Devasmita, Devasmitā: 5 definitions

Introduction:

Devasmita 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.

In Hinduism

Kavya (poetry)

[«previous next»] — Devasmita in Kavya glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara

Devasmitā (देवस्मिता) is the name of the daughter of Dharmagupta, according to a story in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 13. Devasmitā was to be married to Guhasena (son of Dhanadatta) but Dharmagupta did, in first instance, not agree to this. The story of Devasmitā was told by Vasantaka to Vāsavadattā in order to divert her thoughts as she was anxiously awaiting her marriage with Udayana.

The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Devasmitā, 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 book cover
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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’.

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Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

[«previous next»] — Devasmita in Purana glossary
Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

Devasmitā (देवस्मिता).—A Gem of a woman who was much devoted to her husband. The story of Devasmitā has been so often quoted in ancient Indian literature. She was the daughter of a Vaiśya called Dharmagupta and was married to Guhasena, son of a Vaiśya called Dhanadatta, who belonged to Tāmraliptinagara.

After the death of his father Guhasena decided to go to Kaṭāhadvīpa for trade, and Devasmitā, a very suspicious wife, objected to it. When his other relations began pressing him to go to the dvīpa for trade and his wife not to go, Guhasena could not take a decision on the matter. He began a penance so that God might take the decision in the matter. Devasmitā also followed him. Then God appeared to them in their dreams and gave each of them a red lotus flower saying, "both of you keep one flower each with you, and while both of you are away from each other if either of you go astray the lotus flower in the hands of the other person will fade." And, on awaking both of them had a flower in their hands. Guhasena with his flower in his hands started for Kaṭāhadvīpa, and Devasmitā stayed at home with her eyes fixed on her lotus flower. Guhasena reached the dvīpa and traded in gems. Everybody was surprised to find in his hands a lotus flower which never faded. Four Vaiśya youngsters wanted to understand the secret of it and one day they invited Guhasena to their house and treated him to liquor very liberally. When he got absolutely drunk they questioned him about the secret of the lotus flower, and he, though in indistinct words, explained it to them. When the secret was thus out all the four youngsters decided to seduce his wife. They extracted from him the information that he was not returning in the near future, and they then came to Tāmralipti. (See full article at Story of Devasmitā from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)

Purana book cover
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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.

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Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Devasmita in Sanskrit glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Devasmitā (देवस्मिता):—[=deva-smitā] [from deva] f. ‘having a divine smile’, Name of the daughter of a merchant, [Kathāsaritsāgara]

[Sanskrit to German]

Devasmita in German

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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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