Jalandhara, aka: Jālandhara; 13 Definition(s)

Introduction

Jalandhara means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India. 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

Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)

Jālandhara (जालन्धर):—The name of one of the pīthas of the Mātṛcakra, according to the Kubjikāmatatantra. The presiding goddess is Karālā (one of the four female attendant deities of Mitra, the central deity).

Jalandhara (जलन्धर) is the disciple of Vīranātha: a teacher to whom the Kāpālika doctrine was revelead, mentioned in the Śābaratantra. The Śābara-tantra is an early tantra of the Kāpālika sect containing important information about the evolution of the Nātha sect. It also lists the twelve original Kāpālika teachers and their disciples (eg., Jalandhara). Several of these names appear in the Nātha lists of eighty-four Siddhas and nine Nāthas.

context information

Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.

Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Jālandhara (जालन्धर) is the name of a Śāktapīṭha mentioned in the Kulārṇavatantra. The Kulārṇava-tantra is an important 11th century work for the Kaula school of Śāktism. It refers to eighteen such Śākta-pīṭhas (eg. Jālandhara) which is defined as a sacred sanctuary of Devī located here on earth. According to legend, there are in total fifty-one such sanctuaries (pīṭha) on earth, created from the corresponding parts of Devī’s body,

context information

Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.

Yoga (school of philosophy)

Jālandhara is one of the eighty-four Siddhas associated with eighty-four Yogic postures (āsanas), according to popular tradition in Jodhpur, Rājasthān. These posture-performing Siddhas are drawn from illustrative sources known as the Nava-nātha-caurāsī-siddha from Vȧrāṇasī and the Nava-nātha-caruāsī-siddha-bālāsundarī-yogamāyā from Puṇe. They bear some similarity between the eighty-four Siddhas painted on the walls of the sanctum of the temple in Mahāmandir.

The names of these Siddhas (eg., Jālandhara) to 19th-century inscription on a painting from Jodhpur, which is labelled as “Maharaja Mansing and eighty-four Yogis”. The association of Siddhas with yogis reveals the tradition of seeing Matsyendra and his disciple Gorakṣa as the founders of haṭhayoga.

context information

Yoga is originally considered a branch of Hindu philosophy (astika), but both ancient and modern Yoga combine the physical, mental and spiritual. Yoga teaches various physical techniques also known as āsanas (postures), used for various purposes (eg., meditation, contemplation, relaxation).

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Jalandhara (जलन्धर).—A mightly and valiant Asura. Khaḍgaromā was his charioteer and Vṛndā was his wife. Jalandhara was the grandson of the sea of Milk. Once he met with the headless Rāhu, who said to Jalandhara, the whole story beginning from the churning of the sea of Milk. Jalandhara, became furious at the gods who had churned his grandfather. So he collected a big army of asuras and went to war with the devas. Though a large number of Asuras were killed in the battle, Indra and Viṣṇu were defeated and Viṣṇu was taken captive and hidden under the sea. Finally Paramaśiva went to fight with the Asura. In the fight Jalandhara was killed and Viṣṇu was rescued. (Padma Purāṇa, Chapters 3 to 5). For further details see under Māyāśiva.

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.

General definition (in Hinduism)

Jalandhara (जलन्धर) is the name of a country classified as Hādi (a type of Tantrik division), according to the 13th century Sammoha-tantra (fol. 7).—There are ample evidences to prove that the zone of heterodox Tantras went far beyond the natural limits of India. [...] The zones in the Sammoha-tantra [viz., Jalandhara] are here fixed according to two different Tantrik modes, known as Kādi and Hādi.

In Buddhism

Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)

See Jutindhara (3).

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Jālandhara (जालन्धर) is the name of a sacred site (pīṭha) presided over by Caṇḍākṣī, according to the vārāhyabhyudaya-maṇḍala. Caṇḍākṣī is a deity situated in one of the six petals of the eastern lotus, of which the presiding deity is kuleśvarī (presiding lady) named Māmakī. The central deity of the vārāhyabhyudaya-maṇḍala is the twelve-armed Vajravarāhī.

