Jyotishka, Jyotiṣka: 21 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
1. Purana
2. Ayurveda
In Buddhism
1. Mahayana
In Jainism
1. General definition
Biology
Languages
1. Sanskrit
2. Kannada
See also

Introduction:

Jyotishka means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, 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 term Jyotiṣka can be transliterated into English as Jyotiska or Jyotishka, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

1) Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क).—A famous serpent born to Kaśyapa by his wife Kadrū. (Mahābhārata Udyoga Parva, Chapter 203, Stanza 15).

2) Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क).—A peak of mount Sumeru. (Mahābhārata Śānti Parva, Chapter 283, Stanza 5).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क).—A peak of Meru full of precious stones; here Ādityas, Vasus, Aśvins, Guhyakas, Yakṣas, other sages, Apsaras, all worship Paśupati besides Nandi and Gangā.^*

* Vāyu-purāṇa 30. 81-92.

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.

Ayurveda (science of life)

Kalpa (Formulas, Drug prescriptions and other Medicinal preparations)

Source: Shodhganga: Edition translation and critical study of yogasarasamgraha

Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क) is another name for “Agni” and is dealt with in the 15th-century Yogasārasaṅgraha (Yogasara-saṅgraha) by Vāsudeva: an unpublished Keralite work representing an Ayurvedic compendium of medicinal recipes. The Yogasārasaṃgraha [mentioning jyotiṣka] deals with entire recipes in the route of administration, and thus deals with the knowledge of pharmacy (bhaiṣajya-kalpanā) which is a branch of pharmacology (dravyaguṇa).

Nighantu (Synonyms and Characteristics of Drugs and technical terms)

Source: WorldCat: Rāj nighaṇṭu

Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क) is another name for Citraka, a medicinal plant identified with (1) [white variety] Plumbago zeylanica Linn.; (2) [red variety] Plumbago rosea Linn. syn. or Plumbago indica Linn., both from the Plumbaginaceae or “leadwort” family of flowering plants, according to verse 6.43-45 of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rājanighaṇṭu.—The sixth chapter (pippalyādi-varga) of this book enumerates ninety-five varieties of plants obtained from the market (paṇyauṣadhi). Together with the names Jyotiṣka and Citraka, there are a total of twenty Sanskrit synonyms identified for this plant.

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.

In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra

Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क) is mentioned as being born among humans possessing the wealth of a god, according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter V.—“furthermore, this land is wealthy; when one begs for one’s food, one obtains it easily. This is not the case in the other lands. This wealth is the result of three causes... (3) Chou t’i k’ie (Jyotiṣka), born among humans, nevertheless possessed the wealth of a god”.

context information

Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Source: Google Books: The Doctrine of Karman in Jain Philosophy

Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क).—One of the four species of devas (gods).—The Jyotiṣkas are divided into 5 classes: suns, moons, planets, nakṣatras and fixed stars. In the human world these are continually revolving, in the direction twoards the right round the Meru mountain; beyond it they are not in constant movement. there are many Indras here—the suns and moons—besides 7 other grades.

Source: Google Books: Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies volume X: Jain Philosophy (Part 1)

Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क).—The five subtypes of Jyotiṣkas are:

the sun (sūrya),
moon (candra),
planet (graha),
constellation (nakṣatra),
and stray star (prakīrṇatārā).

And it is in terms of their motion around the mountain Meru that in the region inhabited by human beings time is divided into units like seconds, days and nights, months, years, etc. The properties which increase in the case of a higher-situated god are life-duration, efficiency, pleasure, glow, purity of soul-coloring, extension of the field of sensory cognition, and extension of the field of vague sensory awareness; and the properties which decrease in the case of a higher-situated god are movement, bodily size, appropriation and arrogance.

Source: Google Books: Jaina Iconography

Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क).—According to both the Digambara and Śvetāmbara sects the Jyotiṣkas are divided into five classes: suns, moons, planets, asterisms and miscellaneous stars. It is said that every moon has 88 planets. The nakṣatras are 28 in number. The planets are notweworthy in Jaina iconography. They are found in the parikara of a Jaina-image.

