Harsha, Harṣā, Harṣa: 31 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
In Jainism
1. General definition
India history
Biology
Languages
1. Marathi
2. Sanskrit
3. Hindi
4. Kannada
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Introduction:

Harsha means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, 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.

The Sanskrit terms Harṣā and Harṣa can be transliterated into English as Harsa or Harsha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Hinduism

Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)

Source: Wisdom Library: Pāñcarātra

Harṣā (हर्षा, “joy”):—One of the twenty-four emanations of Lakṣmī accompanying Nārāyaṇa. This particular manifestation couples with his counterpart form called Hṛṣīkeśa and together they form the tenth celestial couple. Lakṣmī represents a form of the Goddess (Devī) as the wife of Viṣṇu, while Nārāyaṇa represents the personification of his creative energy, according to the Pāñcarātra literature.

context information

Pancaratra (पाञ्चरात्र, pāñcarātra) represents a tradition of Hinduism where Narayana is revered and worshipped. Closeley related to Vaishnavism, the Pancaratra literature includes various Agamas and tantras incorporating many Vaishnava philosophies.

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

1) Harṣa (हर्ष).—One of the three sons of Dharmadeva, the other two being Śama and Kāma. Harṣa married Nandā. (Ādi Parva, Chapter 66, Verse 32).

2) Harṣa (हर्ष).—A great poet in Sanskrit, who flourished in the 12th century A.D., his most reputed work being the Mahākāvya called Naiṣadha, one of the five Mahākāvyas (Epic Poems) in Sanskrit language. Another wellknown work of his is Khaṇḍanakhaṇḍakhādya. He was a member of the literary assembly of King Jayacanda of Kanauj. Hīra was his father and Māmalladevī, his mother.

3) Harṣa (हर्ष).—King Harṣavardhana who ruled over North India between A.D. 660 and 668. He is remembered and respected more as a poet in Sanskrit than anything else. Nāgānanda, Ratnāvalī and Priyadarśikā are his more important works. The poet Bāṇa has written the biography of Harṣa.

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Harṣa (हर्ष) refers to “delightful”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.8.—Accordingly, Nārada said to Himavat:—“[..] O lord of mountains, Śiva will become Ardhanārīśvara (half male and half female), with your daughter forming half the part of your body. Their meeting once again will be delightful [i.e., harṣa—harṣadinayormilitampunaḥ]. After propitiating lord Śiva, the lord of all, by the power of her penance, your daughter will take away half the body of Siva. By propitating Śiva with her penance she will acquire the lustre of gold and will be known as Svarṇagaurī. Your daughter will be as fair-complexioned as lightning. [...]”.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

1a) Harṣa (हर्ष).—A son of Droṇa and a Vasu.^*

* Bhāgavata-purāṇa VI. 6. 11.

1b) A son of Kṛṣṇa and Mitravindā.^*

* Bhāgavata-purāṇa X. 61. 16.

1c) Gods in Tāmasa manvantara.^*

* Vāyu-purāṇa 67. 39.

Source: JatLand: List of Mahabharata people and places

Harṣa (हर्ष) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. ) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Harṣa) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.

context information

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.

Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)

Source: archive.org: Natya Shastra

Harṣa (हर्ष, “joy”) is caused by determinants (vibhāva) such as attainment of a desired object, union with a beloved person, mental satisfaction, favour of gods, preceptor, king, and husband (or master), receiving [good] food, clothing and money and enjoying them, and the like. It is to be represented on the stage by means of consequents (anubhāva) such as brightness of the face and the eyes, using sweet words, embracing, horripilation, tears, perspiration and the like.

context information

Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (shastra) of performing arts, (natya—theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing Dramatic plays (nataka), construction and performance of Theater, and Poetic works (kavya).

Kavya (poetry)

Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara

Harṣa (हर्ष) was a soldier in Sunītha and Sūryaprabha’s army whose strength is considered equal to a great warrior (mahāratha), according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 47. Accordingly, as the Asura Maya explained the arrangement of warriors in Sunītha’s army: “... and [Harṣa, and others] are great warriors”.

