Kokila, Kokilā: 37 definitions
Introduction:
Kokila means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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.
Alternative spellings of this word include Kokil.
Images (photo gallery)
In Hinduism
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
Kokila (कोकिल) is the name of a cloud whose sound corresponds to the Vāma or Vāmaka note made by drums (puṣkara) according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 33. Accordingly, “after seeing that the Mṛdaṅgas, Paṇavas and Dardaras have been made, the great sage Svāti brought about a similarity of their notes with those of clouds... The cloud named Puṣkara gave note to Vāma (Vāmaka)... Those who want Success of performances should make to these clouds, offerings which are dear to spirits (bhūta)”.
One of the Hands that indicate Flying Creatures.—Kokila, the Arāla hand fluttered.
Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (shastra) of performing arts, (natya—theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing Dramatic plays (nataka), construction and performance of Theater, and Poetic works (kavya).
Ayurveda (science of life)
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Kokila (कोकिल) refers to a “koil” (resembling one of the sounds made by certain auspicious elephants), according to the 15th century Mātaṅgalīlā composed by Nīlakaṇṭha in 263 Sanskrit verses, dealing with elephantology in ancient India, focusing on the science of management and treatment of elephants.—[Cf. chapter 2, “on favorable marks”]: “16. The sounds like those of a haṃsa, crane, peacock, koil (kokila), tiger, lion, and bull are rated high; inauspicious are those like a camel, crow, jackal, boar, and ape”.
1) Kokila (कोकिल) (lit. “one who attracts mind by its, koka or calls”) refers to the [Female] Cuckoo, 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.
2) Kokila (कोकिल) also refers to the Koel (Eudynamys Scolopaceus).
Unclassified Ayurveda definitions
Kokila (कोकिल) is a Sanskrit word referring to a kind of bird. The meat of this animal is part of the māṃsavarga (‘group of flesh’), which is used throughout Ayurvedic literature. The animal Kokila is part of the sub-group named Pratuda, refering to animals “who eat while striking”. 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.
Kokila (कोकिल):—Wood charcoal
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.
Dharmashastra (religious law)
Kokila (कोकिल) refers to “coal”. The word is used throughout Dharmaśāstra literature such as the Manusmṛti. (See the Manubhāṣya, verse 8.250)
Kokila (कोकिल) refers to the bird “Cuckoo” (Eudynamys scolopacea).—Birds have been described in several ancient Sanskrit texts that they have been treated elaborately by eminent scholars. These birds [viz., Kokila] are enumerated in almost several Smṛtis in context of specifying the expiations for killing them and their flesh being used as a dietary article to give satisfaction to the manes (Pitṛs) in Śrāddha rites. These are elaborated especially in the Manusmṛti, Parāśarasmṛti [chapter VI], Gautamasmṛti [chapter 23], Śātātapasmṛti [II.54-56], Uśānasmṛti [IX.10-IX.12], Yājñavalkyasmṛti [I.172-I.175], Viṣṇusmṛti [51.28-51.29], Uttarāṅgirasasmṛti [X.16].
Dharmashastra (धर्मशास्त्र, dharmaśāstra) contains the instructions (shastra) regarding religious conduct of livelihood (dharma), ceremonies, jurisprudence (study of law) and more. It is categorized as smriti, an important and authoritative selection of books dealing with the Hindu lifestyle.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Kokila (कोकिल).—See under Ḍiṇḍika.
1) Kokila (कोकिल) is the name of a leader of Gaṇas (Gaṇapa or Gaṇeśvara or Gaṇādhipa) who came to Kailāsa, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.1.20. Accordingly, after Śiva decided to become the friend of Kubera:—“[...] The leaders of Gaṇas revered by the whole world and of high fortune arrived there. [...] Sannāha and Kumuda with a hundred crores, Amogha, Kokila and Sumantraka each with a crore. [...]”.
