Mrigashirsha, Mriga-shirsha, Mṛgaśīrṣa: 18 definitions
Introduction:
Mrigashirsha 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.
The Sanskrit term Mṛgaśīrṣa can be transliterated into English as Mrgasirsa or Mrigashirsha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
In Hinduism
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
Source: Wisdom Library: Nāṭya-śāstraMṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष, “deer-head”) refers to a gesture (āṅgika) made with a ‘single hand’ (asaṃyuta), according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 8. The hands (hasta) form a part of the human body which represents one of the six major limbs (aṅga) used in dramatic performance. With these limbs are made the various gestures (āṅgika), which form a part of the histrionic representation (abhinaya).
Source: archive.org: The mirror of gesture (abhinaya-darpana)One of the Twenty-eight Single Hands (hasta):—Mṛga-śīrṣa (deer-head): in the above hand, the thumb andlittle finger are extended. Usage: women, cheek, traditionalmanners (krama-maryāda) , fear, discussion, costume of anactor (naipathya), place of residence, tête-á-tête, drawing three lines on the brow, patterns on the ground, massage of thefeet, combining, house, holding an umbrella, stair, placingthe feet, calling the beloved, roaming.
According to another book: the thumb and little finger areraised. It springs from Gauri, who used the Mṛga-śīrṣa hand todraw three lines on her forehead when practising tapas for the sake of Śiva. Its race is Ṛṣi, its sage is Mārkaṇḍeya, its colourwhite, its presiding deity Maheśvara. Usage: wall, deliberation, opportunity, place of residence, Padminī, Śaṅkhinī or Hastinī woman, slowness, applying sandal paste etc., gestures (abhinaya) of women, screen, stair, self-manifestation, order, having three lines drawn on the brow, consideration (vitarka) , deer-face, indicating one’s self, the body, Ṛṣi caste, white colour.
Source: archive.org: Natya ShastraMṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष, “deer-head”).—A type of gesture (āṅgika) made with a single hand (asaṃyuta-hasta);—(Instructions): The Sarpaśiras hand with all its fingers pointing downwards, but the thumb and the little finger raised up.
(Uses): It is moved to represent here, now, “It is,” to-day, able, shaking (ullasana), throw of dice, wiping off perspiration and pretended anger.
Source: Shodhganga: Elements of Art and Architecture in the Trtiyakhanda of the Visnudharmottarapurana (natya)Mṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष) refers to one of the twenty-two Asaṃyuktahastas or “single hand gestures” (in Indian Dramas), 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.—The hasta-mudrās (lit. “hand-gestures”) are very essential to denote some particular action or state in dancing and these mudrās are formed with the help of hands and fingers.—The word mṛgaśīrṣa is the union of two words viz., mṛga and śīrṣa. The word mṛga means deer and śīrṣa means head. So, it can be said that the hand posture which is called mṛgaśīrṣa identifies a posture that looks like the head of a deer. According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, in mṛgaśīrṣa-hasta, all the fingers are bent downwards and only the small finger and the thumb go upward. At this position, the hand looks like a head of a dear with two horns. Abhinavagupta also keeps his view point in the same way and accepts mṛgaśīrṣa-hasta as a hand gesture which identifies the head of a deer with two horns. This posture is used to denote piercing, cutting, and moving upward of the powerful weapon.
In the Abhinayadarpaṇa, the mṛgaśīrṣa posture is used to denote various things. This book states that-this posture is used to show woman, cheek, wheel, limit, terror, quarrel, attire and to call someone or the beloved, the lute, foot massage, female organ, holding umbrella etc
Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (shastra) of performing arts, (natya—theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing Dramatic plays (nataka), construction and performance of Theater, and Poetic works (kavya).
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Source: Wisdom Library: JyotiṣaMṛgaśirṣa (मृगशिर्ष):—Name for a particular section of the ecliptic. It is also known as Mṛgaśirṣanakṣatra. Nakṣatra means “Lunar mansion” and corresponds to a specific region of the sky through which the moon passes each day. Mṛgaśirṣa means “the deer’s head” and is associated with the deity known as Soma (God of the immortal elixir). The presiding Lord of this lunar house is Maṅgala (Mars). Also known as Āgrahāyaṇī.
Indian zodiac: |23° 20' Vṛṣabha| – |6°40' Mithuna|
Vṛṣabha (वृषभ, ‘bull’) corresponds Taurus and Mithuna (मिथुन, ‘twins’) corresponds with Gemini.
Western zodiac: |19°20' Gemini| – |2°40' Cancer|
Gemini corresponds with Mithuna (मिथुन, ‘twins’) and Cancer corresponds with Karka (कर्क, “crab”).
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.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexMṛgaṣīrṣa (मृगषीर्ष).—A nakṣatra.*
- * Bhāgavata-purāṇa V. 23. 6.
