Kantara, Kantāra, Kāntāra, Kamtara: 27 definitions
Introduction:
Kantara means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, Marathi, 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.
In Hinduism
Ayurveda (science of life)
Source: Wisdom Library: Āyurveda and botanyKāntāra (कान्तार) is another name (synonym) for Karbudāra, which is the Sanskrit word for Bauhinia variegata (orchid tree), a plant from the Cleomaceae family. This synonym was identified by Narahari in his 13th-century Rājanighaṇṭu (verse 13.99), which is an Ayurvedic medicinal thesaurus.
Source: Wisdom Library: Raj NighantuKāntāra (कान्तार) refers to “forest” according to the second chapter (dharaṇyādi-varga) of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rājanighaṇṭu (an Ayurvedic encyclopedia). The Dharaṇyādi-varga covers the lands, soil, mountains, jungles [viz., Kāntāra] and vegetation’s relations between trees and plants and substances, with their various kinds.
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.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: valmikiramayan.net: Srimad Valmiki RamayanaKāntāra (कान्तार) refers to a “forest with its wilderness”, according to the Rāmāyaṇa chapter 2.28. Accordingly:—“[...] soothening with kind words to Sītā, when eyes were blemished with tears, the virtuous Rāma spoke again as follows, for the purpose of waking her turn back: ‘[...] Oh Sītā, the delicate! Do whatever I tell you. There are many inconveniencs in the forest. Know them from me. Oh, Sītā! Let your thought made about forest be given up. It is indeed said that forest with its wilderness (kāntāra) is fraught with many dangers’”.
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.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by VarahamihiraKāntāra (कान्तार) refers to a “forest”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 13), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “I shall now expound about the movements of the Seven Ṛṣis (saptarṣi), [...] If Aṅgiras should be affected as described above, men of knowledge, men of actual intellect and Brāhmaṇas will be afflicted; if Atri should be so affected, the products of the forests [i.e., kāntāra-bhava] and of water, seas and rivers will suffer. Along with Pulastya will suffer the Rākṣasas, the Piśācas, the Asuras, the Daityas and the Nāgas. Along with Pulaha will suffer roots and fruits; and along with Kratu will suffer sacrificial rites and persons performing them”.
Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita SastraKāntāra (कान्तार) refers to a “desert”, according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter 36).—Accordingly, “In a forest, an empty house, a charnel-ground, a mountain, a woods or a desert (kāntāra), the disciples of the Buddha who are meditating properly on the nine notions and who are practicing the meditation on the inner and outer horrors feel disgust for the body and say to themselves: ‘Why do we carry around this vile and horrible sack of excrement and urine?’ They are pained and frightened by it. Also there is wicked Māra who plays all kinds of evil tricks on them and who comes to frighten them in hopes of making them regress. This is why the Buddha, [in the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra], continues by explaining the eight recollections”.
Source: academia.edu: A Study and Translation of the GaganagañjaparipṛcchāKāntāra (कान्तार) refers to a “wilderness” (symbolizing the three realms), according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “Then on that occasion the Lord uttered these verses: [...] (113) Not being attached to this side nor that side, sailing the vessel of the dharma, and liberating living beings without any idea of them, that is called the sameness of the Bodhisattva (114) He who knows that the three realms are just like a wilderness (kāntāra) which is void and unchangeable, but who still liberates living beings according to regular order, he is a caravan leader who guides the way to ambrosia. [...]”.
Source: De Gruyter: A Buddhist Ritual Manual on AgricultureKāntāra (कान्तार) refers to “calamities”, according to the Vajratuṇḍasamayakalparāja, an ancient Buddhist ritual manual on agriculture from the 5th-century (or earlier), containing various instructions for the Sangha to provide agriculture-related services to laypeople including rain-making, weather control and crop protection.—Accordingly, [after the Bhagavān entered the assembly of Nāgas], “Then the Four Great Kings bowed to the Bhagavān with their hands put together and addressed him, “O Bhagavān, extremely frightening great dangers have arisen in the world. Namely, drought, famine, calamities (kāntāra). O Bhagavān, all beings have become defenceless and refugeless because of this misfortune. [...]’”.
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)
Source: OSU Press: Cakrasamvara SamadhiKāntāra (कान्तार) refers to the “wilderness (of saṃsāra)”, according to the Cakrasaṃvara Samādhi [i.e., Cakrasamvara Meditation] 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.—Accordingly, “In the Mandala, an obscured Himalaya, abiding seated in lotus posture, [..] having the fat of the great flesh, absorbed in meditation, with a crown, possessing wisdom, higher knowledge, half of one half of sixteen faces, three eyes, a sacred chord, adorned by a continuous line of human heads, terrifying, wrathful, a helper for crossing over together, the dreadful wilderness of saṃsāra [e.g., ghorasaṃsāra-kāntāra], routing Māra, Śrī Vajrasattva, homage”.
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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: The University of Sydney: A study of the Twelve ReflectionsKāntāra (कान्तार) refers to the “forest (of the cycle of rebirth)”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “Fools mourn for relations experiencing the results of their own actions [but] because of the confusion of [their] intelligence [they do] not [mourn for] themselves situated in Yama’s fangs. In this forest that is the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra-kāntāra) dwelt in by Yama the serpent-king, the men of olden times, who were eternal previously, have come to an end”.
