Manjishtha, Mamjishtha, Mañjiṣṭhā, Māñjiṣṭha: 28 definitions
Introduction:
Manjishtha means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi, biology. 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 terms Mañjiṣṭhā and Māñjiṣṭha can be transliterated into English as Manjistha or Manjishtha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
In Hinduism
Ayurveda (science of life)
Rasashastra (Alchemy and Herbo-Mineral preparations)
Manjiṣṭhā (मन्जिष्ठा):—One of the sixty-eight Rasauṣadhi, very powerful drugs known to be useful in alchemical processes related to mercury (rasa), according to Rasaprakāśa-sudhākara (chapter 9).
Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा) refers to “Indian madder” and is used in the recipe for creating artificial Sapphires, according to the Vādakhaṇḍa section of the Rasaratnākara (lit. “jewel mine of mercury”): a 13th century alchemical work in Sanskrit written by Nityanātha.—Accordingly: “One should mix evenly ground Indian madder (mañjiṣṭhā), orpiment, and indigo. All this should be well-stirred with the liquids in the glass bottle. Having soaked the “rain-stones” with this, one should heat it as before. Through this, they all truly become whole emeralds”.
Cikitsa (natural therapy and treatment for medical conditions)
Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा) is a Sanskrit word referring to the “Indian madder”, a flowering plant from the Rubiaceae family. It is used throughout Ayurvedic literature such as the Caraka-saṃhitā. Its official botanical name is Rubia cordifolia and is commonly known in English as “Common madder”. It is popularly known as a source of a red pigment throughout Asia. The word Mañjiṣṭhā is derived from Mañjiṣṭha (“very bright” or “bright red”), which is the superlative of Mañju (‘beatiful’, ‘lovely’ or ‘sweet’)
This plant (Mañjiṣṭhā) is also mentioned as a medicine used for the treatment of all major fevers (jvara), as described in the Jvaracikitsā (or “the treatment of fever”) which forms the first chapter of the Sanskrit work called Mādhavacikitsā.
Kalpa (Formulas, Drug prescriptions and other Medicinal preparations)
Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा) refers to the medicinal plant known as “Rubia cordifolia Linn.” and is dealt with in the 15th-century Yogasārasaṅgraha (Yogasara-saṅgraha) by Vāsudeva: an unpublished Keralite work representing an Ayurvedic compendium of medicinal recipes. The Yogasārasaṃgraha [mentioning mañjiṣṭhā] deals with entire recipes in the route of administration, and thus deals with the knowledge of pharmacy (bhaiṣajya-kalpanā) which is a branch of pharmacology (dravyaguṇa).
Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा) or Mañjiṣṭhādya-taila refers to one of the topics discussed in the Madhumatī, a Sanskrit manuscript ascribed to Nṛsiṃha Kavirāja collected in volume 12 of the catalogue “Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (second series)” by Mahamahopadhyaya Haraprasad Shastri.—The Madhumatī manuscript, consisting of 5,586 ślokas (metrical verses), is housed in Dhaka with Babu Bhagavancandra Dasa Kaviraja. It seemingly addresses topics related to Medicinal, Herbal, and Iatrochemical preparations. The catalogue includes the term—Mañjiṣṭhā-ādya-taila in its ‘subject-matter list’ or Viṣaya (which lists topics, chapters and technical terms). The complete entry reads—mañjiṣṭhādyatailavidhānam.
Toxicology (Study and Treatment of poison)
Māñjiṣṭhā (माञ्जिष्ठा) refers to an herbal ingredient included in a Recipe which will bring a dead person to life, according to the Kāśyapa Saṃhitā: an ancient Sanskrit text from the Pāñcarātra tradition dealing with both Tantra and Viṣacikitsā, which represents the Ayurvedic study on Toxicology (Viṣavidyā or Sarpavidyā).—Kāśyapa prescribes various antidotes to quell the poison by administering them through nasal drugs, collyrium, ointment, herbal drinks and diet. One antidote he suggests doubles up as a nasal application and collyrium—[including for example, māñjiṣṭhā] [...], made with urine (bovine) which will bring to life, a dead person.