These [viz., Kokila] and other leaders of Gaṇas [viz., Gaṇapas] were all powerful (mahābala) and innumerable (asaṃkhyāta). [...] The Gaṇa chiefs and other noble souls of spotless splendour eagerly reached there desirous of seeing Śiva. Reaching the spot they saw Śiva, bowed to and eulogised him.
Kokila participated in Vīrabhadra’s campaign against Dakṣa, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.2.33. Accordingly, as Brahmā narrated to Nārada:—“O Nārada, listen to the numerical strength of the most important and courageous of those groups. [...] Sannāha with hundred crores; Kumuda with a crore; Amogha and Kokila the chief of Gaṇas each with a crore of crores. [...] Thus at the bidding of Śiva, the heroic Vīrabhadra went ahead followed by crores and crores, thousands and thousands, hundreds and hundreds of Gaṇas [viz., Kokila]”.
2) Kokila (कोकिल) refers to “cuckoos”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.2.22. Accordingly as Śiva said to Sitā:—“[...] O my beloved, beautiful woman, clouds will not reach the place where I have to make an abode for you. [...] O beloved, do you wish to go to the Himālayas, the king of mountains wherein there is spring for ever, which abounds in hedges and groves where the cuckoos (kokila) coo in diverse pleasing ways and which contains many lakes filled with cool water and hundreds of lotuses”.
Kokila (कोकिल).—Said ‘kuha’, and the time came to be known kuhū.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 25. 29; 28. 58.
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.
Chandas (prosody, study of Sanskrit metres)
Kokila (कोकिल) is the name of a catuṣpadi metre (as popularly employed by the Apabhraṃśa bards), as discussed in books such as the Chandonuśāsana, Kavidarpaṇa, Vṛttajātisamuccaya and Svayambhūchandas.—Kokila has 25 mātrās in each of their four lines, divided into groups of 4, 5, 5, 4, 3 (IS) mātrās.
Chandas (छन्दस्) refers to Sanskrit prosody and represents one of the six Vedangas (auxiliary disciplines belonging to the study of the Vedas). The science of prosody (chandas-shastra) focusses on the study of the poetic meters such as the commonly known twenty-six metres mentioned by Pingalas.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Kokila (कोकिल) refers to the “maynard birds” (dwelling in the forest), according to the Yogakhaṇḍa of the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—Accordingly, [while discussing the Hagiography of Siddha Bauddhadeva]: “[...] When the Siddha heard the girl’s words, he said: ‘O girl, you who possess Kulakaula, generate the forest!’ Having received the teacher’s permission, she looked at the forest and by a mere blink of the eyes, the forest was restored. It was full of fruits and flowers and the sound of maynard birds (kokila) and peacocks. It was strewn with heaps of flowers and had many kinds of trees and creepers. The divine forest was green (and beautiful) like a blue Aśoka. [...]”.
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.
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
Daughter of Ekaraja and sister of Candakumara. J.vi.134.
Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Kokila (कोकिल) refers to a type of bird, according to the Bhūśalyasūtrapātananimittavidhi section of Jagaddarpaṇa’s Ācāryakriyāsamuccaya, a text within Tantric Buddhism dealing with construction manual for monasteries etc.—Accordingly, “[...] Songs of a jīvaṃjīvaka bird, peacock, kokila bird, parrot, cakrāṅka, haṃsa, and a bull bring auspiciousness. If [these creatures] are seen, it brings prosperity. [...]”.
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.
India history and geography
Kokila (कोकिल) or Kokilapa is another name for Kokālipā: refers to one of the eighty-four Siddhas (Siddhācāryas) of the Sahajayāna school, according to sources such as the Varṇaratnākara of Jyotirīśvara (i.e., the Varna-Ratnakara by Jyotirishwar Thakur).—The Sahaja-Yana is a philosophical and esoteric movement of Tantric Buddhism which had enormous influence in the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayas.—Many of these Mahāsiddhas [e.g., Kokila-pā] were historical figures whose lives and mystical powers were the subject of legends. They are often associated with teachings belonging to Hinduism, Buddhism, Ajivikism and Jainism such as the Nath Tradition.
