Kalasutra, Kala-sutra, Kālasūtra: 18 definitions
Introduction:
Kalasutra means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi. 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
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र).—A hell. (See under Kāla).
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र).—One of the twenty-eight hells. Those who treacherously behave towards Pitṛs, Brāhmaṇas, etc., are sent to this;1 a hell under the earth: also mahāhī2 the third hell under the earth: also known as mahāhavividhi; haunted by a fierce serpent.3
- 1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa V. 26. 7 & 14; Vāyu-purāṇa 110. 42; Viṣṇu-purāṇa I. 6. 41; II. 6. 4.
- 2) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 2. 181, 184; 33. 60.
- 3) Vāyu-purāṇa 101. 178.
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.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र) refers to one of the thirty hells (naraka) mentioned in the Devī-bhāgavata-purāṇa 8.21 (on the narrative of hells). The hells are destinations where dead beings brought by messengers of Yama (the God of the Pitṛs), and get punished by him according to their karmas and faults.
The Devī-bhāgavata-purāṇa or Śrīmad-devī-bhāgavatam (mentioning Kālasūtra), is categorised as a Mahāpurāṇa, a type of Sanskrit literature containing cultural information on ancient India, religious/spiritual prescriptions and a range of topics concerning the various arts and sciences. The whole text is composed of 18,000 metrical verses, possibly originating from before the 6th century.
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.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र) refers to one of the eight great hells according to the “world of transmigration” section in the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XXVII).—Accordingly, “the Bodhisattva sees the damned in the great Kālasūtra hell. Wicked Rākṣasas, guardians of the hell (nirayapāla) and worker-demons ceaselessly measure the damned with a black cord (kālasūtra); with an iron axe (kuṭhāra) they put them to death and cut them to pieces; they shorten what is long (dīrgha), they lengthen what is short (hrasva); they round off what is square (varga), they square off what is round (vṛtta); they cut their arms and legs, tear out their ears and noses and cut off their hands and feet with a great iron saw (krakaca); they amputate them and cut them up. They cut their flesh into pieces and weigh the quarters of meat”.
Also, “in the course of their earlier lives, these unfortunate people used to slander honest people and cause innocent people to die by means of lies (mṛṣāvāda), harmful words (pāruṣyavāda), malicious gossip (paiśunyavāda) and idle comments (saṃbhinnapalāpa). Or else, as perverted officials, they were cruel, violent, dishonest and harmful. It is as a result of their wrong-doings and calumnies that they undergo these punishments”.
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.
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र) is the name of a Vīra (hero) who, together with the Ḍākinī named Kālasūtrī forms one of the 36 pairs situated in the Cittacakra, according to the 10th century Ḍākārṇava chapter 15. Accordingly, the cittacakra refers to one of the three divisions of the nirmāṇa-puṭa (‘emanation layer’), situated in the Herukamaṇḍala. The 36 pairs of Ḍākinīs and Vīras [viz., Kālasūtra] are black in color; they each have one face and four arms; they hold a skull bowl, a skull staff, a small drum, and a knife.
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.
General definition (in Buddhism)
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र) refers to the “black-thread hell” and represents one of the “eight hot hells” (uṣṇa-naraka) as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 121). The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (e.g., kāla-sūtra). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
kaḷasūtra (कळसूत्र).—& kaḷasūtrī See kaḷāsūtra & kaḷāsūtrī.
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kaḷāsūtra (कळासूत्र).—n The string or mechanism of a puppet. kaḷāsūtrācā khēḷa A puppet-show. kaḷāsūtrācī bāhulī A puppet.
--- OR ---
kālasūtra (कालसूत्र).—n (S) The thread, line, or course of Fate.
kaḷasūtra (कळसूत्र).—n The string of a puppet.
--- OR ---
kaḷāsūtra (कळासूत्र).—n The string of a puppet.
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
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र).—
1) thread of time or death.
2) Name of a particular hell; Y.3.222; Manusmṛti 4.88.
Derivable forms: kālasūtram (कालसूत्रम्).
Kālasūtra is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms kāla and sūtra (सूत्र). See also (synonyms): kālasūtraka.
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र).—m.; Pali kāḷasutta, m.; occurs in Sanskrit but there regularly nt.; name of a hell: Dharmasaṃgraha 121 (a hot hell); Mahāvyutpatti 4921; etc.; Mahāvastu i.5.7 °treṇa sūtritāṅgā (? em.), here taken by Senart as an ‘instrument’ of torture, better ‘an accessory’, blackened cord (for marking bodies to be cut), see P. Mus, La Lumière des six voies 79, referring to F.W.K. Müller, Ethnologisches, Notizblatt I.3 (1896), p. 23 ff.; in Kāraṇḍavvūha 35.10 text kāra°, compare kārānusāri(n); common in [Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit]. Cf. sūtrayati.
