Madhura, aka: Madhurā, Mādhura; 19 Definition(s)

Introduction

Madhura means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, 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.

In Hinduism

Ayurveda (science of life)

Madhura—A taste (rasa), which is pleasant, proves comfortable to, and contributes to the life-preservation of a man, keeps his mouth moist, and increases the quantity of bodily Kapham, is called Sweet (Madhura).

A sweet taste is largely endued with attributes which specifically appertain to the material principles of earth (bhumi or pṛthivī) and water (toya or ap).

A sweet taste, which is possessed of the same properties as the Kapham, respectively increases the sweetness, oiliness, heaviness, coldness and sliminess of the latter with the help of similar properties of its own.

The tastes such as sweet, acid and saline are heavy and emollient in their character.
The tastes such as sweet, bitter and astringent are cold in their properties.
Tastes such as sweet, acid and saline are endued with the virtues of subduing Vāyu.
Tastes such as sweet, bitter and astringent are possessed of the virtue of subduing the deranged Pittam.

Virtue of Madhura—The sweet taste is possessed of the virtue of increasing the quantity of lymph-chyle, blood, flesh, fat, bone marrow, albumen (ojas), semen, and milk in a parturient woman. It materially contributes to the growth of bones, strengthens the eyesight, favours the growth of hair, improves the complexion of the body, brings about the adhesion of fractured bones (Sandhanam), and purifies the blood and the lymph-chyle. Likewise, it proves wholesome to infants, old and weak men and ulcer-patients (suffering from Endocarditis—Urah-Kshata) and is most coveted by bees and ants. It exhilarates the mind as well as the five sense-organs, relieves thirst, swooning and a burning sensation of the body, and originates Kapham. Similarly, it favours the germination of intestinal parasites.

Largely and exclusively partaken of, it brings on cough, dyspnoea, flatulence (Alasaka), vomiting, sweet taste in the mouth, hoarseness of the voice (aphonia), worms in the intestines, tumours, elephantisis, Vasti-lepa (mucous deposit in the bladder), Gudopolepa (mucous or slimy deposit in the anus), and Abhisandya (ophthalmia), etc.

Sweet (Madhura) decreases vata and pitta, increases kapha—Sweet has a cooling virya, with some exceptions, and a sweet vipak. Of all the six tastes, sweet is the most grounding and nourishing. It’s balancing to vata and pitta and, when eaten in moderation, promotes longevity, strength, and healthy bodily fluids and tissues. It’s the taste to emphasize for someone who is trying to gain weight, as it will quickly increase kapha when taken in excess. Its heavy, oily, moist qualities tend to slow down digestion, so it’s often suggested in ayurveda to eat dessert first. The sweet taste abounds in foods such as wheat, rice, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, agave nectar, dates, licorice root, and slippery elm bark.

1) Madhurā (मधुरा) is another name for Kākolī, a medicinal plant identified with Roscoea purpurea from the Zingiberaceae or “ginger family” of flowering plants, according to verse 3.25-27 of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rājanighaṇṭu. The third chapter (guḍūcyādi-varga) of this book contains climbers and creepers (vīrudh). Together with the names Madhurā and Kākolī, there are a total of fifteen Sanskrit synonyms identified for this plant.

2) Madhurā (मधुरा) is also mentioned as a synonym for Bṛhajjīvantī, a medicinal plant similar to Jīvantī which is identified with Leptadenia reticulata (cork swallow-wort) from the Apocynaceae, or “dogbane family” of flowering plants, according to verse 3.40-41.

context information

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.

Purana

Madhurā (मधुरा).—Also Mathurā (s.v.).^*

• * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 49. 6; Viṣṇu-purāṇa I. 12. 4; IV. 4. 101.

context information

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.

Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)

Madhura (मधुर, “charming”) refers to one of the ten good qualities (guṇa) of a song (gīta), according to the Saṅgītaśiromaṇi 14.75-76, where they are commonly known as the gītaguṇa. The Saṅgītaśiromaṇi (“crest-jewel of music”) is a 15th-century Sanskrit work on Indian musicology (gāndharvaśāstra). Accordingly, “when the song fascinates the listener, it is charming (madhura)”.

