Madhyadesha, Madhya-desha, Madhyadeśa: 21 definitions
Introduction:
Madhyadesha means something in 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.
The Sanskrit term Madhyadeśa can be transliterated into English as Madhyadesa or Madhyadesha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश).—(c)—the middle country to be conquered by Kalki; a kingdom of Ikṣvāku;1 under Divākara its capital was Ayodhyā;2 one of the three divisions of India.3
- 1) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 73. 107. Matsya-purāṇa 12. 19; Vāyu-purāṇa 58. 81; 98. 106.
- 2) Matsya-purāṇa 114. 36; 271. 5.
- 3) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 31. 81; 35. 11; Viṣṇu-purāṇa II. 3. 15.
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. V.158.20) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Madhya-deśa) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश) (the land between Gaṅgā and the Yamunā) refers to the birth-place of Sadācāra, according to the 10th century Saurapurāṇa: one of the various Upapurāṇas depicting Śaivism.—It regards Madhyadeśa i.e. the tract of land between the rivers Gaṅgā and the Yamunā, as the birth place of Sadācāra. It looks upon Kurukṣetra, Matsya, Pāñcāla and Surasena as holy countries where Dharma is practiced.
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.
Kavya (poetry)
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश) is the name a locality mentioned in Rājaśekhara’s 10th-century Kāvyamīmāṃsā.—This region bounded by the river Sarasvatī in Kurukṣetra, Allahabad, the Himālayas and the Vindhyas.
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’.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश) or “middle country” refers to an area in central northern India.—The Siddhāntāgamas, and the early Svacchandabhairavatantra, a Bhairava Tantra, are remarkably destitute of sacred geographies. Even so, what we do find may be taken to be an indication of the degree of spread of the cult of which they form a part. The Svacchandabhairavatantra, for example, is particularly interested in the region called Madhyadeśa—the Middle Country. This was an area in central northern India of which Prayāga, the modern Allahabad, and Varanasi were the hub. The Svacchandabhairavatantra recommends that teachers who came from other parts of India should be avoided.
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.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश) refers to the “central provinces”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 5), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “If the sun and moon should begin to be eclipsed when only half risen, deceitful men will suffer as well as sacrificial rites. [...] If when in mid-heaven, the central provinces [i.e., madhyadeśa] will suffer, but there will be happiness over the land and the price of food grains will fall. If when in the fifth section, herbivorous animals, ministers and household inmates will suffer as also the Vaiśyas. If they should be eclipsed when in the sixth section of the firmament, women and the Śūdras will suffer; if when setting, robbers and the border Mlecchas will perish. Those will be happy in whose section the eclipse terminates”.
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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश) is the name of an ancient province, according to chapter 4.2 [vāsupūjya-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, as Vasupūjya and Jayā spoke to Vāsupūjya:—“All the existing kings, among men and the Vidyādharas, who are of good family, capable, heroic, wealthy, famous, possessing the fourfold army, known for guarding their subjects, free from blemish, faithful to engagements, always devoted to dharma, in Madhyadeśa [...] these now, son, beg us constantly through messengers, who are sent bearing valuable gifts, to give their daughters to you. Let their ardent wish and ours be fulfilled by the sight of the wedding-festival of you and their daughters. Take this hereditary kingdom. Henceforth, the taking of the vow is suitable for us in our old age”.
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 geography
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश) is the name of a country mentioned in the “Ṭhāṇā plates of Nāgārjuna”. Accordingly, “... the great Brāhmaṇa Mādhava Paṇḍita, son of Gokarṇa Paṇḍita, of the Pārāsara-gotra and the Yajurveda-śākhā, who has emigrated from Hasti-grāma situated in the Madhyadeśa”.
These copper plates (mentioning Madhyadeśa) were discovered in a tank in the locality called Pancha Pākhādī outside the town of Ṭhāṇā in 1965. The object of the present plates is to record the grant, by Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Nāgārjuna, of a plot of land in the village Muñjavalī to Mādhava Paṇḍita, son of Gokarṇa Paṇḍita, of the Pārāśara gotra and Yajurveda-śakhā. The grant is dated in śaka 961, on the fifteenth tithi of the dark fortnight of Śrāvaṇa, Wednesday, the cyclic year being Pramāthin, with a solar eclipse.
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश) is the name of a village mentioned in the “Māndhātā copper-plate inscription of Devapāla”. These copper plates (mentioning Madhyadeśa) were discovered in 1905 in the former State of Dhār, near the temple of Siddheśvara at Māndhātā, better known by the longer name Oṃkāra-Māndhātā (an island in the Narmadā attached to the East Nemāḍ District in Madhya Pradesh). It records the donation of the village of Satājunā in the Mahuaḍa Pratijāgaraṇaka, by Devapāla. It is dated on the full moon day of Bhādrapada in the (Vikrama) year 1282, which corresponds to the 19th August, 1225 A.C.