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र).—n.
(-traṃ) One of the twenty-one hells. E. kāla from kal to count, a reckoning, and sūtra a thread, a rule; also with kan added kālasūtraka.
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र).—n. the name of a hell, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 3, 249.
Kālasūtra is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms kāla and sūtra (सूत्र).
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र).—[neuter] the cord of the god of death; [masculine] [neuter] [Name] of a certain hell.
1) Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र):—[=kāla-sūtra] [from kāla] n. the thread of time or death, [Mahābhārata iii, 11495]
2) [v.s. ...] mn. one of the twenty-one hells, [Manu-smṛti iii, 249; iv, 88; Viṣṇu-purāṇa etc.]
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र):—[kāla-sūtra] (traṃ) 1. n. One of the twenty-one hells of the Hindus.
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र):—(2. kāla + sūtra) n. der Faden der Zeit oder des Todes, Name einer Hölle [Amarakoṣa 1, 2, 2, 2.] [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 3, 249. 4, 88.] vaḍiśo yaṃ tvayā grastaḥ kālasūtreṇa lambitaḥ [Mahābhārata 3, 11495.] [Viṣṇupurāṇa 207.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 5, 26, 7. 14.] [Burnouf 201.] Auch kālasūtraka [Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch 3, 222.] Umschrieben: niraye kālasāhvaye [Mahābhārata 13, 2479.]
Kālasūtra (कालसूत्र):——
1) n. die Angelschnur des Todesgottes [Mahābhārata 3,157,45.] —
2) m. n. eine best. Hölle [Wilson's Uebersetzung des Viṣṇupurāṇa ,6,4.] [Kāraṇḍavyūha 18,12.37,1.66,16.]
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
Kālasūtra (ಕಾಲಸೂತ್ರ):—
1) [noun] the influence natural or normal to a particular time, period or age.
2) [noun] name of a hell.
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)
Partial matches (+0): Sutra, Kala.
Starts with (+0): Kalasutraka, Kalasutranaraka.
Full-text (+5): Kalasutranaraka, Kalasahvaya, Hei sheng, Kalasutraka, Naraka, Hei sheng de yu, Mahahavividhi, Karasutra, Krishnsutra, Song di wang, Sutrayati, Ba da de yu, Kalasutri, Ushnanaraka, Eight Hot Hells, Alakshmika, Bhrashtajnana, Nashtakirti, Varshalaksha, Bhutika.
Relevant text
Search found 40 books and stories containing Kalasutra, Kaḷā-sūtra, Kala-sūtra, Kāla-sūtra, Kaḷa-sūtra, Kala-sutra, Kalā-sūtra, Kaḷasūtra, Kalasūtra, Kalāsūtra, Kālasūtra, Kaḷāsūtra; (plurals include: Kalasutras, sūtras, sutras, Kaḷasūtras, Kalasūtras, Kalāsūtras, Kālasūtras, Kaḷāsūtras). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 5.4.25 < [Chapter 4 - The Journey to Śrī Mathurā]
Verse 2.15.33 < [Chapter 15 - Description of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s Falling in Love]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 4.88-90 < [Section X - Gifts not to be Accepted]
Verse 3.249 < [Section XV - Procedure after Feeding]
Verse 4.87 < [Section X - Gifts not to be Accepted]
Mahavastu (great story) (by J. J. Jones)
Chapter II-a - Sermon on the Hells (naraka) < [Volume I]
Chapter II-c - The hell named Kālasūtra < [Volume I]
Chapter II-b - The hell named Saṃjīva < [Volume I]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 561 < [Marathi-Hindi-English, Volume 1]
The Sanskrit Buddhist Literature of Nepal (by Rajendralala Mitra)
Page 377 < [The Sanskrit Buddhist Literature of Nepal (pages)]
Page 167 < [The Sanskrit Buddhist Literature of Nepal (pages)]
Narada Purana (English translation) (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 15 - Bhagīratha Advised to Bring the Gaṅgā < [Part 1 - Pūrva-bhāga: Prathama-pāda]
Chapter 45 - The Procedure of offering Piṇḍas (in the Gayā-Yātrā) < [Part 5 - Uttara-bhāga]