Komala, Komalā: 29 definitions
Introduction:
Komala means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi, Hindi. 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 Komal.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English TranslationKomala (कोमल) refers to “slender (body)”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.22 (“Description of Pārvatī’s penance”).—Accordingly, as Menā said to Pārvatī: “[...] Dear child, slender [i.e., komala] is your body and hard is the penance. Hence you shall perform penance here. You shall not go out. For a woman to go to a penance-grove for the realisation of her desire is what we have never heard of before. Hence, dear daughter, do not go out for penance”.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexKomalā (कोमला).—(Kosalā?)—Nine kings of the name Megha ruled here. Then came Naiṣadhas.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 74. 188; Vāyu-purāṇa 99. 375. 76.

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.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Google Books: ManthanabhairavatantramKomala (कोमल) refers to a “mild” form of the Goddess, according to the Śrīmatottara-tantra, an expansion of the Kubjikāmatatantra: the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—When the Great Goddess had given to the God of gods the Command, she who is the mother was recollected in this way (by the god) within the Wheel in order to come from the Wheel of the Skyfaring Goddesses (khecarīcakra) and the Island of the Moon. Then the goddess, setting out on the path with the aforementioned body, (assumed) a mild (komala) form and, having become propitious towards Śambhu, her mind was pierced with the flood of the nectar of the Command.

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.
Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
Source: Pure Bhakti: Brhad BhagavatamrtamKomala (कोमल) refers to “tender” (i.e., one having a tender heart), according to the Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 1.4 (“Bhakta: The Devotee”).—Accordingly, as Śrī Hanumān said to Nārada: “[...] Even so, I simply feel more attracted to the Supreme Lord in His eternal identity as Śrī Raghunātha, the son of Daśaratha and joy of Mother Kauśalyā. His heart always tender (komala) with natural, unaffected compassion, He is spontaneously attracted to loving exchanges with His devotees, exchanges free from any tinge of duplicity. He demonstrates how to follow properly the religious duties of a civilized people, and He upholds the strict vow of having only one wife. [..]”.

Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).
Ayurveda (science of life)
Agriculture (Krishi) and Vrikshayurveda (study of Plant life)
Source: Shodhganga: Drumavichitrikarnam—Plant mutagenesis in ancient IndiaKomala (कोमल) refers to a “tender fruit”, according to the Viśvavallabha-Vṛkṣāyurveda by Cakrapāṇi-Miśra (1580 CE): an encyclopedic work dealing with the principles of ancient Indian agriculture and horticulture.—Accordingly, “The seed of Solanum melongena should be placed in the cavity of a tender (komala) Benincasa hispida fruit attached to the creeper after wetting in honey and clarified butter and drying in the sun. The cavity should be closed with cow-dung and the seed should be allowed to ripen. The seed should be sown after ripening. This results in fruits as big as Benincasa hispida in season”.
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Source: archive.org: The Elephant Lore of the HindusKomala (कोमल) refers to the “handsome form” (of the penis of an elephant), 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”]: “6. With very glossy, shining eyes, and reddish trunk ends, with rod-like penis handsome (komala-kośadaṇḍa) with the beauty of mango shoots, radiant as red lotuses, with voice like the koil’s; such elephants, assuredly, are auspicious for kings”.

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.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: academia.edu: The Structure and Meanings of the Heruka MaṇḍalaKomalā (कोमला) is the name of a Ḍākinī who, together with the Vīra (hero) named Komala forms one of the 36 pairs situated in the Vāyucakra, according to the 10th century Ḍākārṇava chapter 15. Accordingly, the vāyucakra refers to one of the three divisions of the dharma-puṭa (‘dharma layer’), situated in the Herukamaṇḍala. The 36 pairs of Ḍākinīs [viz., Komalā] and Vīras are dark blue in color; they each have one face and four arms; they hold a skull bowl, a skull staff, a small drum, and a knife.

