Mahanasa, Mahānasa, Mahānāsā, Mahānāsa, Māhānasa, Maha-anasa, Maha-nasa, Mahanasha: 27 definitions
Introduction:
Mahanasa means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Source: Wisdom Library: Kubjikāmata-tantra1) Mahānāsā (महानासा, “big-nosed”):—One of the nine Dūtī presided over by one of the nine bhaivaravas named Mudreśa (emanation of Ananta, who is the central presiding deity of Dūtīcakra), according to the Kubjikāmata-tantra and the Ṣaṭsāhasrasaṃhitā.
2) Mahānāsā (महानासा):—Sanskrit name of one of the thirty-two female deities of the Somamaṇḍala (second maṇḍala of the Khecarīcakra) according to the kubjikāmata-tantra. These goddesses are situated on a ring of sixteen petals and represent the thirty-two syllables of the Aghoramantra. Each deity (including Mahānāsā) is small, plump and large-bellied. They can assume any form at will, have sixteen arms each, and are all mounted on a different animal.
Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric TraditionsMahānāsā (महानासा) (mantra: oṃ hūṃ caṇḍe kāpālini phaṭ) refers to one of the six Yoginīs of the pantheon of Mantra-deities, according to the Brahmayāmala-tantra (or Picumata), an early 7th century Śaiva text consisting of twelve-thousand verses.—Patterning the processes of inner and outer ritual is the Brahmayāmala’s pantheon of mantra-deities, whose core comprises the Four Goddesses or Guhyakās, Four Consorts or Handmaidens, and their lord, Kapālīśabhairava. Secondary members of the pantheon are a sextet of Yoginīs [e.g., Mahānāsā] and an octad of Mother-goddesses.
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.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Wisdom Library: The Matsya-purāṇaMahānāsā (महानासा) is the name of a mind-born ‘divine mother’ (mātṛ), created for the purpose of drinking the blood of the Andhaka demons, according to the Matsya-purāṇa 179.8. The Andhaka demons spawned out of every drop of blood spilled from the original Andhakāsura (Andhaka-demon). According to the Matsya-purāṇa 179.35, “Most terrible they (e.g., Mahānāsā) all drank the blood of those Andhakas and become exceedingly satiated.”
The Matsyapurāṇa is categorised as a Mahāpurāṇa, and was originally composed of 20,000 metrical verses, dating from the 1st-millennium BCE. The narrator is Matsya, one of the ten major avatars of Viṣṇu.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index1) Mahānasa (महानस).—A boundary hill of Śākadvīpa.*
- * Bhāgavata-purāṇa V. 20. 26.
2) Mahānāsā (महानासा).—A mind-born mother.*
- * Matsya-purāṇa 179. 21.
3) Mahānāsa (महानास).—A Janapada of the Ketumālā continent.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 44. 13.
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.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Google Books: ManthanabhairavatantramMahānāsa (महानास) symbolically corresponds to Mount Gandhamālya, according to the Ṣaṭsāhasrasaṃhitā, an expansion of the Kubjikāmatatantra: the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—Accordingly, regarding the circumference of the Island of the Moon (candradvīpa): “Meru is said to be the head. It is the last (i.e. highest place) and the location of the topknot (cūlikā). O fair lady, it is four fingers (distance) from the End of the Sixteen. That is said to be the Island of the Moon, which is above the extremity of the nose of the (upper) mouth. Below it is (mount) Gandhamālya, which measures one finger span. It is called Mahānāsa and is the western Himagahvara [...]”.
Note: Possibly because of its shape, Gandhamālya is called Mahānāsa—the Great Nose. As Kuṇḍalinī is, amongst other things, the energy of the vital breath that enters and exits from the nose, she is sometimes called nāsikāśakti—the ‘energy of the nose’. Possibly, then, the ‘Great Nose’ is this one above the head through which the energy of the vital breath travels in a straight ascending and descending movement. It is the nose of the upper face above the crown of the head. Moving through the channel of this nose, the energy of the vital breath is no longer ‘crooked’ (kuṭilā) as it is when it travels through the nose of the lower face in the fettered condition.
Source: Kamakoti Mandali: The Yoginis of Narasimha VyuhaMahānāsā (महानासा) is the name of a Mātṛkā-Śakti created by Mahārudra in order to control the plague of demons created by Andhakāsura.—Accordingly, Andhaka-Asura tried to kidnap Umā (Devī Pārvatī), and was fiercely attacked by Mahārudra who shot arrows at him from his mahāpināka. when the arrows pierced the body of Andhakāsura, drops of blood fell to earth and from those drops, thousands of Andhakas arose. To control this plague of demons, Mahārudra created Mātṛkā-Śaktis [viz., Mahānāsā] and ordered them to drink the blood of the demons and drain them dry.
