Pausha, Pauṣa: 24 definitions
Introduction:
Pausha means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, 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 Pauṣa can be transliterated into English as Pausa or Pausha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Alternative spellings of this word include Paush.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Nilamata Purana: a cultural and literary studyPauṣa (पौष) or “Pauṣa Paurṇamāsī” is the name of a festival that once existed in ancient Kashmir (Kaśmīra) as mentioned in the Nīlamatapurāṇa.—Pauṣa Paurṇamāsī proceeds as follows: If there is Puṣya constellation on full moon of Pauṣa, one is enjoined to apply white mustard-paste to one’s body, to bathe oneself firstly in purified butter and thereafter in water mixed with all medicinal herbs, to worship Nārāyaṇa, Śakra, Soma, Puṣya and Bṛhaspati with eatable offerings, garlands etc., to perform fire sacrifice with mantras dedicated to the worship of the above-mentioned deities, to honour the Brāhmaṇas with wealth, to give new clothes to the priest, to eat milk-porridge of rice mixed with purified butter and to obtain, in this way, all round prosperity.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexPauṣa (पौष).—A month. On the ekādaśi day is to be performed Manvantarādi śrāddha; on the aṣṭami Śambhu is to be worshipped.*
- * Matsya-purāṇa 17. 7; 56. 2; 60. 35.
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.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Nighantu (Synonyms and Characteristics of Drugs and technical terms)
Source: Wisdom Library: Raj NighantuPauṣa (पौष) is the second 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., Pauṣa), 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”.
Toxicology (Study and Treatment of poison)
Source: Shodhganga: Kasyapa Samhita—Text on Visha ChikitsaPauṣa (पौष) refers to the “month of Pauṣa”, as taught in the Nāgajanman (“birth of the Snakes”) section of the Kāśyapa Saṃhitā: an ancient Sanskrit text from the Pāñcarātra tradition dealing with both Tantra and Viṣacikitsā—an important topic from Āyurveda which deals with the study of Toxicology (Agadatantra or Sarpavidyā).—Those snakes born in the months of Kārtikā, Mṛgaśīrṣa and Pauṣa are respectively idle, powerful and longest and extremely poisonous.
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.
Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
Source: Pure Bhakti: Arcana-dipika - 3rd EditionPauṣa (पौष), corresponding to “December-January”, 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, pauṣa-māsi.
The presiding deity of Pauṣa is Nārāyaṇa.
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 VarahamihiraPauṣa (पौष) refers to the lunar month corresponding to December-January (when the full moon is in the lunar mansion of Puṣya), 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 Pauṣa, the Brāhmins and the Kṣatriyas will suffer; the people of Sindh, the Kukuras and the Videhas will perish; there wall be slight rain and fear of famine in 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.
Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)
Source: archive.org: Catalogue of Pancaratra Agama TextsPauṣa (पौष) refers to the months “January/February” during which certain vows may be observed, as discussed in chapter 15 (Caryāpāda) of the Padmasaṃhitā: the most widely followed of Saṃhitā covering the entire range of concerns of Pāñcarātra doctrine and practice (i.e., the four-fold formulation of subject matter—jñāna, yoga, kriyā and caryā) consisting of roughly 9000 verses.—According to the chapter [vrata-anuṣṭhānakrama]: This chapter is divided into sections corresponding to the various months, and in each section the supererogatory activities customary to that month are given. [...] With pauṣa-month (January/February) begins the second half of the year (uttarāyaṇa), during which months certain vratas are to be done: puṣyamāsavrata (57b-58a), tilapadmavrata (58b-73a), śrīkāmavrata (73b-115a), ārogyakāmavrata (115b-119a), and dinapañcakavrata (1196-1212). [...]