Kokila is a Deori term referring to “bamboo bracing”.—It appears in the study dealing with the vernacular architecture (local building construction) of Assam whose rich tradition is backed by the numerous communities and traditional cultures.
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)
1) Kokila in India is the name of a plant defined with Lepidium sativum in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Crucifera nasturtium E.H.L. Krause (among others).
2) Kokila is also identified with Stereospermum suaveolens It has the synonym Stereospermum suaveolens (Roxb.) DC..
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Acta Facultatis Rerum Naturalium Universitatis Comenianae, Botanica (1986)
· Acta Biologica Cracoviensia, Series Botanica (1980)
· Deutschlands Flora, Abtheilung II, Cryptogamie (1902)
· Species Plantarum (1753)
· Taxon (1982)
· Chromosoma (1977)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Kokila, for example health benefits, pregnancy safety, diet and recipes, side effects, chemical composition, 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
kokila : (m.) a cuckoo.
Kokila, (cp. Sk. koka a kind of goose, also cuckoo, with derivation kokila cuckoo; cp. Gr. kόkkuc, Lat. cuculus, E. cuckoo) the Indian cuckoo. Two kinds mentioned at VvA. 57: kāḷa° and phussa° black and speckled k. ‹-› As citra° at J. V, 416.—Vv 111, 588; VvA. 132, 163. (Page 227)
kokila (ကောကိလ) [(thī,pu) (ထီ၊ပု)]—
[kuka+ila．kukaç vakaādāne,ilo,kokilo．,ṭī．633．kukati attano nādena sattānaṃ manaṃ gaṇhātīti kokilo= parapuṭṭho．,7．189．kuka+ira．rū．671．]
[ကုက+ဣလ။ ကုက,ဝကအာဒါနေ၊ ဣလော၊ ကောကိလော။ ဓာန်၊ဋီ။၆၃၃။ ကုကတိ အတ္တနော နာဒေန သတ္တာနံ မနံ ဂဏှာတီတိ ကောကိလော= ပရပုဋ္ဌော။ မောဂ်၊၇။၁၈၉။ ကုက+ဣရ။ရူ။၆၇၁။]
[Pali to Burmese]
kokila—
(Burmese text): (၁) ဥဩငှက်။ (ထီ) (၂) ကောကိလာမင်းသမီး။
(Auto-Translation): (1) Bird. (2) Princess Kaukilala.
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
kōkila (कोकिल).—m (S) pop. kōkilā or ḷā & kōkīḷa m Black or Indian cuckoo, Endynamis orientalis.
kōkila (कोकिल) [-lā-ḷā, -ला-ळा].—m Black or Indian cuckoo.
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kōkīḷa (कोकीळ).—m Black or Indian cuckoo.
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
Kokila (कोकिल) or Kokilā (कोकिला).—[kula-ilac Uṇādi-sūtra 1.54.]
1) The (Indian or black) cuckoo; पुंस्कोकिलो यन्मधुरं चुकूज (puṃskokilo yanmadhuraṃ cukūja) Kumārasambhava 3.32;4.16; R.12.39.
2) A fire-brand.
Derivable forms: kokilaḥ (कोकिलः).
Kokila (कोकिल).—m.
(-laḥ) 1. The Kokila or Koil, the black or Indian cuckoo, (Cuculus Indicus.) 2. A firebrand, a lighted coal. E. kuk to seize, (the heart,) and ilac affix: the Kokila makes a prominent figure in Hindu poetry, and is supposed, by his musical cry, to inspire pleasing and tender emotions.
Kokila (कोकिल).—i. e. koka + ila, m. 1. The Indian cuckoo, [Rāmāyaṇa] 2, 52, 2. f. lā, The female cuckoo, [Bhartṛhari, (ed. Bohlen.)] 1, 34. 2. A kind of mouse, [Suśruta] 2, 274, 4. 3. A poisonous insect. [Suśruta] 2, 288, 7.
