Keshari, Keśarī, Kesarī, Kesari, Keśāri, Kesha-ari: 32 definitions
Introduction:
Keshari means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, Marathi, Hindi, 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.
The Sanskrit terms Keśarī and Keśāri can be transliterated into English as Kesari or Keshari, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Images (photo gallery)
In Hinduism
Ayurveda (science of life)
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Kesarī (केसरी) is a synonym (another name) for the Lion (Siṃha), according to scientific texts such as the Mṛgapakṣiśāstra (Mriga-pakshi-shastra) or “the ancient Indian science of animals and birds” by Hamsadeva, containing the varieties and descriptions of the animals and birds seen in the Sanskrit Epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Unclassified Ayurveda definitions
Keśarī (केशरी) is a Sanskrit word referring to an animal (“comb dock”). The meat of this animal is part of the māṃsavarga (‘group of flesh’), which is used throughout Ayurvedic literature. The animal Keśarī is part of the sub-group named Ambucārin, refering to animals “which move on waters”. It was classified by Caraka in his Carakasaṃhitā sūtrasthāna (chapter 27), a classical Ayurvedic work. Caraka defined such groups (vargas) based on the dietic properties of the substance.
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.
Vastushastra (architecture)
Kesarī (केसरी) refers to a type of temple (prāsāda) classified under the group named Sāndhāra, according to Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra chapter 56. The Sāndhāra group contains twenty-five out of a sixty-four total prāsādas (temples) classified under four groups in this chapter. The Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra is an 11th-century encyclopedia dealing with various topics from the Vāstuśāstra.
Vastushastra (वास्तुशास्त्र, vāstuśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian science (shastra) of architecture (vastu), dealing with topics such architecture, sculpture, town-building, fort building and various other constructions. Vastu also deals with the philosophy of the architectural relation with the cosmic universe.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Kesarī (केसरी).—One of the seven major mountains in Śākadvīpa, according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 86. Śākadvīpa is one of the seven islands (dvīpa), ruled over by Medhātithi, one of the ten sons of Priyavrata, son of Svāyambhuva Manu, who was created by Brahmā, who was in turn created by Nārāyaṇa, the unknowable all-pervasive primordial being.
The Varāhapurāṇa is categorised as a Mahāpurāṇa, and was originally composed of 24,000 metrical verses, possibly originating from before the 10th century. It is composed of two parts and Sūta is the main narrator.
Kesarī (केसरी).—A forest King who lived in the Mahā Meru. While Kesarī was living in the Mahāmeru, Brahmā cursed a celestial maid named Mānagarvā and changed her into a female monkey. She became the wife of Kesarī, under the name Añjanā. For a long time the couple had no children. Añjaña worshipped Vāyu Bhagavān (Wind-God) for a child.
Once during this period the gods and hermits went to Parama Śiva and requested him to beget a son to help Mahāviṣṇu who was about to incarnate as Śrī Rāma to kill Rāvaṇa. Śiva and Pārvatī instantly took the form of monkeys and entered the forest for play. They having not returned for a long time the gods asked the wind-god to go in search of them. The wind god came in the form of a great storm and shook the whole of the forest. Still they did not come out. Pārvatī who was pregnant was ashamed to come out. With Śiva she got on an Aśoka tree and sat there. Seeing that tree alone standing motionless in the big storm Vāyu god approached the tree and looked up. Śiva and Pārvatī appeared before Vāyu. Pārvatī refused to take the foetus in the form of monkey to Kailāsa. As Śiva had instructed, Pārvatī gave the child in the womb to the wind-god. It was at this time that Añjanā had prayed to Vāyu for a child. Vāyu gave that child to Añjanā, who gave birth to it. That child was Hanūmān. Thus Hanūmān got the names, Añjanāputra (son of Añjanā), Vāyuputra (son of Vāyu), Kesariputra (Son of Kesarī) etc. (Mahābhārata Vana Parva, Chapter 417).
1) Keśarī (केशरी).—(Ramya) (s.v.) a mountain in Śākadvīpam.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 49. 84.
