Mamsa, Maṃsa, Māṃsa, Mamsha: 30 definitions
Introduction:
Mamsa means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi, Hindi. 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.
Alternative spellings of this word include Mansha.
Images (photo gallery)
In Hinduism
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Source: Wisdom Library: Kubjikāmata-tantraMāṃsa (मांस):—Sanskrit word for ‘flesh’. It is associated with Śikhi, which is the third seat of the Svādhiṣṭhāna-chakra, according to the Kubjikāmata-tantra.
Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric TraditionsMāṃsa (मांस) refers to “meat”, according to the 13th-century Matsyendrasaṃhitā: a Kubjikā-Tripurā oriented Tantric Yoga text of the Ṣaḍanvayaśāmbhava tradition from South India.—Accordingly, “[...] He should treat [all phenomena] as one, not as separate. He should not drink [alcohol] or eat meat (māṃsa-bhakṣaṇa) idly [with no ritual purpose]. He should not drink wine without first purifying it [with mantras], and he should consume meat after he has purified it with that [wine]. He should not answer the call of nature, should not sip water, etc., while reciting mantras or in an assembly. If he does so out of folly, the curse of the Yoginīs will fall on him. [...]”.
Source: SOAS University of London: Protective Rites in the Netra TantraMāṃsa (मांस) refers to “flesh”, according to the Svacchanda-tantra.—Accordingly, [verse 4.3-6, while describing the interpretation of dreams]—“In [auspicious] dreams [the dreamer] drinks wine, eats raw flesh (āma-māṃsa—āmamāṃsasya bhakṣaṇam), smears insect feces and sprinkles blood. He eats food of sour milk and smears a white garment. [He holds] a white umbrella over his head, decorates [himself] with a white garland or ribbon. [He sees] a throne, chariot or vehicle, the flag of royal initiation. He decorates [these things] with a coral, betel leaf fruit. [He also] sees Śrī or Sarasvatī”.
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: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English TranslationMāṃsa (मांस) refers to “meat”, which a Śiva-devotee should refrain from eating, according to the Śivapurāṇa 1.25, while explaining the greatness of Rudrākṣa:—“[...] a devotee of Śiva shall refrain from eating meat [viz., Māṃsa], garlic, onion, red garlic, potherb, Śleṣmātaka, pig of rubbish and liquors.”.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexMāṃsa (मांस).—Flesh offered to Goddess Kālī.*
- * Viṣṇu-purāṇa V. 1. 86.
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)
Source: archive.org: Vagbhata’s Ashtanga Hridaya Samhita (first 5 chapters)Māṃsa (मांस) refers to “meat”, as mentioned in verse 4.29-31 of the Aṣṭāṅgahṛdayasaṃhitā (Sūtrasthāna) by Vāgbhaṭa.—Accordingly, “[...] If (a patient) has been debilitated by medicine, strengthening (him) gradually by food such as rice, sixty-day-old rice, wheat, mung-beans, meat [viz., māṃsa], and ghee—(which), in combination with cardiac and stomachic remedies, (is) promotive of appetite and digestion—as well as by inunctions, massages, baths, and purgative and lubricant enemas (is) wholesome. Thus he recovers comfort, intensity of all the fires, faultlessness of intellect, colour, and senses, potency, (and) longness of life”.
Source: Shodhganga: Dietetics and culinary art in ancient and medieval IndiaMāṃsa (मांस) refers to “meat” according to the 17th century Bhojanakutūhala (dravyaguṇāguṇa-kathana), and is commonly found in literature dealing with the topics of dietetics and culinary art, also known as Pākaśāstra or Pākakalā.—The text [māṃsa-prakaraṇa] says the three fold division of meat such as terrestrial (bhūcara), celestial (khecara) and aquatic (apcara). Here different types of meat and their properties are discussed in detail.
In the Māṃsa or “meats” group of foodstuffs, the following substances are beneficial (hita) to the body: (Jāṅghala): Eṇa, Kuraṅga and Hariṇa; (Pakṣiṇa): Tittiri (partridge) and Lāva; (Matsya): Rohita. The following substances are harmful (ahita) to the body: Meats of domesticated animals and the muscle fat of buffalo.