Kokila (कोकिल).—[masculine] ā [feminine] the Indian cuckoo.
1) Kokila (कोकिल) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—See Mṛtyuṃjaya Kokila.
2) Kokila (कोकिल):—poet. Mentioned in Bhojaprabandha Oxf. 150^b.
3) Kokila (कोकिल):—Mātrādiśrāddhanirṇaya. Bhk. 24.
1) Kokila (कोकिल):—m. (onomatopoetic; √kuk, [Uṇādi-sūtra]) the Kokila or Koïl (black or Indian cuckoo ; frequently alluded to in Hindū poetry, its musical cry being supposed to inspire tender emotions), [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.
2) a kind of mouse, [Suśruta; Aṣṭāṅga-hṛdaya]
3) a kind of snake, [Demetrius Galanos’s Lexiko: sanskritikes, anglikes, hellenikes]
4) a kind of venomous insect, [Suśruta]
5) a kind of sugar-cane (cf. lekṣu), [Demetrius Galanos’s Lexiko: sanskritikes, anglikes, hellenikes]
6) a lighted coal, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
7) Name of an author, [Bhojaprabandha; Śūdra-dharma-tattva]
8) of a Rāja-putra (considered as a Ṛṣi), [Kāṭhaka; Anukramaṇikā]
9) of a mouse, [Mahābhārata v, 5444]
10) Kokilā (कोकिला):—[from kokila] a f. ([gana] ajādi) the female of a Kokila, [Kumāra-sambhava; Raghuvaṃśa; Bhartṛhari]
11) [from kokila] b (f. of kokila q.v.)
Kokila (कोकिल):—(laḥ) 1. m. The cuckoo; a fire brand, a lighted coal.
Kokila (कोकिल):—(onomat.) [Die Uṇādi-Affixe 1, 54.] m.
1) der indische Kuckuck (vgl. koka), dessen liebliche Töne von den Dichtern häufig hervorgehoben werden, [Amarakoṣa 2, 5, 19.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1321.] bhāskarodayakālo yaṃ gatā bhagavatī niśā . asau sukṛṣṇo vihagaḥ kokilastāta kūjati .. [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 52, 2. 3, 79, 10.] kokilo hṛdayagrāhī [Viśvāmitra’s Kampf 14, 6.] [Suśruta 2, 246, 4.] [Śākuntala 52, 11.] puṃskokilaninādaiḥ [Mahābhārata 1, 2849.] [Śākuntala 131.] kokilā das Weibchen gaṇa ajādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 4, 1, 4.] [Suśruta 1, 22, 10.] madhurairapi kokilākalakalaiḥ [Bhartṛhari 1, 34.] kokilāmañjubhāṣiṇī [Raghuvaṃśa 12, 39.] ādiśa ratidūtipadeṣu kokilāṃ madhurālāpanisargapaṇḍitām [Kumārasaṃbhava 4, 16.] kokilāvrata [Weber’s Verzeichniss No. 468 (9). 1205.] —
2) eine Art Maus (mūṣika) [Suśruta 2, 274, 4.] —
3) ein best. giftiges Insect (vgl. koka) [Suśruta 2, 288, 7.] —
4) Kohle (nach ihrer Schwärze) [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 1, 1, 70.] —
5) Nomen proprium eines Rājaputra [Kāṭhaka-Recension] [Anukramaṇikā] in [Weber’s Indische Studien 3, 460.]
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Kokila (कोकिल):—
2) [Oxforder Handschriften 309,a,19.] Nomen proprium einer Maus [Mahābhārata 5, 5444.] —
5) ein Autor [Oxforder Handschriften 150,b,26. 278,a,10.] — Vgl. puṃskokila .
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Kokila (कोकिल):—
1) weiss als Wundererscheinung [Harivaṃśa 7673. 8369.]