2a) Kesarī (केसरी).—An Asura in a city in in Rasātalam (VI tala or Śūtala, Vāyu-purāṇa).*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 20. 39; Vāyu-purāṇa 50. 38.
2b) Wife Añjana, whom Vāyu loved and gave birth to Hanumān.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 7. 223.
2c) A mountain of Śākadvīpa, having all medicinal herbs.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 19. 90; Viṣṇu-purāṇa II. 4. 62.
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.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
1a) Kesarī (केसरी) (in Chinese: Ki-sa-li) refers to one of the fifty-five kingdoms enumerated in chapter 17 of the Candragarbha: the 55th section of the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra, a large compilation of Sūtras (texts) in Mahāyāna Buddhism partly available in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese.—In the Candragarbhasūtra, the Bhagavat invites all classes of Gods and Deities to protect the Law [dharma?] and the faithful in their respective districts.—In Kesarī, the following deities are appointed (among others): The Devaputra Kālakāya [?]; the Gandharva Hiraṇyavarṇa [?]; the Nāgarāja Baladeva; the Asura Nakhacari; the Kumbhāṇḍa Amaleśvara; the Goddess Sūcī [?].
1b) Kesari (केसरि) [?] (in Chinese: Ki-sa-li) is the name of an ancient kingdom associated with Āśleṣā or Āśleṣānakṣatra, as mentioned in chapter 18
2) Kesari (केशरी) is the name of a Devaputra appointed as one of the Divine protector deities of Varuṇavatī.
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)
Kesarī (केसरी).—Name of a lake situated on top of the Nīla mountain range. There are seven such mountain ranges (or, varṣadharaparvatas) located in Jambūdvīpa according to Jaina cosmology. Kesarī has at its centre a large padmahrada (lotus-island), which is home to the Goddess Kīrti. Jambūdvīpa sits at the centre of madhyaloka (‘middle world’) and is the most important of all continents and it is here where human beings reside.
Kesarī (केसरी) is one of the two wifes of Śāṇḍilya:—A scholar named Śāṇḍilya used to stay in Brāhmaṇanagara in the Magadha region. He had two wives Sthaṇḍilā and Kesarī. One day, in the last part of the night Sthaṇḍilā saw auspicious dreams and a god came into her womb, after completing his time in the fifth heaven. After nine months, Sthaṇḍilā gave birth to a beautiful son who was great and of good deeds. The scholars predicted that this boy will possess knowledge of all the scriptures and his fame will spread across the earth. The parents named him ‘Indrabhūti’. This boy later became Lord Mahāvīra’s first Gaṇadhara and became famous as Gautama.
Kesari (केसरि) is a lake lying on top of mount Nīla, situated in Jambūdvīpa: the first continent of the Madhya-loka (middle-word), according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 3.10. There is a giant lotus (puṣkara) in the centre of the lakes (e.g., Kesari). In these lotuses live the nymphs (e.g., Kīrti, ‘fame’ for the Kesari lake), whose lifetime is one pit-measured period (playa) and who live with Sāmānikas (co-chiefs) and Pāriṣadas (counsellors). A sāmānika is a deity who is equal to Indra in life-span, power and enjoyment but lack grandeur. The pāriṣadas (counsellors) are friendly deities who are members of Indra’s council.
Jambūdvīpa (where lies the Kesari lake) is in the centre of all continents and oceans; all continents and oceans are concentric circles with Jambūdvīpa in the centre. Like the navel is in the centre of the body, Jambūdvīpa is in the centre of all continents and oceans. Sumeru Mount is in the centre of Jambūdvīpa. It is also called Mount Sudarśana.
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
Kesari (केसरि) is the name of a banker (śreṣṭhin) mentioned in the “Ciñcaṇī plate of the reign of Cittarāja”. Accordingly, “Now, while the Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara, the illustrious Cāmuṇḍarāja, who, by his religious merit, has obtained the right to the five mahāśabdas... is governing Saṃyāna, he addresses all persons, whether connected with himself or others (such as Kesari)...”.
