Gunadhya, Guṇāḍhya, Guna-adhya: 16 definitions
Introduction:
Gunadhya means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India, Marathi, Hindi. 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 Gunadhy.
In Hinduism
Kavya (poetry)
Source: Wisdom Library: KathāsaritsāgaraGuṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य) is the name of an incarnation of Mālyavān, friend of Puṣpadanta, who is a subordinate of Śiva. They were both cursed by Pārvatī to become mortals after Puṣpadanta overheard Śiva narrating the adventures of the seven Vidyādharas, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara.
When asked by Pārvatī what happened to these cursed gaṇas (servants), Śiva answered: “My beloved, Puṣpadanta has been born under the name of Vararuci in that great city which is called Kauśāmbī. Moreover Mālyavān also has been born in the splendid city called Supratiṣṭhita under the name of Guṇāḍhya. This, O goddess, is what has befallen them.”
Mālyavān (as Guṇāḍhya) would be released from the curse when he shall spread the tale (of the seven vidyādharas) abroad.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Guṇāḍhya, 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.
Source: Shodhganga: A critical appreciation of soddhalas udayasundarikathaGuṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य).—Name of a poet mentioned by Soḍḍhala in the kavipraśasti (eulogy of poets) of his Udayasundarīkathā;—He was the third poet of the epic triad. He was patronised hy Hāla, the well-known Andhra king of the first century A.D.
Guṇāḍhya, says Kṣemendra, was bom at Pratiṣṭhāna in the Deccan on the Godāvarī. Guṇāḍhya was an inspired poet who composed the Bṛhatkathā in the Paiśācī dialect.
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: Puranic EncyclopediaGuṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य).—He is the author of the celebrated Bṛhatkathā which is a precious mine of Sanskrit Literature. Guṇāḍhya had written this in satanic (paiśācika) language difficult for ordinary people to read or understand. This was translated into Sanskrit by the poet Kṣemendra in a book called Bṛhatkathāmañjarī. This was the first translation and it was in an abridged form. Somadeva made a more elaborate translation and it is this translation that is now known as the Kathāsaritsāgara. (See full article at Story of Guṇāḍhya from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)
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.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: WikiPedia: HinduismGunadhya is said to have composed seven massive stories about Vidyadharas, then to have destroyed the first six stories when the king rejected them, retaining only the seventh story — of Naravahanadatta — which became the Brihatkatha written in Paishachi language.
This work is not extant, but three adaptations exist in Sanskrit:
- Brhatkathamanjari by Kshemendra,
- Kathasaritsagara by Somadeva,
- and Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha by Budhasvamin.
Gunadhya is a minister to King Satavahana in the city of Supratishthita, capital of Pratishthana. He loses a bet regarding teaching of Sanskrit grammar, retires to the Vindhya forest where he learns the language of the Pishachas, and uses it to write down the Brihat-katha in his own blood.
King Satavahana rejects it as being written in a barbarous language. Gunadhya, in despair, starts burning the tale page by page as he reads them to animals of the forest. Ultimately, Satavahana hearing of the magic of the tales on the animals, rushes to the forest, but all has been burnt excepting the Adventures of Naravahanadatta. Satavahana takes this to the palace and composes the introduction called Kathapitha.
India history and geography
Source: Singhi Jain Series: Ratnaprabha-suri’s Kuvalayamala-katha (history)Guṇādhya (गुणाध्य) is the author of the Bṛhatkathā, as mentioned by Uddyotanasūri in his 8th-century Kuvalayamālā (a Prakrit Campū, similar to Kāvya poetry) narrating the love-story between Prince Candrāpīḍa and the Apsaras Kādambarī.—The Kuvalayamala (779 A.D.) is full of cultural material which gains in value because of the firm date of its composition. [...] On pages 3.18-4.12, Uddyotanasūri gives the names of a number of Kathās and their authors, in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Apabhramsha, [i.e., the Bṛhatkathā of Guṇādhya], [...]—That was the usual practice of all writers like Subandhu, Bāṇa, Daṇḍin, Haribhadra, Svayaṃbhū etc. We are able to know the names of about fifty works including romances. Dr. A. N. Upadhye has dealt with these in his paper entitled “Works and Authors referred to in the Kuvalayamālā of Uddyotanasūri” submitted to the A.I.O.C. Session at Gauhati.
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
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionaryguṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य).—a (S) Rich in virtues and excellencies.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishguṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य).—a Rich in virtues and excellencies.
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
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryGuṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य).—a. rich in virtues.
Guṇāḍhya is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms guṇa and āḍhya (आढ्य).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryGuṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य).—[masculine] [Name] of a poet (lit. rich in virtue).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus CatalogorumGuṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—the author of the Bṛhatkathā in Paiśācabhāṣā is mentioned by Daṇḍin, by Subandhu, by Trivikrama Oxf. 120^a, by Govardhana in Āryāsaptaśatī, by Somadeva in Kathāsaritsāgara, and others.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Guṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य):—[from guṇa] mfn. rich in virtues or excellences, [Rāmāyaṇa i, 7, 6]
2) [v.s. ...] m. Name of the famous author of the Bṛhat-kathā, [Vāsavadattā] 346 [Kṣemendra; Kathāsaritsāgara i, vi]
3) [v.s. ...] = ḍhyaka, [Demetrius Galanos’s Lexiko: sanskritikes, anglikes, hellenikes]
[Sanskrit to German]
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
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionaryGuṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य) [Also spelled gunadhy]:—(a) gifted, of many gifts, possessing many virtues.
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Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusGuṇāḍhya (ಗುಣಾಢ್ಯ):—[noun] he who is possessing merits, good qualities; a man who is morally sound or excellent; a righteous man.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Gunadhyaka, Gunadhyasukti.
Full-text (+81): Brihatkatha, Gunadeva, Kotikrit, Satavahana, Katyayana, Gulmaka, Somasharma, Kanabhuti, Gunadhy, Nandideva, Pirukatkatai, Gunadhyasukti, Vararuci, Sharvavarma, Latesha, Adhya, Vasudevahindi, Malyavan, Shulkivamsha, Supratishthita.
Relevant text
Search found 11 books and stories containing Gunadhya, Guna-adhya, Guṇa-āḍhya, Guṇāḍhya; (plurals include: Gunadhyas, adhyas, āḍhyas, Guṇāḍhyas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)
Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of Story) (by Somadeva)
Chapter VIII < [Book I - Kathāpīṭha]
Foreword to volume 4 < [Forewords]
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 1.16.8 < [Chapter 16 - Description of Śrī Rādhikā’s Wedding]
Hanuman Nataka (critical study) (by Nurima Yeasmin)
Hanuman-Nāṭaka, Act 1 (summary) < [Chapter 3]
12.1. Nāndī (opening verse) in the Hanumannāṭaka < [Chapter 4]
2. Religious Elements (b): Dāna-Dharma (charity) < [Chapter 5]
The Technical Aspects of Short Story < [April – June, 2008]
The Poet as Painter < [January – March, 2001]
Somadeva’s “Yasastilaka” < [July 1951]
Kuntaka’s evaluation of Sanskrit literature (by Nikitha. M)
5. Mālatīmādhava in Kuntaka’s treatment < [Chapter 4 - Kuntaka’s evaluation of Sanskrit Plays of other Poets]