Dakshinapatha, Dakṣiṇāpatha, Dakshina-patha: 17 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
1. Purana
2. Kavya
3. Shaktism
In Buddhism
1. General definition
India history
Languages
1. Sanskrit
2. Kannada
See also
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Introduction:

Dakshinapatha means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India. 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.

The Sanskrit term Dakṣiṇāpatha can be transliterated into English as Daksinapatha or Dakshinapatha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ).—(c)—a kingdom over which the three sons of Sudyumna ruled;¹ includes the Narmadā region;² ruled over by about twenty (forty-eight, Viṣṇu-purāṇa) of Ikṣvāku's sons.³ Gārgya's place of penance.⁴

1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa IX. 1. 41.
2) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 10. 98; 63. 9-10; Matsya-purāṇa 15. 28; 114. 29; Vāyu-purāṇa 45. 124.
3) Vāyu-purāṇa 88. 11; Viṣṇu-purāṇa IV. 2. 14.
4) Viṣṇu-purāṇa V. 23. 2.

Source: Shodhganga: The saurapurana - a critical study

Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ) refers to an ancient country which should be shunned, according to the 10th century Saurapurāṇa: one of the various Upapurāṇas depicting Śaivism.—It looks upon Kurukṣetra, Matsya, Pāñcāla and Surasena as holy countries where Dharma is practiced. It advises people to shun Aṅga, Vaṅga, Kaliṅga, Surāṣṭra, Gurjara, Ābhira, Kauṅkaṇa, Draviḍa, Dakṣiṇāpatha, Āndhra and Magadha.—(cf. verses 17.54-59) Thus it appears that this Purāṇa was written somewhere about the north-western part of northern India.

context information

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: Shodhganga: The Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara

Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ) is the name a locality mentioned in Rājaśekhara’s 10th-century Kāvyamīmāṃsā.—It is the same as Dakṣiṇādeśa. In the Kāvyamīmāṃsā, it is represents the portion of the Indian Peninsula lying to the south of the Māhiṣmatī.

Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (kavya)

Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ) refers to the “Southern lands”, according to Bāṇa’s Kādambarī (p. 226).—There are apparently several Tantric rites that Bāṇa pejoratively associates with the priest: he, “the ageing Draviḍa religious man” “demeans Durgā with his prayers for the boon of sovereignty over the Southern lands (dakṣiṇāpatha)”; “he had copied a hymn to Durgā on a strip of cloth”, “he had collected palm-leaf manuscripts of spells, Tantras and jugglery the letters of which were written in red lac and fumigated with smoke” [...].

context information

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: Manthanabhairavatantram

Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ) refers to the “region of the Deccan”.—Jālandhara is regularly said to lie in the right corner of the triangle and Pūrṇagiri on the left. In Sanskrit the words for ‘right’ and ‘left’ also mean ‘south’ and ‘north’, respectively. Consequently, we are told in this chapter that Jālandhara is the southern seat (dakṣiṇapīṭha) and Pūrṇagiri the northern (uttarapīṭha). But this does not mean that Jālandhara is in the south of India and Pūrṇagiri in the north. On the contrary, further ahead, we are clearly told that Pūrṇagiri is in the “southern quarter in the region of the Deccan” (dakṣiṇāpatha) and, more specifically, in the land of Koṅkaṇa, as it is in other places in the later Kubjikā sources. Pūrṇagiri was placed here early on in the Kubjikā tradition. The reader will recall that according to the KM the goddess established this seat in the Sahya Mountains, that is, the Western Ghats. [...]

context information

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 Buddhism

General definition (in Buddhism)

Source: archive.org: Personal and geographical names in the Gupta inscriptions (buddhism)

Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ).—In the Buddhist literature Dakṣiṇāpatha originally seems to have been restricted to a remote settlement on the Upper Godāvarī. Some hold that it was situated to the south of the Narbadā and was identical with the Dakhinabades of the Greeks.

India history and geography

Source: archive.org: Personal and geographical names in the Gupta inscriptions

Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ) is a place-name classified as a patha and mentioned in the Gupta inscriptions. The Gupta empire (r. 3rd-century CE), founded by Śrī Gupta, covered much of ancient India and embraced the Dharmic religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. As a designation of the Deccan, the term is found as early as the Baudhāyana-dharmasūtra (I,1,2,13). A similar expression is Dakṣiṇā-padā, “with southward foot”, occurring in the Ṛgveda (X,61,8), and refers to the place to which exiles are expelled. Thus the term denoted “South” beyond the limits of the recognised Āryan world.

The earliest epigraphical mention of the Dakṣiṇāpatha is found in the Nānāghaṭ Cave Inscription (Second half of 1st century B.C.). It later appears in the Junāgaṛh Rock Inscription of Rudradāman (A.D. 150) as also in the Nasik Cave Inscription of Vāsiṣṭhīputra Pulumāvi (A.D. 149). According to [Guptu] inscription No. 1 all the kings of the region of the north were conquered by Samudragupta who attained great fame by liberating them. The kingdoms specifically named as included in the southern region are: Kosala, Mahākāntāra, Kurāḷa, Piṣṭapura, Koṭṭūra, Eraṇḍapalla, Kāñcī, Avamukta, Veṅgī, Palakka, Devarāṣṭra and Kusthalapura.

According to the Yādavaprakāśa, Dakṣiṇāpatha is the name of the country to the south of the Vindhyas and includes Pāṇḍya, Kuntala, Cola, Mahārāṣṭra, Kerala, Kulya, Setuja, Kulakālaka, Iṣīka, Śabara, Āraṭṭa and other countries.

