Malavya, Mālavya: 6 definitions

Introduction:

Malavya means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit. 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

Shilpashastra (iconography)

Source: Google Books: The Theory of Citrasutras in Indian Painting

Mālavya: One of the Pañca-puruṣa (‘five stereotypes of men’).—The Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa (III.36.4), a mālavya type is dark like the green pulse, he has slender waist, beautiful body with long arms reaching the knees, broad shoulders, prominent nose like an elephant’s trunk and large jaws. The Bṛhat Saṃhitā (69.10) states that a person belonging to the mālavya type, influenced by Venus, possesses arms that are long like the elephant’s trunk, hands that touch the knees, limbs and joints full of flesh, an even bodym attractive and slender waist. His face is 13 digits long and his ear holes are 10 digits apart. He has shining eyes, fine cheecks, equal and white teeth and not a very fleshy lower lip. The Sārāvalī (37.3–4) adds that the mālavya type has an even physique, thin waist, splendour equal to that of the moon, majestic voice, pleasant odour of the body, piercing sight, even and white teeth.

Source: Shodhganga: Elements of Art and Architecture in the Trtiyakhanda of the Visnudharmottarapurana (shilpa)

Mālavya (मालव्य) refers to one of the five types of men, defined according to the principles of ancient Indian Painting (citra), 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. In the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, a specific measurement of every limb of a man as well as of a woman is elaborately and systematically discussed. According to this book, there are five types of men viz., mālavya, [...] Mālavya type of man is seen to have dark complexion like mudga i.e., a kind of kidney bean. He is adorned with slender waist, long hands, massive shoulders, broad jaw lines and long nose like elephant.

Shilpashastra book cover
context information

Shilpashastra (शिल्पशास्त्र, śilpaśāstra) represents the ancient Indian science (shastra) of creative arts (shilpa) such as sculpture, iconography and painting. Closely related to Vastushastra (architecture), they often share the same literature.

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Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

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

1) Mālavya (मालव्य):—[from mālava] mfn. relating or belonging to Mālava (-deśa m. Name of a country, [Catalogue(s)])

2) [v.s. ...] m. a prince of the Mālavas, pāṇ, [v, 3, 114 [Scholiast or Commentator]]

3) [v.s. ...] Name of 5 classes of extraordinary men (mahā-puruṣāḥ) born under [particular] constellations, [Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā]

[Sanskrit to German]

Malavya in German

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.

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Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Mālavya (ಮಾಲವ್ಯ):—[noun] one of the five class of human beings, as per Varāhamihira, classified based on the normal size, shape of people.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

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