Darbha, Dārbha, Darbhā: 13 definitions
Introduction
Darbha means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi. 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.
In Hinduism
Kavya (poetry)
Source: archive.org: The ocean of story, vol. 1Darbha (दर्भ) grass is the most sacred of the various kinds of grasses (kuśa, dūrva, etc.) held in special veneration. The origin of darbha grass is explained in numerous legends. It is said to have been formed from the hairs of Viṣṇu which came off while, in his tortoise incarnation, he was acting as a pivot for Mount Mandara at the Churning of the Ocean. Another story relates that while the gods were drinking the amṛta after the Churning a few drops fell on the grass and thus made it sacred. It enters into nearly all important ceremonies among the Hindus. It is used in the famous “sacred thread” (upanayana) ceremony, at weddings, in offering up prayers or invoking deities, at funerals, at a śrāddha, at sacrifices, and at numerous other ceremonies connected with initiation, magic, pregnancy, menses, and different forms of ordeals.
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’.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation1) Darbha (दर्भ) is a type of grass commonly used in ritualistic worship, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.1.11, while explaining the mode of worshipping Śiva:—“[...] nine vessels of different sizes should be kept by the sensible devotee. Darbha grass shall be spread and cool water sprinkled over these vessels with Darbha grass. Reciting the oṃkāra, the intelligent devotee shall sprinkle the various materials of worship. [...]”.
2) Darbha (दर्भ) is used in the worship of Śiva, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.1.14:—“[...] a person desirous of liberation (mukti) shall worship him with Darbhas. O best of sages, the number everywhere is a hundred thousand times”.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexDarbha (दर्भ).—A son of Āṅgirasa.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 65. 104.
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.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Source: Shodhganga: Edition translation and critical study of yogasarasamgrahaDarbhā (दर्भा) refers to the medicinal plant known as “Desmostachya bipinnata (Linn.) Stapf” and is dealt with in the 15th-century Yogasārasaṅgraha (Yogasara-saṅgraha) by Vāsudeva: an unpublished Keralite work representing an Ayurvedic compendium of medicinal recipes. The Yogasārasaṃgraha [mentioning darbhā] deals with entire recipes in the route of administration, and thus deals with the knowledge of pharmacy (bhaiṣajya-kalpanā) which is a branch of pharmacology (dravyaguṇa).
Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: archive.org: Vedic index of Names and SubjectsDarbha (दर्भ) is the name of a grass in the Rigveda and later. In the Atharvaveda it is used for the calming of anger (manyu-śamana) and as an amulet for protection against the scattering of one’s hair or the striking of one’s breast. It is also said to be ‘rich in roots’ (bhūri-mūla), to possess a thousand leaves (sahasra-parṇa) and a hundred stalks (śata-kāṇḍa).
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: HereNow4U: Jaina Pāribhāṣika ŚabdakośaDarbha (दर्भ) or Darbhavidyā refers to a type of Vidyā (occult science) as defined in the Jaina Pāribhāṣika Śabdakośa.—Darbha refers to that Vidyā, in which the kuśa (grass) is first treated by chanting Mantras; then the patient is treated with it, which makes him free from the ailment.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarydarbha (दर्भ).—m (S) A grass esteemed sacred and used in sacrifices &c., Poa cynosuroides. 2 fig. A burnt or withered crop. Ex. śēta karapūna darbha jhālēṃ. darbha ghēūna ubhā asaṇēṃ To be waiting for opportunity to do one some injury.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishdarbha (दर्भ).—m A grass esteemed sacred and used in sacrifices, &c. darbha ghēūna ubhā asaṇēṃ To be waiting for opportunity to do some injury.
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-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryDarbha (दर्भ).—[dṛbh-ghañ ac vā] A kind of sacred grass (Kuśa grass) used at sacrificial ceremonies &c.; शरासः कुशरासो दर्भासः सैर्या उत (śarāsaḥ kuśarāso darbhāsaḥ sairyā uta) Rv.1.191.3. दभैर्रर्धावलीढैः (dabhairrardhāvalīḍhaiḥ) Ś.1.7; R.11. 31; Ms.2.43;3.28;4.36.
Derivable forms: darbhaḥ (दर्भः).
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Dārbha (दार्भ).—a. (-bhī f.) Made of darbha grass; दार्भं मुञ्चत्युटजपटलं वीतनिद्रो मयूरः (dārbhaṃ muñcatyuṭajapaṭalaṃ vītanidro mayūraḥ) Ś.4 (v. l.)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryDarbha (दर्भ).—m.