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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: archive.org: Een Kritische Studie Van Svayambhūdeva’s PaümacariuKomala (कोमल) participated in the war between Rāma and Rāvaṇa, on the side of the latter, as mentioned in Svayambhūdeva’s Paumacariu (Padmacarita, Paumacariya or Rāmāyaṇapurāṇa) chapter 57ff. Svayambhū or Svayambhūdeva (8th or 9th century) was a Jain householder who probably lived in Karnataka. His work recounts the popular Rāma story as known from the older work Rāmāyaṇa (written by Vālmīki). Various chapters [mentioning Komala] are dedicated to the humongous battle whose armies (known as akṣauhiṇīs) consisted of millions of soldiers, horses and elephants, etc.
Source: Encyclopedia of Jainism: Tattvartha Sutra 8: Bondage of karmasKomala (कोमल, “dry”) refers to one of the eight types of Sparśa (touch), representing one of the various kinds of Nāma, or “physique-making (karmas)”, which represents one of the eight types of Prakṛti-bandha (species bondage): one of the four kinds of bondage (bandha) according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra chapter 8. The karmas rise of which gives the touch attribute to the body are called touch (sparśa) body-making karma (e.g., komala).
Source: The University of Sydney: A study of the Twelve ReflectionsKomala (कोमल) refers to “softly (addressing)”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “If it is exceedingly desired to avoid descending into hell or solely to obtain the great power of the lord of the 30 gods, if the ultimate aim of a man is desirable, then, [com.—O! (bho), [gentle] men (lokāḥ), in softly addressing (komala-āmantraṇa) as] pray, what else is to be spoken of? You must perform the doctrine. [Thus ends the reflection on] the doctrine”.

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.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionarykomala : (adj.) soft; producing affection.
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English DictionaryKomala, see kamala; Mhbv 29. (Page 229)
[Pali to Burmese]
Source: Sutta: Tipiṭaka Pāḷi-Myanmar Dictionary (တိပိဋက-ပါဠိမြန်မာ အဘိဓာန်)komala—
(Burmese text): သိမ်မွေ့-နူးညံ့-မကြမ်းတမ်း-သော။
(Auto-Translation): Gentle, soft, and not rough.

