Nandini, Nandinī: 17 definitions
Introduction
Introduction:
Nandini means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Wisdom Library: The Matsya-purāṇaNandinī (नन्दिनी) is the name of a mind-born ‘divine mother’ (mātṛ), created for the purpose of drinking the blood of the Andhaka demons, according to the Matsya-purāṇa 179.8. The Andhaka demons spawned out of every drop of blood spilled from the original Andhakāsura (Andhaka-demon). According to the Matsya-purāṇa 179.35, “Most terrible they (e.g., Nandinī) all drank the blood of those Andhakas and become exceedingly satiated.”
The Matsyapurāṇa is categorised as a Mahāpurāṇa, and was originally composed of 20,000 metrical verses, dating from the 1st-millennium BCE. The narrator is Matsya, one of the ten major avatars of Viṣṇu.
Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia1) Nandinī (नन्दिनी).—A cow of the world of the gods (Devas). (See under Kāmadhenu).
2) Nandinī (नन्दिनी).—A holy place. In this place there is a well esteemed by the gods. It is mentioned in Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 84, Stanza 15, that those who bathe in this holy well will obtain the fruits of Naramedhayajña (human sacrifice).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index1a) Nandinī (नन्दिनी).—A Śakti: the goddess enshrined at Devīkātaṭa; a Mother-goddess.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 44. 84; Matsya-purāṇa 13. 38; 179. 14 and 25.
1b) A R. of the Ketumālā continent.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 44. 20.
Nandinī (नन्दिनी) refers to the name of a Lady mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. IX.45.5). Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Nandinī) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.
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.
Rasashastra (chemistry and alchemy)
Source: Wisdom Library: Rasa-śāstraNandinī (नन्दिनी):—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).
Rasashastra (रसशास्त्र, rasaśāstra) is an important branch of Ayurveda, specialising in chemical interactions with herbs, metals and minerals. Some texts combine yogic and tantric practices with various alchemical operations. The ultimate goal of Rasashastra is not only to preserve and prolong life, but also to bestow wealth upon humankind.
Chandas (prosody, study of Sanskrit metres)
Source: Shodhganga: a concise history of Sanskrit Chanda literature1) Nandinī (नन्दिनी) is the alternative name of a Sanskrit metre (chandas) mentioned by Hemacandra (1088-1173 C.E.) in his auto-commentary on the second chapter of the Chandonuśāsana. Nandinī corresponds to Manovatī (according to Bharata) as well as Kanakaprabhā, Jayā, Sumaṅgalī. Hemacandra gives these alternative names for the metres by other authorities (like Bharata), even though the number of gaṇas or letters do not differ.
2) Nandinī (नन्दिनी) refers to one of the 135 metres (chandas) mentioned by Nañjuṇḍa (1794-1868 C.E.) in his Vṛttaratnāvalī. Nañjuṇḍa was a poet of both Kannada and Sanskrit literature flourished in the court of the famous Kṛṣṇarāja Woḍeyar of Mysore. He introduces the names of these metres (e.g., Nandinī) in 20 verses.
Source: Journal of the University of Bombay Volume V: Apabhramsa metres (2)Nandinī (नन्दिनी) (also called Chittaka) is the name of a catuṣpadi metre (as popularly employed by the Apabhraṃśa bards), as discussed in books such as the Chandonuśāsana, Kavidarpaṇa, Vṛttajātisamuccaya and Svayambhūchandas.—Nandinī has 16 mātrās in each of its four lines, divided into the groups of [IIS], [IIS], [IIS] and [IIS] mātrās.—The Nandinī or the Chittaka and Bhittaka are varṇa-vṛttas known respectively as Toḍaka and Dodhaka.
Chandas (छन्दस्) refers to Sanskrit prosody and represents one of the six Vedangas (auxiliary disciplines belonging to the study of the Vedas). The science of prosody (chandas-shastra) focusses on the study of the poetic meters such as the commonly known twenty-six metres mentioned by Pingalas.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Kamakoti Mandali: The Yoginis of Narasimha VyuhaNandinī (नन्दिनी) is the name of a Mātṛkā-Śakti created by Mahārudra in order to control the plague of demons created by Andhakāsura.—Accordingly, Andhaka-Asura tried to kidnap Umā (Devī Pārvatī), and was fiercely attacked by Mahārudra who shot arrows at him from his mahāpināka. when the arrows pierced the body of Andhakāsura, drops of blood fell to earth and from those drops, thousands of Andhakas arose. To control this plague of demons, Mahārudra created Mātṛkā-Śaktis [viz., Nandinī] and ordered them to drink the blood of the demons and drain them dry.