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश) is classified as one of the eighteen dialects (Deśī) of ancient India, as described in the Kathās (narrative poems) such as Uddyotanasūri in his 8th-century Kuvalayamālā (a Prakrit Campū, similar to Kāvya poetry).—Page 152.24 ff.: Here we have a specimen of eighteen Deśī dialects spoken in: [e.g., Region of Godāvarī (Nasik)] [...] These different idioms of speech were spoken by the shop-keepers in the market place of Vijayāpurī. [...]
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
Marathi-English dictionary
madhyadēśa (मध्यदेश).—m (S) The country lying between the Konkaṇs and Desh proper,--that containing Kolhapur, Poona, Nashik &c. Another settlement is--The country included betwixt the rivers Goda and Kriṣṇa and the mountain-ranges Sayhadri and Balaghaṭ. Yet another is--The interjacent region betwixt the ḍāṅga or māvaḷa and the Desh proper. There being no defined boundaries in the Shastra, man uses his liberty. 2 The centre or heart of a country, the midland. 3 The central region of India, bounded by Kurukshetra, Allahabad, the Himalaya, and the Vindhya. 4 The region included between the tropics, the torrid zone.
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
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश).—
1) the middle region or space, the middle part of anything.
2) the waist.
3) the belly.
4) the meridian.
5) the central region, the country lying between the Himālaya and Vindhya mountains; हिमवद्विन्ध्ययोर्मध्यं यत्प्राग्विनशनादपि । प्रत्यगेव प्रयागाच्च मध्यदेशः स कीर्तितः (himavadvindhyayormadhyaṃ yatprāgvinaśanādapi | pratyageva prayāgācca madhyadeśaḥ sa kīrtitaḥ) || Manusmṛti 2.21.
Derivable forms: madhyadeśaḥ (मध्यदेशः).
Madhyadeśa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms madhya and deśa (देश).
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश).—m.
(-śaḥ) 1. The middle region; part of India, bounded by Kuruksketra on the north, Allahabad on the south, the Himalaya mountains on the east, and the Vind'hya mountains on the west; comprising therefore the modern provinces of Allahabad, Agra, Delhi, Oudh, &c.; the northern limit is elsewhere defined to be the disappearance of the Saraswati. 2. The middle part of any thing. 3. The waist. 4. The Belly. 5. The meridian. E. madhya middle, and deśa coutry.
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश).—[masculine] middle region or part, [especially] middle of the body, the waist; the midland country (between Himālaya & Vindhya), [plural] its inhabitants.
1) Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश):—[=madhya-deśa] [from madhya] m. middle region, middle space, the central or middle part of anything, [???]
2) [v.s. ...] (= madhyaṃ nabhasaḥ), the meridian, [Mahābhārata]
3) [v.s. ...] the middle of the body, waist, [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature] etc.
4) [v.s. ...] the trunk of the body, belly, abdomen, [ib.]
5) [v.s. ...] the midland country (lying between the Himālayas on the north, the Vindhya mountains on the south, Vinaśana on the west, Prayāga on the east, and comprising the modern provinces of Allahabad, Agra, Delhi, Oude etc.), [Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata] (cf. [Indian Wisdom, by Sir M. Monier-Williams 226 n. 1])
6) [v.s. ...] mfn. belonging to or living in the midland country, of m° origin, [Mahābhārata]
7) [v.s. ...] m. [plural] the inhabitants of the m° c°, [Catalogue(s)]
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश):—[madhya-deśa] (śaḥ) 1. m. The middle region; a part of India.
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश):—1. (ma + deśa) m.
1) der mittlere Raum [LĀṬY. 2, 6, 7.] [Kauśika’s Sūtra zum Atuarvaveda 3. 90.] —
2) = madhyaṃ nabhasaḥ Meridian: gate ravau [Mahābhārata 12, 13412.] —
3) die Mitte des Leibes: madhyadeśe narānanyāṃścicchedānyāṃśca karṇataḥ [Mahābhārata 10, 435.] [Ṛtusaṃhāra 2, 26] (Unterleib). Taille [Spr. 2402.] natamadhyadeśā [Suśruta 2, 483, 6.] —
4) das Mittelland, das Land zwischen dem Himālaya im N., dem Vindhya im S., Vinaśana im W. und Prayāga im O., [Manu’s Gesetzbuch.2,21.] [Amarakoṣa.2,1,7.] [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa.2,1,7.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 951.] [Lassen’s Indische Alterthumskunde (II)] [?I,119. fg. Mahābhārata.2,1276. 13,3397. Harivaṃśa 634. Rāmāyaṇa.6,82,89. Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S.5,30.8,46. 10,5. 17,20. Kathāsaritsāgara 32,106. Oxforder Handschriften 55,a,12. 149,a,43. 352,b,11. Hiouen-Thsang I,168.]