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
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarykōmala (कोमल).—a (S) pop. kōmaḷa a Soft, fine, tender, delicate. 2 fig. Mild, moderate, gentle, not fierce or vehement. 3 Soft, sweet, bland, pleasant--a word, name, sound. Ex. rāmanāma || japē kō0 ॥. cittācā kōmala Of soft and tender heart. cittācī kōmalatā Softness or tenderness of heart.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishkōmala (कोमल) [-ḷa, -ळ].—a Soft; fig. mild; sweet.
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 dictionaryKomala (कोमल).—a. [ku-kalac muṭ ca ni° guṇaḥ; cf Uṇādi-sūtra 1.16]
1) Tender, soft, delicate (fig. also); बन्धुरकोमलाङ्गुलिम् (bandhurakomalāṅgulim) (karam) Ś.6.13.; कोमलविटपानुकारिणौ बाहू (komalaviṭapānukāriṇau bāhū) 1.21; संपत्सु महतां चित्तं भवत्युत्पलकोमलम् (saṃpatsu mahatāṃ cittaṃ bhavatyutpalakomalam) Bhartṛhari 2.66.
2) (a) Soft, low; कोमलं गीतम् (komalaṃ gītam). (b) Agreeable, pleasing, sweet; रे रे कोकिल कोमलैः कलरवैः किं त्वं वृथा जल्पसि (re re kokila komalaiḥ kalaravaiḥ kiṃ tvaṃ vṛthā jalpasi) Bhartṛhari 3.1.
3) Handsome, beautiful.
-lam 1 Water.
2) Clay, earth.
3) Silk.
4) Nutmeg.
-lā A kind of date; मुकुष्टाः कोमलास्तत्र वारणीयाः प्रयत्नतः (mukuṣṭāḥ komalāstatra vāraṇīyāḥ prayatnataḥ) Śālihotra of Bhoja 268.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryKomala (कोमल).—mfn.
(-laḥ-lā-laṃ) 1. Soft, bland. 2. Soft, low, sweet. 3. Beautiful, pleasing, agreeable. f.
(-lā) A plant: see kṣīrikā. n.
(-laṃ) Water. E. kuṭ to be curved, kala Unadi affix; and muṭ inserted, formative irregular; or kam to desire, kalac affix, and u inserted with conversion.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryKomala (कोमल).—[ko-mala] (cf. kodrava, kumāra, and vb. mlai), adj., f. lā, oft, bland, [Bhartṛhari, (ed. Bohlen.)] 2, 56; 1, 97.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryKomala (कोमल).—[adjective] tender, soft.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Komala (कोमल):—mf(ā)n. ([from] ko = ku, mala [from] √mlai, ‘easily fading away’ ?), tender, soft (opposed to karkaśa), bland, sweet, pleasing, charming, agreeable, [Rāmāyaṇa; Mṛcchakaṭikā; Suśruta; Śakuntalā] etc. (said of the style, rīti, [Kāvyaprakāśa])
2) of like colour, [Kirātārjunīya]
3) Komalā (कोमला):—[from komala] f. a kind of date, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
4) Komala (कोमल):—n. water, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
5) silk, [Demetrius Galanos’s Lexiko: sanskritikes, anglikes, hellenikes]
6) nutmeg, [ib.]
7) (for kosala, [Harivaṃśa 12832; Vāyu-purāṇa])
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryKomala (कोमल):—[(la—lā-laṃ) a.] Soft, pleasing. f. A plant. n. Water.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Komala (कोमल) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Komala.
[Sanskrit to German]
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
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionaryKomala (कोमल) [Also spelled komal]:—(a) soft; tender; delicate; slender; a flat note in music; ~[tā] softness; tenderness, delicacy.
...
Prakrit-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionaryKomala (कोमल) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Komala.
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
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusKōmala (ಕೋಮಲ):—
1) [adjective] smooth or fine to touch; not rough, harsh or coarse.
2) [adjective] not able to endure hardship, as because of easy living.
3) [adjective] that requires careful handling; delicate.
4) [adjective] kind, mild, gentle or temperate.
5) [adjective] of soft quality or delicate tone; not loud or harsh (said of sound).
6) [adjective] beautiful; comely; pleasing; handsome.
--- OR ---
Kōmala (ಕೋಮಲ):—
1) [noun] water.
2) [noun] the quality of being soft, tender; softness; tenderness.
3) [noun] a very young fruit.
4) [noun] one of the twenty two finer notes in an octave.
5) [noun] the surface layer of earth, supporting plant life; soil.
6) [noun] a firm, fine-grained earth, plastic when wet, composed chiefly of hydrous aluminium silicate minerals, produced by the chemical decomposition of rocks or the deposit of fine rock particles in water, used in the manufacture of bricks, pottery, and other ceramics; clay.
--- OR ---
Kōmaḷa (ಕೋಮಳ):—[adjective] = ಕೋಮಲ [komala]1.
--- OR ---
Kōmaḷa (ಕೋಮಳ):—[noun] = ಕೋಮಲ [komala]2.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Source: unoes: Nepali-English DictionaryKomala (कोमल):—adj. 1. soft; tender; delicate; 2. young; pliant; 3. handsome; beautiful;
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 (+5): Komala tika, Komalacchada, Komaladala, Komaladeha, Komalagita, Komalagitaka, Komalaka, Komalakaya, Komalakaye, Komalakoshasamgraha, Komalalapa, Komalamgi, Komalamulakam, Komalanga, Komalapasina, Komalasharira, Komalasvabhava, Komalatala, Komalatandula, Komalate.
Full-text (+48): Kabala, Komalata, Komalaka, Dalakomala, Kharakomala, Sukomala, Komalagita, Komalavalkala, Rasakomala, Komalatandula, Komalamulakam, Manjiradhvanikomala, Komalatva, Komalacchada, Kusumakomala, Komala tika, Komaladeha, Komalatala, Komalavritti, Komalakaye.
Relevant text
Search found 57 books and stories containing Komala, Komalā, Kōmala, Kōmaḷa, Ku-ala; (plurals include: Komalas, Komalās, Kōmalas, Kōmaḷas, alas). 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 2.10.10 < [Chapter 10 - Description of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Herding the Cows]
Verse 2.23.31 < [Chapter 23 - The Killing of Śaṅkhacūḍa During the Rāsa-dance Pastime]
Verse 2.17.21 < [Chapter 17 - The Meeting of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa]
Tirumantiram by Tirumular (English translation)
Verse 1721: Lingas for the Four Varnas < [Tantra Seven (elam tantiram) (verses 1704-2121)]
Verse 816: With Sakti Stood Siva < [Tantra Three (munran tantiram) (verses 549-883)]
Verse 483: How a Handsome Baby is Born < [Tantra Two (irantam tantiram) (verses 337-548)]
Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana (by Gaurapada Dāsa)
Text 9.11 < [Chapter 9 - Ornaments of Sound]
Text 10.130 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Text 9.12 < [Chapter 9 - Ornaments of Sound]
Sanskrit Words In Southeast Asian Languages (by Satya Vrat Shastri)
Page 549 < [Sanskrit words in the Southeast Asian Languages]
Page 117 < [Sanskrit words in the Southeast Asian Languages]
Page 299 < [Sanskrit words in the Southeast Asian Languages]
Shat-cakra-nirupana (the six bodily centres) (by Arthur Avalon)
Tiruvaymoli (Thiruvaimozhi): English translation (by S. Satyamurthi Ayyangar)
Pasuram 4.4.5 < [Section 4 - Fourth Tiruvaymoli (Mannai iruntu tulavi)]
Pasuram 5.6.8 < [Section 6 - Sixth Tiruvaymoli (Katal-nalam ceytenum)]