Nrishamsa, Nri-shamsa, Nṛśaṃsa: 16 definitions
Introduction:
Nrishamsa means something in 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.
The Sanskrit term Nṛśaṃsa can be transliterated into English as Nrsamsa or Nrishamsa, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Alternative spellings of this word include Nrashans.
In Hinduism
Dharmashastra (religious law)
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस) is a Sanskrit word referring to “cruel person” (one devoid of pity). The word is used throughout Dharmaśāstra literature such as the Manusmṛti. (also see the Manubhāṣya verse 4.216)
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस).—is one who sings the praises of men, known as the bandī (‘bard’). Or, it may stand for the pitiless man. (See the Manubhāṣya verse 4.216)
Dharmashastra (धर्मशास्त्र, dharmaśāstra) contains the instructions (shastra) regarding religious conduct of livelihood (dharma), ceremonies, jurisprudence (study of law) and more. It is categorized as smriti, an important and authoritative selection of books dealing with the Hindu lifestyle.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. XIV.8.23, XIV.8) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Nṛśaṃsa) 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.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस) refers to “sinners”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 16) (“On the planets—graha-bhaktiyoga”), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “[...] Mars presides over citizens, farmers, chemists, firemen, soldiers, forest-men, citadels, chief towns, butchers, sinners (nṛśaṃsa), haughty men, kings, children, elephants, fops, infanticides, shepherds, red fruits, red flowers, corals, commanders of armies, jaggery, wine, cruel men, storehouses, Agnihotrins, metal mines, the Śākyas in red robes, the Buddhists, thieves, rogues, vindictive and gluttonous persons. [...]”.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस).—a S Mischievous, injurious, disposed to destroy or hurt.
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
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस).—a. [nṝn śaṃsati hiṃsati śaṃs-aṇ]
1) Wicked, malicious, cruel, mischievous, base; किमिदानीं नृशंसेन चारित्रमपि दूषितम् (kimidānīṃ nṛśaṃsena cāritramapi dūṣitam) Mṛcchakaṭika 3.25; Manusmṛti 3.41; Y.1.164.
2) Ved. To be praised by men.
-sam a wicked, vile act; विचित्रवीर्यस्य सुतः सपुत्रः कृत्वा नृशंसं बत पश्यति स्म (vicitravīryasya sutaḥ saputraḥ kṛtvā nṛśaṃsaṃ bata paśyati sma) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 3.119.12.
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Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस).—a. A vile and cruel man; इतरेषु तु शिष्टेषु नृशंसानृतवादिनम् (itareṣu tu śiṣṭeṣu nṛśaṃsānṛtavādinam) Ms.
Nṛśaṃsa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nṛ and śaṃsa (शंस).
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस).—mfn.
(-saḥ-sā-saṃ) Malicious, wicked, hurtful, injurious, mischievous, destructive. E. nṛ man, śasi to hurt, aff. aṇa .
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस).—[nṛ-śaṃs + a], adj. 1. Malicious, mischievous, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 3, 41. 2. Base, Mahābhārata 13, 513.
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस).—[adjective] cursing or wronging men, malicious, base (also vant); [abstract] tā [feminine]
1) Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस):—[=nṛ-śaṃsa] [from nṛ] m. (nṛ-) Name of a god, [Ṛg-veda ix, 81, 5] (cf. narā-s under nara)
2) [v.s. ...] mf(ā)n. injuring men, mischievous, noxious, cruel, base, [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc.
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस):—[nṛ-śaṃsa] (saḥ-sā-saṃ) a. Malicious, wicked, injurious, destructive.
