In Hinduism

Ayurveda (science of life)

Source: Wisdom Library: Āyurveda and botany

Karkoṭikā (कर्कोटिका) is another name (synonym) for Kūṣmāṇḍa, which is a Sanskrit name for the plant Benincasa hispida (ash gourd). This synonym was identified by Narahari in his 13th-century Rājanighaṇṭu (verse 7.160), which is an Ayurvedic medicinal thesaurus. Certain plant parts of Kūṣmāṇḍa are eaten as a vegetable (śāka), and it is therefore part of the Śākavarga group of medicinal plants, referring to the “group of vegetables/pot-herbs”.

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.

Biology (plants and animals)

Source: Google Books: CRC World Dictionary (Regional names)

Karkotika in India is the name of a plant defined with Benincasa hispida in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Cucurbita hispida Thunberg (among others).

Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):

· Memoria sopra una pianta cucurbitacea. (1818)
· Indian Journal of Pharmacology (2002)
· Nova Acta Regiae Soc. Sci. Upsal. (1783)
· Flora Japonica (1784)
· Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2005)
· Monographiae Phanerogamarum (1881)

If you are looking for specific details regarding Karkotika, for example health benefits, side effects, diet and recipes, chemical composition, extract dosage, pregnancy safety, have a look at these references.

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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

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Karkoṭikā (कर्कोटिका):—[from karkoṭaka > karkoṭa] f. Momordica Mixta, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

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.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Full-text: Karkotaka, Suphala, Kushmanda.

Relevant text

No search results for Karkotika, Karkoṭikā; (plurals include: Karkotikas, Karkoṭikās) in any book or story.