understanding. -m. The thinking mind.
Derivable forms: citiḥ (चितिः).
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Ciṭī (चिटी).—f. A Yoginī disguised as a Chāṇḍālī.
Citi (चिति).—f.
(-tiḥ) Collecting, gathering. (-tiḥ-tī) 1. funeral pile. 2. A heap, a quantity. 3. A pile, a stack. 4. An oblong with quadrangular sides. E. ci to collect, affix ādhāre ktin and optionally ṅīṣ is added.
Citi (चिति).—[ci + ti], f. 1. A heap, [Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, (ed. Burnouf.)] 4, 28, 50. 2. Wood raised for burning, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 4, 46. 3. An altar, [Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, (ed. Burnouf.)] 3, 13, 36. 4. Intellect, [Devīmāhātmya, (ed. Poley.)] 5, 36.
Citi (चिति).—1. [feminine] = citā.
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Citi (चिति).—2. [feminine] = 2 cit.
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Cīti (चीति).—[feminine] gathering, collecting.
1) Citi (चिति):—[from ci] 1. citi f. a layer (of wood or bricks etc.), pile, stack, funeral pile, [Taittirīya-saṃhitā v; Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa vi, viii; Pāṇini 3-3, 41; Manu-smṛti iv, 46; Mahābhārata] etc. (metrically tī, [Harivaṃśa 2227 and 12360])
2) [v.s. ...] Name of [Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa xiii]
3) [v.s. ...] collecting, gathering, [Horace H. Wilson]
4) [v.s. ...] a heap, multitude, [Prabodha-candrodaya ii, 17]
5) [v.s. ...] an oblong with quadrangular sides, [Horace H. Wilson] (cf. idhma-; amṛtaand ṛṣi-citi.)
6) [v.s. ...] Name of a plant ([varia lectio] -citti), [Kauśika-sūtra]
7) Citī (चिती):—[from ci] f. for ti q.v.
8) Cīti (चीति):—[from ci] a f. collecting, [Atharva-veda ii, 9, 4.]
9) Citi (चिति):—[from cit] 2a f. (only [dative case] taye, [Vedic or Veda] [infinitive mood]) understanding, [Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā]
10) [v.s. ...] m. the thinking mind, [Devī-māhātmya v, 36; Prabodha-candrodaya]
11) 2b See √4. cit.
12) Cīti (चीति):—b See √1. ci.
Citi (चिति):—(tiḥ) 2. f. A funeral pile; a heap; a collecting; an oblong.
[Sanskrit to German]
Citi (चिति) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Cii.
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
Citi (चिति) [Also spelled chiti]:—(nf) consciousness.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Citi (ಚಿತಿ):—
1) [noun] a heap of things.
2) [noun] the act of accumulating, collecting together.
3) [noun] a pit filled with live coal.
4) [noun] a heap of wood on which a corpse is burned; a pile; a pyre.
5) [noun] the spiritual knowledge.
6) [noun] (arith.) modification of the order of a given set of numbers or quantities.
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Cīṭi (ಚೀಟಿ):—[noun] a cotton cloth printed in colours with flower designs or other patterns.
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Cīṭi (ಚೀಟಿ):—
1) [noun] a short note or letter; a chit.
2) [noun] a written order, permission, etc.
3) [noun] a small, thin sheet of metal used to write mystical symbols, hymns, etc. on, for tying around the arm or neck in as a talisman, which is believed to have magical power to protect against injury or evil.
4) [noun] a small, distinctively imprinted piece of paper of various denominations, issued by the department of posts, to be affixed to a letter, parcel, etc. as an acknowledgement for having paid specified fee for conveying it to the addressee.
5) [noun] a written evidence of a transaction, event, grant, etc. signed by the persons concerned; a record.
6) [noun] any of a pack cards used in playing in various games.
7) [noun] a system of financial transaction among the members of a scheme, each one of them contributing regularly a specified amount, with a facility to bid for a lump sum.
8) [noun] a printed piece of paper got as an acknowledgement for having paid the fare for a train, bus, etc.