The story of Harṣa was narrated by the Vidyādhara king Vajraprabha to prince Naravāhanadatta in order to relate how “Sūryaprabha, being a man, obtain of old time the sovereignty over the Vidyādharas”.

The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Harṣa, 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 udayasundarikatha

Harṣa (हर्ष).—The sphere of Harṣa’s versatile genius was not restricted to his conquests, administration and his religious and philanthropic works. Besides being an author and poet of considerable merit, Harṣa was a great patron of literature. Eminent writers like Bāṇa and Mayura and profound scholars like Jayansena were attracted to his court and poets sing Harṣa’s unique generosity to them. He is considered to be the author of three plays, namely the Priyadarśikā, the Ratnāvali and the Nāgānanda.

He assumed the reigs of Government in 606 A.D., a date which is marked as the beginning of the Harṣa era. Bāṇa in his historical romance Harṣacarita has given an account of the early life and deeds of his patron.

Source: Shodhganga: The Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara

Harṣa (हर्ष) is the name of an important person (viz., an Ācārya or Kavi) mentioned in Rājaśekhara’s 10th-century Kāvyamīmāṃsā.—King Harṣavardhana’s name is very much famous in the history of Sanskrit literature. He also a renowned poet and patron of Bāṇabhaṭṭa. His father name was Prabhakarvardhana and mother Yaśomati. His court was adorned by the various poets i.e. Bāṇabhaṭṭa, Mayūrbhaṭṭa and Divākara. Harṣavardhana wascomposed three works i.e. Ratnāvali, Priyadarśikā and Nāgānanda.

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’.

Ayurveda (science of life)

Source: Ancient Science of Life: Vaidyavallabha: An Authoritative Work on Ayurveda Therapeutics

Harṣa (हर्ष) or Arśas is a Sanskrit technical term referring to “haemorrhoids”, and is dealt with in the 17th-century Vaidyavallabha 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 harṣa) 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.

Source: gurumukhi.ru: Ayurveda glossary of terms

Harṣa (हर्ष):—Exhilaration

context information

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.

Kavyashastra (science of poetry)

Source: Shodhganga: Bhismacaritam a critical study

Harṣa (हर्ष) refers to one of the different Bhāvas employed in the Bhīṣmacarita (Bhishma Charitra) which is a mahākāvya (‘epic poem’) written by Hari Narayan Dikshit.— The example of harṣa-bhāva is XI.14.—Here we can observe the happiness arose in the mind of King Śāntanu and the people of Hastināpura on knowing that Satyavatī has given birth to a bright boy child. The sense of happiness is relished here nicely.

context information

Kavyashastra (काव्यशास्त्र, kāvyaśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian tradition of poetry (kavya). Canonical literature (shastra) of the includes encyclopedic manuals dealing with prosody, rhetoric and various other guidelines serving to teach the poet how to compose literature.

General definition (in Hinduism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Hinduism

Harsha (c. 590–647) was an Indian emperor who ruled North India from 606 to 647 from his capital Kanauj. He was the son of Prabhakarvardhana. He also known as Harshavardhana.

Source: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions: Hinduism

Śrī Harṣa (1125–80 CE). A Hindu philosopher of the Vedānta tradition and arguably the greatest Indian logician. His main work is the khaṇḍanakhaṇḍakhādya, in which he rejects the pramāṇa (means of knowing) system as a way of gaining knowledge. To refute his opponents—he employed the vitaṇda method of argument which refutes a thesis (pratijñā) by reductio ad absurdum, but offers no positive counter-thesis. This parallels the prasaṅga method of the Buddhist Nagārjuna.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Source: The University of Sydney: A study of the Twelve Reflections

Harṣa (हर्ष) refers to the “pleasure” (of the lords of Yogīs), according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “Certainly, O friend, these twelve reflections are the female friends of those whose good fortune is liberation [and] they are practised to procure their friendship by wise men who are absorbed in connection [with them]. When these [reflections] are correctly done constantly for the pleasure [com.—harṣa] of the lords of Yogīs (i.e. the Jinas), a joyful woman in the form of liberation with a heart kindly disposed to love, is produced”.