Madhura (मधुर, “sweet”) refers to a musical expression corresponding with sumatī (devotional), the eighth word of the elā composition (prabandha).—A sound which is delightful, even when it moves in the higher octave, is called sweet (madhura).

context information

Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (śāstra) of performing arts, (nāṭya, e.g., 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) and poetic works (kavya).

Itihasa (narrative history)

Madhura (मधुर) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. IX.44.66) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Madhura) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.

Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)

Madhura (मधुर) or Madhuradhvani refers to one of the ten kinds of sounds (śabda) according to the Padārthādarśā of Rāghavabhaṭṭa.

context information

Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.

In Buddhism

Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)

1. Madhura. The capital of Surasena, situated on the Yamuna. Its king, soon after the death of Bimbisara, was Avantiputta (M.ii.83), who, judging by his name, was probably related to the royal family of Ujjeni. Madhura was visited by the Buddha (A.ii.57; iii.256), but there is no record of his having stayed there. In fact, the Madhura Sutta (2) (q.v.) states that he viewed the city with distinct disfavour. But Maha Kaccana evidently liked it, for he stayed there in the Gundavana, and was visited there by the king of the city, Avantiputta (M.ii.83), and the brahmin Kandarayana (A.i.67). One of the most important suttas on caste, the Madhura Sutta 1, was preached to Avantiputta by Maha Kaccana at Madhura. Perhaps it was through the agency of Maha Kaccana that Buddhism gained ground in Madhura. Already in the Buddhas time there were, in and around Madhura, those who accepted his teachings, for the Anguttara Nikaya (A.ii.57) mentions that once when he was journeying from Madhura to Veranja and stopped under a tree by the wayside, a large number of householders, both men and women, came and worshipped him. Later, about 300 B.C., Madhura became a Jain centre (CHI.i.167), but when Fa Hsien (Giles, p. 20) and Hiouen Thsang visited it, Buddhism was flourishing there, and there were many sangharamas and stupas. Beal.i.179ff.; for a prophecy (attributed to the Buddha) regarding the future greatness of Madhura, see Dvy.348ff.

From Sankassa to Madhura was a distance of four yojanas (thus in Kaccayanas Grammar, iii.1).

Madhura is sometimes referred to as Uttara Madhura, to distinguish it from a city of the same name in South India. Thus, in the Vimanavatthu Commentary (VvA.118f), a woman of Uttara Madhura is mentioned as having been born in Tavatimsa as a result of having given alms to the Buddha.

The Ghata Jataka (J.iv.79ff) speaks of Mahasagara as the king of Uttara Madhura, and relates what is evidently the story of Kamsas attempt to tyrannize over Madhura by overpowering the Yadavas and his consequent death at the hands of Krsna, a story which is found both in the Epics and in the Puranas. This Jataka confirms the Brahmanical tradition as to the association of Vasudevas family with Madhura (PHAL, p. 89).

There is a story (Cv.xcii.23ff ) of a king called Mahasena of Pataliputta, who was very generous in feeding the monks, and once thought of giving alms by cultivating a piece of land himself. He, therefore, went to Uttara Madhura in disguise, worked as a labourer, and held an almsgiving with the gains so obtained.

Madhura is generally identified with Maholi, five miles to the Southeast of the present town of Mathura or Muttra. It is the Modura of Ptolemy and the Methoras of Pliny (CAGI. 427f).

The Milindapanha (p. 331) refers to Madhura as one of the chief cities of India.

General definition (in Buddhism)

Madhura (मधुर, “Sweet”) refers to one of the “six kinds of tastes” (rasa) as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 36). The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (eg., madhura). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Madhura (मधुर, “sweet”) refers to one of the five types of Rasa (taste) which represents 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 taste attribute to the body are called taste body-making karma (eg., madhura).

context information

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.

India history and geogprahy

Madhurā (मधुरा) or Mathurā.—Hathipumpha inscription of Khāravala refers to the city called Madhurā, i.e.. Mathurā, the famous city of the Śūrasenas. In five other inscriptions, four discovered from Mathurā or from its neighbourhood and one discovered at Bandhogarh, mention the persons belonging to this city. The mention of the inhabitants of Mathurā in Jaina inscriptions of the Kushana period is a proof of its being the centre of Jainism during that period. The majority of the inscriptions found at Mathura are Jain in character. An inscription of the time of Candragupta II dated in the year 61 of the Gupta era refers to Śaiva establishments of the Lakulīśa sect in this city.

