Kunjara, Kumjara, Kunja-ra, Kuñjara: 32 definitions
Introduction:
Kunjara means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India, Marathi, Jainism, Prakrit. 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: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia1) Kuñjara (कुञ्जर).—A great monkey. Añjanā mother of Hanūmān was the daughter of Kuñjara. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa; Canto 66, Verse 9).
2) Kuñjara (कुञ्जर).—A well-known serpent. (Ādi Parva, Chapter 35, Verse 15).
3) Kuñjara (कुञ्जर).—A prince of the Sāuvīra country. He was a follower of Jayadratha, and was killed by Arjuna. (Vana Parva, Chapter 271).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index1a) Kuñjara (कुञ्जर).—An Asura in Atalam (fourth tala or {%gabhastalam, Vāyu-purāṇa)1 A commander of Tāraka with a chariot of horses; killed by Kapāli and other Rudras after a terrific fight.2
1b) Father of Añjanā, and father-in-law of Kesari; a Nāga.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 7. 223 and 233, 350.
1c) (Mt.) abode of Agastya.*
- * Matsya-purāṇa 163. 79.
Kuñjara (कुञ्जर) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. I.31.15, I.35, II.48.20, II.48.25) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Kuñjara) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.
Source: Shodhganga: Kasyapa Samhita—Text on Visha Chikitsa (itihasa)Kuñjara is the name of a Serpent (sarpa) mentioned in the thirty-fifth chapter (verses 4-17) of the Ādiparva of the Mahābhārata.—Accordingly, Sauti, on being implored by Śaunaka to name all the serpents in the course of the sarpa-sattra, tells him that it is humanly impossible to give a complete list because of their sheer multiplicity; but would name the prominent ones in accordance with their significance [e.g., Kuñjara].

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)
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Source: archive.org: The Elephant Lore of the HindusKuñjara (कुञ्जर) refers to “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 1, “on the origin of elephants”]: “[...] The creation of elephants was holy, and for the profit of sacrifice to the Gods, and especially for the welfare of kings. Therefore it is clear that elephants must be zealously tended. [...] [Elephants are called] kuñjara, because they wear out the earth with the pressure of their feet; padmin, because they are fond of lotuses; dvipa (‘twice-drinking’) because they drink both with the mouth and with the trunk”.
Source: Shodhganga: Portrayal of Animal Kingdom (Tiryaks) in Epics An Analytical studyKuñjara (कुञ्जर) is a synonym (another name) for the Elephant (Gaja), 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.

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.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by VarahamihiraKuñjara (कुञ्जर) refers to “elephants”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 9), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “If the course of Saturn should just precede that of Venus, the Mlecchas, cats, elephants [i.e., kuñjara], asses, buffaloes, black grains, hogs, Pulindas (barbarians), the Śūdras and travellers in the south will suffer by diseases of the eye and by windy disorders. If the course of Mars should just precede that of Venus, mankind will suffer from fire, from weapons, from hunger, from drought and from thieves; all the creatures and objects of the north will suffer and the sky will be filled with fire, lightning and dust”.

Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (shaktism)Kuñjara (कुञ्जर) refers to “elephants”, according to the Mahābhārata 10.8.64–68.—Accordingly, “Good sir, they saw her, Kālarātri, standing, smiling, alone, blue-black in hue, with red mouth and eyes, garlands and unguents of crimson, red robes, a noose in one hand, a peacock feather [in her hair], binding men, horses and elephants (kuñjara) with her horrifying fetters while she stood, capturing many headless ghosts trapped in her noose, leading those asleep in their dreams to other Nights. And at all times the best soldiers saw the son of Droṇa slaughtering. From the time when the battle between the Kuru and Pāṇḍava armies began, they saw [both] that evil spirit and the son of Droṇa. The son of Droṇa later felled those who had first been struck by this divinity [Kālarātri], terrorizing all creatures while shouting out ferocious bellows”.

