Gandhaka, Gamdhaka, Gandha-ka: 25 definitions
Introduction:
Gandhaka means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Pali, Marathi, Hindi, biology. 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
Ayurveda (science of life)
Rasashastra (Alchemy and Herbo-Mineral preparations)
1) Gandhaka (गन्धक) is a Sanskrit technical term corresponding to “Sulphur”, which is a naturally occurring non-metallic chemical element (symbol S). It is commonly used in Rasaśāstra literature (Medicinal Alchemy) such as the Rasaprakāśasudhākara or the Rasaratna-samuccaya. Gandhaka is an ingredient often used in various Ayurvedic recipes and Alchemical preparations.
2) Gandhaka (गन्धक, “sulphur”):—One of the eight uparasa (‘secondary minerals’), a group of eight minerals, according to the Rasaprakāśasudhākara: a 13th century Sanskrit book on Indian alchemy, or, Rasaśāstra.
There are two varieties of Sulphur (gandhaka)
- Śvetagandhaka (‘white sulphur’),
- Pītagandhaka (‘yellow sulphur’),
- Raktagandhaka (‘red sulphur’),
- Kṛṣṇagandhaka (’black sulphur’)
3) Gandhaka (गन्धक) or Gandhakarasa is the name of an Ayurvedic recipe defined in the fourth volume of the Rasajalanidhi (chapter 3, grahaṇī: chronic diarrhoea). These remedies are classified as Iatrochemistry and form part of the ancient Indian science known as Rasaśāstra (medical alchemy). However, since it is an ayurveda treatment it should be taken with caution and in accordance with rules laid down in the texts.
Accordingly, when using such recipes (e.g., gandhaka-rasa): “the minerals (uparasa), poisons (viṣa), and other drugs (except herbs), referred to as ingredients of medicines, are to be duly purified and incinerated, as the case may be, in accordance with the processes laid out in the texts.” (see introduction to Iatro chemical medicines)
Gandhaka (गन्धक, ‘sulfur’, lit.: “that which is aromatic”):—According to the Rasārṇava and Rasaratnasamucchaya, sulfur (gandhaka) is the menstrual emission of the great Goddess, which flowed into the Ocean of Milk while she was bathing there. When the Gods and Asuras later churned that ocean, her blood rose to the surface, together with the amṛta (“nectar of immortality”).
Gandhaka refers to “Sulphur”. (see Bhudeb Mookerji and his Rasajalanidhi)
Gandhaka (sulphur).—Four varieties of Gandhaka have been told by the ancient Sūrī (scholars):
- Śveta (white),
- Pīta (yellow),
- Rakta (red),
- Kṛṣṇa (black).
The Vipāka of sulphur is madhura, its Karmas are rasāyana, dīpana, viṣahā, rasaśoṣaṇa, sūtavīrya-prada (potentiates mercury-powers/effects), destroys kṛmiroga (worms), cures visarpa, kaṇḍu and kuṣṭharogas, and āmājīrṇa (indigestion due to āmādoṣa), if it is mixed with mercury definitely converts it into mūrcchita state (compound suitable for destroying diseases), its origin is similar to the menstrual flow of Goddess Pārvatī. As this very charming Sulphur is taken internally by the king Bali for acquiring more strength hence it is also called Balivasā.
It stimulates kāma (sexual desire), destroys kṣaya, pāṇḍu, duṣṭa-grahaṇī, śūlaroga, śvāsa and kāsa-roga, cures amājīrṇa (indigestion due to āmadoṣa) and induces laghutva (lightness) in the body and what more except lord Śaṅkara none else could describe the properties of sulphur.
Gandhaka (गन्धक) refers to “sulphur”, and mentioned in the Rasaratnasamuccaya: a 13th century C.E. alchemical treatise, authored by Vāgbhaṭa, is a useful compilation related to preparation and properties of drugs of mineral and metallic origin.
Kalpa (Formulas, Drug prescriptions and other Medicinal preparations)
Gandhaka (गन्धक) or Gandhakakalpa refers to Kalpa (medicinal preparation) described in the Auṣadhikalpa, as mentioned in A. Rahman’s Science and Technology in Medievel India: A bibliography of source materials in Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian.—Ancient and medieval India produced a wide range of scientific manuscripts and major contributions lie in the field of medicine, astronomy and mathematics, besides covering encyclopedic glossaries and technical dictionaries.—The Auṣadhikalpa is a medical work of the type of Materia Medica giving twenty-six medical preparations [e.g., Gandhaka-kalpa] to be used as patent medicines against various diseases.