Jālandhara is one of the twenty-four pīṭhas, or ‘sacred-site’ (six lotuses each having six petals), each corresponding with a part of the human body. Jālandhara is to be contemplated as situated on the crown of the head. Besides being associated with a bodily spot, each pīṭha represents an actual place of ancient India frequented particularly by advanced tantric practitioners

The Vārāhyabhyudayatantra is an explanatory tantra on the Laghuśaṃvara, but its verses are largerly extracted from the 10th century Abhidhānottaratantra, a scriputre describing various sādhanas (path towards spiritual realization).

Jālandhara is the name of a mahāsiddha, of which eighty-four in total are recognized in Vajrayāna (tantric buddhism). His title is “the ḍākinī’s chosen one”. He lived somewhere between the 8th and the 12th century AD.

These mahāsiddhas (eg., Jālandhara) are defined according to the Abhayadatta Sri (possibly Abhayākaragupta) tradition. Its textual origin traces to the 11th century caturāsiti-siddha-pravṛtti, or “the lives of the eighty-four siddhas”, of which only Tibetan translations remains. Jālandhara (and other Mahāsiddhas) are the ancient propounders of the textual tradition of tantric or Vajrayana Buddhism.

1) Jālandhara (जालन्धर) is one of the four Pīṭhas (‘sacred spot’) present within the Cittacakra (‘circle of mid’) which is associated with the Ḍākinī named Khecarī (‘a woman going in the sky’), according to the 9th-centruy Vajraḍākatantra. Cittacakra is one of three Cakras within the Tricakra system which embodies twenty-four sacred spots or districts (viz., Jālandhara) resided over by twenty-four ‘sacred girls’ (ḍākinīs) whose husbands abide in one’s body in the form of twenty-four ingredients (dhātu) of one’s body.

Jālandhara has the presiding Ḍākinī named Caṇḍākṣī whose husband, or hero (vīra) is named Mahākaṅkāla. The associated internal location is ‘top of the head’ and the bodily ingredients (dhātu) are ‘hair on head’ and ‘body’. According to the Vajraḍākavivṛti, the districts Sindhu, Nagara, Pūrṇagiri and Jālandhara are associated with the family deity of Yāminī; while in the Abhidhānottarottaratantra there is the Ḍāka deity named Vajrasattva standing in the center of the districts named Pullīramalaya (Pūrṇagiri), Jālandhara, Oḍyāna (Oḍyāyana) and Arbuda.

2) Jālandhara (जालन्धर) refers to one of the twenty-four sacred districts mentioned in the 9th century Vajraḍākatantra (chapter 18). These districts are not divided into subgroups, nor are explained their internal locations. They [viz., Jālandhara] are external holy places, where the Tantric meting is held with native women who are identified as a native goddess. A similar system appears in the tradition of Hindu Tantrims, i.e., in the Kubjikāmatatantra (chapter 22), which belongs to the Śākta sect or Śaivism.

Jālandhara is presided over by the Goddess (Devī) named Caṇḍālinī accompanied by the Field-protector (Kṣetrapāla) named Janeta. Their weapon possibly corresponds to the mudrā and kaṭṭārikā and their abode (residence) is mentioned as being a kanaka-tree.

context information

Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.

India history and geogprahy

Jālandhara (जालन्धर) is mentioned in Māḍhā Praśasti of Lakha Mandal. It is identical with Jullundur, the headquarters of a district of the same name in Punjab. According to Padmapurāṇa (Uttara-khaṇḍa),it was the capital of the great daitya king, Jālandhara. During the first half of the seventh century A.D., when the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen-tsang reached the country called She-lan-ta-lo (Jālandhara), the city of Jālandhara was twelve or thirteen li incircuit.

context information

The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as 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

Sanskrit-English dictionary

Jālandhara (जालन्धर).—Name of a country in the north-west of India, the territory between the rivers Beas and Sutlej.

Derivable forms: jālandharaḥ (जालन्धरः).

Jalandhara (जलन्धर).—m.

(-raḥ) An Asura sprung from Siva, and adopted by the ocean. E. jala, and dhara who has. jalaṃ dharati vā kha mum.

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Jālandhara (जालन्धर).—m.

(-raḥ) The name of a country situatated in the northwest of India, apparently part of Lahore, and perhaps the modern Jullund'har. m. plu.

(-rāḥ) The inhabitants of Jalland'hara.

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