Kamandalu, Kamamdalu, Kamaṇḍalu: 32 definitions
Introduction:
Kamandalu means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi, Jainism, Prakrit. 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.
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In Hinduism
Shilpashastra (iconography)
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु).—This is an ordinary vessel to hold water and is of different shapes. It has in some cases a spout. The earlier specimens are simple in design, though not very handsome in appearance. The later forms are more symmetrical and beautiful in design and workmanship.
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु, “water pot”).—An object being held by the four-armed Sarasvatī;—As a water-related river goddess, the water pot is an implement appropriate to Sarasvatī. According to Marie-Thérèse de Mallmann, it represents abundance or immortality. The Viṣṇudharmottara-purāṇa, on the other hand, tells us the water pot is to be known as the immortal nectar of all scriptures (śāstra).
Kamaṇḍalu (water jug) - Fullness and generosity, also purity and purification.
Kamaṇḍalu (“holy jug”) refers to one of the several “attributes” (āyudha) or “accessories” of a detiy commonly seen depicted in Hindu iconography, defined according to texts dealing with śilpa (arts and crafs), known as śilpaśāstras.—The śilpa texts have classified the various accessories under the broad heading of āyudha or karuvi (implement), including even flowers, animals, and musical instruments. The other miscellaneous articles found as attributes in the hands of the deities are, for example, Kamaṇḍalu.
Shilpashastra (शिल्पशास्त्र, śilpaśāstra) represents the ancient Indian science (shastra) of creative arts (shilpa) such as sculpture, iconography and painting. Closely related to Vastushastra (architecture), they often share the same literature.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु) refers to a particular type of Vessel (given by Brahmā), according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.4.5 (“Kārttikeya is crowned”).—Accordingly, after the Kṛttikās spoke to Kārttikeya: “[...] Then Śiva, the lord of the universe, following the worldly convention delightedly placed Kārttikeya on a beautiful gemset throne. [...] Śiva gave him the trident, the bow Pināka, the axe, the arrow Paśupata, the weapon of destruction and the greatest lore. I gave him the holy thread, the Vedas, the mantra Gāyatrī, the vessel Kamaṇḍalu, the arrow Brahmāstra and the lore that destroys the enemy. [...]”.
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु).—Of Budha;1 in possession of Agastya.2 Given to Vāmana by Vasiṣṭha;3 of Brahmā, as the source of Gaṅgā;4 of Śiva.5
- 1) Matsya-purāṇa 11. 55.
- 2) Ib. 61. 36.
- 3) Ib. 245. 86.
- 4) Vāyu-purāṇa 55. 14; Bhāgavata-purāṇa VIII. 21. 4.
- 5) Vāyu-purāṇa 101. 273.
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)
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु) refers to a “water-pot”, according tot the Mṛgendrāgama (Caryāpāda) verse 18-19, in the section on expiation (prāyaścitta).—Accordingly, “One who observes a vow sleeps on the ground and gives up meat, women and wine. Alone, he takes care of the accoutrements (mātrā) of one who observes a vow) and, alone, his (sole) companion is a water pot (kamaṇḍalu). He avoids entertainment afforded by women, song, dance or (idle) chat. He does not live with a woman and avoids (wearing) garlands, smearing (his body with scented oils) and the like”.
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु) (or Kamaṇḍala) refers to a “pitcher”, according to the 17th century Kaulagajamardana (“crushing the Kaula elephant”) authored by Kāśīnātha or Kṛṣṇānandācala.—Accordingly, [as Īśvara said to Pārvatī]: “[...] O great Goddess, hear about the Jain. He always carries a pitcher (kamaṇḍalu-dhara). He is simply a soul and never an enjoyer, doer and destroyer. He is called a Jain, and Buddhists and [the like] are considered [to be similar]. Some pluck out their hair and dress in white, my dear, and [some] wear red garments and [others wear] indigo and so on. Some are called, 'great guru', and others pursue nonviolence. These are the different varieties in brief; they are [all] called Pāṣaṇḍas [because] they have been excluded from the vedic path. [...]”
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.