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Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश):—2. (wie eben) adj. mittelländisch, ans dem Mittellande stammend, dort wohnend: parijñāto dasyubhāvaṃ gataḥ katham [Mahābhārata 12, 6310.] udīcyāḥ, deśāḥ, prācyāḥ [Oxforder Handschriften 55,a,10.] Vielleicht fehlerhaft für madhyadeśya .
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश):—m. —
1) der mittlere Raum. —
2) Meridian. —
3) die Mitte des Leibes , Taille. Am Ende eines adj. Comp. f. ā. —
4) das Mittelland , das Land zwischen Himavant , Vindhya , Vinaśana und Prayāga. Pl. die Bewohner dieses Landes.
Madhyadeśa (in Sanskrit) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 中國 [zhōng guó]: “Madhyadeśa”; “Madhya-deśa-jambūdvīpa”; “Madhya-janapada”; “Madhyeṣu janapadeṣu”; “Mratirūpa-deśa” [Sanskrit place name]; Alternatively: “middle kingdom”.
2) 中天 [zhōng tiān]: “Madhyadeśa”; “North-Central India” [Sanskrit place name].
3) 中天竺 [zhōng tiān zhú]: “Madhyadeśa” [Sanskrit place name].
4) 中梵 [zhōng fàn]: “Madhyadeśa”; “North Central India” [Sanskrit place name].
5) 末睇提舍 [mò dì tí shě]: “Madhyadeśa” [Sanskrit place name].
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
Madhyadēśa (ಮಧ್ಯದೇಶ):—
1) [noun] the space or region at the central portion.
2) [noun] the waist.
3) [noun] the abdomen.
4) [noun] the middle of the sky.
5) [noun] the central India (around Vindhya mountain range).
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Madhyadeśa (मध्यदेश):—n. 1. → मदेस [madesa ] ; 2. the middle region;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Madhya, Desha.
Starts with: Madhyadeshajambudvipa.
Full-text (+240): Madhyadeshajambudvipa, Dharmaranya, Vindhya, Mo di ti she, Carmaranga, Pandya, Guduha, Gaudaka, Madhyama, Prayaga, Prashastadri, Dandapingalaka, Nashtarajya, Nrisimhavana, Dasameya, Danturaka, Pandva, dbus kyi yul, Zhongguo, Trung quoc.
Relevant text
Search found 84 books and stories containing Madhyadesha, Madhya-deśa, Madhya-desa, Madhya-dēśa, Madhya-desha, Madhyadeśa, Madhyadesa, Madhyadēśa; (plurals include: Madhyadeshas, deśas, desas, dēśas, deshas, Madhyadeśas, Madhyadesas, Madhyadēśas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 2.21 < [Section VI - Qualified Countries]
Verse 4.153-155 < [Section XIV - Other Duties]
Verse 2.23 < [Section VI - Qualified Countries]
Amarakoshodghatana of Kshirasvamin (study) (by A. Yamuna Devi)
Miscellaneous (1): Geographical Data < [Chapter 3 - Social Aspects]
Manasollasa (study of Arts and Sciences) (by Mahadev Narayanrao Joshi)
3.3. Regions, States and Cities described in the Manasollasa < [Chapter 6 - Manasollasa: the first Encyclopaedia]
12. Buffalow-fighting described in the Manasollasa < [Chapter 3 - Social and Political conditions reflected in Somesvara’s Manasollasa]
The backdrop of the Srikanthacarita and the Mankhakosa (by Dhrubajit Sarma)
Part 8c - Mountains (found in the Śrīkaṇṭhacarita) < [Chapter IV - Socio-cultural study of the Śrīkaṇṭhacarita]
The Geographical Text of the Puranas: A Further Critical Study < [Purana, Volume 4, Part 1 (1962)]
The Shorter Kurma-Vibhaga Text of the Puranas < [Purana, Volume 9, Part 1 (1967)]
Literary and Archaeological Evidence on the Aryan Expansion in India < [Purana, Volume 6, Part 2 (1964)]
Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara (Study) (by Debabrata Barai)
Part 8.8 - Region of Madhyadeśa (central part) < [Chapter 5 - Analyasis and Interpretations of the Kāvyamīmāṃsā]
Part 8.3 - Rājaśekhara’s concepts of Bhāratavarṣa (undivided india) < [Chapter 5 - Analyasis and Interpretations of the Kāvyamīmāṃsā]
Part 5 - Rājaśekhara’s Province and Religion < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
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