Pracya, Prācyā, Prācya: 22 definitions
Introduction:
Pracya means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India, 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.
Alternative spellings of this word include Prachya.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Prācya (प्राच्य).—A place of habitation of Purāṇic fame. (Śloka 58, Chapter 9, Bhīṣma Parva).
1a) Prācya (प्राच्य).—A Sāmaga.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 99. 191.
1b) A tribe.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 58. 81.
Prācya (प्राच्य) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. VI.10.57, VI.18.13, VI.112.109, VIII.17.2, VIII.30.73) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Prācya) 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.
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
Prācyā (प्राच्या) refers to one of the seven “major dialects” (bhāṣā) in language, according to Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 18. Accordingly, “Prācyā is the language of the Jester”.
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).
Ayurveda (science of life)
Dietetics and Culinary Art (such as household cooking)
Prācya (प्राच्य) refers to the Eastern provinces and is mentioned in a list of regions in the 17th century Bhojanakutūhala (dravyaguṇāguṇa-kathana), and is commonly found in literature dealing with the topics of dietetics and culinary art, also known as Pākaśāstra or Pākakalā.—According to the author people living in different regions [viz., Prācya] have their own nourishing foodstuffs [viz., kṣāra (acidic foodstuffs)]. Such foodstuffs are more beneficial for them.
Unclassified Ayurveda definitions
Prācya (प्राच्य) is the name of a region whose waters (i.e., rivers) produce hemorrhoids, as mentioned in verse 5.11-12 of the Aṣṭāṅgahṛdayasaṃhitā (Sūtrasthāna) by Vāgbhaṭa.—Accordingly, “[...] (those) [rivers, viz., nadī] rising with the Prācyas, Avantis, and Aparāntas [produce] hemorrhoids; (those) [rivers] coming from the Mahendra [produce] abdominal swellings, elephantiasis, and indisposition; [...]”.
Note: The Prācyas, Avantis, and Aparāntas are either (according to the commentators) the peoples of Gaur, Malwa, and the Konkan or (according to Dowson, Dictionary s. vv.) the peoples east of the Ganges and those of Malwa and Malabar. [...] Going into details, Prācya and Aparānta have been taken, not for the names of peoples (as is done by the scholiasts), but for such of lands, with anta joined to prācya and apara alike.
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.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Prācya (प्राच्य) refers to the “eastern kingdoms”, 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 solar or lunar eclipse should fall in the lunar month of Kārttika, persons who live by fire, the Magadhas, the eastern princes [i.e., prācya-adhipa], the Kosalas, the Kalmāṣas, the Śūrasenas and the people of Benares will suffer miseries; the ruler of Kaliṅga with his ministers and servants and the Kṣatriyas will perish but there will be prosperity and plenty 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.
India history and geography
Prācya (प्राच्य) is the name of a garden (ārāma) found witin Triliṅga: an ancient Sanskrit name of the Andhra country, accoriding to verses on the Annavarappāḍu plates of Kāṭaya Vema Reḍḍi. The Reḍḍis (Reddy) were an ancient Telugu dynasty from the 14th century who brought about a golden age of the Andhra country. According to the plates, their captial was named Addaṅki (Addaṃki) which resembled Heaven (Amarāvatī) by the beauty of its horses, the donors and the women. King Vema, son of Anna-bhūpati of the Paṇṭa family, can be identified with Anavema of the inscription at Śrīśaila.
Prācya refers to the “eastern” district of ancient India as recorded in the Pāli Buddhist texts (detailing the geography of ancient India as it was known in to Early Buddhism).—Prācya country lay to the east of Madhyadeśa, but as the eastern boundary of the Madhyadeśa changed from time to time, the western boundary of the Prācya country consequently diminished.
According to Vaśiṣṭha, Baudhāyana, Manu, and the Kurmavibhāga, the Prācya country lay to the east of Prayāga. But according to the Kāvyamīmāṃsā, it was to the east of Benares (’Vārāṇasyāḥ parataḥ Pūrvadeśaḥ’), while according to the Commentary on the Vātsyāyana Sūtra, it lay to the east of Aṅga. According to the Buddhist tradition recorded in the Mahāvagga and Divyāvadāna, the western boundary of the Pūrvadeśa shrinked still more; and extended to Kajaṅgala (Mahāvagga) or Puṇḍravardhana. According to Yuan Chwang as well the western boundary of the Eastern country extended up to Puṇḍravardhana.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
prācya (प्राच्य).—a S Relating to the eastern quarter.
prācya (प्राच्य).—a Relating to the eastern quarter.