Source: archive.org: The Jaina Iconography

Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क) refers to a group of deities commonly depicted in Jaina iconography.—The Jainas following the earlier Brahmanic tradition reduced the Planetary system to a group of iconic representations, which constitute an important class of gods known as Jyotiṣka-Devas. [...] In the discoveries of Jaina scriptures, we have had very little instance of meeting with the separate figures of their nine planets (navagraha).

Source: archive.org: Trisastisalakapurusacaritra

1) Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क) refers to one of the ten kinds of wishing-trees (kalpa), according to chapter 1.1 [ādīśvara-caritra] of Hemacandra’s 11th century Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra: an ancient Sanskrit epic poem narrating the history and legends of sixty-three illustrious persons in Jainism.

Accordingly, “[...] among the Utttarakuras the land is naturally beautiful, with sand as sweet as sugar and waters resembling autumn-moonlight. Ten kinds of wishing-trees [viz., Jyotiṣka] always give to the people whatever they desire without effort on their part. [...] the Jyotiṣkas give a wonderful light, [...] These give definite objects, and also indefinite ones; and other wishing-trees there give all things desired. [...]”.

2) Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क) refers to a group of deities living above the surface of the earth, according to chapter 2.2.—Accordingly: “at 790 yojanas above the surface of the earth is the lower level of the Jyotiṣkas. Ten yojanas above it is the sun, and at the end of 80 yojanas above the sun is the moon; then the stars and planets at the end of 20 yojanas. So in height the stellar world is no yojanas”.

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.

Biology (plants and animals)

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

Jyotishka in India is the name of a plant defined with Plumbago zeylanica in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Plumbago scandens L. (among others).

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

· Species Plantarum (1753)
· FBI (1882)
· Species Plantarum (1762)
· Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden (1985)
· Fontqueria (1987)
· Flora of Southern Africa (1963)

If you are looking for specific details regarding Jyotishka, for example chemical composition, pregnancy safety, side effects, diet and recipes, extract dosage, health benefits, 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

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Jyotiṣka (ज्योतिष्क).—A planet, star, luminary.

-ṣkam Name of the shining peak of Meru.

-ṣkaḥ The चित्रक (citraka) tree.

Derivable forms: jyotiṣkaḥ (ज्योतिष्कः).

[Sanskrit to German]

Jyotishka 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.

Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Jyōtiṣka (ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷ್ಕ):—[noun] = ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷಿ [jyotishi].

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 29 books and stories containing Jyotishka, Jyotiṣka, Jyotiska, Jyotiṣkā, Jyōtiṣka, The jyotishkas; (plurals include: Jyotishkas, Jyotiṣkas, Jyotiskas, Jyotiṣkās, Jyōtiṣkas, The jyotishkases). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Verse 4.12 - The subclasses of the stellar beings (jyotiṣka-deva) < [Chapter 4 - The Celestial Beings]

Verse 4.40 - The maximum lifetime of the stellar beings (jyotiṣka-deva) < [Chapter 4 - The Celestial Beings]

Verse 4.41 - The minimum lifetime of the stellar beings (jyotiṣka-deva) < [Chapter 4 - The Celestial Beings]

+ 7 more chapters / show preview

11.1. Supernatural beings and their abodes < [Chapter 7 - Social Conditions]

42. The previous births of Hasta, Prahasta, Nala and Nila < [Chapter 4 - Intervening Stories]

43. The previous births of Visalya and Laksmana < [Chapter 4 - Intervening Stories]

show preview

Part 26: Śreyāṃsa’s samavasaraṇa < [Chapter I - Śreyāṃsanāthacaritra]

Part 13: Building of the samavasaraṇa < [Chapter III - The initiation and omniscience of Ajita]

Part 11: Origin of Dhūmaketu’s enmity < [Chapter VI - Marriage of Kṛṣṇa with Rukmiṇī and others]

+ 25 more chapters / show preview