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु) refers to a “spouted water-pot”, according to the Kiraṇatantra chapter 49 (dealing with vratacaryā).—Accordingly, “Garuḍa spoke: ‘You have taught me, O great Lord, the activities of the Neophyte, the Putraka and the Ācārya. Tell me those of the Sādhaka’. The Lord spoke: ‘[...] Accompanied by his ritual assistant, he should go to the forest and begin the practice of his religious observance. [If he is] without a ritual assistant, then his spouted water-pot (kamaṇḍalu) is his ritual assistant in that [practice]. Alternatively, [instead of a kamaṇḍalu], it may be a gourd with a shaft. Having made this [ready], he should practise his observance. [...]’”.
1) Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु) refers to a “water jar”, according to the Netratantra of Kṣemarāja: a Śaiva text from the 9th century in which Śiva (Bhairava) teaches Pārvatī topics such as metaphysics, cosmology, and soteriology.—Accordingly, [verse 9.19cd-26, while instructing to visualize Sadāśiva in order to worship the formless Amṛteśa]—“[He] resembles the swelling moon, a heap of mountain snow. [...] [Sadāśiva has] a shield, a mirror, a bow, a citron tree, and a water jar (kamaṇḍalu). At his head is a half moon. [He who meditates of Sadāśiva] should perceive the Eastern face as yellow; the Southern a wrathful, terrible black [that has] an unnatural, tusked mouth. [...]”.
2) Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु) refers to a “water jar” (in a dream), according to the Svacchanda-tantra.—Accordingly, [verse 4.8-13, while describing auspicious dreams]—“[...] [It is auspicious when one dreams of] a pill, wood for cleaning the teeth, yellow pigment on a sword or sandal, sacred thread, ointment, nectar, mercury, medicinal herbs, śakti, a water jar (kamaṇḍalu), lotus, rosary, red arsenic or blazing objects of siddhas, which have red chalk as their ends. [...]”
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु) refers to the “water vessel” (damaging which requires purifcation rites), according to the Pātravidhi—a manual of the Lakulīśa Pāśupata school of Śaivism dealing with purification of the initiate’s vessel (pātra) and other concerned issues.—Accordingly, “After accepting a vessel, a cleaning implement, a garment, and any other material means of Dharma, an ascetic should purify these [objects] by [performing] prāṇāyāmas. (1) [...] Having damaged his stock of ashes, the earthen vessel, clothes, needle-and-clew, and the water vessel (kamaṇḍalu) and the skull-bowl, he should observe a Cāndrāyaṇa vow. (8)”.
Note: These items [e.g., kamaṇḍalu] appear to be the essential or only belongings of an ascetic. It seems signifycant that the skull-bowl (kapāla) is mentioned here, because it is not referred to by Kauṇḍinya. This verse appears to point to a post-Kauṇḍinyan (Lākula?) environment, in which the skull-bowl was adopted. However, this may not be original to the text of the Pātravidhi which does not include a kapāla among the vessels suitable to an ascetic. Thus it appears to me that at least this verse and verse 69 may have been interpolated in the original text when it passed through the hands of ascetics belonging to other Atimārga groups. See also fn. 69.
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.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु) is a Sanskrit word referring to the water-pot carried by sannyāsīs.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु) or Kamaṇḍalulokeśvara refers to number 10 of the 108 forms of Avalokiteśvara found in the Machhandar Vahal (Kathmanu, Nepal). [Machhandar or Machandar is another name for for Matsyendra.].
Accordingly,—
“Kamaṇḍalu stands in the Samabhaṅga attitude, and is endowed with six arms. His two principal hands are engaged in drawing the bow to its full length. The other four hands carry the Vajra and the Cakra in the two right and the Ghaṇṭā and the Kamaṇḍalu in the two left”.
The names of the 108 deities [viz., Kamaṇḍalu] possbily originate from a Tantra included in the Kagyur which is named “the 108 names of Avalokiteshvara”, however it is not yet certain that this is the source for the Nepali descriptions.
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु) refers to a “water pot” [i.e., idaṃ kamaṇḍaluṃ puṣpa-bhāṇḍaṃ saṃkalpayāmy ahaṃ], according to the Guru Mandala Worship (maṇḍalārcana) ritual often performed in combination with the Cakrasaṃvara Samādhi, which refers to the primary pūjā and sādhanā practice of Newah Mahāyāna-Vajrayāna Buddhists in Nepal.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
kamaṇḍalu : (m.; nt.) a water-pitcher.