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.
Vastushastra (architecture)
Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (architecture)Kuñjara (कुञ्जर) refers to an “elephant”, according to the Devyāmata (in the section śalyoddhāra-paṭala or “excavation of extraneous substances”).—Accordingly, “[...] If a tiger [steps over a cord], there is [the bone of] an elephant (kuñjarāsthi) [beneath the site]. If an elephant (kuñjara) steps over [a cord], [there is the bone of] a camel [beneath the site].[...]”.
Source: Shodhganga: Elements of Art and Architecture in the Trtiyakhanda of the Visnudharmottarapurana (vastu)Kuñjara (कुञ्जर) refers to one of the hundred types of Temples (in ancient Indian architecture), 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.—It is quite difficult to say about a definite number of varieties of Hindu temples but in the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa hundred varieties of temples have been enumerated. For example, Kuñjara. These temples are classified according to the particular shape, amount of storeys and other common elements, such as the number of pavilions, doors and roofs.

Vastushastra (वास्तुशास्त्र, vāstuśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian science (shastra) of architecture (vastu), dealing with topics such architecture, sculpture, town-building, fort building and various other constructions. Vastu also deals with the philosophy of the architectural relation with the cosmic universe.
Ganitashastra (Mathematics and Algebra)
Source: archive.org: Hindu MathematicsKuñjara (कुञ्जर) represents the number 8 (eight) in the “word-numeral system” (bhūtasaṃkhyā), which was used in Sanskrit texts dealing with astronomy, mathematics, metrics, as well as in the dates of inscriptions and manuscripts in ancient Indian literature.—A system of expressing numbers by means of words arranged as in the place-value notation was developed and perfected in India in the early centuries of the Christian era. In this system the numerals [e.g., 8—kuñjara] are expressed by names of things, beings or concepts, which, naturally or in accordance with the teaching of the Śāstras, connote numbers.

Ganita (गणित) or Ganitashastra refers to the ancient Indian science of mathematics, algebra, number theory, arithmetic, etc. Closely allied with astronomy, both were commonly taught and studied in universities, even since the 1st millennium BCE. Ganita-shastra also includes ritualistic math-books such as the Shulba-sutras.
Nirukta (Sanskrit etymology)
Source: archive.org: The Elephant Lore of the Hindus (etymology)Kuñjara (कुञ्जर) (synonym for “elephants”) are so-called because “they wear out (jar) the earth (ku) with the pressure of their feet” [atijarayati kuṃ kuñjaraḥ pādatodāt], 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 1, “on the origin of elephants”]
Nirukta (निरुक्त) or “etymology” refers to the linguistic analysis of the Sanskrit language. This branch studies the interpretation of common and ancient words and explains them in their proper context. Nirukta is one of the six additional sciences (vedanga) to be studied along with the Vedas.
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper Names1. Devanampiyatissas elephant, tied to the plough which marked the sima of the Mahavihara. Dpv.xiv.28; Mbv.134; see also Mhv., p.331.
2. One of the chief lay patrons of Revata Buddha. Bu.vi.23.
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)
Source: Wisdom Library: Tibetan BuddhismKuñjara (कुञ्जर) is the name of a Rāśi (zodiac sign) mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Kuñjara).

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
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Indian Epigraphical GlossaryKuñjara.—(IE 7-1-2), ‘eight’. Note: kuñjara is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.

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.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionarykuñjara : (m.) elephant.
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English DictionaryKuñjara, (m.) (Deriv. unknown. The sound is not unlike an elephant’s trumpeting & need not be Aryan, which has hasti. The Sk. of the epics & fables uses both h° and k°) an elephant Vin. II, 195; M. I, 229, 375; S. I, 157; Dh. 322, 324, 327; J. V, 336; Vv 51; Pv. I, 113; DhA. IV, 4; ThA. 252; Miln. 245.—deva° chief of the gods, Ep. of Sakka Vv 477; J. V, 158.
Source: Sutta: Pali Word Grammar from Pali Myanmar Dictionarykuñjara (ကုဉ္ဇရ) [(pu) (ပု)]—
[kuñja+ra.kuñjo hanudanto ca taṃyogā kuñjaro,atisaye ro.,ṭī.36va.kuñja+ramu+kvi.kuñja+rū+kvi.ku+jara+a.kuñjegiritaṭe(giritaṭe (girītale.mū) ramati abhiramati,tattha vā ravati koñcanādaṃ nadanto vicarati,kuṃ vā pathaviṃ tadabhighātena jarayatīti kuñjaro.vimāna,ṭṭha.3va.]
[ကုဉ္ဇ+ရ။ ကုဉ္ဇော ဟနုဒန္တော စ တံယောဂါ ကုဉ္ဇရော၊ အတိသယေ ရော။ ဓာန်၊ဋီ။၃၆ဝ။ ကုဉ္ဇ+ရမု+ကွိ။ ကုဉ္ဇ+ရူ+ကွိ။ ကု+ဇရ+အ။ ကုဉ္ဇေဂိရိတဋေ(ဂိရိတဋေ (ဂိရီတလေ။ မူကွဲ) ရမတိ အဘိရမတိ၊ တတ္ထ ဝါ ရဝတိ ကောဉ္စနာဒံ နဒန္တော ဝိစရတိ၊ ကုံ ဝါ ပထဝိံ တဒဘိဃာတေန ဇရယတီတိ ကုဉ္ဇရော။ ဝိမာန၊ဋ္ဌ။၃ဝ။]

