Kumbhira, Kumbhīra: 17 definitions
Introduction:
Kumbhira means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi. 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.
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In Hinduism
Ayurveda (science of life)
Source: Wisdom Library: Āyurveda and botanyKumbhīra (कुम्भीर) is a Sanskrit word referring to the animal “crocodile”. The meat of this animal is part of the māṃsavarga (‘group of flesh’), which is used throughout Ayurvedic literature. The animal Kumbhīra is part of the sub-group named Vāriśaya, refering to animals “living in 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.
Source: archive.org: Sushruta samhita, Volume IKumbhīra (कुम्भीर)—Sanskrit word for an animal “alligator”, “crocodile”, “gavial”; “ghaḍiyāla” = hindi: ghaṛyāl. This animal is from the group called Pādin (‘those which have feet’). Pādin itself is a sub-group of the group of animals known as Ānupa (those that frequent marshy places).
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.
Kavya (poetry)
Source: Wisdom Library: KathāsaritsāgaraKumbhīra (कुम्भीर) is the name of an ancient king of Kāñcī, whose daughter, Varuṇasenā, was captivated by love at the sight of Sūryaprabha, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 44.
In chapter 47, Kumbhīra’s strength is considered as equaling a double-power warrior (dviguṇaratha). Accordingly, as the Asura Maya explained the arrangement of warriors in Sunītha’s army: “... [Kumbhīra, and others], these are all warriors of double power”.
The story of Kumbhīra was narrated by the Vidyādhara king Vajraprabha to prince Naravāhanadatta in order to relate how “Sūryaprabha, being a man, obtain of old time the sovereignty over the Vidyādharas”.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Kumbhīra, is a famous Sanskrit epic story revolving around prince Naravāhanadatta and his quest to become the emperor of the vidyādharas (celestial beings). The work is said to have been an adaptation of Guṇāḍhya’s Bṛhatkathā consisting of 100,000 verses, which in turn is part of a larger work containing 700,000 verses.
Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
Source: Shodhganga: Elements of Art and Architecture in the Trtiyakhanda of the Visnudharmottarapurana (natya)Kumbhīra (कुम्भीर) refers to one of the various Sea-animals (makara) associated with Makarahasta: one of the thirteen Saṃyuktahastas or “combined hand gestures” (in Indian Dramas), according to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, an ancient Sanskrit text which (being encyclopedic in nature) deals with a variety of cultural topics such as arts, architecture, music, grammar and astronomy.—The hasta-mudrās (lit. “hand-gestures”) are very essential to denote some particular action or state in dancing and these mudrās are formed with the help of hands and fingers.—According to the Śabdakalpadruma, makara means sea-animals [e.g., Kumbhīra, etc.]. According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, in makara posture both of the hands in patāka posture are placed one over the other and both should be facing downward. This posture is used in the acting of lion, tiger and deer.
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).
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper NamesA Yakkha who lived in the Vepulla mountain outside Rajagaha. He was present at the preaching of the Mahasamaya Sutta with a train of over one hundred thousand (D.ii.257).
He is called Rajagahika because he was born in Rajagaha (DA.ii.686). Sometimes (E.g., J.vi.272) he is spoken of as chief of the Kumbhandas.
When Bimbisara wished to visit the courtesan Padumavati at Ujjeni, the chaplain enlisted Kumbhiras assistance in transporting the king thither (ThigA.39).
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).
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: archive.org: Bulletin of the French School of the Far East (volume 5)Kumbhīra (कुम्भीर) is the name of a Yakṣa appointed as one of the Divine protector deities of Magadha, according to 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 kingdoms of Jambudvīpa [e.g., the Yakṣa Kumbhīra in Magadha], resembling the time of the past Buddhas.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarykumbhīra (कुंभीर).—m S Long-nosed alligator.
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 dictionaryKumbhīra (कुम्भीर).—
1) A shark.
2) Crocodile; संवत्सरं तु कुम्भीरस्ततो जायेत मानवः (saṃvatsaraṃ tu kumbhīrastato jāyeta mānavaḥ) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 13.111.59.
Derivable forms: kumbhīraḥ (कुम्भीरः).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryKumbhīra (कुम्भीर).—(1) (= Pali id.) name of a yakṣa: Suvarṇabhāsottamasūtra 161.13; Mahā-Māyūrī 101; Mahāsamājasūtra 169.9 (Waldschmidt, Kl. Sanskrit Texte 4); (2) name of a nāga: Mahā-Māyūrī 221.28 (misprinted °ira).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryKumbhīra (कुम्भीर).—m.
(-raḥ) The crocodile of the ganges; the long nosed alligator. E. kumbhī an elephant, and īra what resembles; or kumbhī a fish, and ra who seized, from rā to take or gain: or la from lā, whence also kumbhīla.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryKumbhīra (कुम्भीर).— (akin to kumbha), m. A crocodile, Mahābhārata 13, 5457.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryKumbhīra (कुम्भीर).—[masculine] crocodile.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Kumbhīra (कुम्भीर):—[from kumbha] m. a crocodile of the Ganges (the long-nosed alligator), [Mahābhārata xiii, 5457; Suśruta]
2) [v.s. ...] Name of a Yakṣa
3) [v.s. ...] of a plant, [Demetrius Galanos’s Lexiko: sanskritikes, anglikes, hellenikes]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryKumbhīra (कुम्भीर):—(raḥ) 1. m. A crocodile.
[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.
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusKuṃbhīra (ಕುಂಭೀರ):—[noun] any of large, flesh-eating, lizard-like crocodilian reptiles of the subfamily Crocodylinae, living in or around tropical streams and having thick, horny skin composed of scales and plates, a long tail, and a long, narrow, triangular head with massive jaws; a crocodile.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Kumbhiraka, Kumbhirakala, Kumbhirakamakshika, Kumbhiramakshika.
Full-text (+2): Kumbhiramakshika, Kumbhila, Pharapharayate, Kumbhanda, Gila, Dvidhagati, Varunasena, Kumbhin, Tiger, Sea-animal, Makara, Abhayamata, Magadha, Varishaya, Bhishana, Vilocana, Vepulla, Vikata, Lion, Deer.
Relevant text
Search found 9 books and stories containing Kumbhira, Kumbhīra, Kuṃbhīra; (plurals include: Kumbhiras, Kumbhīras, Kuṃbhīras). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)
Verse 2.5.75 < [Chapter 5 - Lord Nityānanda’s Vyāsa-pūjā Ceremony and His Darśana of the Lord’s Six-armed Form]
Verse 1.9.82 < [Chapter 9 - Nityānanda’s Childhood Pastimes and Travels to Holy Places]
Verse 2.13.137 < [Chapter 13 - The Deliverance of Jagāi and Mādhāi]
Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of Story) (by Somadeva)
Buddhacarita (by Charles Willemen)
Chapter XXI - Subduing the Maddened Elephant Dhanapālaka < [Fascicle Four]
Vishnudharmottara Purana (Art and Architecture) (by Bhagyashree Sarma)
2.2. Hand Postures (b): Saṃyukta-hasta < [Chapter 3 - Drama and Dance]
The Skanda Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 18 - Pārvatī’s Devotional Service to Aruṇācaleśvara < [Section 3b - Arunācala-khaṇḍa (Uttarārdha)]
The Book of Protection (by Piyadassi Thera)
Discourse 18 - The Great Assembly < [Discourses]