Kamaṇḍalu, (m. , nt.) (etym. uncertain) the waterpot with long spout used by non-Buddhist ascetics S. I, 167; J. II, 73 (=kuṇḍikā); IV, 362, 370; VI, 86, 525, 570; Sn. p. 80; DhA. III, 448—adj. kamaṇḍaluka (read kā°?) “with the waterpot” A. V, 263 (brāhmaṇā pacchābhūmakā k.). (Page 189)
kamaṇḍalu (ကမဏ္ဍလု) [(pu,na) (ပု၊န)]—
[kamaṇḍa+lā+u．kassa jalassa maṇḍo pasannabhāvo kamaṇḍo,taṃ lātīti kamaṇḍalu,u．,ṭī．443．]
[ကမဏ္ဍ+လာ+ဥ။ ကဿ ဇလဿ မဏ္ဍော ပသန္နဘာဝေါ ကမဏ္ဍော၊ တံ လာတီတိ ကမဏ္ဍလု၊ ဥ။ ဓာန်၊ ဋီ။ ၄၄၃။]
[Pali to Burmese]
kamaṇḍalu—
(Burmese text): (က) ရေကရား။ (ခ) ရေအိုး။
(Auto-Translation): (a) Water lily. (b) Water container.
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
Marathi-English dictionary
kamaṇḍalu (कमंडलु).—m n (S) The waterpot used by the ascetic and the religious student.
kamaṇḍalu (कमंडलु).—m n The water-pot used by the ascetic and the religious student.
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
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु).—n., [lū] f. A water-pot (earthen or wooden) used by ascetics; कमण्डलूपमोऽमात्यस्तनुत्यागो बहुग्रहः (kamaṇḍalūpamo'mātyastanutyāgo bahugrahaḥ) H.2.89. कमण्डलुनोदकम् सिक्त्वा (kamaṇḍalunodakam siktvā); Manusmṛti 2.64; Y.1.133.
Derivable forms: kamaṇḍaluḥ (कमण्डलुः).
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु).—mn. (-luḥ-lu) An earthen or wooden water pot, used by the ascetic and religious student. 2. The waved-leaf fig tree: see plakṣa. E. ka Brahma or water, and maṇḍa ornament or essence, la from lā to get or give, and ḍu aff.
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु).—m. (and n). A water-pot used by ascetics and religious students, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 2, 64; [Rāmāyaṇa] 3, 52, 9.
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु).—[masculine] water-jar.
1) Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु):—mn. (in the Veda f(ūs). according to, [Pāṇini 4-1, 71]) a gourd or vessel made of wood or earth used for water (by ascetics and religious students), a water-jar, [Mahābhārata; Bhāgavata-purāṇa; Yājñavalkya] etc.
2) a kind of animal, [Āśvalāyana-śrauta-sūtra]
3) m. Ficus Infectoria, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
4) f. (ūs) a kind of animal, [Pāṇini 4-1, 72.]
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु):—[(luḥ-lu)] 2. m. n. An earthen or wooden water-pot; a fig tree.
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु):—m. n. gaṇa ardharcādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 2, 4, 31.] [Siddhāntakaumudī 248], b, [4, v. u.] [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 3, 5, 9.]
1) Krug, Wassertopf der Einsiedler [Amarakoṣa 2, 7, 45. 3, 4, 1,] [?6.Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 2, 7, 14. Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 816. Anekārthasaṃgraha 4, 287. Medinīkoṣa l. 151. Hārāvalī 64. Kauśika’s Sūtra zum Atuarvaveda 37. Gṛhyasaṃgrahapariśiṣṭa 2, 58. Manu’s Gesetzbuch 2, 64. 4, 36. Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch, 1, 133. Mahābhārata 1, 1149. 3, 10764. fg. 14554. 15, 727. Rāmāyaṇa 1, 4, 19. 31, 16. 3, 16, 27.] kamaṇḍalūpamo mātyastanutyāgo bahugrahaḥ [Hitopadeśa II, 87.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 7, 3, 22. 12, 4.] [Devīmāhātmya 2, 23. 8, 14. 32.] [Dhūrtasamāgama 70, 1.] Nirgends neutr. kamaṇḍaludhara ein Beiname Śiva’s [Śivanāmasahasra] Im Veda f. kamaṇḍalū [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 4, 1, 71.] mā sma kamaṇḍalūṃ śūdrāya vai dadyāt [Scholiast] Vgl. udakamaṇḍalu . —
2) = kamaṇḍalutaru [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 3, 3, 387.] [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha] [Medinīkoṣa] —
3) f. kamaṇḍalū n. pr. [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 4, 1, 72.]