Source: Kamakoti Mandali: Nrisimha matrika-mandalaMahānāsā (महानासा) refers to one of the various Mātṛkā-Śaktis created by Rudra in order to destroy the clones that spawned from Andhaka’s body.—Accordingly, [...] Andhakāsura attempted to abduct Girājanandinī (Pārvatī) and thus ensued a fierce battle between Andhakāsura and the great Rudra, the Lord of Umā. Like raktabīja, every drop of blood that fell from the body of Andhaka created another Asura like him and in no time, the entire world was filled with Andhakas. To destroy the growing number of Andhakas, Rudra created innumerable Mātṛkā-Śaktis [viz., Mahānāsā]. These Śaktis of immense power at once began to drink every drop of blood that flowed from the body of Andhaka, but they could still not effectively contain the emergence of more and more demons.
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.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Source: gurumukhi.ru: Ayurveda glossary of termsMahānasa (महानस):—Kitchen.
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.
Vastushastra (architecture)
Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (architecture)Mahānasa (महानस) refers to the “kitchen”, according to the Devyāmata (chapter 105).—Accordingly, [while describing the layout of the residence (gṛha) for the prāsādāśramin]—“[...] The residence for those who come to the temple is described in due sequence. In the southeast is the kitchen (mahānasa). In the northeast is the space for worship. [...]”.
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.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: Wisdomlib Libary: VajrayoginiMahānāsā (महानासा) is the goddess presiding over one of the six petals of the eastern lotus of the vārāhyabhyudaya-maṇḍala, according to the Vārāhyabhyudayatantra (largerly extracted from the 10th century Abhidhānottaratantra). These six petals are presided over by a kuleśvarī (presiding lady) named Māmakī. The central deity of the vārāhyabhyudaya-maṇḍala is the twelve-armed Vajravarāhī.
Mahānāsā is associated with the sacred site (pīṭha) named Arbuda. All the goddess of the eastern lotus petals are to be visualised as dancing naked and being half-male / half-female (ardhanarīśvarī) with their two sides being white and green. In their four arms they brandish a bowl and staff, with a ḍamaru and their familial attribute.
Source: academia.edu: A Critical Study of the Vajraḍākamahātantrarāja (II)Mahānāsā (महानासा) is the name of a Ḍākinī (‘sacred girl’) presiding over Arbuda: one of the four Pīṭhas (‘sacred spot’) present within the Cittacakra (‘circle of mid’), according to the 9th-centruy Vajraḍākatantra. The Cittacakra is one of three Cakras within the Tricakra system which embodies twenty-four sacred spots or districts resided over by twenty-four Ḍākinīs (viz., Mahānāsā) whose husbands abide in one’s body in the form of twenty-four ingredients (dhātu) of one’s body.
Mahānāsā has for her husband the hero (vīra) named Vikaṭadaṃṣṭrin. She is the presiding deity of Arbuda and the associated internal location is ‘back of the head’ and the bodily ingredient (dhātu) is ‘flesh’.
Source: academia.edu: The Structure and Meanings of the Heruka MaṇḍalaMahānāsā (महानासा) is the name of a Ḍākinī who, together with the Vīra (hero) named Vikaṭadaṃṣṭrin forms one of the 36 pairs situated in the Vajracakra, according to the 10th century Ḍākārṇava chapter 15. Accordingly, the vajracakra refers to one of the four divisions of the sahaja-puṭa (‘innate layer’), situated within the padma (lotus) in the middle of the Herukamaṇḍala. The 36 pairs of Ḍākinīs [viz., Mahānāsā] and Vīras each have one face and four arms; they hold a skull bowl, a skull staff, a small drum and a knife; they are dark-bluish-black in color.
Source: OSU Press: Cakrasamvara SamadhiMahānāśā (महानाशा) is the name of a Ḍākinī (female consort) and one of the deities of the Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala or Saṃvaramaṇḍala of Abhayākaragupta’s Niṣpannayogāvalī, p. 45 and n. 145; (Cf. Cakrasaṃvaratantra, Gray, David B., 2007).—The Cakrasaṃvara mandala has a total of sixty-two deities. [...] Three concentric circles going outward, the body, speech and mind wheels (kāya-vāka-citta), in the order: mind (blue), speech (red), and body (white), with eight Ḍākinīs each in non-dual union with their Ḍākas, "male consorts".
Associated elements of Mahānāśā and Vikaṭadaṃṣṭriṇa:
Circle: kāyacakra (mind-wheel) (blue);
Ḍākinī (female consort): Mahānāśā;
Ḍāka (male consort): Vikaṭadaṃṣṭriṇa;
Bīja: aṃ;
Body-part: occiput;
Pīṭha: Arbuda;
Bodily constituent: māṃsa (muscle);
Bodhipakṣa (wings of enlightenment): citta-ṛddhipāda (power of thought).
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.
In Jainism
Jain philosophy
Source: archive.org: Anekanta Jaya Pataka of Haribhadra SuriMahānasa (महानस) refers to a “kitchen”, as occurring in the Anekāntajayapatākā-prakaraṇa, a Śvetāmbara Jain philosophical work written by Haribhadra Sūri.—[Cf. Vol. II, P. 101, l. 8]—‘Mahānasa’ means a kitchen; and even ‘anas’ a homonym means the same. Thus the adjective ‘mahat’ is here superfluous. A parallel instance is furnished by the word ‘mahendra’. The Pāiya (Prakrit) equivalent ‘mahāṇasa’ occurs in Nāyādhammakahā (1,8), Gāhāsattasaī (v. 13) etc.
