Kanyaka, Kanyakā, Kanyākā: 18 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
1. Purana
2. Ayurveda
3. Shaktism
4. Jyotisha
5. Kavya
In Buddhism
1. Tibetan Buddhism
Languages
1. Marathi
2. Sanskrit
See also
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Introduction:

Kanyaka 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)

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Kanyakā (कन्यका) refers to “one’s daughter”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.33 (“The appeasement of Himavat”).—Accordingly, as Vasiṣṭha said to Himavat (Himācala): “[...] Śiva, the lord of gods, is devoid of riches created by Brahmā. But His mind is engrossed in the ocean of true knowledge. How can lord Śiva who is knowledge-Bliss Himself have any desire for articles created by Brahmā? An ordinary householder gives his daughter to one who has a kingdom and riches in his possession? By offering his daughter (kanyakā) to a miserable person, a father may be guilty of slaughtering his daughter. Who can think Śiva miserable whose servant is Kubera? [...]”.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

1a) Kanyaka (कन्यक).—A son of Maṇibhadra.^*

* Vāyu-purāṇa 69. 154.

1b) Kāśyapa gotrakāras.^*

* Matsya-purāṇa 199. 3.

2) Kanyakā (कन्यका).—A name of Yogamāyā.^*

* Bhāgavata-purāṇa X. 2. 12.

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)

Nighantu (Synonyms and Characteristics of Drugs and technical terms)

Source: WorldCat: Rāj nighaṇṭu

Kanyakā (कन्यका) is another name for Gṛhakanyā, a medicinal plant commonly identified with Aloe vera var. chinensis Baker from the Asphodelaceae family of flowering plants, according to verse 5.47-49 of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rājanighaṇṭu. The fifth chapter (parpaṭādi-varga) of this book enumerates sixty varieties of smaller plants (kṣudra-kṣupa). Together with the names Kanyakā and Gṛhakanyā, there are a total of twenty-one 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.

Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram

Kanyakā (कन्यका) refers to a “young virgin (bride)”, according to the Ṣaṭsāhasrasaṃhitā, an expansion of the Kubjikāmatatantra: the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—Accordingly, “One should institute a great sacrifice at times of great fear, when in conflict with a powerful enemy, when the land is afflicted with drought, when locusts and soldiers come (to ravage it), when (one seeks to) remedy disease and suffering, when there is a fight between relatives for kingdom, when the king is deposed, during solitary combat in a great battle, in order to (get a) son, when one fails to gets a young virgin (bride) [i.e., kanyakā-alābha], during a marriage, in order to gain victory, (or) when a fort is under attack. [...]”.

context information

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.

Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)

Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by Varahamihira

Kanyakā (कन्यका) refers to “virgins”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 10), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “If the course of Saturn should lie through the constellation of Āśleṣā, the creatures of water and serpents will suffer; if through the constellation of Maghā, the Bāhlīkas, the Cīna (Chinese), the people of Gāndhāra, of Śūlika, of Pārata, the Vaiáyas, store houses and merchants will suffer. If his course should lie through the constellation of Pūrvaphālguni, juice-sellers, prostitutes, virgins [i.e., kanyakā] and the people of Mahāraṣṭras will suffer miseries; if through Uttaraphālguni, kings, ascetics, jaggery, salt, water and the town of Takṣaśilā will suffer”.

context information

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.

Kavya (poetry)

Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (kavya)

Kanyakā (कन्यका) refers to a “maiden”, according to Bāṇa’s Kādambarī (p. 226).—There are apparently several Tantric rites that Bāṇa pejoratively associates with the priest: [...] “he had written down the [work known as ] the ‘Doctrine of Mahākāla’ instructed to him by a withered Mahāpāśupata mendicant”; “he was one in whom the disease of talking about [finding] treasure had arisen”; “in him the wind [disease] of alchemy had grown”; “he entertained the deluded desire of becoming the lover of a Yakṣa maiden (yakṣa-kanyakā)”.

context information

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 Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: OSU Press: Cakrasamvara Samadhi

Kanyakā (कन्यका) refers to a “(beautiful pleasurable) virgin”, according to the Vāruṇī Pūjā [i.e., Varuni Worship] 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, “Oṃ in the mandala a passion called vajra, a milky ocean of the fluid Kha, By the idea of churning in ambrosia, in the beautiful ocean of sucking milk, In that arises the goddess of liquor, a beautiful pleasurable virgin (kanyakā-kāmarūpiṇī), The same color as the rising sun, equally splendid as red lacquer”.

context information

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

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

kanyakā (कन्यका).—f S A girl, a lass, a maiden.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

kanyakā (कन्यका).—f A girl. kanyā f The small. zodiacal sign Virgo.

context information

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 dictionary

Kanyakā (कन्यका).—

1) A girl; संबद्धवैखानसकन्यकानि (saṃbaddhavaikhānasakanyakāni) R.14.28;11.53.

2) An unmarried girl, virgin, maiden; गृहे गृहे पुरुषाः कुलकन्यकाः समुद्वहन्ति (gṛhe gṛhe puruṣāḥ kulakanyakāḥ samudvahanti) Mālatīmādhava (Bombay) 7; Y.1.15.

3) A technical name for a girl ten years old; (aṣṭavarṣā bhavedgaurī navavarṣā ca rohiṇī | daśame kanyakā proktā ata ūrdhvaṃ rajasvalā Śabdak.)

4) (In Rhet.) One of the several kinds of heroines; an unmarried girl serving as a chief character in a poetical composition; see under अन्यस्त्री (anyastrī).

5) The sign Virgo.

6) Name of Durgā; Bhāgavata 1.2.12.

--- OR ---

Kanyakā (कन्यका).—

1) Young girl.

2) A virgin. According to पराशरसंहिता (parāśarasaṃhitā), a कन्यका (kanyakā) is a ten years old girl दशमे कन्यका प्रोक्ता (daśame kanyakā proktā); कन्यका हि निर्दोषदर्शना भवन्ति (kanyakā hi nirdoṣadarśanā bhavanti) Nāg.1.

[Sanskrit to German]

Kanyaka 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.

Relevant text

Search found 24 books and stories containing Kanyaka, Kanyakā, Kanyākā; (plurals include: Kanyakas, Kanyakās, Kanyākās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Verse 6.8.17 < [Chapter 8 - The Marriages of All the Queens]

Verses 6.16.28-29 < [Chapter 16 - Seeing Śrī Rādhā’s Form]

Verse 1.16.35 < [Chapter 16 - Description of Śrī Rādhikā’s Wedding]

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Story of Kanyakubja

Story of Māsa

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Part 10 - Application of the Junctures (sandhi) in a Vīthī < [Chapter 7 - Vīthī (critical study)]

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Verse 1.9.147 < [Chapter 9 - Nityānanda’s Childhood Pastimes and Travels to Holy Places]

Verse 2.3.108-114 < [Chapter 3 - The Lord Manifests His Varāha Form in the House of Murāri and Meets with Nityānanda]

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