Kanakavati, Kanakāvatī, Kanakavatī: 9 definitions
Introduction:
Kanakavati means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Puranic EncyclopediaKanakāvatī (कनकावती).—A follower of Skandadeva. (Chapter 618) Śalya Parva).
Source: JatLand: List of Mahabharata people and placesKanakāvatī (कनकावती) refers to the name of a Lady mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. IX.45.8). Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Kanakāvatī) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.
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.
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Source: academia.edu: Yakṣiṇī-sādhana in the Kakṣapuṭa tantraKanakavatī (कनकवती) or Nakhakeśī is the name of one of the thirty-two Yakṣiṇīs mentioned in the Kakṣapuṭatantra, while Nakhakeśī is also mentioned as one of the thirty-six Yakṣiṇīs mentioned in the Uḍḍāmareśvaratantra. In the yakṣiṇī-sādhana, the Yakṣiṇī is regarded as the guardian spirit who provides worldly benefits to the practitioner. The Yakṣiṇī (e.g., Kanakavatī) provides, inter alia, daily food, clothing and money, tells the future, and bestows a long life, but she seldom becomes a partner in sexual practices.
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.
Kavya (poetry)
Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara1) Kanakavatī (कनकवती) is the wife of king Jīmūtaketu, according to the sixteenth story of the Vetālapañcaviṃśati in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 90. Accordingly, “... then King Jīmūtaketu and Queen Kanakavatī found out by their supernatural powers of meditation the real state of the case, and proceeded to go quickly with their daughter-in-law to the place where Garuḍa and Jīmūtavāhana were”.
2) Kanakavatī (कनकवती), daughter of Kāñcanadaṃṣṭra, is one of the five Vidyādhara maidens that vowed to take Naravāhanadatta for a husband together, as mentioned in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 110. Accordingly, as Mandaradevī said to her father Akampana and to emperor Naravāhanadatta: “... I have four companions here, of like age, noble maidens; [...] one is a maiden called Kanakavatī, the daughter of Kāñcanadaṃṣṭra [...] We five, when roaming about, saw previously in a grove of ascetics this my destined husband, and, setting our hearts on him, we [viz., Kanakavatī] made an agreement together that we would all, at one and the same time, take him for our husband, but that, if any single one married him alone, the others should enter the fire, and lay the guilt at her door”.
The story of Kanakavatī is mentioned in the Vetālapañcaviṃśati (twenty-five tales of a vetāla) which is embedded in the twelfth book of the Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’). The main book is a famous Sanskrit epic detailing the exploits of prince Naravāhanadatta in his quest to become the emperor of the vidyādharas (celestial beings). The Kathā-sarit-sāgara is is explained to be an adaptation of Guṇāḍhya’s Bṛhatkathā which consisted of 100,000 verses and in turn forms part of an even larger work containing 700,000 verses.
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’.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: archive.org: TrisastisalakapurusacaritraKanakavatī (कनकवती) is the wife of king Īśānacandra and mother of Mahīdhara, 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,
“After he had enjoyed pleasures unceasingly, the soul of Vajrajaṅgha [i.e., previous incarnation of Ṛṣabha] fell from the exhaustion of his life-span, just as a snow-ball melts in the sun. In Jambūdvīpa, in the Videhas, in the city Kṣitipratiṣṭhita, he was born as the son, named Jīvānanda, of the physician Suvidhi. [...] At the same time in this city four other boys were born, like pieces of dharma joined to bodies. Among them, one was the son, named Mahīdhara, of King Īśānacandra by his wife Kanakavatī”.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryKanakavatī (कनकवती).—name of a lokadhātu: Gaṇḍavyūha 82.8.
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Kanakāvatī (कनकावती).—name of the capital city of Kanakavarṇa: Divyāvadāna 291.11; 294.28.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Kanakavatī (कनकवती):—[=kanaka-vatī] [from kanaka > kan] f. Name of a town
2) [v.s. ...] of a woman, [Kathāsaritsāgara]
3) Kanakāvatī (कनकावती):—[=kanakā-vatī] [from kan] f. Name of one of the mothers in the retinue of Skanda, [Mahābhārata]
[Sanskrit to German]
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Kanaka, Vati.
Starts with: Kanakavatimadhava.
Full-text: Kanakavatimadhava, Nakhakeshi, Ishanacandra, Mahidhara.
Relevant text
Search found 4 books and stories containing Kanakavati, Kanaka-vati, Kanaka-vatī, Kanakā-vatī, Kanakāvatī, Kanakavatī; (plurals include: Kanakavatis, vatis, vatīs, Kanakāvatīs, Kanakavatīs). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra (by Helen M. Johnson)
Part 3: Birth and childhood of Kanakavatī < [Chapter III - Vasudeva’s Marriage with Kanakavatī and her Former Incarnations]
Part 4: Yadus become mendicants < [Chapter X - The recovery of draupadī]
Part 4: Episode of the swan < [Chapter III - Vasudeva’s Marriage with Kanakavatī and her Former Incarnations]
List of Mahabharata people and places (by Laxman Burdak)
Mahabharata (English) (by Kisari Mohan Ganguli)
Section 46 < [Shalya Parva]
Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of Story) (by Somadeva)