This plate (mentioning Kesari) was found together with eight others at Chincaṇī in the Ḍahāṇu tāluka of the Ṭhāṇā District, North Koṅkaṇ, in 1955. The object of the inscription is to record the grant, by Cāmuṇḍarāja, of a ghāṇaka (oil-mill) in favour of the temple Kautuka-maṭhikā of the goddess Bhagavatī at Saṃyāna. The gift was made by pouring out water on the hand of the Svādhyāyika (scholar) Vīhaḍa, on the fifteenth tithi of the dark fortnight (i.e. amāvāsyā) of Bhādrapada in the śaka year 956.
Kesari (“lion”) is one of the gotras (clans) among the Kurnis (a tribe of South India). Kurni is, according to the Census Report 1901, “a corruption of kuri (sheep) and vanni (wool), the caste having been originally weavers of wool”. The gotras (viz., Kesari) are described as being of the Brāhman, Kshatriya, and Vaisya sub-divisions of the caste, and of Shanmukha’s Sudra caste.
Kesari refers to a type of “pulse” forming part of the staple-food of tribes such as the Tharua—an endogamous community inhabiting northern Odisha (mainly in the Balasore district, India) being sub-divided into two subgroups i.e. Tharua Bindhani and Tharua Kumbhar.—[Regarding their food habits]: The dietary habit of the Tharuas is simple. They are non-vegetarians but, do not take beef as they consider it as a ritually unclean food. Rice is their staple food but now-a-days they are also taking chapatti supplemented with pulses like tur, kesari, moong, etc. They usually take two meals a day along with some food as breakfast. Rice, chapatti, dal and vegetable curry constitutes their principal meal. Mustard oil, groundnut oil and rapeseed oil are used by them as cooking medium. Milk and milk products are only served to children. Locally available seasonal fruits are also eaten by them
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)
Kesari [केशरी] in the Marathi language is the name of a plant identified with Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Müll.Arg. from the Euphorbiaceae (Castor) family. For the possible medicinal usage of kesari, you can check this page for potential sources and references, although be aware that any some or none of the side-effects may not be mentioned here, wether they be harmful or beneficial to health.
Kesari [ಕೇಸರಿ] in the Kannada language is the name of a plant identified with Crocus sativus L. from the Iridaceae (Iris) family.
1) Kesari in India is the name of a plant defined with Bixa orellana in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Orellana orellana (L.) Kuntze) (named after the Spanish explorer Don Francisco de Orellana, c. 1511–1550, discoverer of the Amazon River 1541–1542, unfaithful comrade of Gonzalo Pizarro (c. 1502–1548). See Joseph Sabin, A dictionary of books relating to America from its discovery to the present time. The bibliographical society of America. New York 1868–1939, H.C. Heaton (ed.), The Discovery of the Amazon according to the Account of Friar Gaspar de Carvajal and Other Documents. New York 1934, J. Alden and D.Ch. Landis, European Americana: a chronological guide to works printed in Europe relating to Americas. 1473–1776. New York 1980–1988, Beatriz Pastor Bodmer, Armature of Conquest: Spanish Accounts of the Discovery of America, 1492–1589. Stanford 1992, G.W. Cole, ed., A catalogue of books relating to the discovery and early history of North and South America, forming a part of the Library of E.D. Church. [Reprint of 1907 edition.] Mansfield 1994. (among others).
2) Kesari is also identified with Crocus sativus It has the synonym Geanthus autumnalis Raf. (etc.).
3) Kesari is also identified with Lathyrus sativus It has the synonym Lathyrus sativas L. (etc.).
4) Kesari is also identified with Zanthoxylum nitidum It has the synonym Fagara hamiltoniana (Roxb.) Engl. (etc.).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Caryologia (1995)
· Publications of the Field Museum of Natural History, Botanical series (1941)
· Prodromus Stirpium in Horto ad Chapel Allerton vigentium (1796)
· Cytologia (1992)
· Gard. Chron. (1879)
· Species Plantarum (1753)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Kesari, for example side effects, pregnancy safety, chemical composition, diet and recipes, health benefits, extract dosage, 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
kesarī : (m.) a lion.
kesarī (ကေသရီ) [(pu) (ပု)]—
[kesara+ī．kesaro jaṭā,taṃyogā,ī,kesarī．,ṭī．611．]
[ကေသရ+ဤ။ ကေသရော ဇဋာ၊ တံယောဂါ၊ ဤ၊ ကေသရီ။ ဓာန်၊ဋီ။၆၁၁။]
[Pali to Burmese]
kesarī—
(Burmese text): (၁) (က) ခြင်္သေ့။ (ခ) ကေသရာခြင်္သေ့။ (၂) ပဒုမ္မာကြာ။
(Auto-Translation): (1) (a) Elephant. (b) Asian elephant. (2) Hippopotamus.