Rājaśekhara (fl. 10th century) in the Kāvyamīmāṃsā (chapter 17) places Dakṣiṇāpatha ahead of Māhiṣmatī. Countries situated in it are: Mahārāṣṭra, Māhiṣaka, Aśmaka, Vidarbha, Kuntala, Krathakaiśika, Sūrpāraka, Kāñcī, Kerala, Kavera, Murala, Vanavāsaka, Siṃhala, Coḍa, Daṇḍaka, Pāṇḍya, Pallava, Gāṅga, Nāśikya, Koṅkaṇa, Kollagiri, Vallara, etc.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Indian Epigraphical Glossary

Dakṣiṇāpatha.—(CII 3), ‘the region of the south’; a name for Southern India. Note: dakṣiṇāpatha is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.

Source: Ancient Buddhist Texts: Geography of Early Buddhism

Dakṣiṇāpatha (or Dakkhiṇāpatha in Pali) refers to the Deccan or “southern India”, as recorded in the Pāli Buddhist texts (detailing the geography of ancient India as it was known in to Early Buddhism).—According to the Brahmanical tradition as contained in the Kāvyamīmāṃsa, Dakṣiṇāpatha is the region lying to the south of Māhiṣmatī which has been identified with Mandhātā on the Narmadā. From the definitions of Madhyadeśa as given by Vaśiṣṭha and Baudhāyana it seems that the Dakṣiṇāpatha region lay to the south of Pāripātra which is generally identified with a portion of the Vindhyas. The Dharmaśāstra of Manu seems to corroborate the boundary as given by the Sūtra writers, for, from Manu’s boundary of the Madhyadeśa, it is evident that the Southern Country or the Dakṣiṇa-janapada lay to the south of the Vindhyas.

The Word ’Dakṣiṇātya’ is mentioned by Pāṇini; whereas Dakṣiṇāpatha is referred to by Baudhāyana who couples it with Saurāṣṭra. But, it is difficult to say what Pāṇini and Baudhāyana mean exactly by Dakṣiṇātya or Dakṣiṇāpatha.

context information

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

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ).—

1) the southern part of India, the south or Deccan; अस्ति दक्षिणापथे विदर्भेषु पद्मपुरं नाम नगरम् (asti dakṣiṇāpathe vidarbheṣu padmapuraṃ nāma nagaram) Mālatīmādhava (Bombay) 1.

2) 'the path of the दक्षिणा (dakṣiṇā)', i. e. the cow, constituting the sacrificial cow.

Derivable forms: dakṣiṇāpathaḥ (दक्षिणापथः).

Dakṣiṇāpatha is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms dakṣiṇā and patha (पथ).

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

Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ).—n.

(-thaṃ) 1. The south. 2. Southern road or course. 3. Deccan. E. dakṣiṇa, and patha for pathin path.

--- OR ---

Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ).—m.

(-thaḥ) The south, the southern direction or quarter. E. dakṣiṇā, and patha for pathin path.

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

Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ).—[masculine] the Dekhan (lit. southern path or country).

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

1) Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ):—[=dakṣiṇā-patha] [from dakṣiṇā > dakṣ] m. path of the Dakṣiṇā cow, (between the Śālā and the Sadas), [Śāṅkhāyana-śrauta-sūtra; Āśvalāyana-śrauta-sūtra; Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtra; Lāṭyāyana]

2) [v.s. ...] (ṇa-saṃcara, [Vaitāna-sūtra]) the southern region, Deccan, [Mahābhārata; Harivaṃśa 5289; Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā; Suśruta; Bhāgavata-purāṇa; Kathāsaritsāgara; Vetāla-pañcaviṃśatikā] : [Hitopadeśa]

3) [v.s. ...] See ṇābdhi.

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

1) Dakṣiṇapatha (दक्षिणपथ):—[dakṣiṇa-patha] (thaṃ) 1. n. South.

2) Dakṣiṇāpatha (दक्षिणापथ):—[dakṣiṇā-patha] (thaḥ) 1. m. The south.

[Sanskrit to German]

Dakshinapatha 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.

Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Dakṣiṇāpatha (ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾಪಥ):—[noun] the part of India that is to the south of the Vindhya range of mountains.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

Relevant text

Search found 16 books and stories containing Dakshinapatha, Dakshina-patha, Dakṣiṇā-patha, Daksina-patha, Dakṣiṇa-patha, Dakṣiṇāpatha, Daksinapatha, Dakṣiṇapatha; (plurals include: Dakshinapathas, pathas, Dakṣiṇāpathas, Daksinapathas, Dakṣiṇapathas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Part 8.5 - Region of Dakṣiṇāpatha (southern part) < [Chapter 5 - Analyasis and Interpretations of the Kāvyamīmāṃsā]

Part 8.3 - Rājaśekhara’s concepts of Bhāratavarṣa (undivided india) < [Chapter 5 - Analyasis and Interpretations of the Kāvyamīmāṃsā]

Appendix 2 - Identification of Geographical names mentioned in the Kāvyamīmāṃsā

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Rajaraja Chalukya < [April 1951]

The Kaveri < [February 1949]

Current Topics < [January-February, 1930]

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Verse 3.6.9 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (6): Dik-samuddeśa (On Position)]

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Part 7 - Location and trade routes of the Vārāṇasī region < [Chapter V - Rise of Vārāṇasī as a Nodal Centre]

Part 1 - Cultural back ground of Vārāṇasī as an emerging nodal centre < [Chapter V - Rise of Vārāṇasī as a Nodal Centre]