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.
India history and geography
Source: archive.org: Personal and geographical names in the Gupta inscriptionsKāntāra (कान्तार) is a synonym for Vana (forest): a name-ending for place-names mentioned in the Gupta inscriptions (reigned from 3rd century CE). We find some place-names with the suffix denoting forest, for example Vindhyāṭavī, and Vṛndāvana. In our inscriptions we come across only three such names, Tumbavana and Vindhāṭavī, and Mahākāntāra. The suffixes vana, aṭavī and kāntāra are synonyms.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, 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.
Biology (plants and animals)
Source: Google Books: CRC World Dictionary (Regional names)Kantara in India is the name of a plant defined with Saccharum officinarum in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Saccharum infi rmum Steud. ex Lechler (among others).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· J. Fujian Acad. Agric. Sci. (1996)
· Synopseos Plantarum (1805)
· Annalen des Wiener Museums der Naturgeschichte (1836)
· Plantae Javanicae Rariores (1848)
· Flora Brasiliensis (1883)
· Flora Indica, or ‘Descriptions of Indian Plants’, ed. 1820 (1820)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Kantara, for example health benefits, extract dosage, pregnancy safety, side effects, diet and recipes, chemical composition, have a look at these references.
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
Pali-English dictionary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionarykantāra : (m.) wilderness; desert.
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English DictionaryKantāra, (adj. n.) (perhaps from kad-tarati, difficult to cross, Sk. (?) kāntāra) difficult to pass, scil. magga, a difficult road, waste land, wilderness, explained as nirudaka īriṇa VvA. 334 (on Vv 843), combined with maru° PvA. 99 and marukantāramagga PvA. 112; opp. khemantabhūmi. Usually 5 kinds of wilds are enumerated: cora°, vāla°, nirudaka°, amanussa°, appabbhakkha° J. I, 99; SA 324; 4 kinds at Nd2 630: cora°, vāla°, dubhikkha°, nirudaka°. The term is used both lit. & fig. (of the wilds of ignorance, false doctrine, or of difficulties, hardship). As the seat of demons (Petas and Yakkhas) frequent in Pv (see above), also J. I, 395. As diṭṭhi° in pass. diṭṭhi-gata, etc. M. I, 8, 486, Pug. 22 (on diṭṭhi vipatti).
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
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarykāṇṭārā (कांटारा).—m R W (kāṇṭā) A thorn.
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kāntara (कांतर).—conj (kāṃ Why? tara Then.) Because.
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kāntāra (कांतार).—n S A forest or wood. Ex. siṃha sakhā asatā pāhiṃ || kāṃ0 hiṇḍatā bhaya nāhīṃ ||. 2 A difficult or bad road.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishkāntara (कांतर).—conj Because.
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kāntāra (कांतार).—n A wood, forest. A bad road.
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
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryKāntāra (कान्तार).—1 A large or dreary forest; गृहं तु गृहिणीहीनं कान्तारादतिरिच्यते (gṛhaṃ tu gṛhiṇīhīnaṃ kāntārādatiricyate) Pañcatantra (Bombay) 4.81; Bhartṛhari 1.86; Y.2.38.
2) A bad road.
3) A hole, cavity.
-raḥ 1 A red variety of the sugar-cane.
2) Mountain ebony.
3) A bamboo.
-rī A kind of sugar-cane
-ram 1 A symptom.
2) A lotus.
3) A class of the six-storeyed buildings. Māna.24.13-14
Derivable forms: kāntāraḥ (कान्तारः), kāntāram (कान्तारम्).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryKāntāra (कान्तार).—m. or nt. (see Gray, ZDMG 60.360, citing this word from Vāsavadatṭā, expl. in commentary by durbhikṣā; Pali kantāra, [compound] with prec. dubhikkha-; said by [Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary] to mean hardship, trouble in general): famine: Avadāna-śataka ii.83.8 tena khalu samayena durbhikṣam abhūt kṛcchram, kān- tāra-durlambhaḥ piṇḍako yācanakena; Kāraṇḍavvūha 47.15 nādyaiva māṃsabhakṣaṇaṃ viṃśati-varṣāṇi paripūrṇāni kāntāra- sya ca pratipannasya ca nātra kiṃcid annapānaṃ saṃvi- dyate; 47.20; Mūla-Sarvāstivāda-Vinaya i.237.15; in Saddharmapuṇḍarīka 81.11 perhaps in more general sense of troubles, difficulty, disaster: parimuktāḥ sarvabhayopadrava-kāntārebhyo nirvṛtisukhaprāptāḥ.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryKāntāra (कान्तार).—mn.
(-raḥ-raṃ) 1. A had or difficult road. 2. A wood, a forest. 3. A hole, a cavity. m.
(-raḥ) 1. A red variety of the sugar-cane. 2. A bamboo. 3. Mountain ebony. n.
