Kaushambi, Kauśāmbī, Kauśāmbi: 20 definitions
Introduction:
Kaushambi means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India. 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.
The Sanskrit terms Kauśāmbī and Kauśāmbi can be transliterated into English as Kausambi or Kaushambi, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Images (photo gallery)
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी).—Four sons, Kuśāmba, Kuśanābha, Asūrtarajas and Vasu were born to Kuśa, the son of Brahmā, of his wife the princess of Vidarbha. According to the order of their father each prince built a city and began to rule over it. Kauśāmbī is the city built by Kuśāmba.
Kuśanābha built the city of Mahodayapura; Asūrtarajas, the city of Dharmāraṇya and Vasu the city of Girivraja. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Sarga 32). It is mentioned in Kathāsaritsāgara that the city of Kauśāmbī stood in the middle of the kingdom of Vatsa and that Udayana born of the family of the Pāṇḍavas had once ruled this country with Kauśāmbī as his capital.
Kauśāmbi (कौशाम्बि).—The capital of Nemicakra (Nicakru) after Hastinapura was washed by floods; of Vivikṣu.*
- * Bhāgavata-purāṇa IX. 22. 40; Vāyu-purāṇa 99. 271; Viṣṇu-purāṇa IV. 21. 8. Matsya-purāṇa 50. 79.
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.
General definition (in Hinduism)
The capital of the ancient Indian kingdom of Vatsa, located on the Yamunā river near to its confluence with the Ganges. Like many major early Indian cities, it was located at the juncture of important trade routes. The Buddha Śākyamuni made several visits there and several early monastic precincts were established there during his lifetime. (Pāli = Kosambī).
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी), capital of the Vatsas, today Kosam on the Jumna, 50 km. from Allahabad. It had several parks, Kukkuṭa and Ghositārāma, where the Buddha frequently stayed.
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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी) is the principal city in the kingdom of Vatsa. The brick-built fort of king Pradyota still exists. Udayana, son of Śatānīka, versed in the Gandharva lore (science and music) was the king of Vatsa. Here are many Jina images in the temples. Here many forests are watered by the Kālindī (Yamunā). Gandanavālā fasted here for about six months in honour of Mahāvīra. The city of Kauśāmbī is a great place, hallowed by the birth of Jina.
Kauśāmbī was the captial of the Vatsa kingdom. This city was built where existed the hermitage of king Kuśāmba. t was a well-known city in northern India. According to the Buddhist scholiast Buddhaghosa the city came to be called Kosambī or Kauśāmbī because in founding it the Kosamba trees were uprooted here and there.
Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी) is the birth-place of Padmaprabha, the sixth Tīrthaṅkara, according to chapter 1.6 [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: “[...] In Bharata there will be twenty-three other Arhats and eleven other Cakrins. [...] In Kauśāmbī, Padmaprabha, the son of Dhara and Susīmā, red color, living for thirty lacs of pūrvas, two hundred and fifty bows tall, will be in the vow a lac of pūrvas less sixteen pūrvāṅgas, and the interval will be ninety thousand crores of sāgaras”.
Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी) is the name of a village visited by Mahāvīra during his eleventh year of spiritual-exertion.—Moving from Vraja village to Ālambhiyā, Śvetāmbikā, Sāvatthī, Kauśāmbī, Rājagṛha, Vārāṇasī, Mithilā, etc, the Lord arrived at Vaiśālī. Outside the city at the Baladeva temple in the Samara garden, accepting four-months fast, he became meditative and completed the rainy season halt there.
Kauśāmbī was also visited by Mahāvīra during his twelfth year of spiritual-exertion and during several of his years as Kevalī.
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
Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी).—The earliest mention of Kosambī is found in Kauśāmbī Pillar Edict of Aśoka. During the time of Aśoka, Kosambī, Skt. Kauśāmbī, was the headquarters of a province. The place is identical with Kosam, a village twenty-eight miles south-west of Allahabad and about eight miles to the south of Karari, the chief town of Karari paxgana in the Manjhanpur tahsil of the Allahabad district. The spade of archaeologist has uncovered the ruins of the city of Kauśāmbī, which lie at Kosam. above mentioned village. Among other things, eight inscriptions of the Magha dynasty come from the village of Kosam. Five Bandhogarh inscriptionsof the third century A.D. mention a merchant, who belongs to Kosambī. One of the Bharhut inscriptions also refers to the city of Kosamba, i.e., Kauśāmbī. The city of Kauśāmbī was an important shopping place of the persons travelling along the great trade route connecting Sāketa and Sāvatthi in the north with Patiṭhāna or Paithan on the bank of the Godāvarī in the south.
Kausambi was another important Kushan town in Gangetic valley. It is situated nearly 32 miles south-west of Allahabad, on the left bank of river Yamuna. The excavation conducted here brought five habitational periods of which period V belongs to Kushan ( 25-100 A.D). The material relics discovered from Period V of Kausambi is structural complex characterized by brick built houses with roads, drainage and fortification, pottery consisted of surahis, spouted vessel etc, terracotta figurines with Kushan features, large number of crucible, seal and sealings of Kushan period etc.
Kauśāmbi is an archaeologically important site dating to the Ganges civilization (1000 BCE).—Nearly a millennium after the Indus civilization had collapsed, the Ganges civilization arose in the first millennium BCE. Among the first cities were, for example, Kanyakubja in today’s Uttar Pradesh.