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Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionarymahānasa : (nt.) the kitchen.
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.
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryMāhānasa (माहानस).—a. (-sī f.)
1) Belonging to a large carriage.
2) Relating to a kitchen. Hence माहानसिक (māhānasika) = A superintendent of the kitchen; चिकित्सक-महानसिक-मौहूर्ति- कांश्च पश्येत् (cikitsaka-mahānasika-mauhūrti- kāṃśca paśyet) Kau. A.1.19.16.
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Mahānasa (महानस).—
1) a heavy carriage.
2) cooking utensils.
-sī a kitchen-maid.
-saḥ, -sam a kitchen; सूपानस्य करिष्यामि कुशलोऽस्मि महानसे (sūpānasya kariṣyāmi kuśalo'smi mahānase) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 4.2.2.
Derivable forms: mahānasam (महानसम्).
Mahānasa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms mahā and anasa (अनस).
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Mahānāsa (महानास).—an epithet of Śiva.
Derivable forms: mahānāsaḥ (महानासः).
Mahānāsa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms mahā and nāsa (नास).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryMahānāśā (महानाशा).—name of a yoginī: Sādhanamālā 427.3.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryMahānasa (महानस).—mn.
(-saḥ-saṃ) A kitchen. n.
(-saṃ) A heavy carriage. E. mahā great, chief, anasa rice or food, ṭac added; to which the food is conveyed to be dressed, &c.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryMahānasa (महानस).—n. A kitchen, [Pañcatantra] 253, 14.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryMahānasa (महानस).—[neuter] freight-waggon, kitchen.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Mahānasa (महानस):—[from mahā > mah] n. (hān) a heavy waggon or cart, [???]
2) [=mahā-nasa] [from mahānasa > mahā > mah] a kitchen (also m.), [Gobhila-śrāddha-kalpa; Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtra; Mahābhārata] etc.
3) [v.s. ...] m. cooking utensils (?), [Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtra]
4) [v.s. ...] Name of a mountain, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
5) Mahānāsa (महानास):—[=mahā-nāsa] [from mahā > mah] mfn. having a gr° nose (Śiva), [Mahābhārata]
6) Māhānasa (माहानस):—[from māhā] mf(ī)n. ([from], mahānasa) relating to a large carriage or to a kitchen, [ib.]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryMahānasa (महानस):—[mahā-nasa] (saḥ-saṃ) 1. m. n. A kitchen.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Mahānasa (महानस) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Mahāṇasa.
[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 dictionaryMahāṇasa (महाणस) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Mahānasa.
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 corpusMahānasa (ಮಹಾನಸ):—
1) [noun] a big cart for carrying heavy loads.
2) [noun] the room or a house where food is generally cooked; a kitchen.
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)
Partial matches: Maha, Nasa, Anasa.
Starts with: Mahanasadhyaksha.
Ends with: Pratimahanasa.
Full-text (+5): Arbuda, Makanacam, Vikatadamshtrin, Mahanasadhyaksha, Pratimahanasa, Mahanasi, Citta, Anas, Tac, Mamsa, Cittarddhipada, Svadhiti, Am, Vikatadamshtrina, Gandhamalya, Culika, Agnidhra, Nasikashakti, Shakya, Ketumaladvipa.
Relevant text
Search found 8 books and stories containing Mahanasa, Mahānasa, Mahānāsā, Mahānāsa, Māhānasa, Maha-anasa, Maha-nasa, Mahanasha, Mahā-anasa, Mahā-nāsa, Mahānāśā, Mahā-nasa, Mahāṇasa; (plurals include: Mahanasas, Mahānasas, Mahānāsās, Mahānāsas, Māhānasas, anasas, nasas, Mahanashas, nāsas, Mahānāśās, Mahāṇasas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Anumana in Indian Philosophy (by Sangita Chakravarty)
(C). Avayavas of Anumāna (in Mīmāṃsā-Vedānta Philosophy) < [Chapter 4 - Treatment of Anumāna in Mīmāṃsā-Vedānta Philosophy]
(B). Different divisions of Anumāna (in Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika Philosophy) < [Chapter 2 - Treatment of Anumāna in Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika Philosophy]
(B). Divisions of Anumāna (in Sāṃkhya-Yoga Philosophy) < [Chapter 3 - Treatment of Anumāna in Sāṃkhya-Yoga Philosophy]
Vastu-shastra (3): House Architecture (by D. N. Shukla)
The Agnistoma Somayaga in the Shukla Yajurveda (by Madan Haloi)
Somasaṃsthā (5): Vājapeya < [Chapter 3 - The Somayāga]
The Agni Purana (by N. Gangadharan)
The Skanda Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 72 - Victory of Durgā < [Section 2 - Uttarārdha]
The Bhagavata Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 20 - Description of the remaining six Dvīpas < [Book 5 - Fifth Skandha]