Margashirsha, Mārgaśīrṣa, Marga-shirsha: 18 definitions
Introduction:
Margashirsha means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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 Mārgaśīrṣa can be transliterated into English as Margasirsa or Margashirsha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
In Hinduism
Ayurveda (science of life)
Source: Wisdom Library: Raj NighantuMārgaśirṣa (मार्गशिर्ष) is the first month of the “winter season” (hemanta) in the traditional Indian calendar, according to the second chapter (dharaṇyādi-varga) of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rājanighaṇṭu (an Ayurvedic encyclopedia). The physician (bhiṣaj) should pay attention to the seasonal (ṛtu) factor in the use of medicinal drugs. Accordingly, “the bulbous roots in winter season (viz., Mārgaśirṣa), other roots in cold season and flowers during spring season are supposed to contain better properties. The new leaves or shoots in summer and the drugs, which grow in mud, like Lotus etc., should be used in autumn season”.

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.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Nilamata Purana: a cultural and literary studyMārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष) or “Mārgaśīrṣa Paurṇamāsī” is the name of a festival that once existed in ancient Kashmir (Kaśmīra) as mentioned in the Nīlamatapurāṇa.—Mārgaśīrṣa Paurṇamāsī proceeds as follows: On this day, a fast to be broken at night after the worship of the moon with white garlands, grains, eatable offerings etc., and the worship of the Brāhmaṇas is prescribed. The Brāhmaṇa lady, the sister, the aunt and the wife of a friend, each is to be honoured with a pair of red clothes.

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.
Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
Source: Pure Bhakti: Bhagavad-gita (4th edition)Mārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष) refers to “november–December; the best of months because grains are collected from the field at this time”. (cf. Glossary page from Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā).
Source: Pure Bhakti: Arcana-dipika - 3rd EditionMārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष), corresponding to “November-December”, refers to one of the months (māsa) in the Vedic calendar.—There are twelve months in a Vedic lunar calendar, and approximately every three years, there is a thirteenth month. Each month has a predominating deity and approximately corresponds with the solar christian months. [...] In accordance with the month of the year, one would utter the Vedic month, for example, mārgaśīrṣa-māsi.
The presiding deity of Mārgaśīrṣa is Keśava.

Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by VarahamihiraMārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष) or Mṛga refers to the lunar month identified with November-December (when the full moon is in the asterism of Mṛgaśīrṣa), 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 there should be both lunar and solar eclipses in one month, princes will suffer both from dissensions among their own army and from wars. [...] If the eclipses should fall in the lunar month of Mārgaśīrṣa [i.e., Mṛga], the people of Kāśmīra, of Audha and of Puṇdra will suffer miseries; quadrupeds will perish, men of the western countries and Somayajīs will suffer calamities; there will be good rain and prosperity and plenty throughout the land”.

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.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: Internation Vaishnavas Portal: HinduismDuring the month of Margasirsha, every day early in the morning the young daughters of the cowherds would take one another’s hands and, singing of Krishna’s transcendental qualities, go to the Yamuna to bathe. Desiring to obtain Krishna as their husband, they would then worship the goddess Katyayani with incense, flowers and other items.
Source: WikiPedia: HinduismGrammatically, Mārgaśīrṣa means "of Mṛgaśira" or "related to Mṛgaśira". Mārgaśīrṣa is the name of the month related to Mṛgaśira, i.e., the month in which moon will be in conjuncture with the Mṛgaśira nakṣatra.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: archive.org: The Indian Buddhist IconographyMārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष) (presided over by Rudra) is the ninth of twelve months, as commonly depicted in Buddhist Iconography, and mentioned in the 11th-century Niṣpannayogāvalī of Mahāpaṇḍita Abhayākara.—Accordingly, there are altogether twelve months [viz., Mārgaśīrṣa] having twelve deities as given in the kālacakra-maṇḍala.—“here they are all accompanied with their Śaktis, mostly four-armed and have their distinctive vehicles”.