Māṃsa or “meat” is mentioned in a list of potential causes for indigestion.—A complete section in Bhojanakutūhala is devoted for the description of agents that cause indigestion [viz., māṃsa (meat)]. These agents consumed on a large scale can cause indigestion for certain people. The remedies [viz., yavaśūkasaṃyutaṃ sarpiḥ (ghee mixed with yavaśūka and warm water)] for these types of indigestions are also explained therewith.
Source: Asian Agri-History: Paśu Āyurvēda (Veterinary Medicine) in GaruḍapurāṇaMāṃsa (मांस) refers to “meat” and is used in the treatment of various disorders, according to sections on Horses (Gajāyurveda or Aśvāyurveda) in the Garuḍapurāṇa.—[Management of miscellaneous disorders]—The drugs along with decoction of triphalā are advised if the horse is affected by vraṇa (ulcers)/kuṣṭha/khañja (lameness). The medicines should be administered with gomūtra (cow’s-urine) in mandāgni (impaired digestion), śotharoga (swelling/oedema). If they are affected by vātapitta, vraṇa (ulcers) the ghṛtasaṃyukta-gokṣīra (cow's milk along with ghee) is advised. If the horse is kṛṣa (emaciated), the diet shall be supplemented by māṃsa (meat) for puṣṭyārtha (to improve the body).
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: Google Books: Studies in the History of the Exact Sciences (Astronomy)Māṃsa (मांस, “meat”) refers to “eatable meat mixed with rice” and represents one of the items offered to the nine planets (navagraha), according to the grahaśānti (cf. grahayajña) section of the Yājñavalkyasmṛti (1.295-309), preceded by the section called vināyakakalpa (1.271-294), prescribing a rite to be offered to Vināyaka.—[verse 302-303: Faggots to be burned]—These two verses prescribe different faggots [i.e., māṃsa] to be burned for grahas with offerings of honey, ghee, dadhi, and milk. It is interesting to note that some of the faggots (i.e. parāśa, khadira, pippala, and śamī) mentioned here are also used in the Suśrutasaṃhitā in the context (Uttaratantra chapters 27-37) of curing the diseases caused by grahas, which, in this case, are not planetary. [verse 304-305: Cooked rice (odana) to be offered to grahas]
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: Google Books: ManthanabhairavatantramMāṃsa (मांस) refers to “flesh”, according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—Accordingly, “May they, whom I have recollected and are satisfied, accept the vessel of the bali. [...] O god! the bali has been offered to (them to chastise) those who despise the heroes, Siddhas and yogis on the surface of the earth here in the gathering of the practice of the Rule. May they destroy the hearing, memory, mind, sight, fat, flesh [i.e., māṃsa], bones and life of the wicked in the great gathering of the Rule!”.
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.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: OSU Press: Cakrasamvara SamadhiMāṃsa (मांस) or “muscle” is associated with Mahānāśā and Vikaṭadaṃṣṭriṇa, according to 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);
Bodhipakṣha (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.
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita SastraMaṃsa (मंस, “flesh”) or Māṃsa refers to one of the thirty-substances of the human body according to the Visuddhimagga, as mentioned in an appendix of the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter 32-34. The Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra mentions thirty-six substances [viz., maṃsa, māṃsa]; the Sanskrit sources of both the Lesser and the Greater Vehicles, physical substances are 26 in number while the Pāli suttas list thirty-once substances.
Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
General definition (in Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Dharma-samgrahaMāṃsa (मांस, “fleshly”) or Māṃsacakṣus refers to one the “five eyes” (cakṣus) as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 65). The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (e.g., māṃsa). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: archive.org: Jaina YogaMāṃsa (मांस, “meat”) refers to one of the ten classifications of food (āhāra), also known as vikṛtis, according to the 12th century Yogaśāstra (verse 3.130) by Hemacandra. Māṃsa refers to meat, which again is said to be of three kinds: of birds, beasts or fishes; sometimes, however, this threefold division is explained as skin, meat, and blood.
Meat (māṃsa) is forbidden to consume for Jain laymen. The five udumbara fruits and three forbidden vikṛtis: meat (māṃsa), alcohol (madya), and honey (madhu)—from which abstention is enjoined have one aspect in common: they are all used as offerings to the spirits of the ancestors (pitṛs). For Amitagati, in the Subhāṣita-ratna-sandoha, the common characteristic of meat, alcohol, and honey is their aphrodisiac quality.