9) [noun] ಚೀಟಿ ಬರು [citi baru] cīṭi baru(fig.) (death) to come, happen; ಚೀಟಿ ಹಾಕು [citi haku] cīṭi hāku to join a system of financial transaction (see sl. no. 7 above).
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Tamil dictionary
Cīti (சீதி) noun cf. cyuti. Pudendum muliebre; பெண்குறி. [penkuri.] Local usage
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Citi (சிதி) noun < śiti. (யாழ்ப்பாணத்து மானிப்பாயகராதி [yazhppanathu manippayagarathi])
1. Blackness; கறுப்பு. [karuppu.]
2. Whiteness; வெண்மை. [venmai.]
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Citi (சிதி) noun < chidi. Axe; கோடாலி. (யாழ்ப்பாணத்து மானிப்பாயகராதி) [kodali. (yazhppanathu manippayagarathi)]
Tamil is an ancient language of India from the Dravidian family spoken by roughly 250 million people mainly in southern India and Sri Lanka.
Nepali dictionary
Citi (चिति):—n. 1. burning pyre; 2. knowledge; consciousness; 3. heap; pile; multitude; 4. a squarish place;
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)
Starts with (+18): Cetapana, Cetapehi, Cetapema, Cetapemi, Cetapenta, Cetapenti, Cetapesi, Cetapessami, Cetapessanti, Cetapessati, Cetapesum, Cetapetabba, Cetapetha, Cetapeti, Cetapetum, Cetapetva, Cetapeyya, Cetapeyyam, Cetapita, Ceteti.
Full-text (+262): Apacayati, Viciti, Pariciti, Cetapeti, Cittaka, Cetapana, Chandoviciti, Purvaciti, Upaciti, Nishciti, Samciti, Amritaciti, Ceteti, Punashciti, Cetapetabba, Cetapesum, Cetapetha, Cetapehi, Cetapesi, Cetapeyyam.
Relevant text
Search found 111 books and stories containing Citi, Chithi, Cí tǐ, Ci ti, Citī, Ciṭī, Cīti, Cīṭi, Cítǐ, Seethi, Sidhi, Sidi, Sithi, 磁体, 磁體, 雌体, 雌體; (plurals include: Citis, Chithis, Cí tǐs, Ci tis, Citīs, Ciṭīs, Cītis, Cīṭis, Cítǐs, Seethis, Sidhis, Sidis, Sithis). 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 587 < [English-Gujarati-Hindi (1 volume)]
Page 210 < [English-Gujarati-Hindi (1 volume)]
Page 513 < [Gujarati-Hindi-English, Volume 3]
Brahma Archana Paddhati (text and translation) (by Prabhunath Dwivedi)
Vastu-shastra (Introduction to Indian architecture) (by D. N. Shukla)
(v,1) Vāstu in Vedic literature < [Chapter 4 - An outline History of Hindu Architecture]
(vi) Rise of Art < [Chapter 4 - An outline History of Hindu Architecture]
Chapter 2 - The Origin of the Prāsāda-vāstu < [Volume 5 - Temple Architecture]
Tirumantiram by Tirumular (English translation)
Verse 1013: Be Rid of Na and Ma < [Tantra Four (nankam tantiram) (verses 884-1418)]
Verse 2196: Turiyatita State Inner Divisions—Jagra and Sushupti; < [Tantra Eight (ettam tantiram) (verses 2122-2648)]
Verse 640: Perform Siddhis in Meekness < [Tantra Three (munran tantiram) (verses 549-883)]
Vakyapadiya of Bhartrihari (by K. A. Subramania Iyer)
Verse 2.475 < [Book 2 - Vākya-kāṇḍa]
Verse 3.14.323 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (14): Vṛtti-samuddeśa (On Ccomplex Formation)]
Ornament of Reality: Language Ideology in a Tantric Śākta Text < [Volume 14, Issue 4 (2023)]
Transcripts of Unfulfillment < [Volume 12, Issue 3 (2021)]
Al-Insāniyya by Sīdī Salāma al-Rāḍī < [Volume 16, Issue 2 (2025)]
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