(-rbhaḥ) 1. Kusa or sacrificial grass, (Poa cynosuroides.) 2. A kind of reed, (Saccharum spontaneum.) 3. Another species, (S. cylindricum.) E. dṛbhi to collect, to arrange, affix ghañ; or dṝ to tear, Unadi affix bha.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryDarbha (दर्भ).—[masculine] bundle or bunch of grass, [especially] of the sacred Kuca grass.
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Dārbha (दार्भ).—[feminine] ī made of Darbha grass.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Darbha (दर्भ):—m. (√2. dṛbh) a tuft or bunch of grass ([especially] of Kuśa grass; used for sacrificial purposes), [Ṛg-veda i, 191, 3; Atharva-veda] etc.
2) Name of a grass (different from Kuśa and Kāśa, [Suśruta i, 38]; Saccharum cylindricum, [Horace H. Wilson]), [Lalita-vistara xvii, 89; Suśruta]
3) ([Pāṇini 4-1, 102]; [gana] kurv-ādi [varia lectio]) Name of a man, [Pravara texts ii, 3, 1] ([Āśvalāyana-gṛhya-sūtra; Kātyāyana etc.])
4) ‘of a prince’ See dambha.
5) Dārbha (दार्भ):—mf(ī)n. made of Darbha grass, [Lāṭyāyana]
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family. 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 (+8): Darbhacira, Darbhagurumushti, Darbhahvaya, Darbhaka, Darbhakatyayana, Darbhakusuma, Darbhalavana, Darbhamaya, Darbhamushti, Darbhana, Darbhankura, Darbhanupa, Darbhapatra, Darbhapavitra, Darbhapinjula, Darbhapinjulavat, Darbhapinjuli, Darbhapushpa, Darbharajju, Darbhasamstara.
Ends with (+18): Baddhadarbha, Bhagavatakramasamdarbha, Bhagavatasamdarbha, Bhaktisamdarbha, Brahmadarbha, Brihaddarbha, Dadhividarbha, Dantavaidarbha, Haridarbha, Hrasvadarbha, Hrishividarbha, Ikshudarbha, Kathasandarbha, Kidarbha, Krishnasamdarbha, Padasamdarbha, Paramarthasamdarbha, Paramatmasamdarbha, Prishadarbha, Prithudarbha.
Full-text (+101): Hrasvadarbha, Brahmadarbha, Vidarbha, Sudarbha, Darbhanupa, Darbhamushti, Darbhasamstara, Darbhasana, Darbhya, Darbhi, Sthuladarbha, Darbhahvaya, Yajnabhushana, Darbhapatra, Dabha, Darbhapinjulavat, Trinapancamula, Darbhagurumushti, Darbhyusha, Darbhapinjuli.
Relevant text
Search found 39 books and stories containing Darbha, Dārbha, Darbhā; (plurals include: Darbhas, Dārbhas, Darbhās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
The Shiva Purana (by J. L. Shastri)
Chapter 22 - The rites on the eleventh day for the ascetics < [Section 6 - Kailāsa-saṃhitā]
Chapter 12 - The procedure of Sannyāsa < [Section 6 - Kailāsa-saṃhitā]
Chapter 27 - The rite of sacrifice < [Section 7.2 - Vāyavīya-saṃhitā (2)]
The Padma Purana (by N.A. Deshpande)
Chapter 214 - The Greatness of Madhuvana < [Section 6 - Uttara-Khaṇḍa (Concluding Section)]
Chapter 9 - General Rules of Śrāddha Performance < [Section 1 - Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa (section on creation)]
Chapter 117 - Fruit of Worship by Justly Procured, Stolen and Impaired Material < [Section 5 - Pātāla-Khaṇḍa (Section on the Nether World)]
The Brahmanda Purana (by G.V. Tagare)
Chapter 11 - Offering rice-cake (piṇḍa) to the Manes (Pitāmahas) < [Section 3 - Upodghāta-pāda]
Chapter 20 - Seven classes of Pitṛs and the rites of propitiating them < [Section 3 - Upodghāta-pāda]
Chapter 21 - The Dialogue between Aurva and Paraśurāma < [Section 3 - Upodghāta-pāda]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 3.255 < [Section XVI - Essentials of Śrāddha]
Hiranyakesi-grihya-sutra (by Hermann Oldenberg)
Apastamba-grihya-sutra (by Hermann Oldenberg)