The eating of meat (māṃsa) is, above all, a sin against compassion and the guilt belongs not only to the actual slaughterer but to anybody who buys or sells, cooks or carves, or gives or eats meat as in fact the Hindu dharma-śāstras confirm. To eat meat is to acknowledge vultures, wolves, and tigers as one’s gurus. Some people, continues Hemacandra (alluding to the śrāddha, Yogaśāstra v3.29-31), not only eat meat themselves but offer it to the devas and pitṛs.
The Digambaras tend to emphasize the sharp distinction between eating meat which contains trasa-jīvas and fruits or corn in which there are present only sthāvara-jīvas (see Amṛtacandra’s Puruṣārthasiddhyupāya 65-68). Even where a bullor buffalo has not been slaughtered but has died a natural death the consumption of its flesh involves the destruction of the minute living organisms (nigodas) that have found refuge there and these continue to come into existence in meat either raw or cookedor in process of cooking so that very great hiṃsā is caused even by touching a piece of it. The eating of meat, says Āśādhara, in his Sāgāra-dharmāmṛta (v2.8), increases the lusts of the flesh and keeps a man wandering in the saṃsāra.
Source: The University of Sydney: A study of the Twelve ReflectionsMāṃsa (मांस) refers to “flesh”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “Alone [the living soul] who is very wise becomes a god [like] a bee on a lotus [like] the face of a woman . Alone, being cut by swords [com.—swallows (pibati) his own blood (svāsraṃ), his own blood (svarudhiraṃ), and flesh (māṃsaṃ) which is mixed with it (kalilaṃ)], he appropriates a hellish embryo. Alone the one who is ignorant, driven by the fire of anger, etc., does action. Alone [the living soul] enjoys the empire of knowledge in the avoidance of all mental blindness. [Thus ends the reflection on] solitariness”.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionarymaṃsa : (nt.) flesh.
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 Dictionarymāṃsa (मांस).—n (S) pop. māsa n Flesh.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishmāṃsa (मांस).—n Flesh.
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 dictionaryMāṃsa (मांस).—[man-sa dīrghaśca Uṇādi-sūtra 3.64] Flesh, meat; समांसो मधुपर्कः (samāṃso madhuparkaḥ) Uttararāmacarita 4. (The word is thus fancifully derived in Manusmṛti 5.55 :-māṃ sa bhakṣayitā'mutra yasya māṃsamihādmyaham | etanmāṃsasya māṃsatvaṃ pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ ||).
2) The flesh of fish.
3) The fleshy part of a fruit.
-saḥ 1 A worm.
2) Name of a mixed tribe, selling meat.
3) Time.
Derivable forms: māṃsam (मांसम्).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryMāṃsa (मांस).—n.
(-saṃ) 1. Flesh. 2. The fleshy part of fruit. f. (-sī) 1. Indian spikenard, (Valeriana Jatamansi.) 2. A sort of drug, commonly Kakoli. m.
(-saḥ) 1. Time. 2. A worm. E. san to mind, sa Unadi aff., and the vowel made long by special rule.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryMāṃsa (मांस).—the base of many cases is optionally māṃs māṃs, n. Flesh, [Pañcatantra] iii. [distich] 139; meat.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryMāṃsa (मांस).—[neuter] sgl. & [plural] meat, flesh, [abstract] tva† [neuter]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Māṃsa (मांस):—[from māṃs] n. sg. and [plural] flesh, meat, [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc. (also said of the fleshy part or pulp of fruit, [Suśruta])
2) [v.s. ...] m. Name of a mixed caste, [Mahābhārata] (= māṃsa-vikretṛ, [Nīlakaṇṭha])
3) [v.s. ...] a worm, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
4) [v.s. ...] time, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
5) [from māṃs] cf. [Slavonic or Slavonian] mȩso; [Prussian] mensa; [Lithuanian] mėsà.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryMāṃsa (मांस):—(saṃ) 1. n. Flesh. f. (sī) Spikenard; a drug. m. Time; a worm.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Māṃsa (मांस) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Maṃsa.