Pancaratra (पाञ्चरात्र, pāñcarātra) represents a tradition of Hinduism where Narayana is revered and worshipped. Closeley related to Vaishnavism, the Pancaratra literature includes various Agamas and tantras incorporating many Vaishnava philosophies.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: archive.org: The Indian Buddhist IconographyPauṣa (पौष) (presided over by Kubera) is the sixth 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., Pauṣa] 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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: Singhi Jain Series: Ratnaprabha-suri’s Kuvalayamala-kathapāusa (or Pāusasirī) refers to one of the “personified beauties”, according to the 8th-century Kuvalayamālā written by Uddyotanasūri, a Prakrit Campū (similar to Kāvya poetry) narrating the love-story between Prince Candrāpīḍa and the Apsaras Kādambarī.—The Campū opens with salutations to the great Tirthaṃkaras on the occasion of whose birth even the gods take part in the great festival, clapping their hands with bejewelled bracelets (maṇivalaya, 1.2). The personified beauty mentioned as māhava-sirī, giṃha-lacchī, pāusa-sirī, saraya-lacchī and hemaṃta-sirī is full of beautiful expression not found elsewhere.
Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarypāūsa (पाऊस).—m (prāvṛṣ S) Bain. 2 A shower of rain. 3 fig. An overflow of profits or gains; an exuberance of gifts: a shower, a stream, a torrent. dōnaśēṃ pā0 (Two hundred pāūsa) A high-sounding term for a scanty shower; a mere sprinkling. paḍatyā pāvasānta In the monsoon or rainy season. v yē, jā, kara. pā0 utaraṇēṃ To hang heavy and threaten to rain, to lower. pā0 ḍōīvara yēṇēṃ To be impending--rain or the rainy season. pā0 bhara Throughout the rainy season. pā0 haḍakalā (The rain is got as dry as a bone.) The rain utterly holds up. pāvasācēṃ pōṭa phuṭaṇēṃ To rain in torrents. pāvasānēṃ jhāḍalēṃ The rain is cleared off. pāvasānēṃ ḍōḷē ughaḍalē It is become fair; the rainy weather is cleared off. pāvasānēṃ ḍōḷē vaṭāralē The sky is become as brass and the windows of heaven are closed. pāvasānēṃ divā lāvalā (The rain has fixed up his lamp.) Sunny weather and drought are threatened. pāvasānēṃ bhijavilēṃ bāpānēṃ māralēṃ sara- kārānēṃ luṭalēṃ kōṇhājavaḷa phiryāda karāvī? We should submit to unavoidable evils.
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pauṣa (पौष).—m (S) The tenth Hindu month, December-January.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishpāūsa (पाऊस).—m Rain. A shower of rain. An overflow of profits or gains; an exu- berance of gifts: a shower, a stream, a torrent. paḍatyā pāvasānta In the mon- soon or rainy season. pā?B utaraṇēṃ To lower. pā?B ḍōīvara yēṇēṃ To be impend- ing-rain or the rainy season. pā?B bhara Throughout the rainy season. pā?B haḍakalā The rain utterly holds up. pāvasācē pōṭa phuṭaṇēṃ To rain in torrents. pāvasānēṃ jhōḍalēṃ The rain is cleared off. pāvasānēṃ ḍōḷē ughaḍalē It is become fair; the rainy weather is cleared off. pāvasānēṃ ḍōḷē vaṭāralē Rain threatens to dis- appear. pāvasānēṃ divā lāvalā Sunny weather and drought are threatened. pāvasānēṃ bhijavilēṃ, bāpānēṃ māralēṃ, sarakārānēṃ luṭalēṃ, kōṇājavaḷa phiryāda karāvī? We should submit to unavoidable evils.
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pauṣa (पौष).—m or
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pauṣa (पौष).—m The tenth Hindu month, December-January.
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 dictionaryPauṣa (पौष).—
1) Name of a lunar month in which the moon is in the Puṣya asterism (corresponding to DecemberJanuary).
-ṣī The day of full-moon in the month of Pauṣa; पौष्यां तिथौ पुष्यमसूत पत्नी (pauṣyāṃ tithau puṣyamasūta patnī) R.18.32.
-ṣam A festival.
2) A fight, combat.
Derivable forms: pauṣaḥ (पौषः).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryPauṣa (पौष).—m.