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.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarymārgaśīrṣā (मार्गशीर्षा).—a Relating to the month mārgaśīrṣa.
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mārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष).—m (S) pop. mārgaśīra or mārgēśvara m The ninth Hindu, month, November-December.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishmārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष) [-śīra, -शीर].—m The ninth Hindu month.
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 dictionaryMārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष).—m., [mārgaśīrṣaḥ] Name of the ninth month of the Hindu year (corresponding to NovemberDecember) in which the full moon is in the constellation मृगशिरस् (mṛgaśiras); शुक्ले मार्गशिरे पक्षे (śukle mārgaśire pakṣe) Bhāgavata 6.19.2; मासानां मार्गशीर्षोऽहम् (māsānāṃ mārgaśīrṣo'ham) Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 1.35.
Derivable forms: mārgaśīrṣaḥ (मार्गशीर्षः).
See also (synonyms): mārgaśira, mārgaśiras.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryMārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष).—m.
(-rṣaḥ) The month Margaśirsha: see the last.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryMārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष).—[masculine] [Name] of a month.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Mārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष):—[=mārga-śīrṣa] [from mārga > mārg] mf(ī)n. born under the constellation Mṛga-śiras, [Pāṇini 4-3, 37 [Scholiast or Commentator]]
2) [v.s. ...] m. (also with māsa) Name of the month in which the full moon enters the const° Mṛga-śiras, the 10th or (in later times) the 1st month in the year = November-December, [Kauśika-sūtra; Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata] etc.
3) [v.s. ...] f(ī or ā). (with or without paurṇamāsī) the day on which the full moon enters the const° Mṛga-śiras, the 15th d° of the first half of the month Mārgaśīrṣa, [Gṛhya-sūtra; Mahābhārata]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryMārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष):—[mārga-śīrṣa] (rṣaḥ) 1. m. Idem.
[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.
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusMārgaśīrṣa (ಮಾರ್ಗಶೀರ್ಷ):—[noun] = ಮಾರ್ಗಶಿರ [margashira].
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: Shirsha, Marga.
Starts with: Margashirshadipuja, Margashirshaka, Margashirshamahatmya, Margashirshamasa.
Full-text (+131): Margashira, Agrahayana, Mitrasaptami, Abhishtatritiya, Margashiras, Margaka, Akhanda, Campashashthi, Mrigamasa, Guhashashthi, Vatsaradi, Hemanta, Kesava, Shankumuli, Margashirshamahatmya, Margashirshi, Margashiri, Agrahayanaka, Agrahayanika, Pashanacaturdashi.
Relevant text
Search found 49 books and stories containing Margashirsha, Mārgaśīrṣa, Mārga-śīrṣa, Marga-sirsa, Marga-shirsha, Margasirsa, Mārgaśīrṣā, Mārgaśirṣa, Mārga-śirṣa; (plurals include: Margashirshas, Mārgaśīrṣas, śīrṣas, sirsas, shirshas, Margasirsas, Mārgaśīrṣās, Mārgaśirṣas, śirṣas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 4.8.11 < [Chapter 8 - In the Story of the Yajña-sītās, the Glories of Ekādaśī]
Verse 4.3.3 < [Chapter 3 - The Story of the Mithilā Women]
Verse 6.7.43 < [Chapter 7 - The Marriage of Śrī Rukmiṇī]
Shrimad Bhagavad-gita (by Narayana Gosvami)
Verse 10.35 < [Chapter 10 - Vibhūti-yoga (appreciating the opulences of the Supreme Lord)]
Jnaneshwari (Bhavartha Dipika) (by Ramchandra Keshav Bhagwat)
Verse 10.35 < [Chapter 10 - Vibhuti-yoga]
The Agni Purana (by N. Gangadharan)
Chapter 178 - Vows observed on the third lunar day
Chapter 182 - Vows observed on the seventh lunar day
Shishupala-vadha (Study) (by Shila Chakraborty)
Marching time (towards the enemy) < [Chapter 1 - Concept of Vijigīṣu king]
Proper time for war < [Chapter 6 - Principles of Warfare]
Ṣāḍguṇya according to Manu < [Chapter 3 - Six fold policies of a king (Ṣāḍguṇya)]
The Garuda Purana (by Manmatha Nath Dutt)
Chapter CXVIII - The Akhanda Dvadasi Vratam < [Brihaspati (Nitisara) Samhita]
Chapter CXVII - The Ananga trayodasi Vratam < [Brihaspati (Nitisara) Samhita]
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