Margashirsha, Mārgaśīrṣa, Marga-shirsha: 16 definitions
Introduction
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’).
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) Bhāg.6.19.2; मासानां मार्गशीर्षोऽहम् (māsānāṃ mārgaśīrṣo'ham) Bg.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]
[Sanskrit to German] (Deutsch Wörterbuch)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Böhtlingk and Roth Grosses Petersburger WörterbuchMārgaśīrṣa (मार्गशीर्ष):—
1) adj. f. ī unter dem Sternbilde Mṛgaśīras geboren [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 4, 3, 37,] [Scholiast] —
2) m. (mit und ohne māsa) Bez. des Monats, in welchem der Vollmond im Sternbilde Mṛgaśiras steht, der zehnte (später der erste) Monat im Jahr [Amarakoṣa 1, 1, 3, 14.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 152.] [Kauśika’s Sūtra zum Atuarvaveda 141.] [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 7, 182.] māsānāṃ mārgaśīrṣo ham (Kṛṣṇa spricht) [Bhagavadgītā 10, 35.] kārttikamārgaśīrṣau śarat [Suśruta.1,20,3.] [Mahābhārata 13,5149.] [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 21,19.] [WEBER, Jyotiṣa 101.] [Oxforder Handschriften 68,b,11. 69,b, No. 2. 70,b,12. 284,b,14. 42. 285,a,10.] [Rājataraṅgiṇī.6,312.7,714.] —
3) f. ī (mit und ohne paurṇamāsī) der Tag, an welchem der Vollmond im Sternbild Mṛgaśiras steht, [ĀŚV. GṚHY. 2, 3, 1.] [Pāraskara’s Gṛhyasūtrāṇi 3, 2.] [Mahābhārata 3, 8484. 12, 3691.] [Asiatick Researches 3, 268.] śīrṣā (v. l. śīrṣī) [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 150.]
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Shirsha, Marga.
Starts with: Margashirshadipuja, Margashirshaka, Margashirshamahatmya, Margashirshamasa.
Full-text (+87): Margashira, Mrigamasa, Agrahayana, Shankumuli, Margashirshamahatmya, Hemanta, Margashirshi, Margashiri, Akhanda, Margaka, Agrahayanaka, Haimana, Guhashashthi, Margashirshadipuja, Matsyadvadashi, Vatsaradi, Mitrasaptami, Abhishtatritiya, Margashiras, Mrigashirsha.
Relevant text
Search found 30 books and stories containing Margashirsha, Mārgaśīrṣa, Mārga-śīrṣa, Marga-sirsa, Marga-shirsha, Margasirsa, Mārgaśīrṣā; (plurals include: Margashirshas, Mārgaśīrṣas, śīrṣas, sirsas, shirshas, Margasirsas, Mārgaśīrṣās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
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 Garuda Purana (by Manmatha Nath Dutt)
Chapter CXVIII - The Akhanda Dvadasi Vratam < [Brihaspati (Nitisara) Samhita]
Chapter CXVII - The Ananga trayodasi Vratam < [Brihaspati (Nitisara) Samhita]
The Skanda Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 1 - Fruit of the Holy Bath in the Month of Mārgaśīrṣa < [Section 5 - Mārgaśīrṣa-māhātmya]
Section 5 - Mārgaśīrṣa-māhātmya < [Book 2 - Vaiṣṇava-khaṇḍa]
Chapter 8 - The Greatness of Tulasī < [Section 5 - Mārgaśīrṣa-māhātmya]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 7.182 < [Section XIII - War]
Verse 9.305 < [Section XL - Personal Behaviour of the King]
Verse 4.95 < [Section XII - Vedic Study]
The Padma Purana (by N.A. Deshpande)
Chapter 39 - The importance of the Mokṣadā Ekādaśī < [Section 6 - Uttara-Khaṇḍa (Concluding Section)]
Chapter 87 - Monthly Offering of Flowers to Viṣṇu < [Section 6 - Uttara-Khaṇḍa (Concluding Section)]
Chapter 14 - Prohibition regarding and Fruit of Viṣṇu Worship < [Section 7 - Kriyāyogasāra-Khaṇḍa (Section on Essence of Yoga by Works)]