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
Prācya (प्राच्य).—a. [prāci bhavaḥ yat]
1) Being or situated in front.
2) Being or living in the east, eastern, easterly.
3) Prior, preceding, previous.
4) Ancient, old.
-cyāḥ (pl.)
1) 'The eastern country', the country south or east of the river Sarasvatī.
2) The people of this country.
Prācya (प्राच्य).—mfn.
(-cyaḥ-cyā-cyaṃ) Eastern, easterly. m.
(-cyaḥ) The eastern country, the country south or east of the Saraswati, which flows from the north-east to the south-west. E. prāc the east, aff. yat.
Prācya (प्राच्य).—i. e. prāñc + ya, adj. Eastern, Mārk. P. 57, 42.
Prācya (प्राच्य).—[adjective] being in front, eastern, former, ancient; [masculine] [plural] the ancients or the inhabitants of the east.
1) Prācya (प्राच्य):—a See p. 705, col. 1.
2) [from prāñc] b prācya or prācya, mf(ā)n. being in front or in the east, living in the east, belonging to the east, eastern, easterly, [Atharva-veda; Ṛgveda-prātiśākhya [Scholiast or Commentator]; Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.
3) [v.s. ...] preceding (also in a work), prior, ancient, old (opp. to ādhunika), [Bālarāmāyaṇa; Sāhitya-darpaṇa]
4) [v.s. ...] Name of [particular] hymns belonging to the Sāma-veda, [Harivaṃśa; Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
5) [v.s. ...] m. Name of a man, [Buddhist literature]
6) [v.s. ...] ([plural]) the inhabitants of the east, the eastern country, [Brāhmaṇa; Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtra; Mahābhārata] etc.
7) [v.s. ...] the ancients, [Śārṅgadhara-paddhati]
8) Prācyā (प्राच्या):—[from prācya > prāñc] f. (with or [scilicet] bhāṣā) the dialect spoken in the east of India, [Sāhitya-darpaṇa]
Prācya (प्राच्य):—(cyaḥ) 5. m. Eastern country.
Prācya (प्राच्य):—(von prāñc) perisp. [Atharvavedasaṃhitā] oxyt. [The Śatapathabrāhmaṇa] parox. [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 4, 2, 101] (vgl. [6, 1, 213]). Schol. zu [6, 2, 10. 12.]
1) adj. a) vorn —, im Osten befindlich, gelegen, wohnend: laghavaḥ pañca prācyāḥ die fünf vorangehenden [Śrutabodha 39. 40] [?(BR.). Scholiast zu Prātiśākhya zum Ṛgveda 10, 11 (Sūtra 19). Atharvavedasaṃhitā 4, 7, 2.] śarāvatyāstu yo vadheḥ .. deśaḥ prāgdakṣiṇaḥ prācyaḥ [Amarakoṣa 2, 1, 6. 7.] deśaḥ prāgdakṣiṇaḥ prācyo nadīṃ yāvaccharāvatīm [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 952.] deśāḥ [Mārkāṇḍeyapurāṇa 57,42.] [Vāyupurāṇa] in [Oxforder Handschriften 55,a,10. 12.] nṛpatayaḥ, nṛpāḥ, rājānaḥ u. s. w. [Mahābhārata 1, 4690. 3, 10253. 14774. 5, 890.] [Rāmāyaṇa 1, 12, 25.] prācyāvantya neben aparāvantya [Suśruta 1, 172, 8.] prācyapāñcālīṣu [Weber’s Indische Studien 4, 375,] [Nalopākhyāna 8, 92,] [Nalopākhyāna 1.] kaṭhāḥ [Weber’s Indische Studien 1, 68,] [Nalopākhyāna 3, 257.] m. pl. die Bewohner des Ostens, Ostland [Aitareyabrāhmaṇa 8, 14.] śarva iti yathā prācyā ācakṣate [The Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 1, 7, 3, 8. 13, 8, 1, 5. 2, 1.] prācyeṣu hastinaḥ (dadyāt) [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 22, 2, 24.] prācyaratho nāstīrṇo vipathaḥ [LĀṬY. 8, 6, 9.] [Mahābhārata 8, 2098] [?(Viṣṇupurāṇa 192). Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 2, 4, 66. 4, 1, 178. Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 5, 69. 94, 1. 27. Scholiast zu Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 87. 961.] prācyā bhāṣā die im Osten gesprochene Sprache [Sāhityadarpana 173,4.] [Oxforder Handschriften 181,a,23.] [STENZLER] in der Einl. zu [Mṛcchakaṭikā V.] — b) vorangehend, der frühere, ehemalig, alt (Gegens. ādhunika) [Sāhityadarpana 223, 3.] —
2) Bez. bestimmter zum Sāmaveda gehöriger Gesänge: caturviṃśatidhā tena (kṛtena) saprācyāḥ sāmasaṃhitāḥ .. smṛtāste prācyasāmānaḥ kartayo (lies kārtayo) nāma sāmagāḥ . [Harivaṃśa 1081.] kṛtī hiraṇyanābhādyo yogaṃ prāpya jagau sma ṣaṭ .. saṃhitāḥ prācyasāmnāṃ vai [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 9, 21, 28. fg.] —
3) m. Nomen proprium eines Mannes [WASSILJEW 225.]
