Kumbhika, Kumbha-ika, Kumbhīka, Kumbhikā: 12 definitions
Introduction:
Kumbhika means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Buddhism, Pali, 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.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexKumbhīka (कुम्भीक).—A hell, for those fallen from Karma.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 83. 89.

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.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Source: gurumukhi.ru: Ayurveda glossary of termsKumbhīka (कुम्भीक):—The man who first becomes a passive member of an act of sodomy to gain erection and then commits the act of sex with a woman is called kumbheek.

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 Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: archive.org: TrisastisalakapurusacaritraKumbhika (कुम्भिक) refers to a type of strings of pearls, according to chapter 1.2 [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,
“Pālaka, observing the Lord’s [i.e., Śakra’s] command, made a car that filled the sky with a flood of light from a thousand jeweled pillars; moving from the inference of a wish. [...] In its center shone a diamond-goad, as if in an elephant’s ear, and a kumbhika-string of pearls resembling the pleasure-hammock of Lakṣmī. With adjacent half-kumbhika-strings of pearls, half so wide as it was, that string had the beautiful appearance of the Gaṅgā with other rivers”.
Note: Kumbhika is not quite clear in this connection. It might refer to the origin of pearls from the elephant’s kumbha, or it might refer to the measure kumbha. Hemacandra evidently has the measure in mind, as he uses kumbhameya in 6.590 and ardhakumbhaprama in Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra 2.2.297. Kumbha is a bulk measure, but it apparently does not refer to the size of the pearls, as in 6.590 it says they are the size of a Myrobalan. Perhaps it refers to the quantity used in the necklace.

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.
Biology (plants and animals)
Source: Google Books: CRC World Dictionary (Regional names)1) Kumbhika in India is the name of a plant defined with Careya arborea in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Barringtonia arborea (Roxb.) F. Muell. (among others).
2) Kumbhika is also identified with Pistia stratiotes It has the synonym Limnonesis friedrichsthaliana Klotzsch (etc.).
3) Kumbhika is also identified with Stereospermum suaveolens It has the synonym Stereospermum suaveolens (Roxb.) DC..
4) Kumbhika is also identified with Zingiber zerumbet It has the synonym Amomum spurium (Koen.) Gmel. (etc.).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Flore de Madagascar et des Comores (1975)
· Biodiversidad del estado de Tabasco (2005)
· Guide to the Poisonous and Irritant Plants of Florida. (1978)
· Linnaea (1844)
· Taxon (1983)
· Bangladesh J. Pharmacol. (2008)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Kumbhika, for example side effects, health benefits, diet and recipes, chemical composition, extract dosage, pregnancy safety, 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
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryKumbhikā (कुम्भिका).—
1) A small pot; गृहीत्वा जलकुम्भिकाम् (gṛhītvā jalakumbhikām) Kathāsaritsāgara 6. 41.
2) A harlot.
3) A disease of the eyes.
--- OR ---
Kumbhīka (कुम्भीक).—
1) The Punnāga tree.
2) A catamite.
-kā Swelling of the eye-lids. see कुम्भिका (kumbhikā).
Derivable forms: kumbhīkaḥ (कुम्भीकः).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryKumbhikā (कुम्भिका).—f.
(-kā) 1. An aquatic plant, (Pistia stratiotes.) 2. Trumpet flower. 3. A disease of the eyes, hordeolum or stye. E. kumbhī as above, and kan affix, in the fem. form.
--- OR ---
Kumbhīka (कुम्भीक).—m.
(-kaḥ) 1. A plant. the bark of which furnishes a yellow dye, (Rottleria tinctoria:) see punnāga. 2. An aquatic plant. 3. An affection of the eyes, hordeolum or stye: see kumbhikā.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Kumbhikā (कुम्भिका):—[from kumbhaka > kumbha] f. a small pot or pitcher, [Kathāsaritsāgara vi, 41]
2) [v.s. ...] the plant Myrica sapida, [Bhāvaprakāśa]
3) [v.s. ...] the plant Pistia Stratiotes, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
4) [v.s. ...] Bignonia suaveolens, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
5) [v.s. ...] a small shrub (= droṇapuṣpī), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
6) [v.s. ...] a disease of the eyes (= kumbhīkā)
7) [v.s. ...] Name of one of the mothers in Skanda’s retinue, [Mahābhārata ix, 2633.]
8) Kumbhīka (कुम्भीक):—[from kumbha] m. a pathic, catamite, [Suśruta]
9) [v.s. ...] the plant Rottleria tinctoria or perhaps Pistia Stratiotes (the bark of which furnishes a yellow dye), [Suśruta]
10) Kumbhīkā (कुम्भीका):—[from kumbhīka > kumbha] f. idem, [ib.]
11) [v.s. ...] a swelling of the eyelids (similar to a seed or grain of the Kumbhīka; hordeolum or stye), [Suśruta]
12) [v.s. ...] a kind of demon, [Atharva-veda xvi, 6, 8.]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Kumbhikā (कुम्भिका):—(kā) 1. f. An aquatic plant (Pistia stratiotes); a trumpet flower; a stye in the eye.
2) Kumbhīka (कुम्भीक):—(kaḥ) 1. m. A plant (Rottleria tinctoria); a stye.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Kumbhika (कुम्भिक) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Kuṃbhiya.
[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.
Pali-English dictionary
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English DictionaryKumbhika refers to: [°] one who plays that kind of drum Vin. IV, 285=302;
Note: kumbhika is a Pali compound consisting of the words kumbha and ika.

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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Kumbha, Ika, Nika.
Starts with: Kumbhikapala, Kumbhikapidaka.
Full-text: Jalakumbhika, Kumbhikapidaka, Kumbhikin, Varcahkumbhika, Akashamuli, Kumbhaka, Kumbhiya, Priyangvadi, Khamuli, Kattrina, Shukadosha, Pati, Pracanda, Kumuda.
Relevant text
Search found 21 books and stories containing Kumbhika, Kumbha-ika, Kumbha-nika, Kumbha-ṇika, Kumbhīka, Kumbhikā, Kumbhīkā; (plurals include: Kumbhikas, ikas, nikas, ṇikas, Kumbhīkas, Kumbhikās, Kumbhīkās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Yogashikha Upanishad (critical study) (by Sujatarani Giri)
Part 3.1b - The Nine classifications of Prāṇāyāma < [Chapter 3 - Yogaśikhopaniṣad and its Nature]
Sushruta Samhita, Volume 6: Uttara-tantra (by Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna)
Chapter III - Pathology of the diseases of the eye-lids < [Canto I - Shalakya-tantra (ears, eyes, nose, mouth and throat)]
Chapter XXXII - Treatment of an attack by Putana-graha < [Canto II - Kaumarabhritya-tantra (pediatrics, gynecology and pregnancy)]
Chapter I - Diseases of the eye and its appendages < [Canto I - Shalakya-tantra (ears, eyes, nose, mouth and throat)]
Garuda Purana (by Manmatha Nath Dutt)
Chapter CLXXVII - The Nidanam of Syphilis < [Dhanvantari Samhita]
Chapter CLXXI - The Nidanam of diseases of the eyes < [Dhanvantari Samhita]
On the identity of ‘kumbhika’ of astanga-hrdaya: (uttara 8/6) < [Volume 4 (issue 4), Apr-Jun 1985]
Vegetable Drugs in Basavarajeeyam < [Volume 20 (issue 3), Jan-Mar 2001]
Bhagavati-sutra (Viyaha-pannatti) (by K. C. Lalwani)
Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (by Rajendralala Mitra)
Page 171 < [Volume 9 (1888)]