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस):—
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Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस):—2. (1. nar + śaṃsa) adj. f. ā den Menschen Schaden bringend. boshaft, gemein, niederträchtig; von Personen und Handlungen [Amarakoṣa 3. 1, 47.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 376.] [Halāyudha 2, 217.] Einschieb. nach [Ṛgveda 9, 67] [?(v. 12). Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 22, 4, 4. 7. Pañcaviṃśabrāhmaṇa 17, 2, 1. 2. 4. Manu’s Gesetzbuch 3, 41. 4, 216. Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch 1, 164. Brāhmaṇavilāpa 1, 24. Mahābhārata 4, 676. 12, 2691. 6036. Daśaratha’s Tod 2, 71. Rāmāyaṇa 1, 6, 10. 2, 49, 5. 59, 31. 88, 12. Rāmāyaṇa Gorresio 2, 10, 28. 4, 34, 13. 6, 8, 16. Mṛcchakaṭikā 53, 9. Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 16, 31. Pañcatantra III, 142. ed. orn. I, 211. Hitopadeśa I, 70. 123, 17. Bhāgavatapurāṇa 6, 11, 17. 8, 9, 19.] varṇa Kaste [Mahābhārata 13, 513.] eṣāṃ cānyatamatyāgo nṛśaṃso garhito budhaiḥ [Brāhmaṇavilāpa 1, 33.] [Mahābhārata 1, 3649. 4566.] nṛśaṃsaṃ vata rājendra yanmām nāśvāsayati [3, 2371. 2775. 5, 374. 6, 2917.] tyaja śvānaṃ nātra nṛśaṃsamasti [17, 80. 82.] [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 24, 12. 38, 7. 78, 11.] kṛt [Duaupadīpramātha 6, 12.] [Mahābhārata 12, 6032.] kārin [13, 4813.] vādin [1, 3558.]
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Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस):—2. [Z. 8] nṛśaṃsavarṇa erklärt [Nīlakaṇṭha] durch niṣṭhurākṣarabhāṣin .
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Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस):—2. , vādin vgl. [Spr. (II) 3646.]
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस):—1. m. ein best. Gott (wenn die Lesart richtig sein sollte).
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Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस):—2. Adj. (f. ā) den Menschen Schaden bringend , boshaft , gemein , niederträchtig. Nom.abstr. tā f.
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Ṇisaṃsa, Ṇissaṃsa.
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
Nṛśaṃsa (नृशंस) [Also spelled nrashans]:—(a) atrocious; savage, cruel.
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Kannada-English dictionary
Nṛśaṃsa (ನೃಶಂಸ):—[noun] a man disposed to inflict pain and suffering; a very cruel man.
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: Nrishamsahridaya, Nrishamsakarin, Nrishamsakrit, Nrishamsana, Nrishamsata, Nrishamsate, Nrishamsavadin, Nrishamsavant, Nrishamsavarna, Nrishamsavat, Nrishamsavritta, Nrishamseccha.
Full-text (+5): Nrishamsata, Nrishamsavritta, Nrishamsavarna, Sunrishamsa, Nrishamsavat, Nrishamsakarin, Nrishamsakrit, Nrishamsavadin, Anrishamsya, Nrishamsya, Nrishamseccha, Nrishamsita, Nrishamsavant, Anrishamsata, Sunrishamsakrit, Anrishamsatva, Nisamsa, Nirucattan, Nrashans, Nissamsa.
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Search found 16 books and stories containing Nrishamsa, Nṛ-śaṃsa, Nr-samsa, Nṛ-śamsa, Nri-shamsa, Nṛśaṃsa, Nrsamsa, Nṛśamsa; (plurals include: Nrishamsas, śaṃsas, samsas, śamsas, shamsas, Nṛśaṃsas, Nrsamsas, Nṛśamsas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Rig Veda (translation and commentary) (by H. H. Wilson)
Rig Veda 9.81.5 < [Sukta 81]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 3.41 < [Section IV - The Eight Forms of Marriage]
Verse 4.216 < [Section XIV - Other Duties]
Bhajana-Rahasya (by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura Mahasaya)
Text 14 < [Chapter 3 - Tṛtīya-yāma-sādhana (Pūrvāhna-kālīya-bhajana–niṣṭhā-bhajana)]
Discovery of Sanskrit Treasures (seven volumes) (by Satya Vrat Shastri)
6.5. The concept of Karuna (compassion) < [Volume 7 - Society and Culture]
Wise Sayings from the Padma-purana < [Purana, Volume 4, Part 1 (1962)]