Synonyms: Muda.

context information

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.

India history and geography

Source: academic.ru: South Asian Arts

To the 7th-century king Harṣa of Kanauj are attributed three charming plays: Ratnāvalī and Priyadarśikā, both of which are of the harem type; and Nāgānanda (“The Joy of the Serpents”), inspired by Buddhism and illustrating the generosity of the snake deity .

context information

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.

Biology (plants and animals)

Source: Google Books: CRC World Dictionary (Regional names)

Harsha in Arabic is the name of a plant defined with Borago officinalis in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices.

Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):

· Fl. Libya (1979)
· Species Plantarum (1753)
· Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden (1988)
· Regnum Vegetabile, or ‘a Series of Handbooks for the Use of Plant Taxonomists and Plant Geographers’ (1993)

If you are looking for specific details regarding Harsha, for example diet and recipes, health benefits, pregnancy safety, extract dosage, chemical composition, side effects, have a look at these references.

context information

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

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

harṣa (हर्ष).—m (S) Joy, delight, pleasure, gladness. harṣaśōkavirahita or -rahita Exempt from joy and sorrow; i.e. free from all human affection or emotion; a quietist.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

harṣa (हर्ष).—m Joy, delight, gladness.

context information

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 dictionary

Harṣa (हर्ष).—[hṛṣ-ghañ]

1) Joy, delight, pleasure, satisfaction, gladness, rapture, glee, exultation; हर्षो हर्षो हृदयवसतिः पञ्चबाणस्तु बाणः (harṣo harṣo hṛdayavasatiḥ pañcabāṇastu bāṇaḥ) P. R.1.22; सहोत्थितः सैनिकहर्षनिःस्वनैः (sahotthitaḥ sainikaharṣaniḥsvanaiḥ) R.3. 61.

2) Thrilling, bristling, erection (of the hair of the body); as in रोमहर्ष (romaharṣa) q. v.; नेत्रे जलं गात्ररुहेषु हर्षः (netre jalaṃ gātraruheṣu harṣaḥ) Bhāgavata 2. 3.24.

3) Joy, considered as one of the 33 or 34 subordinate feelings; हर्षस्त्विष्टावाप्तेर्मनःप्रसादोऽश्रुगद्गदादिकरः (harṣastviṣṭāvāptermanaḥprasādo'śrugadgadādikaraḥ) S. D. 195; or इष्टप्राप्त्यादिजन्मा सुखविशेषो हर्षः (iṣṭaprāptyādijanmā sukhaviśeṣo harṣaḥ) R.G.

4) The erection of the sexual organ; lustfulness.

5) Ardent desire.

Derivable forms: harṣaḥ (हर्षः).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Harṣa (हर्ष).—(1) nt. (= Sanskrit id., m. only), joy: -harṣaṃ (n. sg.)…utpadye Mahāvastu i.59.13 (prose); in Saddharmapuṇḍarīka 117.2 (verse) text harṣo pi…bhoti, with Kashgar recension, all Nepalese mss. harṣaṃ pi; (2) m. (probably = AMg. harisa, not in [Ardha-Māgadhī Dictionary], but according to [Paia-sadda-mahaṇṇavo] = ābhūṣaṇa-viśeṣa), necklace (so Tibetan, mgul gdub, on Mahāvyutpatti and both Lalitavistara passages): Mahāvyutpatti 6019 (harṣaḥ); kaṭakā harṣā mukuṭāni Lalitavistara 121.9; harṣa-kaṭaka- keyūra- (etc.) 295.4; Divyāvadāna 317.13, see s.v. kaṭa (2). All prose.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Harṣa (हर्ष).—mfn.