Prācya (प्राच्य):—und prācya (f. ā) —
1) Adj. — a) vorn befindlich , vorangehend (in einem Werke). — b) im Osten befindlich , — gelegen , — wohnend , — herrschend , — gesprochen (Sprache). — c) vorangehend der frühere , ehemalig , alt [Bālarāmāyaṇa 1,18.102,20.] —
2) m. — a) Pl. — α) die Bewohner des Ostens , Ostland. — β) die Alten , veteres [Indische sprüche 7665.] — b) *Nomen proprium eines Mannes. — Statt saprācyāḥ [Harivaṃśa 1081.wird.1,20,45.] proktāstāḥ gelesen.
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
Prācya (प्राच्य) [Also spelled prachy]:—(a) east, eastern; oriental; belonging or pertaining to the east; —[bhāṣā] an oriental language; ~[vid/vettā] an orientalist; ~[vidyā] oriental learning, orientology.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Prācya (ಪ್ರಾಚ್ಯ):—
1) [adjective] being in front; facing.
2) [adjective] ancient.
3) [adjective] eastern; oriental.
--- OR ---
Prācya (ಪ್ರಾಚ್ಯ):—[noun] any of the Asian countries; any Oriental country.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Prācya (प्राच्य):—adj. 1. oriental; being or living in the east; 2. ancient; old; 3. prior; preceding; 4. being or situated in the front; n. the eastern dialect;
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 (+5): Pracyabhasha, Pracyadhipa, Pracyadhvaryu, Pracyaka, Pracyakatha, Pracyapadavritti, Pracyapancali, Pracyaratha, Pracyasama, Pracyasamaga, Pracyasaman, Pracyasaptasama, Pracyashaila, Pracyashodhane, Pracyasuhma, Pracyate, Pracyava, Pracyavada, Pracyavaiyakarana, Pracyavana.
Full-text (+47): Pracyavritti, Pracyapadavritti, Pracyabhasha, Pracyaratha, Pracyasaman, Pracyapancali, Pracyakatha, Pracyayana, Pracyavata, Pracyashodhane, Pracyashaila, Pracyasaptasama, Saptasama, Tilakita, Madhyapracya, Durapracya, Aparanta, Bahika, Alambiradi, Samana.
Relevant text
Search found 74 books and stories containing Pracya, Prācyā, Prācya; (plurals include: Pracyas, Prācyās, Prācyas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Sanskrit sources of Kerala history (by Suma Parappattoli)
1. Kerala in the Mahabharata, Harivamsa and Ramayana < [Chapter 6 - Miscellaneous Sanskrit works bearing on Kerala history]
8. The Catakasandesa (composed in Thirumandhamkunnu) < [Chapter 4 - Traces of Historical Facts from Sandesha Kavyas and Short poems]
3. The Laghubhaskariya-Vivarana < [Chapter 6 - Miscellaneous Sanskrit works bearing on Kerala history]
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 1.6.47 < [Chapter 6 - Description of Kaṃsa’s Strength]
Krishna Sandarbha of Jiva Goswami (by Kusakratha Prabhu)
Hanuman Nataka (critical study) (by Nurima Yeasmin)
11. Use of Prākṛta < [Chapter 4]
12.3. Arthaprakṛti (causes of dramatic action) in the Hanumannāṭaka < [Chapter 4]
8.1. Geographical Information in the Hanumannāṭaka < [Chapter 5]
Kashyapa Shilpa-shastra (study) (by K. Vidyuta)
4. Technicalities (a): Mānāṅgula Measurements < [Chapter 2 - Author and his Works]
9. Dwellings outside the Prākāras < [Chapter 3 - Prākāra Lakṣaṇa]
Satapatha-brahmana (by Julius Eggeling)
Kanda XIII, adhyaya 8, brahmana 1 < [Thirteenth Kanda]
Related products