Source: Kamakoti Mandali: Nrisimha matrika-mandalaNandinī (नन्दिनी) refers to one of the various Mātṛkā-Śaktis created by Rudra in order to destroy the clones that spawned from Andhaka’s body.—Accordingly, [...] Andhakāsura attempted to abduct Girājanandinī (Pārvatī) and thus ensued a fierce battle between Andhakāsura and the great Rudra, the Lord of Umā. Like raktabīja, every drop of blood that fell from the body of Andhaka created another Asura like him and in no time, the entire world was filled with Andhakas. To destroy the growing number of Andhakas, Rudra created innumerable Mātṛkā-Śaktis [viz., Nandinī]. These Śaktis of immense power at once began to drink every drop of blood that flowed from the body of Andhaka, but they could still not effectively contain the emergence of more and more demons.
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.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: Apam Napat: Indian MythologyNandini is a calf owned by Vasishta, which was given as a gift to him by Indra. This calf is the daughter of Indra's cow Kamadhenu. Like her mother, this calf is capable of yielding everything one's heart could desire.
Source: WikiPedia: HinduismNandinī (नन्दिनी): Vasishtha's divinely beautiful cow, child of Kamadhenu.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Tibetan Buddhism1) Nandinī (नन्दिनी) is the name of a Yakṣiṇī mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Nandinī).
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 Dictionarynandinī (नंदिनी).—f S A daughter.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishnandinī (नंदिनी).—f A daughter.
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: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryNandinī (नन्दिनी).—name of a devakumārikā in the eastern quarter: Lalitavistara 388.10 = Mahāvastu iii.306.7.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus CatalogorumNandinī (नन्दिनी) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—Mānavadharmaśāstraṭīkā by Nandana. Burnell. 126^a.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Nandinī (नन्दिनी):—[from nand] f. a daughter, [Mahābhārata] etc.
2) [v.s. ...] a husband’s sister (= nanāndṛ), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
3) [v.s. ...] Name of Durgā, [Matsya-purāṇa]
4) [v.s. ...] of Gaṅgā, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
5) [v.s. ...] of the river Bāṇa-nāśa, [Brahma-purāṇa]
6) [v.s. ...] of one of the Mātṛs attending on Skanda, [Mahābhārata]
7) [v.s. ...] of a fabulous cow (mother of Surabhi and property of the sage Vasiṣṭha), [Mahābhārata; Raghuvaṃśa]
8) [v.s. ...] of the mother of Vyāḍi, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
9) [v.s. ...] Name of sub voce plants (= tulasī, jaṭāmāṃsī etc.), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
10) [v.s. ...] a kind of perfume (reṇukā), [Bhāvaprakāśa]
11) [v.s. ...] a kind of metre, [Colebrooke]
12) [v.s. ...] (in music) a [particular] composition
13) [v.s. ...] Name of a locality, [Mahābhārata]
14) [v.s. ...] of [commentator or commentary] on [Manu-smṛti]
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)
Starts with: Nandininada, Nandiniputra, Nandinisuta, Nandinitanaya, Nandinitirtha.
Ends with: Adrinandini, Amoghanandini, Brahmanandini, Dashanandini, Girinandini, Jaladhinandini, Janakanandini, Kalindanandini, Kosalanandini, Krishnanandini, Naganandini, Nandanandini, Parthivanandini, Samgitagangadharavyakhya shravananandini, Shravananandini, Sukavihridayanandini, Sunandini, Upanandini, Vrishabhanunandini.
Full-text (+42): Adrinandini, Dashanandini, Kalindanandini, Nandinitanaya, Naganandini, Janakanandini, Amoghanandini, Parthivanandini, Girinandini, Kamadhenu, Nandinisuta, Nandinitirtha, Nandiniputra, Nandanandini, Devikatata, Chittaka, Kosalanandini, Jaladhinandini, Nandanandani, Cibuka.
Relevant text
Search found 19 books and stories containing Nandini, Nandinī; (plurals include: Nandinis, Nandinīs). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
List of Mahabharata people and places (by Laxman Burdak)
The Mahabharata (English) (by Kisari Mohan Ganguli)
The Skanda Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 51 - Greatness of Kalaśeśvara (Kalaśa-īśvara) < [Section 1 - Tīrtha-māhātmya]
Chapter 167 - Viśvāmitra Renounces Kingdom < [Section 1 - Tīrtha-māhātmya]
Chapter 213 - Efficacy of Kuhara-vāsi-Sāṃbāditya < [Section 1 - Tīrtha-māhātmya]
The Devi Bhagavata Purana (by Swami Vijñanananda)
Chapter 3 - On the description of the curse on Gaṅgā, Mahābhiṣa and Vasus < [Book 2]
Chapter 17 - On the story of Viśvāmitra < [Book 3]
Chapter 25 - On the method of worship of Tulasī Devī < [Book 9]
Śrī Śrī Rādhā-kripa-kaṭākṣa-stava-rāja
Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)