In Hinduism

Kavya (poetry)

Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara

Kumbhīraka (कुम्भीरक) is the name of a Vidyādhara who fought on Śrutaśarman’s side, and fought with Nirāsaka, who was on Sūryaprabha’s side, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 48. Accordingly: “... then a fight took place between those Vidyādhara princes on the one side and Prabhāsa and his comrades on the other, in which there was a great slaughter of soldiers. And in the single combats between the two hosts many warriors were slain on both sides, men, Asuras and Vidyādharas... But Kumbhīraka and Nirāsaka fought with their teeth, after their arms were cut off, and so did Kharva and the mighty Suśarman”.

The story of Kumbhīraka 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 Kumbhīraka, 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.

context information

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’.

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Kumbhīraka (कुम्भीरक).—A thief; लोप्त्रेण गृहीतस्य कुम्भीरकस्यास्ति वा प्रतिवचनम् (loptreṇa gṛhītasya kumbhīrakasyāsti vā prativacanam) V.2; कुम्भीलकैः कामुकैश्च परिहर्तव्या चन्द्रिका (kumbhīlakaiḥ kāmukaiśca parihartavyā candrikā) M.4.

Derivable forms: kumbhīrakaḥ (कुम्भीरकः).

See also (synonyms): kumbhīla, kumbhīlaka.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Kumbhīraka (कुम्भीरक):—[from kumbha] m. a thief, [Horace H. Wilson]

context information

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.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Starts with: Kumbhirakala, Kumbhirakamakshika.

Full-text: Kumbhirakamakshika, Kumbhirakala, Kumbhilaka, Kumbhila, Nirashaka.

Relevant text

Search found 1 books and stories containing Kumbhiraka, Kumbhīraka; (plurals include: Kumbhirakas, Kumbhīrakas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of Story) (by Somadeva)

Chapter XLVIII < [Book VIII - Sūryaprabha]

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