Madhurā (मधुरा) or Mathurā was the ancient capital of Sūrasena: one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas of the Majjhimadesa (Middle Country) of ancient India, as recorded in the Pāli Buddhist texts (detailing the geography of ancient India as it was known in to Early Buddhism).—In the Aṅguttara Nikāya, the Sūrasena country is mentioned as one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas. The country had its capital at Madhurā or Mathurā, which like Kausāmbī stood on the river Yamunā. The ancient Greek writers refer to the Sūrasena country as Sourasenoi and its capital as Methora. Buddhism was predominant in Mathurā for several centuries. The Vimānavatthu Commentary (pp. 118–119) tells us of a woman of Uttarā Madhurā who by offering alms to the Buddha was reborn in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven.

context information

The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as 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

madhura : (adj.) sweet. (nt.) sweet thing.

Madhura, (adj.) (fr. madhu) 1. sweet Sn. 50; J. III, 493; V, 324; Pv. II, 67; PvA. 119, 147.—2. of intoxicating sweetness, liquor-like, intoxicating J. IV, 117.—3. (nt.) sweetness, sweet drink Dh. 363; J. I, 271 (catu° the 4 sweet drinks, used as cure after poison); Dhs. 629; DhsA. 320.—4. (nt.) flattery, praise SnA 287 (opp. avaṇṇa).

—rasa sweet (i.e. honey-) juice, sweet liquor DhA. II, 50; PvA. 119. —ssara sweet-sounding VvA. 57; PvA. 151; Mhvs 5, 32. (Page 519)

context information

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

madhura (मधुर).—a (S) Sweet. 2 Sweet, in all its figurative senses.

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madhurā (मधुरा).—m A fever of a putrid type, characterized by the eruption of spots about the throat, and sometimes by coma or delirium; then termed vēḍā madhurā.

madhura (मधुर).—a Sweet. madhurāī f Sweetness.

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madhurā (मधुरा).—m A fever of a putrid type.

Sanskrit-English dictionary

Madhura (मधुर).—a. [madhu-mādhuryaṃ rāti rā-ka, madhu-astyarthe ra vā]

1) Sweet; यथा प्रकृत्या मधुरं गवां पयः (yathā prakṛtyā madhuraṃ gavāṃ payaḥ) H.

2) Honied, mellifluous.

3) Pleasant, charming, attractive, agreeable; अहो मधुरमासां दर्शनम् (aho madhuramāsāṃ darśanam) Ś.1; Ku.5.9; Māl.2.11; किमिव हि मधुराणां मण्डनं नाकृतीनाम् (kimiva hi madhurāṇāṃ maṇḍanaṃ nākṛtīnām) Ś.1.2; मधुरया मधुबोधितमाधवी (madhurayā madhubodhitamādhavī) ... Śi.6.2.

4) Melodious (as a sound); पुंस्कोकिलोऽयं मधुरं चुकूज (puṃskokilo'yaṃ madhuraṃ cukūja) Ku. 3.32.

-raḥ 1 The red sugar-cane.

2) Rice.

3) A kind of sugar, molassess (guḍa).

4) A kind of mango.

5) Cuminseed.

-rā 1 Liquorice.

2) Sour ricewater.

3) Name of the city Mathurā.

4) Name of plants like काकोली, शतावण, बृहज्जीवन्ती (kākolī, śatāvaṇa, bṛhajjīvantī).

5) Sweet fennel (Mar. baḍīśepa).

-rī A kind of musical instrument.

-ram 1 Sweetness.

2) A sweet drink, syrup.

3) Poison.

4) Tin.

-ram ind. Sweetly, pleasantly, agreeably. (madhureṇa ind. in a kindly or friendly manner; nahi duryodhano rājyaṃ madhureṇa pradāsyati Mb.5.4.1.)

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Mādhura (माधुर).—[madhura-aṇ] The flower of the Mallikā creeper.

Derivable forms: mādhuram (माधुरम्).

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