Kokila (कोकिल):——
1) m. — a) der indische Kuckuck. — b) ein Mausart. — c) *eine Schlangenart. [Galano's Wörterbuch] — d) ein best. giftiges Insect. — e) *eine Art Zuckerrohr [Galano's Wörterbuch] Vgl. kokilekṣu — f) *Kohle. — g) Nomen proprium — α) eines Rājaputra. — β) eines Autors. — γ) einer Maus. —
2) f. ā Kuckucksweibchen.
Kokila (कोकिल) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Koila, Koilā.
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
Kokila (कोकिल) [Also spelled kokil]:—[[~lā]] (nm), kokila: (nf) see [koyala; ~kaṃṭha/~kaṃṭhī] sweet-spoken as a cuckoo; ~[bainī] same is ~[kaṃṭhī].
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Kōkila (ಕೋಕಿಲ):—
1) [noun] any of various large cuckoos (mainly either Cuculus tenuirostris or C. lathami) (genus Eudynamys) of India, that lay eggs in the nests of other birds and is noted for its characteristic soft cry; Indian cuckoo; a koel.
2) [noun] a burning piece of wood; a fire-brand.
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Kōkiḷa (ಕೋಕಿಳ):—[noun] = ಕೋಕಿಲ - [kokila -] 1.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Kokilā (कोकिला):—n. fem. cuckoo;
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)
Starts with (+17): Kokila Vagga, Kokilaaksha, Kokilaandaka, Kokilabhinikujita, Kokilabhiruda, Kokilabhivyaharin, Kokiladevi, Kokiladevimahatmyasamgraha, Kokiladhvani, Kokilagita, Kokilahotra, Kokilaksha, Kokilalapa, Kokilamahatmya, Kokilamaitravaruna, Kokilanada, Kokilanayana, Kokilaninada, Kokilapa, Kokilapotaka.
Full-text (+220): Kokilavasa, Kokilekshu, Kokilotsava, Kokilapriya, Kokilaksha, Kokilavrata, Pumskokila, Kokilamahatmya, Gandhakokila, Kokilarahasya, Kokiladevi, Unnatakokila, Lambikakokila, Kokilanayana, Kokilam, Kaukila, Kokilamaitravaruna, Kokilaandaka, Mattakokila, Grihakokila.
Relevant text
Search found 93 books and stories containing Kokila, Kokilā, Kōkila, Kōkīḷa, Kokīla, Kōkiḷa, Kuka-ila; (plurals include: Kokilas, Kokilās, Kōkilas, Kōkīḷas, Kokīlas, Kōkiḷas, ilas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Amarakoshodghatana of Kshirasvamin (study) (by A. Yamuna Devi)
Flora (5): Trees < [Chapter 5 - Aspects of Nature]
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verses 2.10.14-17 < [Chapter 10 - Description of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Herding the Cows]
Verses 2.17.15-17 < [Chapter 17 - The Meeting of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa]
Verse 2.1.1 < [Chapter 1 - Description of the Entrance in Vṛndāvana]
Animal Kingdom (Tiryak) in Epics (by Saranya P.S)
Chapter 4.28 - The Kokila (Koel) in the Epics
Chapter 4.20 - Animals and birds in the epic Ramayana (Introduction)
Sri Lanka at the Crossroads of History (by Zoltán Biedermann)
Cosmopolitan frames < [Chapter 5 - Sinhala Sandesha poetry in a cosmopolitan context]
Indigenizing Sinhala Sandeshas < [Chapter 5 - Sinhala Sandesha poetry in a cosmopolitan context]
Paying tribute to kings and poets < [Chapter 5 - Sinhala Sandesha poetry in a cosmopolitan context]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Vasudevavijaya of Vasudeva (Study) (by Sajitha. A)
Sandhi (e): Vyañjanasandhi < [Chapter 3 - Vāsudevavijaya—A Grammatical Study]
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