Unclassified Ayurveda definitions
Gandhaka (गन्धक) refers to “sulphur” and is mentioned as an ingredient of metallic drugs for the treatment of Pāma and Dadru, as mentioned in the 17th-century Vaidyavallabha (chapter 3 and 8) written by Hastiruci.—The Vaidyavallabha is a work which deals with the treatment and useful for all 8 branches of Ayurveda. The text Vaidyavallabha (mentioning gandhaka) has been designed based on the need of the period of the author, availability of drugs during that time, disease manifesting in that era, socio-economical-cultural-familial-spiritual-aspects of that period Vaidyavallabha.
Gandhaka (गन्धक):—[gandhakaṃ] Element sulphur with chemical symbol S with At. no 16
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.
Vastushastra (architecture)
Gandhaka (गन्धक) is the name of an object which is to be deposited at the building-plot presided over by Aditi, as discussed in the thesis entitled “concept of ritual deposit of Khmer temples in northeastern Thailand from 10th-13th century A.D.” by Naiyana Munparn.—(Also see: Acharya, Architecture of Mānasāra, 111).—Note: Gandhaka is denoted in the Thai language as กำมะถัน (kammathan).
Vastushastra (वास्तुशास्त्र, vāstuśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian science (shastra) of architecture (vastu), dealing with topics such architecture, sculpture, town-building, fort building and various other constructions. Vastu also deals with the philosophy of the architectural relation with the cosmic universe.
General definition (in Hinduism)
In the rasaśāstra tradition, sulfur is called gandhaka (गन्धक, literally “the smelly”). Indian alchemists, practitioners of “the science of mercury” (sanskrit rasaśāstra, रसशास्त्र), wrote extensively about the use of sulfur in alchemical operations with mercury (rasa), from the eighth century AD onwards.
Biology (plants and animals)
Gandhaka in India is the name of a plant defined with Moringa ovalifolia in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Moringa moringa Small (among others).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Synopseos Plantarum (Persoon) (1805)
· Prodr. (DC.) (1825)
· Neue und wenig bekannte Pflanzen Deutsch-SüdwestAfrikas (1914)
· De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum (1791)
· Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France (1963)
· Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae (1984)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Gandhaka, for example side effects, health benefits, diet and recipes, pregnancy safety, chemical composition, extract dosage, have a look at these references.
This sections includes definitions from the five kingdoms of living things: Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists and Monera. It will include both the official binomial nomenclature (scientific names usually in Latin) as well as regional spellings and variants.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
gandhaka (गंधक).—m (S) Sulphur. 2 A certain medicinal compound.
gandhaka (गंधक).—m Sulphur.
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
Gandhaka (गन्धक).—Sulphur.
Derivable forms: gandhakaḥ (गन्धकः).
Gandhaka (गन्धक).—m.
(-kaḥ) 1. Sulphur. 2. The morunga tree, (M. hyperanthera, &c.) see śobhāñjana. E. kan added to the preceding.
Gandhaka (गन्धक).—[feminine] ikā smelling of (—°).
1) Gandhaka (गन्धक):—[from gandha] mf(ikā)n. ifc. ‘having the smell of, scenting’ See aja-, avi-
2) [v.s. ...] m. ([gana] sthūlādi, [Gaṇaratna-mahodadhi 182]) ‘perfumes’ See -peṣikā
3) [v.s. ...] sulphur
4) [v.s. ...] Hyperanthera Moringa, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
Gandhaka (गन्धक):—(kaḥ) 1. m. Sulphur; Morunga.
Gandhaka (गन्धक):—(von gandha) m.
1) Schwefel [Amarakoṣa 2, 9, 102.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1057.] [RATN. 288.] śveto raktaśca pītaśca nīlaśceti caturvidhaḥ . gandhako varṇato jñeyo bhinnabhinnaguṇāśrayaḥ .. [Rājanirghaṇṭa im Śabdakalpadruma] gandhakajāraṇa [Weber’s Verzeichniss No. 995.] —
2) Hyperanthera Moringa Vahl. [Śabdaratnāvalī im Śabdakalpadruma]
--- OR ---
Gandhaka (गन्धक):—
1) [Oxforder Handschriften 320,a,22.b, No. 760. 321,a, No. 761.]