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
kēśarī (केशरी).—a (kēśara) Relating to saffron; saffroncolored. 2 Clothed with kēśarā q. v.
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kēśarī (केशरी).—f (kēśara) A wash of saffron over the body.
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kēsarī (केसरी).—f A flower-tree and its flower. Called also pāca. 2 m (S) A lion, Ex. kiṃ tṛṇapāśēṃ mahā kē0 || jari guntōni paḍēla ||.
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kēsarī (केसरी) [or ऱ्या, ṛyā].—a Clothed with the garment called kēśarā q. v. (also called kēsarī vastra or -pōṣāka). 2 Stringy or fibrous--a mango.
--- OR ---
kēsarī (केसरी).—f (kēṃsa) A woven circlet of hair (to be tied round the necks of cows, buffaloes &c. as security against an evil eye &c.) 2 A rope of hair.
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kēsārī (केसारी).—f (kēṃsa) A woven circlet of hair (to be tied round the necks of cows, buffaloes &c. as security against an evil eye &c.) 2 A rope of hair.
kēśarī (केशरी).—a Saffron-coloured.
--- OR ---
kēsarī (केसरी).—m A lion. f A flower-tree and its flower.
--- OR ---
kēsarī (केसरी).—f A rope of hair. A circlet of hair (to be tied round the necks of cows etc., as security against an evil eye, &c.).
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kēsārī (केसारी) [-ḷī, -ळी].—f A rope of hair. A circlet of hair (to be tied round the necks of cows etc., as security against an evil eye, &c.).
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
Kesari (केसरि).—Name of the father of Hanūmat; Rām.4.
Derivable forms: kesariḥ (केसरिः).
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Keśāri (केशारि).—m. Name of a plant (Mar. nāgakeśara).
Derivable forms: keśāriḥ (केशारिः).
Keśāri is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms keśa and ari (अरि).
Keśāri (केशारि).—m.
(-riḥ) A tree, (Mesua ferrea.)
Keśari (केशरि).— (i. e. mutilated keśarin, q. cf.), m. A proper name, [Rāmāyaṇa] 4, 33, 14.
1) Keśāri (केशारि):—[from keśa] m. ‘enemy of the hair’, Mesua Ferrea, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
2) Keśari (केशरि):—[from kesara] m. (= rin), Name of the father of Hanumat, [Rāmāyaṇa iv, 33, 14]
3) [v.s. ...] [vi; vii, 40, 7.]
Keśāri (केशारि):—[keśā+ri] (riḥ) 2. m. Mesua ferrea.
Keśāri (केशारि):—(keśa + ari) m. Name einer Pflanze, Mesua ferrea, [Wilson’s Wörterbuch] — Vgl. keśara .
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Kesari (केसरि):—(keśari) m. Nebenform von kesarin, Nomen proprium des Vaters von Hanumant [Rāmāyaṇa 4, 33, 14. 6, 82, 53. 112, 1.]
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Kesari (केसरि):—[Rāmāyaṇa 7, 40, 7.]
Keśāri (केशारि):—m. Mesua ferrea.
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Kesari (केसरि):—m. = kesarin 2)h)α)
Kesarī (केसरी) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Kesarī.
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.
Hindi dictionary
Kesarī (केसरी):—(nm) a lion.
...
Prakrit-English dictionary
1) Kesari (केसरि) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Kesarin.
2) Kesarī (केसरी) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Kesarī.
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
Kēsari (ಕೇಸರಿ):—
1) [noun] that which has mane; a lion, horse, etc.
2) [noun] orange yellow colour.
3) [noun] a red soil region.
4) [noun] the tree Mimusops elengi of Sapotaceae family.