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.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: archive.org: Vedic index of Names and SubjectsMṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष) or Mṛgaśiras (मृगशिरस्), also called Invakā or Invagā, seems to be the faint stars λ, φ1, φ2 Orionis. They are called Andhakā, ‘blind’, in the Śāntikalpa of the Atharvaveda, probably because of their dimness.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryMṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष).—the constellation मृगशिरस् (mṛgaśiras).
-rṣaḥ the lunar month Mārgaśīrṣa.
Derivable forms: mṛgaśīrṣam (मृगशीर्षम्).
Mṛgaśīrṣa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms mṛga and śīrṣa (शीर्ष).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryMṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष).—name of a nāga king: Kāraṇḍavvūha 2.12; Mahā-Māyūrī 246.28.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryMṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष).—m.
(-rṣaḥ) The constellation Mrigaśiras: see the last. E. mṛga a deer, and śīrṣa the head; also f. (-rṣā) .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryMṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष).—m. the fifth lunar mansion, [Lassen, Anthologia Sanskritica.] 16, 18.
— Cf. probably [Old High German.] and A. S. hals; [Latin] collum; see śiras.
Mṛgaśīrṣa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms mṛga and śīrṣa (शीर्ष).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryMṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष).—[neuter] [Name] of a lunar mansion.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Mṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष):—[=mṛga-śīrṣa] [from mṛga > mṛg] n. the Nakṣatra Mṛga-śiras, [Taittirīya-saṃhitā; Brāhmaṇa; Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
2) [v.s. ...] mfn. born under that N°, [Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā] ([varia lectio] mārgaś, mārgaśira)
3) [v.s. ...] m. the month Mārgaśīrṣa, [ib.]
4) [v.s. ...] a [particular] position of the hands (also ṣaka), [Catalogue(s)]
5) [v.s. ...] Name of a serpent-king, [Kāraṇḍa-vyūha]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryMṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष):—[mṛga-śīrṣa] (rṣaḥ) 1. m. Orion.
[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 corpusMṛgaśīrṣa (ಮೃಗಶೀರ್ಷ):—[noun] = ಮೃಗಶಿರೆ [mrigashire].
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Source: unoes: Nepali-English DictionaryMṛgaśīrṣa (मृगशीर्ष):—n. 1. name of the fifth lunar-mansion consisting of three stars; 2. the lunar month Margasirsha (मार्गशीर्ष [mārgaśīrṣa] );
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Mriga, Shirsha.
Starts with: Mrigashirshahasta, Mrigashirshaka, Mrigashirshan, Mrigashirshanakshatra.
Full-text (+123): Mrigashirshanakshatra, Taramriga, Invaka, Krishna, Mrigashirshahasta, Mrigashira, Margayani, Kilaka, Dampati, Mirukacirutam, Varaha, Shambhu, Utsanga, Mrigashirshaka, Piercing, Moving upward, Powerful weapon, Indaka, Mrigottamanga, Attire.
Relevant text
Search found 27 books and stories containing Mrigashirsha, Mrga-sirsa, Mṛga-śīrṣa, Mṛga-śirṣa, Mṛgaśīrṣa, Mrgasirsa, Mṛgaśirṣa, Mṛgaṣīrṣa, Mriga-shirsha; (plurals include: Mrigashirshas, sirsas, śīrṣas, śirṣas, Mṛgaśīrṣas, Mrgasirsas, Mṛgaśirṣas, Mṛgaṣīrṣas, shirshas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Agni Purana (by N. Gangadharan)
Chapter 121 - The science of Jyotiṣa (Astronomy and Astrology) [jyotiḥśāstra]
Chapter 126 - Combinations of good and bad asterisms (nakṣatra-nirṇaya)
Chapter 196 - Vows relating to different asterisms (nakṣatra-vrata)
Abhinaya-darpana (English) (by Ananda Coomaraswamy)
Chapter 13 - Twenty-four Combined Hands
Chapter 19 - Hands denoting Avatars of Vishnu
Brihat Samhita (by N. Chidambaram Iyer)
Chapter 15 - On the Nakṣatras (nakṣatra-vyūha)
Chapter 98 - On the constellations (nakṣatra-karmaguṇa)
Chapter 102 - On the division of the Zodiac into signs (rāśi-vibhāga)
Satapatha-brahmana (by Julius Eggeling)
Kanda II, adhyaya 1, brahmana 2 < [Second Kanda]
Hastalaksanadipika a critical edition and study (by E. K. Sudha)
3. Gestures employed in Kathakali and Kutiyattam against Hastalaksanadipika < [Chapter 3 - Later developments of dramatic techniques]
6. Tantric mudras of Kerala < [Chapter 6 - Background of evolution of language of gestures]
5. Comparison of Vedic mudras with Kutiyattam and Kathakali < [Chapter 6 - Background of evolution of language of gestures]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Page 238 < [Volume 29 (1942)]