(-rṣaḥ-rṣā-rṣaṃ) Happy, delighted. m.

(-rṣaḥ) 1. Joy, pleasure, delight, happiness, glee, rapture, exultation. 2. Joy, considered as one of the thirty-three minor feelings, (in rhetorie.) 3. Bristling, erection, (of the hair.) E. hṛṣ to be pleased, aff. ac or ghañ .

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Harṣa (हर्ष).—i. e. hṛṣ + a, I. adj., f. ṣā, Delighted, happy, [Mālavikāgnimitra, (ed. Tullberg.)] 60, 5. Ii. m. Joy, [Daśakumāracarita] in Chr. 183, 12; exultation, [Hitopadeśa] i. [distich] 32, M. M.; happiness, [Pañcatantra] iii. [distich] 188.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Harṣa (हर्ष).—[masculine] joy, delight, rapture, glee; [Name] of a king etc.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus Catalogorum

Harṣa (हर्ष) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—Aṅkayantravidhi [tantric] Mantroddhārakośa [tantric]

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

1) Harṣa (हर्ष):—a m. (ifc. f(ā). ; [from] √hṛṣ) bristling, erection ([especially] of the hair in a thrill of rapture or delight), [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature] etc.

2) joy, pleasure, happiness (also personified as a son of Dharma), [Kaṭha-upaniṣad; Mahābhārata] etc.

3) erection of the sexual organ, sexual excitement, lustfulness, [Suśruta]

4) ardent desire, [Mahābhārata]

5) Name of an Asura, [Kathāsaritsāgara]

6) of a son of Kṛṣṇa, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]

7) of various authors etc. (also with dīkṣita, miśra, sūri etc.; cf. śrī-harṣa)

8) mfn. happy, delighted, [Horace H. Wilson]

9) [from hṛṣ] b etc. See p.1292.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Harṣa (हर्ष):—[(rṣaḥ-rṣā-rṣaṃ) a.] Happy, delighted. m. Joy, delight.

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Harṣa (हर्ष) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Harisa.

[Sanskrit to German]

Harsha 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.

Hindi dictionary

Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary

Harṣa (हर्ष) [Also spelled harsh]:—(nm) joy, jubilation, mirth, delight, happiness; ~[kara/~kāraka] exhilirating, causing happiness/delight; ~[gadgad] overwhelmed by joy, (with) voice choked with joy; ~[dhvani/nāda/svana] cry of joy/jubilation; ~[vivhala] overwhelmed by joy.

context information

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Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Harṣa (ಹರ್ಷ):—

1) [noun] a joyous, pleased feeling; joy; pleasure.

2) [noun] erection of the hair on the body, from joy, delight.

context information

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

Relevant text

Search found 78 books and stories containing Harsha, Harṣā, Harṣa, Harsa; (plurals include: Harshas, Harṣās, Harṣas, Harsas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Verse 5.19.8 < [Chapter 19 - The Festival on Śrī Kṛṣṇa Return]

Verse 6.2.4 < [Chapter 2 - Residence in Śrī Dvārakā]

Verse 4.6.1 < [Chapter 6 - The Story of the Ayodhyā Women]

+ 11 more chapters / show preview

Verse 1.12 < [Chapter 1 - Sainya-Darśana (Observing the Armies)]

Verse 1.29 < [Chapter 1 - Sainya-Darśana (Observing the Armies)]

Verse 18.27 < [Chapter 18 - Mokṣa-yoga (the Yoga of Liberation)]

+ 2 more chapters / show preview

Verse 2.4.148 < [Part 4 - Transient Ecstatic Disturbances (vyābhicāri-bhāva)]

Verse 3.3.103 < [Part 3 - Fraternal Devotion (sakhya-rasa)]

Verse 2.4.240 < [Part 4 - Transient Ecstatic Disturbances (vyābhicāri-bhāva)]

+ 24 more chapters / show preview