Agriculture (Krishi) and Vrikshayurveda (study of Plant life)
Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा) (identified with Rubia cordifolia) is used in various recipes for bio-organic manipulation of plants/flowers/fruits, according to the Vṛkṣāyurveda by Sūrapāla (1000 CE): an encyclopedic work dealing with the study of trees and the principles of ancient Indian agriculture.—For example, while describing the recipe for manipulating the colour of flowers or fruits (on the tree): “The white flowers of a tree turn into a golden colour if the tree is watered with a mixture of Curcuma longa powder, Butea monosperma, Gossypium herbaceum seed, Rubia cordifolia [e.g., Mañjiṣṭhā] and the Symplocos racemosa tree”.
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा) is identified with “madder”, which is used in a recipe for the subjugation elephants, according to the 15th century Mātaṅgalīlā composed by Nīlakaṇṭha in 263 Sanskrit verses, dealing with elephantology in ancient India, focusing on the science of management and treatment of elephants.—[Cf. chapter 10, “on the catching of elephants”]: “10. He shall apply (to the cows) a subjugating ointment made of [including for example, Mañjiṣṭhā—madder, ...] and similar things; with Celosia cristata, māleya (cardamoms?), collyrium, nāgapuṣpa (name of various plants), and honey.
Unclassified Ayurveda definitions
Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा) refers to the medicinal plant known as Rubia cordifolia Linn. which is one of the important ingredient of mahāmañjiṣṭhādi-kvātha acts as a potent blood purifier, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti stress, antimicrobial which can play important role to cure furuncle like skin infections and improve skin health.
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)
Māñjiṣṭha (माञ्जिष्ठ) refers to a “bright red color”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 10), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “If the course of Saturn should lie through the constellation of Viśākhā, the Trigartas, the Chinese and the Kulūtas, saffron, lac, crops and everything of bright, red [i.e., māñjiṣṭha] or crimson colour will suffer. If the course of Saturn should lie through the constellation of Anurādhā, the Kulūtas, the Taṅgaṇas, the Khasas, the people of Kāśmīra, ministers, drivers and bell-ringers will suffer, and friends will turn into enemies”.
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.
Vastushastra (architecture)
Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा) is used as an ingredient of a mixture of Vajralepa (“a special kind of hard cement”) which was used in the construction of a Temple and as a binding agent for joining bricks, 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, five procedures of preparing the vajralepa are suggested.—In the second variety, the mixture of lākṣā, kunduru, gṛhadhūma the middle portion of kapittha and bilva, nāgaphala, balā, madhuka, kiñjāpa, madana, mañjīṣṭhā, āmalaka and sarja should be taken.
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)
Māñjiṣṭha (माञ्जिष्ठ) refers to a “madder-like (color)”, according to the 10th-century Ḍākārṇava-tantra: one of the last Tibetan Tantric scriptures belonging to the Buddhist Saṃvara tradition consisting of 51 chapters.—Accordingly: “Now, outside is another [circle], the Speech Circle (vākcakra). That is explained. [It is] madder-like red (rakta-māñjiṣṭha) in color, consists of thirty-six spokes, and is powerful. [The Yoginīs are]—[...] [Every] goddess is effective in all rituals. This circle is great in nature. [The color of the goddesses’ bodies is] declared to be [the same as] the color of their circle. Here, the rest is as before. [...]”.
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.
Biology (plants and animals)
Manjishtha [मञ्जिष्ठा] in the Sanskrit language is the name of a plant identified with Rubia cordifolia L. from the Rubiaceae (Coffee) family having the following synonyms: Rubia cordata, Galium cordifolium, Rubia scandens. For the possible medicinal usage of manjishtha, you can check this page for potential sources and references, although be aware that any some or none of the side-effects may not be mentioned here, wether they be harmful or beneficial to health.