Kausāmbī (कौसाम्बी) or Kosambī was the ancient captial of Vatsa or Vaṃsa: one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas of the Majjhimadesa (Middle Country) of ancient India, as recorded in the Pāli Buddhist texts (detailing the geography of ancient India as it was known in to Early Buddhism).—The kingdom of the Vaṃsas or Vatsas is mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya as one of the sixteen great countries of India. The capital of the country was Kausāmbī (Kosambī) identical with modern Kosam near Allahabad.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी).—[kuśāmbena nirvṛttā aṇ] Name of an ancient city on the Ganges in the lower part of the Doab; निष्कान्तः कौशा (niṣkāntaḥ kauśā)या निष्कौशाम्बिः (yā niṣkauśāmbiḥ) Mahābhārata on P.II.2.18.
Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी).—f. (-mbī) The name of an ancient city on the Ganges in the lower part of the Doab, in the vicinity of Kurrah; also vatsapattana. E. kuśāmba a proper name, (the founder,) aṇ and ṅīp affs.
Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी).—[feminine] [Name] of a town.
1) Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी):—[from kauśāmba] f. ([gana] nady-ādi), Name of an ancient city (now represented by the village of Kosam, on the Jumnā, near Allahābād; also called vatsa-pattana), [Rāmāyaṇa i, 34, 6; Divyāvadāna xxxvi f.; Pāṇini 4-2, 68; Kāśikā-vṛtti; Kathāsaritsāgara iv, 18; ix, 5]
2) [v.s. ...] [lxvi, 193; Matsya-purāṇa; Hitopadeśa]
3) Kauśāmbi (कौशाम्बि):—[from kauśāmba] f. = bī, [Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā xvi, 3.]
Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी):—(mbī) 3. f. Name of a city.
Kauśāmbi (कौशाम्बि):—f. = kauśāmbī [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 16, 3.]
Kauśāmbi (कौशाम्बि):—f. = kauśāmba 2).
Kauśāmbī (कौशाम्बी) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Kosaṃbi.
Kauśāmbī (in Sanskrit) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 倶參毘國 [jù cān pí guó]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
2) 倶睒彌 [jù shǎn mí]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
3) 倶睒彌國 [jù shǎn mí guó]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
4) 倶舍彌 [jù shě mí]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
5) 巨賞彌 [jù shǎng mí]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
6) 憍睒彌 [jiāo shǎn mí]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
7) 憍睒彌國 [jiāo shǎn mí guó]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
8) 憍賞彌 [jiāo shǎng mí]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
9) 憍賞彌國 [jiāo shǎng mí guó]: “Kauśāmbī”; “Kosambī” [Sanskrit place name].
10) 憍閃彌 [jiāo shǎn mí]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
11) 憍閃毘國 [jiāo shǎn pí guó]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
12) 憍餉彌國 [jiāo xiǎng mí guó]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
13) 拘剡彌 [jū shàn mí]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
14) 拘深 [jū shēn]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
15) 拘深城 [jū shēn chéng]: “Kauśāmbī”; “Kosambī” [Sanskrit place name].
16) 拘睒彌 [jū shǎn mí]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
17) 拘睒彌國 [jū shǎn mí guó]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
18) 拘睒鞞 [jū shǎn bǐng]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
19) 拘羅瞿 [jū luó qú]: “Kauśāmbī” [Sanskrit place name].
20) 拘舍彌 [jū shě mí]: “Kauśāmbī”; “Kosambī” [Sanskrit place name].
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)
Starts with: Kaushambika, Kaushambipuri, Kaushambiya.
Full-text (+163): Nitkaushambi, Vanakaushambi, Kosambi, Nemicakra, Kaushambiya, Kaushambya, Ju shan mi, Jiao shang mi, Kaushamba, Ju shang mi, Vatsapattana, Kaushambeya, Ju shan mi guo, Udayana, Vanakaushambeya, Kusamba, Candravatarana, Parapushta, Kaushambipuri, Ghoshilarama.
Relevant text
Search found 84 books and stories containing Kaushambi, Kauśāmbī, Kauśāmbi, Kausambi; (plurals include: Kaushambis, Kauśāmbīs, Kauśāmbis, Kausambis). 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 5.24.13 < [Chapter 24 - The Killing of the Kola Demon]
Verse 5.24.42 < [Chapter 24 - The Killing of the Kola Demon]
A Historical Study of Kaushambi (by Nirja Sharma)
Matsya Purana (critical study) (by Kushal Kalita)
Part 2.2b - The Paurava Dynasty < [Chapter 3 - Historical aspects in the Matsyapurāṇa]
Part 2.2 - Dynasties of Post-Mahābhārata war (Introduction) < [Chapter 3 - Historical aspects in the Matsyapurāṇa]
Part 2.1a - The Solar Dynasty < [Chapter 3 - Historical aspects in the Matsyapurāṇa]
Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies
Chapter 24 of the Book of Zambasta < [Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies 5.2 (2022)]
Sites of Caṅkrama (Jingxing 經行) in Faxian’s Record < [Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies 2.1 (2019)]
Against Impermanence: Women, Ritual, and Materiality in Early Medieval China < [Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies 7.2 (2024)]
Vakyapadiya of Bhartrihari (by K. A. Subramania Iyer)
Verse 3.14.410 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (14): Vṛtti-samuddeśa (On Ccomplex Formation)]
Verse 3.14.256 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (14): Vṛtti-samuddeśa (On Ccomplex Formation)]
Verse 3.14.39 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (14): Vṛtti-samuddeśa (On Ccomplex Formation)]
Settlement in Early Historic Ganga Plain (by Chirantani Das)
Part 6 - Demography (middle and lower Ganga plain) < [Conclusion]
Part 2 - Urbanity Theories and the Early Indian Context < [Introduction]
Part 1 - Position of Sārnāth at the physical and cultural periphery of Vārāṇasī < [Chapter VII - Sārnāth: The Satellite Religious Centre]