Gandhaka (गन्धक):——
1) am Ende eines adj. Comp. (f. gandhikā) riechend nach ; s. aja und avi. —
2) m. — a) Schwefel [Kālacakra 2,133.] — b) *Hyperanthera Moringa.
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
Gaṃdhaka (गंधक) [Also spelled gandhak]:—(nm) sulphur; ~[ka kā tejāba/~kāmla] sulphuric acid; ~[kī] sulphury, sulphurous.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Gaṃdhaka (ಗಂಧಕ):—[noun] a pale-yellow, non-metallic chemical element found in crystalline or amorphous form, which burns with a blue flame and a stifling odour and is used in vulcanizing rubber and in making matches, paper, gunpowder, insecticides, sulphuric acid, etc. (symbol, S; at. wt., 32.064; at. no., 16; sp. gr. 2.07); sulphur; brimstone.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Gandhaka (गन्धक):—n. Geol. sulphur; brim-stone;
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.
Pali-English dictionary
[Pali to Burmese]
gandhaka—
(Burmese text): နံ့သာ။
(Auto-Translation): Sweet scent.
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches (+0): Gandha, Ka.
Starts with (+13): Gamdakagutike, Gamdhakacora, Gamdhakadhriti, Gamdhakallu, Gamdhakamla, Gamdhakarike, Gamdhakataila, Gandhakadi, Gandhakakalpa, Gandhakako-tejaab, Gandhakako-tejaba, Gandhakalala, Gandhakalalapura, Gandhakali, Gandhakalika, Gandhakandaka, Gandhakapeshika, Gandhakara, Gandhakaraka, Gandhakarandaka.
Full-text (+50): Sugandhaka, Mukhagandhaka, Raktagandhaka, Samagandhaka, Rukshagandhaka, Shubhagandhaka, Rasagandhaka, Tikshnagandhaka, Amragandhaka, Vigandhaka, Trigandhaka, Avalyagandhaka, Gandhakapeshika, Hridyagandhaka, Kruragandhaka, Shvetagandhaka, Gandhakarasayana, Krishnagandhaka, Agandhaka, Pitagandhaka.
Relevant text
Search found 31 books and stories containing Gandhaka, Gamdhaka, Gaṃdhaka, Gandha-ka; (plurals include: Gandhakas, Gamdhakas, Gaṃdhakas, kas). 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 507 < [Hindi-Kannada-English Volume 1]
Page 502 < [Hindi-Bengali-English Volume 1]
Page 510 < [Hindi-Bengali-English Volume 1]
Gandhka jarana's role in samguna and sadaguna rasa sindura prep. < [Volume 14 (issue 1-2), Jul-Dec 1994]
Pharmaceutical study of Yashadabhasma < [Volume 31 (issue 3), Jan-Mar 2012]
Autoimmune Bullous Skin Disease Managed with Ayurvedic Treatment: A Case Report < [Volume 36 (issue 4), Apr-Jun 2017]
Journal of Ayurveda and Integrated Medical Sciences
Critical review on Anand Bhairav Rasa w.s.r. to Rasa Yog Sagar < [Vol. 5 No. 06 (2020)]
Antimicrobial activity of Gandhakadya Malahara in vitro study < [Vol. 6 No. 5 (2021)]
Classical Review of Gandhaka as per Rasendra Sara Sangraha < [Vol. 6 No. 3 (2021)]
World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research
A review of an important mineral gandhaka < [2021: Volume 10, September issue 11]
Critical review of gandhaka vati < [2023: Volume 12, February issue 3]
Review paper on gandhaka < [2020: Volume 9, October special issue 13]
International Research Journal of Ayurveda and Yoga
Review on Gandhaka Druti: An Unexplored Herbo-mineral Formulation < [Vol. 5 No. 6: Jun (2022)]
Clinical Indications Of Gandhaka Rasayana An Experiential And Scientific View < [Vol. 4 No. 3: March (2021)]
Clinical indications of Chandanasava an experiential and scientific view < [Vol. 4 No. 2: Feb (2021)]
International Ayurvedic Medical Journal
A review article on gandhaka kalpas in rasasastra < [2019, Issue 6, June]
Ntroduction and pharmaceutical study of gandhaka (sulphur) < [2016, Issue VII July]
Pharmaceutical standarization of yogaamruto rasa < [2016, Issue VIII August]