[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.
Hindi dictionary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary1) Maṃśā (मंशा) [Also spelled mansha]:—(nm, nf) intention, purpose, motive.
2) Māṃsa (मांस) [Also spelled mas]:—(nm) meat; flesh;-, [gāya kā]beef;-, [bakarī kā] meat;-, [bachaḍe kā] veal; —[suara kā] pork;-, [hirana kā] venison —[graṃthi] a gland; ~[piṃḍa] a tumour, lump of flesh; the physical frame; ~[peśī] a muscle; —[bhakṣaṇa] meat-eating; ~[bhakṣī/bhojī] a meat-eater; carnivorous/carnivore; —[rasa] meat soup; ~[la] fleshy, corpulent, plump; carnal; tangible, concrete; ~[latā] fleshiness, corpulence, plumpiness; carnality; tangibility; concreteness; ~[vṛddhi] a tumour; fleshy outgrowth; growth of fat, fattiness; —[sāra] fat.
...
Prakrit-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary1) Maṃsa (मंस) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Māṃsa.
2) Maṃsa (मंस) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Māṃsa.
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 corpusMāṃsa (ಮಾಂಸ):—
1) [noun] the soft substance of a human or other animal body, between the skin and the bones, consisting of muscle and fat; the muscular tissue; flesh.
2) [noun] the flesh of animals used as food.
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 (+156): Mamsa Jataka, Mamsa Sutta, Mamsaba, Mamsabadara, Mamsabala, Mamsabhaksha, Mamsabhakshaka, Mamsabhakshaki, Mamsabhakshana, Mamsabhakshanadipika, Mamsabhakshyanirupana, Mamsabhedi, Mamsabhedin, Mamsabhettar, Mamsabhettri, Mamsabhiksha, Mamsabhivriddhi, Mamsabhudodana, Mamsabhuta, Mamsabudbudavant.
Ends with (+120): Adhikaranamimamsa, Adhimamsa, Adhvaramimamsa, Adhyatmamimamsa, Agramamsa, Amamamsa, Amamsha, Amimamsa, Angaramamsa, Anivrittamamsa, Antramamsa, Anupakritamamsa, Anupamamsa, Arpanamimamsa, Ashtamamsha, Atimamsa, Audakamamsa, Avartakadashamamsha, Bhaktamimamsa, Bhaktimimamsa.
Full-text (+401): Mamsahasa, Dantamamsa, Mamsavikraya, Mamsaja, Mamsashila, Mamsasneha, Takramamsa, Amamsha, Mamsalata, Adhimamsa, Mamsatejas, Mamsada, Mamsayoni, Mamsakshaya, Mamsapaka, Mamsatva, Agramamsa, Mamsaphala, Mamsasamghata, Mamsarasa.
Relevant text
Search found 43 books and stories containing Mamsa, Maṃsa, Māṃsa, Maṃśā, Māmsa, Mamsha; (plurals include: Mamsas, Maṃsas, Māṃsas, Maṃśās, Māmsas, Mamshas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
Appendix 3 - Thirty-two substances of the human body < [Chapter XXXII-XXXIV - The eight classes of supplementary dharmas]
1. Generosity and the virtue of generosity. < [Part 14 - Generosity and the other virtues]
Preliminary note on the ‘five eyes’ < [Part 6 - Obtaining the five ‘eyes’]
Charaka Samhita (English translation) (by Shree Gulabkunverba Ayurvedic Society)
Chapter 27c - The group of meats (Mamsa) < [Sutrasthana (Sutra Sthana) — General Principles]
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 5.24.32 < [Chapter 24 - The Killing of the Kola Demon]
Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)
Verse 2.24.89 < [Chapter 24 - The Lord Displays His Universal Form to Advaita]
Verse 3.5.568 < [Chapter 5 - The Pastimes of Nityānanda]
Verse 2.1.206 < [Chapter 1 - The Beginning of the Lord’s Manifestation and His Instructions on Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana]
Rasa Jala Nidhi, vol 4: Iatrochemistry (by Bhudeb Mookerjee)
Part 3 - Visama-jvara (chronic fever) < [Chapter II - Fever (jvara)]
The Devi Bhagavata Purana (by Swami Vijñanananda)