Hamsavali, Haṃsāvalī: 5 definitions

Introduction:

Hamsavali 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»] — Hamsavali in Kavya glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara

1) Haṃsāvalī (हंसावली) is the daughter of king Meghamālin from Vidiśā, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 71. Accordingly, as the Manorathasiddhi said to prince Kamalākara: “... and one day he [Dardura] happened to say to me: ‘To-morrow the daughter of the king, named Haṃsāvalī, will exhibit in his presence her skill in dancing, which she has lately been taught’”.

2) Haṃsāvalī (हंसावली) is the daughter of king Candrāditya and Kuvalayavatī from Lāṭa, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 74. Accordingly, “... in the meanwhile he saw a maiden, who had come there to bathe, by name Haṃsāvalī, the beautiful daughter of Candrāditya, King of Lāṭa, by Kuvalayavatī; her mortal nature, which was concealed by all her other members moulded like those of gods, was revealed by the winking of her rolling eye”.

3) Haṃsāvalī (हंसावली) is the name of a courtesan (veśa) from Vakraloka, according to the nineteenth story of the Vetālapañcaviṃśati in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 93. Accordingly, “... and he [Manaḥsvāmin], though he was of high birth, and well educated, was so enslaved by the passions of youth that he fell in love with a courtesan of the name of Hamsāvalī. But she demanded a fee of five hundred gold dīnārs, and he did not possess this sum, so he was in a state of perpetual despondency”.

The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Haṃsāvalī, 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
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’.

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Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Hamsavali in Sanskrit glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Haṃsāvalī (हंसावली).—[feminine] = haṃsamālā.

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

Haṃsāvalī (हंसावली):—[from haṃsa] f. = haṃsa-śreṇī, [Kathāsaritsāgara]

[Sanskrit to German]

Hamsavali 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.

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Kannada-English dictionary

[«previous next»] — Hamsavali in Kannada glossary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Haṃsāvaḷi (ಹಂಸಾವಳಿ):—[noun] a kind of sari (a garment worn by Indian women, consisting of a long piece of cotton or silk wrapped around the body with one end draped over the head or over one shoulder).

context information

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

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