(-ṣaḥ) The month Pausha, in which the moon is in the Pushya asterism, (December-January.) f. (-ṣī) Day of full moon in the month of Pausha. E. puṣya the asterism in which the moon is full in this month, and añ aff.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryPauṣa (पौष).—i. e. puṣya + a, I. adj., f. ṣī, Relating to the time when the moon is in the asterism Puṣya, [Raghuvaṃśa, (ed. Stenzler.)] 18, 31. Ii. m. The name of a month, Dec.
— Jan. Iii. f. ṣī, Day or night of full moon in the month Pauṣa.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryPauṣa (पौष).—[masculine] [Name] of a cert. month.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Pauṣa (पौष):—mf(ī)n. relating to or occurring at the time when the moon is in the asterism Puṣya, [Raghuvaṃśa; Varāha-mihira]
2) m. the month Pauṣa (December-January, when the full moon is in the asterism Puṣya), [Gṛhya-sūtra and śrauta-sūtra; Mahābhārata] etc.
3) Name of the 3rd year in the 12 years' cycle of Jupiter, [Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā]
4) n. a festival or a [particular] festival, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
5) a fight, combat, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
6) Name of sub voce Sāmans, [Brāhmaṇa]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryPauṣa (पौष):—(ṣaḥ) 1. m. The month Pausha. f. (ṣī) Day of its full moon.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Pauṣa (पौष) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Pusa, Posa.
[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.
Hindi dictionary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionaryPauṣa (पौष) [Also spelled paush]:—(nm) the tenth month of the Hindu (lunar) calendar.
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Prakrit-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary1) Pausa (पौस) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Pradviṣ.
2) Pāusa (पाउस) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Prāvṛṣ.
Prakrit is an ancient language closely associated with both Pali and Sanskrit. Jain literature is often composed in this language or sub-dialects, such as the Agamas and their commentaries which are written in Ardhamagadhi and Maharashtri Prakrit. The earliest extant texts can be dated to as early as the 4th century BCE although core portions might be older.
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusPauṣa (ಪೌಷ):—
1) [noun] the tenth month in the Hindu lunar calendar.
2) [noun] a day of religious celebration; a festival.
3) [noun] afight; a combat.
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 DictionaryPauṣa (पौष):—n. ninth month of the Nepali year (December/January);
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)
Starts with: Pausara, Paushadha, Paushadhadina, Paushadhagara, Paushadhika, Paushajit, Paushajiti, Paushala, Pausham, Paushamahatmya, Paushamasa, Paushavadartha, Paushavarta.
Full-text (+244): Tishyaka, Paushamahatmya, Pausham, Hemanta, Sahasya, Taisha, Paushamasa, Saumapausha, Anvashtaka, Kurmadvadashi, Pusha, Tishya, Paushi, Pushya, Nagava-pausa, Jiravani, Ratanti, Nagava Pausa, Phatakariyaca-pausa, Khulaca Pausa.
Relevant text
Search found 66 books and stories containing Pausha, Pauṣa, Pāūsa, Pāusa; (plurals include: Paushas, Pauṣas, Pāūsas, Pāusas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Page 399 < [Volume 24 (1918)]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 4.96 < [Section XII - Vedic Study]
Verse 4.95 < [Section XII - Vedic Study]
Verse 2.31 < [Section X - The ‘Naming Ceremony’ (nāmadheya)]
Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (by Rajendralala Mitra)
Skanda Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Section 1 - Setu-māhātmya < [Book 3 - Brāhma-khaṇḍa]
Chapter 12 - Greatness of Rūpa Tīrtha < [Section 3 - Arbuda-khaṇḍa]
Chapter 64 - Paśupatīśvara (paśupata-īśvara-liṅga) < [Section 2 - Caturaśīti-liṅga-māhātmya]
Atithi or Guest Reception (study) (by Sarika. P.)
Part 2 - Consequences ascribered to misconduct in Atithi-saparyā < [Chapter 10 - Virtues and Adversities]
Bhagavati-sutra (Viyaha-pannatti) (by K. C. Lalwani)
Part 2 - On pregnancy < [Chapter 5]
Part 1 - Questions of Merchant Sudarśana on Time < [Chapter 11]