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 Dictionarykuñjara (कुंजर).—m (S) An elephant. 2 In comp. Preeminent; as puruṣakuñjara An excellent man. 3 A particular bird.
--- OR ---
kuñjarā (कुंजरा).—m A kind of grass used as a vegetable. 2 A caste or an individual of it. They are venders of vegetables &c. 3 fig. A low, mean fellow, a scrub.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishkuñjara (कुंजर).—m An elephant. In comp. Pre-em- inent; as purūṣakuñjara An excellent man.
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 dictionaryKuñjara (कुञ्जर).—[kuñjo hastihanuḥ so'syāsti, kuñja-ra, ūṣasuṣipuṣka madhoraḥ P.V.2.17. Vārt.]
1) An elephant; प्राक्छाये कुञ्जरस्य च (prākchāye kuñjarasya ca) Manusmṛti 3.274. दन्तयोर्हन्ति कुञ्जरम् (dantayorhanti kuñjaram) Mahābhārata on P.II.3.36.
2) Anything pre-eminent or excellent of its class (at the end of comp. only). Amara gives the following words used similarly :-स्युरुत्तरपदे व्याघ्रपुङ्गवर्षभकुञ्जराः । सिंहशार्दूलनागाद्याः पुंसि श्रेष्ठार्थवाचकाः (syuruttarapade vyāghrapuṅgavarṣabhakuñjarāḥ | siṃhaśārdūlanāgādyāḥ puṃsi śreṣṭhārthavācakāḥ) ||
3) The Aśvattha tree.
4) The lunar asterism called हस्त (hasta).
5) Hair.
6) Head.
7) An ornament; कुञ्जरः कुन्तले पुमान् मस्तके भूषणे नागे (kuñjaraḥ kuntale pumān mastake bhūṣaṇe nāge) ... Nm.
8) The number 'eight' (from eight elephants of the cardinal points).
-rā, -rī 1 A female elephant.
2) Name of a flower-plant.
Derivable forms: kuñjaraḥ (कुञ्जरः).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryKuñjara (कुञ्जर).—m.
(-raḥ) 1. An elephant. 2. (In composition,) Pre-eminent, as puruṣakuñjara an excellent. man. 3. Hair. 4. A country. f. (-rā or -rī) 1. A female elephant.
(-rā) 1. A plant, (Bignonia suave-olens.) 2. A shrub, (Grislea tomentosa) E. kuñja a tusk, an arbour, &c. and ra what forms or possesses.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryKuñjara (कुञ्जर).— (probably akin to the preceding), m. 1. An elephant, [Pañcatantra] i. [distich] 177. 2. Preeminent, [Rāmāyaṇa] 5, 2, 13; in this meaning it is generally the latter part of a compound, e. g. kapi-, m. A most excellent monkey (literally, an elephant among monkeys), [Rāmāyaṇa] 5, 3, 17. 3. The name of a Nāga, or serpent, Mahābhārata 1, 1560. 4. The name of a prince, 3, 15597. 5. The name of a mountain, [Rāmāyaṇa] 4, 41, 50.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryKuñjara (कुञ्जर).—[masculine] elephant ([feminine] ī); chief or best of (—°).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Kuñjara (कुञ्जर):—m. (ifc. f(ā). , [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa]) an elephant, [Manu-smṛti iii, 274; Mahābhārata] etc.
2) anything pre-eminent in its kind (generally in [compound] e.g. rāja-k, ‘an eminent king’ [Mahābhārata; Kathāsaritsāgara]; cf. [Pāṇini 2-1, 62 and] [gana] vyāghrādi)
3) the number ‘eight’ (there being eight elephants of the cardinal points), [Sūryasiddhānta]
4) a kind of temple, [Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā]
5) a kind of step (in dancing to music)
6) the tree Ficus religiosa, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