--- OR ---
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु):—
1) [Kāṭhaka-Recension 37, 1.] [Rāmāyaṇa 3, 52, 9.] —
3) lies ein best. vierfüssiges Thier st. Nomen proprium — Vgl. kāmaṇḍaleya .
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु):——
1) m. *n. Wassertopf der Einsiedler. —
2) *m. Ficus infectoria. —
3) *f. lū — a) = 1). — b) ein best. vierfüssiges Thier.
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Kamaṃḍalu.
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.
Prakrit-English dictionary
Kamaṃḍalu (कमंडलु) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Kamaṇḍalu.
Prakrit is an ancient language closely associated with both Pali and Sanskrit. Jain literature is often composed in this language or sub-dialects, such as the Agamas and their commentaries which are written in Ardhamagadhi and Maharashtri Prakrit. The earliest extant texts can be dated to as early as the 4th century BCE although core portions might be older.
Kannada-English dictionary
Kamaṃḍalu (ಕಮಂಡಲು):—[noun] = ಕಮಂಡಲ [kamamdala].
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Kamaṇḍalu (कमण्डलु):—n. an earthen/wooden water-pot used by ascetics/other devout persons;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches (+0): Kamanda, U, Ou, La.
Starts with (+0): Kamandalucarya, Kamandaludaka, Kamandaludana, Kamandaludhara, Kamandaludhari, Kamandaluka, Kamandalulokeshvara, Kamandalutaru.
Full-text (+72): Kamandaludhara, Kamandaluka, Kamandalutaru, Udakamandalu, Tirthakamandalu, Kamandaludaka, Laggitakamandalu, Kamandaludhari, Dandakamandalu, Kundika, Kamandalucarya, Kamantalam, Kamandalava, Kamandalulokeshvara, Brihaspati, Brahma, Khakharaka, Kumandala, Bahugraha, Vedagarbha.
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Search found 101 books and stories containing Kamandalu, Kamamdalu, Kamaṃḍalu, Kamanda-la-u, Kamaṇḍa-lā-u, Kamaṇḍalu, Kamandalus; (plurals include: Kamandalus, Kamamdalus, Kamaṃḍalus, us, Kamaṇḍalus, Kamandaluses). 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 5.2.14 < [Chapter 2 - The Killing of Keśī]
Verse 5.24.38 < [Chapter 24 - The Killing of the Kola Demon]
Verse 5.8.7 < [Chapter 8 - The Killing of Kaṃsa]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 258 < [Gujarati-Hindi-English, Volume 1]
Page 325 < [Hindi-Marathi-English Volume 1]
Page 514 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 1]
Brahma Archana Paddhati (text and translation) (by Prabhunath Dwivedi)
Chapter 27 - Importance of Some Special dates in Prabhasa-tirtha
Chapter 21 - Murtiracana (construction of an idol of Brahma)
Saraswati < [Aug - Sept 1939]
Yavakari: An Old-Time Tale < [January 1956]
Yavakari: An Old-Time Tale < [January 1956]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 4.36 < [Section IX - Personal Cleanliness]
Verse 4.66 < [Section IX - Personal Cleanliness]
Verse 2.64 < [Section XIII - Initiation (upanayana)]
Buddhist iconography in and outside India (Study) (by Purabi Gangopadhyay)
Glossary of Japanese Buddhist terms
Images of Ben-ten (Sarasvati) in Japan < [Chapter 4: Japanese Buddhist Iconography (a Comparative Study)]
Images of Bon-ten (Brahma) in Japan < [Chapter 4: Japanese Buddhist Iconography (a Comparative Study)]