(-raṃ) 1. A symptom or symptomatic disease. 2. A lotus. f. (-rī) A sort of sugar-cane. E. kān for kañcit any one, here meaning no one, tṛ to go, in the causal, form, ac affix; allowing none to pass; or ka pleasure, &c. anta end, ṛ to go, aṇ aff.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryKāntāra (कान्तार).—m. and n. 1. A large forest, [Rāmāyaṇa] 2, 28, 6. 2. Wilderness, [Rāmāyaṇa] 4, 44, 27. 3. A difficult road, [Daśakumāracarita] in
Kāntāra (कान्तार).—[masculine] [neuter] large forest, wilderness.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Kāntāra (कान्तार):—mn. a large wood, forest, wilderness, waste, [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa; Yājñavalkya ii, 38; Kathāsaritsāgara; Pañcatantra]
2) a difficult road through a forest, forest-path, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
3) a hole, cavity, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
4) m. a red variety of the sugar-cane, [Suśruta]
5) a bamboo, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
6) the mountain ebony (Bauhinia variegata), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
7) (in music) a kind of measure
8) n. a national calamity, calamity, [Kāraṇḍa-vyūha; xlvii, 15 and 20]
9) the blossom of a kind of lotus, lotus, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
10) a symptom or symptomatic disease, [Horace H. Wilson]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryKāntāra (कान्तार):—[(raḥ-raṃ)] 1. m. n. A bad or difficult road; a wood; a hole. m. Red sugar-cane; bambu, mountain ebony. (rī) f. Sugar-cane. n. A symptom; a lotus.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Kāntāra (कान्तार) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Kaṃtāra.
[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.
Prakrit-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary1) Kaṃtāra (कंतार) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Kāntāra.
2) Kaṃtāra (कंतार) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Kāntāra.
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
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusKāṃtāra (ಕಾಂತಾರ):—
1) [noun] a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth; a forest.
2) [noun] a road that is difficult to traverse.
3) [noun] a small excavation, pit; a hole; a cavity.
4) [noun] a variety in sugarcane; red sugar cane.
5) [noun] the tree mountain ebony.
6) [noun] the grass Bambusa arundinacae of Poaceae family; spiny bamboo.
7) [noun] any of the lotus plant and its flower.
8) [noun] any circumstance, event or condition that accompanies something and indicates its existence or occurrence; sign; indication; a symptom.
9) [noun] a difficult, harsh or unpleasant word.
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)
Starts with: Kamtaracarye, Kantarabhava, Kantaraca, Kantaracanam, Kantaraddhana, Kantaraga, Kantaraka, Kantaram, Kantaramagga, Kantaramukha, Kantaranittharana, Kantarapatha, Kantarapathika, Kantarapatipanna, Kantarasa, Kantaravasini.
Ends with (+3): Ambukantara, Ashokantara, Bhavakantara, Cakantara, Ditthikantara, Dvyekantara, Ekantara, Hastimashakamtara, Jalakantara, Javanikantara, Jinakantara, Khajjakantara, Lokantara, Mahakantara, Nikkamtara, Nishkantara, Paniyakantara, Rogakantara, Samsarakantara, Shokantara.
Full-text (+24): Kantaraka, Kantaraga, Jalakantara, Kantarapathika, Pratitala, Kamtara, Kantarapatha, Kantaravasini, Kantarabhava, Ashokantara, Kantar, Valukantara, Kantarekshu, Ambukantara, Kanakaraka, Sukkhakantara, Samsarakantara, Kantaramukha, Kantaraddhana, Kantari.
Relevant text
Search found 17 books and stories containing Kantara, Kantāra, Kāntāra, Kamtara, Kāṇṭārā, Kāntara, Kaṃtāra, Kāṃtāra; (plurals include: Kantaras, Kantāras, Kāntāras, Kamtaras, Kāṇṭārās, Kāntaras, Kaṃtāras, Kāṃtāras). 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 4.17.9 < [Chapter 17 - Prayers to Srī Yamunā]
Verse 8.9.7 < [Chapter 9 - Lord Balarāma’s Rāsa Dance]
Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī)
Verse 1.2.133 < [Part 2 - Devotional Service in Practice (sādhana-bhakti)]
Jainism in Odisha (Orissa) (by Ashis Ranjan Sahoo)
Archaeological importance of Nasik, Jagatsinghpur < [Chapter 3: Survey of Jaina Antiquities in Odisha]
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
I. Position of the recollections in the prajñāpāramitā < [Part 1 - Position and results of the recollections]
Second comparison or upamāna: A a mirage (marīci) < [Bodhisattva quality 19: the ten upamānas]
II. How to meditate on the nine notions (navasaṃjñā) < [Part 1 - The nine notions according to the Abhidharma]
Vinaya Pitaka (1): Bhikkhu-vibhanga (the analysis of Monks’ rules) (by I. B. Horner)
Monks’ Expiation (Pācittiya) 55
Monks’ Expulsion (Pārājika) 3: Case rulings < [Monks’ Expulsion (Pārājika) 3]
Vinaya Pitaka (3): Khandhaka (by I. B. Horner)
Allowance for five dairy products, etc. < [6. Medicine (Bhesajja)]