5) [noun] its flower.
6) [noun] the perennial plant Crocus sativus of Iridaceae family with funnel-shaped, purplish flowers having orange stigmas; saffron plant.
7) [noun] the dried, aromatic stigmas of this plant, used in flavouring and colouring foods, and formerly in medicine; saffron.
8) [noun] the tree Mallotus philippensis ( = Rottlera tinctoria) of Euphorbiaceae family.
9) [noun] the semitropical tree Citrus medica of Rutaceae family; citron.
10) [noun] its yellow, thick-skinned fruit resembling a lime or lemon but larger and less acid; citron fruit.
11) [noun] (mus.) a mode, in Karnāṭaka system. derived from the main mode Māraraṃjani.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
1) Keśarī (केशरी):—n. 1. a saffron-mixed sandalwood-paste; 2. a lion; adj. having a mane of pistil;
2) Kesarī (केसरी):—n. 1. a saffron-mixed sandalwood-paste; adj. having a mane of pistil;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches (+0): Kesa, I, Kesara, Ari.
Starts with (+0): Kesarika, Kesarin, Kesarina, Kesarisuta, Keshari-unhali, Kesharibhata, Kesharini, Keshariya.
Full-text (+109): Kesharibhata, Kesaribonda, Suvarnakesari, Kumkumakesari, Kesarisuta, Nrikeshari, Shulakeshari, Kesarin, Kesarimavu, Padmakesari, Nagakesari, Virakecari, Kesaribhatta, Kesaridvisha, Kesaridvishari, Kesarimadhye, Simgakesari, Kesaribele, Raja-kecarivatakam, Kesaripitha.
Relevant text
Search found 121 books and stories containing Keshari, Keśa-ari, Kesa-ari, Kesara-i, Kesara-ī, Keśarī, Kesarī, Kesari, Kēśarī, Kēsarī, Kēsārī, Kesārī, Keśāri, Keśari, Kēsari, Kesha-ari; (plurals include: Kesharis, aris, is, īs, Keśarīs, Kesarīs, Kesaris, Kēśarīs, Kēsarīs, Kēsārīs, Kesārīs, Keśāris, Keśaris, Kēsaris). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Shaivacintamani (analytical study) (by Swati Sucharita Pattanaik)
Part 9 - Lord Śiva in Liṅgarāja Temple < [Chapter 3: Śaiva tradition and Śaivacintāmaṇi]
Part 15 - Benefits of Śiva worship < [Chapter 3: Śaiva tradition and Śaivacintāmaṇi]
Part 3 - Śaiva tradition in Odisha < [Chapter 3: Śaiva tradition and Śaivacintāmaṇi]
Studies in Orissan History, Archaeology and Archives (by Padmasri Paramananda Acharya)
Part 10 - The Kesari dynasty of the Madalapanji < [Section A - Epigraphy]
Part 38 - Cuttack and its Monuments < [Section C - Art and Architecture]
Part 31 - Date of the Lingaraja temple at Bhubaneswar < [Section C - Art and Architecture]
Tattvartha Sutra (with commentary) (by Vijay K. Jain)
Verse 3.14 - The lakes situated on top of the mountain chains < [Chapter 3 - The Lower World and the Middle World]
Verse 3.18 - The dimensions of the other lakes and lotuses < [Chapter 3 - The Lower World and the Middle World]
Verse 3.22 - The direction of the remaining rivers < [Chapter 3 - The Lower World and the Middle World]
Sidelights on History and Culture Of Orissa (by Manmath Nath Das)
Chapter 47.3 - The Somavamsi period (A.D. 931-1110) < [Part 3 - Monuments, Art and Architecture]
Chapter 8 - Ancient and Medieval Empires and Kingdoms < [Part 1 - Land, People and History]
Chapter 51 - Bhanjas of Khijjingakotta and their monuments < [Part 3 - Monuments, Art and Architecture]
Traces of Mysticism in Jainism (Study) (by Sadhvi Madhystha Prabha)
5. Characteristics of Mystical Experience < [Chapter 1 - Introduction to Mysticism]
Matangalila and Hastyayurveda (study) (by Chandrima Das)