Manjistha in the Bengali language is the name of a plant identified with Rubia manjith Roxb. ex Fleming from the Rubiaceae (Coffee) family having the following synonyms: Rubia munjista, Rubia cordifolia var. munjista, Rubia cordifolia var. khasiana.
Manjishtha in the Mizo language, ibid. previous identification.
Manjishtha in India is the name of a plant defined with Rubia manjith in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Rubia cordifolia var. khasiana G. Watt (among others).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Botanical Magazine, or ‘Flower-Garden Displayed’ (1907)
· Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugduno-Batavi (1867)
· Asiatic Researches (1810)
· Calc. Exhib. Cat. Pt. (1889)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Manjishtha, for example extract dosage, health benefits, pregnancy safety, side effects, diet and recipes, chemical composition, have a look at these references.
This sections includes definitions from the five kingdoms of living things: Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists and Monera. It will include both the official binomial nomenclature (scientific names usually in Latin) as well as regional spellings and variants.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
mañjiṣṭha (मंजिष्ठ).—n m (mañjiṣṭhā S) Bengal madder, Rubia manjith. Rox.
mañjiṣṭha (मंजिष्ठ).—n m Bengal madder.
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
Mañjiṣṭha (मञ्जिष्ठ).—a. Bright red; नीललोहितमञ्जिष्ठा विसृजन्नर्चिषः पृथक् (nīlalohitamañjiṣṭhā visṛjannarciṣaḥ pṛthak) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 16.2.12; also मञ्जिष्ठक (mañjiṣṭhaka); पाण्डुरारुणवर्णानि नीलमञ्जिष्ठकानि च (pāṇḍurāruṇavarṇāni nīlamañjiṣṭhakāni ca) Rām.5.1.79.
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Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा).—[atiśayena mañjimatī iṣṭham matupo lopaḥ Tv.] Bengal or Indian madder; मञ्जिष्ठां नागसंभवम् (mañjiṣṭhāṃ nāgasaṃbhavam) Śiva B.3.19.
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Māñjiṣṭha (माञ्जिष्ठ).—a. (-ṣṭhī f.) [मञ्जिष्ठया रक्तम् अण् (mañjiṣṭhayā raktam aṇ)]
1) Red as madder; नीललोहितमाञ्जिष्ठपद्मवर्णैः सितासितैः (nīlalohitamāñjiṣṭhapadmavarṇaiḥ sitāsitaiḥ) Rām.5.1.5. (com. māñjiṣṭhaḥ kṛṣṇapāṇḍura iti katakaḥ | pāṭala ityanye |)
2) Dyed with madder; माञ्जिष्ठेषु व्यज्यते न स्म सैन्यैः (māñjiṣṭheṣu vyajyate na sma sainyaiḥ) Śiśupālavadha 18.34.
-ṣṭham Red colour.
Mañjiṣṭha (मञ्जिष्ठ).—adj. (once in Sanskrit, according to [Boehtlingk and Roth] by error, for Sanskrit māñj°, from mañjiṣṭhā, madder, plus -a; Pali mañjeṭṭha; compare next), crimson, bright red: mañjiṣṭhāśvā etc., repeatedly, Mahāvastu i.260.3—7 (no form in mā° noted in mss.); in [compound], or series of words, listing colors, after nīla, pīta, lohita, avadāta, and before sphaṭika, Divyāvadāna 366.26; Samādhirājasūtra 22.38.
Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा).—f.
(-ṣṭhā) Bengal madder, a plant used in medicine, and in dying, (Rubia Manjith, Rox.) E. mañju beautiful, sthā to stay or be, ka aff., deriv. irr.; or mañji a compound pedicle, and stha aff.
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Māñjiṣṭha (माञ्जिष्ठ).—mfn.
(-ṣṭhaḥ-ṣṭī-ṣṭaṃ) Of a red colour. n.
(-ṣṭhaṃ) Red, the colour. E. mañjiṣṭhā Bengal madder, used as a red dye, and aṇ aff.
Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा).—properly superl. of mañju, f. Bengal madder, Rubia manjith Roxb.
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Māñjiṣṭha (माञ्जिष्ठ).—i. e. mañjiṣ- ṭhā + a, I. adj. Of a red colour, [Rāmāyaṇa] 2, 94. 5. Ii. n. Red colour.
Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा).—[feminine] the Indian madder (bright red).
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Māñjiṣṭha (माञ्जिष्ठ).—[adjective] red as madder.
1) Mañjiṣṭha (मञ्जिष्ठ):—[from mañj] mf(ā)n. (superl. of mañju) very bright, bright red (as the Indian madder), [Mahābhārata] (perhaps [wrong reading] for māñjiṣṭha)
2) Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा):—[from mañjiṣṭha > mañj] a f. See next.
3) [v.s. ...] b f. Indian madder, Rubia Munjista, [Kauśika-sūtra; Suśruta]
4) Māñjiṣṭha (माञ्जिष्ठ):—mfn. ([from] mañjiṣṭhā) dyed with madder, red as m°, [Gṛhya-sūtra; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.
5) n. red, red colour, [Horace H. Wilson]
1) Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा):—(ṣṭhā) 1. f. Bengal madder.
2) Māñjiṣṭha (माञ्जिष्ठ):—(ṣṭhaṃ) 1. n. Red colour. a. Red.
Mañjiṣṭha (मञ्जिष्ठ):—[Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 8, 3, 97,] [Scholiast] [?(Pāṇini’s acht Bücher] selbst hat wohl mañjiṣṭhā gemeint). adj. f. ā hellroth (von der Farbe des indischen Krapps): nīlalohitamañjiṣṭhā visṛjannarciṣaḥ pṛthak (vibhāvasuḥ) [Mahābhārata 16, 44.] Wohl fehlerhaft für māñjiṣṭha .
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Mañjiṣṭhā (मञ्जिष्ठा):—f. indischer Krapp, Rubia Munjista Roxb. [Amarakoṣa 2, 4, 3, 9.] [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 3, 3, 119.] [Ratnamālā 28.] [Kauśika’s Sūtra zum Atuarvaveda 38] (ṣṭhī Hdschr.). [Suśruta 1, 38, 9. 55, 7. 145, 21. 2, 25, 1. 150, 16. 151, 2.] mañjiṣṭhābha die Farbe des indischen Krapps habend [?429, 11. Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 43, 44. Wird Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 8, 3, 97] in mañji + stha zerlegt, ist aber eher als superl. von mañju zu fassen. — Vgl. māñjiṣṭha .
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Māñjiṣṭha (माञ्जिष्ठ):—(von mañjiṣṭhā) adj. krapproth [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1395.] [Halāyudha 4, 48.] [ĀŚV. GṚHY. 1, 19, 11.] [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 94, 5 (103, 5 Gorresio).] [Spr. 3359.] [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 10, 11. 12. 19. 30, 12. 14] (mañjiṣṭhābha wohl vorzuziehen). [Sânkhya Philosophy 12.] [KĀŚĪKH. 13, 84] [?(bei AUFRFCHT, Halāyudha Ind.).]
Mañjiṣṭha (मञ्जिष्ठ):——
1) Adj. (f. ā) hellroth , von der Farbe des indischen Krapps. Richtig wohl māñjiṣṭha. —
2) f. ā indischer Krapp , Rubia Munjista [Rājan 6,192.]
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Māñjiṣṭha (माञ्जिष्ठ):—([Gautama's Dharmaśāstra] [Āpastamba’s Dharmasūtra]), ka und ṣṭhika Adj. mit Krapp gefärbt , krapproth.
Māñjiṣṭha (माञ्जिष्ठ) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Maṃjiṭṭha, Maṃjiṭṭhā.
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
Maṃjiṣṭha (मंजिष्ठ):—(nm) madder.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Maṃjiṣṭha (ಮಂಜಿಷ್ಠ):—[adjective] of bright red colour.