7) Name of a Nāga, [Mahābhārata i, 1560]
8) of a prince (of the Sauvīraka race), [Mahābhārata iii, 15597]
9) of a mountain, [Harivaṃśa; Rāmāyaṇa]
10) of a locality
11) Kuñjarā (कुञ्जरा):—[from kuñjara] f. a female elephant, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
12) [v.s. ...] the plant Bignonia suaveolens, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
13) [v.s. ...] the plant Grislea tomentosa
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryKuñjara (कुञ्जर):—[(raḥ-rā-rī)] 1. m. Hair; a country; an elephant. f. (rā) A plant; in comp. Excellent.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Kuñjara (कुञ्जर) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Kuṃjara.
[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.
Prakrit-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionaryKuṃjara (कुंजर) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Kuñjara.
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 corpusKuṃjara (ಕುಂಜರ):—
1) [noun] the largest living land animal, Elephas maximus, with a trunk and long curved ivory tusks; an elephant.
2) [noun] (myth.) name of a deamon killed by Śiva.
3) [noun] a person who or that which, is of excellent quality.
4) [noun] the tree Ficus religiosa of Moraceae family; peepul.
5) [noun] a small south constellation near Virgo; Crow; Corvus.
6) [noun] any of the fine, threadlike outgrowths from the skin; hair.
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 (+11): Kumjaragamane, Kumjaragamini, Kumjaraghatavali, Kunjarabhara, Kunjaracaya, Kunjaracchaya, Kunjarada, Kunjaradari, Kunjaragati, Kunjaragraha, Kunjarahinaka, Kunjarakara, Kunjaraksharamula, Kunjarakula, Kunjarakumara, Kunjarakumaraka, Kunjaralila, Kunjaraluka, Kunjaranika, Kunjarapadapa.
Full-text (+97): Kunjarashana, Kunjararati, Shvetakunjara, Indrakunjara, Pratikunjara, Dikkunjara, Kunjarapippali, Vijayakunjara, Kunjaragraha, Vanakunjara, Jayakunjara, Sitakunjara, Kunjaratva, Kunjaradari, Kunjarapadapa, Kunjararoha, Kunjarakula, Kunjararupin, Kunjarakara, Narikunjara.
Relevant text
Search found 62 books and stories containing Kunjara, Kumjara, Kuṃjara, Kunja-ra, Kuñja-ra, Kuñjara, Kuñjarā; (plurals include: Kunjaras, Kumjaras, Kuṃjaras, ras, Kuñjaras, Kuñjarās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Dhammapada (Illustrated) (by Ven. Weagoda Sarada Maha Thero)
Verse 320-322 - On Subduing Oneself < [Chapter 23 - Nāga Vagga (The Great)]
Verse 324 - The Story of an Old Brāhmin < [Chapter 23 - Nāga Vagga (The Great)]
List of Mahabharata tribes (by Laxman Burdak)
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Kunjara – the yogic stomach wash < [Volume 12 (issue 1-2), Jul-Dec 1992]
Studies on some south indian market samples of ayurvedic drugs - v < [Volume 6 (issue 1), Jul-Sep 1986]
Plant names – sanskrit and latin < [Volume 12 (issue 1-2), Jul-Dec 1992]
Animal Kingdom (Tiryak) in Epics (by Saranya P.S)
Chapter 4.10 - The Elephant in the Epics
Chapter 5.3 - The story of Kadru (daughter of Daksha Prajapati)
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 6.21.19 < [Chapter 21 - In the Description of the Third Fort, the Glories of Piṇḍāraka-tīrtha]