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Maṃjiṣṭha (ಮಂಜಿಷ್ಠ):—
1) [noun] = ಮಂಜಡಿ [mamjadi].
2) [noun] the plant Rubia cordifolia ( = R. munjista) of Rubiaceae family.
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Māṃjiṣṭha (ಮಾಂಜಿಷ್ಠ):—[noun] red colour.
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: Manjishthabha, Manjishthadi, Manjishthadikvatha, Manjishthaditaila, Manjishthaditaila, Manjishthadya, Manjishthadya, Manjishthadyataila, Manjishthaka, Manjishthameha, Manjishthamehin, Manjishtharaga, Manjishthasalilasankasha, Manjishthasankasha, Manjishthataila, Manjishthavastra, Manjishthodakopama.
Full-text (+82): Manjishtharaga, Manjishthameha, Manjishthamehin, Manjishthasalilasankasha, Manjishthasankasha, Manjishthodakopama, Pitamanjishtha, Manjishthavastra, Ragangi, Manjishthataila, Manjittha, Manjishthika, Mancittam, Ragadhya, Manjishthadi, Raktamanjishtha, Kalameshika, Samanga, Manjishthadya, Rubia cordifolia.
Relevant text
Search found 53 books and stories containing Manjishtha, Mamjishtha, Mamjistha, Maṃjiṣṭha, Māṃjiṣṭha, Mañjiṣṭhā, Manjistha, Manjiṣṭhā, Mañjiṣṭha, Māñjiṣṭha, Manjiṣṭha, Mānjiṣṭha; (plurals include: Manjishthas, Mamjishthas, Mamjisthas, Maṃjiṣṭhas, Māṃjiṣṭhas, Mañjiṣṭhās, Manjisthas, Manjiṣṭhās, Mañjiṣṭhas, Māñjiṣṭhas, Manjiṣṭhas, Mānjiṣṭhas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 534 < [Hindi-Kannada-English Volume 2]
Page 534 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 2]
Page 534 < [Hindi-Marathi-English Volume 2]
An approach to avascular necrosis by Saghṛta kṣīrabasti < [Volume 33 (issue 1), Jul-Sep 2013]
Management of Recurrent Nasal Furunculosis with Jalaukāvacaraṇa < [Volume 36 (issue 4), Apr-Jun 2017]
Comparative studies of Rubia cordifolia and Rubia tinctorum. < [Volume 13 (issue 1-2), Jul-Dec 1993]
Shringara-manjari Katha (translation and notes) (by Kumari Kalpalata K. Munshi)
Part 5 - The purpose of the Srngaramanjari-katha < [Introduction to the Shringaramanjari-katha of Shri Bhojadeva]
Section 6 - A lesson for Shringaramanjari < [English translation]
Section 7.2 - The second tale of Vikramasimha < [English translation]
Trial on Kusthadi Lepa and Jalaukavacharana for Yuvanpidaka. < [Volume 11, Issue 2: March-April 2024]
Study on vitiligo management with virechan karma and shaman chikitsa. < [Volume 5, Issue 1: January - February 2018]
A clinical study to evaluate the efficacy of manjisthadi taila in vrana ropana < [Volume 3, issue 4: July- August 2016]
International Ayurvedic Medical Journal
Classification of twenty types prameha - a conceptual study < [2022, Issue 09 September]
Snehan and swedan -a boon to cosmetics world!! < [2015, Issue XII December]
Efficacy of some indigenous herbs on yuvanapidika w.s.r. to acne vulgaris: a review < [2021, Issue 4, April]
Journal of Ayurveda and Integrated Medical Sciences
A clinical study of Guru and Snigdha Guna of Kapha Dosha and its applied... < [Vol. 10 No. 2 (2025)]
Ayurvedic and contemporary view of Vishaghana Mahakashya < [Vol. 8 No. 9 (2023)]
Experimental Study of Manjistha root (Rubia cordifolia Linn.) w.s.r. to... < [Vol. 3 No. 03 (2018)]
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