Purisha, Purisa, Puriṣa, Purīṣa: 29 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
1. Ayurveda
2. Purana
3. Shaktism
4. Vastushastra
5. Yoga
In Buddhism
Languages
1. Pali
2. Marathi
3. Sanskrit
4. Hindi
5. Prakrit
6. Kannada
See also

Introduction:

Purisha means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi, Jainism, Prakrit, 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 terms Puriṣa and Purīṣa can be transliterated into English as Purisa or Purisha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Hinduism

Ayurveda (science of life)

Toxicology (Study and Treatment of poison)

Source: Shodhganga: Kasyapa Samhita—Text on Visha Chikitsa

Purīṣa (पुरीष) or “excreta” refers to one of the thirteen sources of Jaṅgama (mobile) poison, as described in 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 (Viṣavidyā or Sarpavidyā).—Kaśyapa states in the fourth Adhyāya that Śiva taught him that poisons are of five kinds viz. immobile, mobile, artificial, caused by planets and (arising out of) doubt. The sources of these five kinds of viṣa, Kaśyapasaṃhitā deals mainly with the sthāvara (immobile), jaṅgama (mobile) poison according to Kaśyapa are thirteen in number [viz., excreta (purīṣa)].

Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)

Source: archive.org: The Elephant Lore of the Hindus

Purīṣa (पुरीष) refers to “elephants dung”, according to the 15th century Mātaṅgalīlā composed by Nīlakaṇṭha in 263 Sanskrit verses, dealing with elephantology in ancient India, focusing on the science of management and treatment of elephants.—[Cf. chapter 1, “on the origin of elephants”]: “[...] 40. Of all creatures the springtime is declared to produce must (intoxication, exhilaration), but particularly of elephants. Therefore those who are born in spring are scent elephants. And from the smell of their sweat, dung (purīṣa), urine, and must-fluid other elephants instantly are excited (made must). These scent elephants are bringers of victory to kings”.

Unclassified Ayurveda definitions

Source: Wisdom Library: Āyurveda and botany

Puriṣa (पुरिष) is a Sanskrit technical term translating to “faeces”, referring to the bodily waste excreted from the bowels. The term is used throughout Ayurvedic literature such as the Suśruta-saṃhitā and the Caraka-saṃhitā.

Source: gurumukhi.ru: Ayurveda glossary of terms

Purīṣa (पुरीष):—One of the solid form of Āhāramala. Faeces. The function of Puriṣa is to support the body in general, and, Vāyu and Agni in particular.

context information

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.

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

Purīṣa (पुरीष).—Faeces; to be discharged at a distance from the house in the S.W. direction, without touching the head with the hand; other details connected with cleansing follow; he who discards these rules becomes a mleccha; śauca leads by itself to mokṣa.^*

* Vāyu-purāṇa 78. 59-67 and 74-5.

context information

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.

Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram

Purīṣa (पुरीष) refers to “stool”, according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—Accordingly, while describing the signs of one who is a Siddha: “[...] (Such a man) does not feel fear (even if) there is terrible cold or heat outside or he suffers a bad accident. He is very intelligent and his accomplishment is close at hand. He is not greedy or sick and is forbearing. (His) urine is good and sweet smelling and (he passes) little stool [i.e., purīṣa]. (He possesses) a serene beauty and the first sign of success in Yoga (that he displays) is its fine profundity. [??] and (instead of criticizing, he) praises the good qualities (of people) when they are out of sight”.

context information

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.

Vastushastra (architecture)

Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (architecture)

Purīṣa (पुरीष) refers to “dung”, according to the Devyāmata (in the section śalyoddhāra-paṭala or “excavation of extraneous substances”).—Accordingly, “[...] If a cow [which has entered the site] urinates or drops dung (purīṣa), there are pieces of silver or gold [beneath the site, respectively]. If a cat urinates or drops dung (purīṣa), [the officiant] should prognosticate a piece of iron or an inauspicious thing (? aśam) [beneath the site,] respectively”.

context information

Vastushastra (वास्तुशास्त्र, vāstuśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian science (shastra) of architecture (vastu), dealing with topics such architecture, sculpture, town-building, fort building and various other constructions. Vastu also deals with the philosophy of the architectural relation with the cosmic universe.

Yoga (school of philosophy)

Source: ORA: Amanaska (king of all yogas): A Critical Edition and Annotated Translation by Jason Birch

Purīṣa (पुरीष) refers to “excrement”, according to the Amanaska Yoga treatise dealing with meditation, absorption, yogic powers and liberation.—Accordingly, as Īśvara says to Vāmadeva: “[...] [Now], I shall define the nature of that highest, mind-free absorption which arises for those devoted to constant practice. [...] By means of an absorption for a quarter of a day, a man would take little food, [his] urine and excrement (purīṣa) is little [svalpamūtrapurīṣatvaṃ] and there is a suppleness and lustre to [his] body. [...]”.

context information

Yoga is originally considered a branch of Hindu philosophy (astika), but both ancient and modern Yoga combine the physical, mental and spiritual. Yoga teaches various physical techniques also known as āsanas (postures), used for various purposes (eg., meditation, contemplation, relaxation).

In Buddhism

Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Journey to Nibbana: Patthana Dhama

Male;

context information

Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra

Purīṣa (पुरीष) refers to “dung”, according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter 31).—Accordingly, “[...] Thrown on the fire (agni), the body becomes ash (bhasman); devoured by insects (kurmi) it becomes dung (purīṣa); placed in the earth, it decays, decomposes, and becomes earth; put into the water, it swells up and decays or it is eaten by water-insects. Of all corpses (kuṇapa), that of man is the most impure: his impurities (aśucidharma) will be explained at length in reference to the nine concepts (navasaṃjñā). [...]”.

Source: archive.org: Bulletin of the French School of the Far East (volume 5)

Puriśa (पुरिश) [?] [or Vṛśa ?] (in Chinese: Fou-li-chö) is the name of an ancient kingdom associated with Svāti or Svātinakṣatra, as mentioned in chapter 18 of the Candragarbha: the 55th section of the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra, a large compilation of Sūtras (texts) in Mahāyāna Buddhism partly available in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese.—Chapter 18 deals with geographical astrology and, in conversation with Brahmarāja and others, Buddha explains how he entrusts the Nakṣatras [e.g., Svāti] with a group of kingdoms [e.g., Vṛśa or Puriśa] for the sake of protection and prosperity.

context information

Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (tantric Buddhism)

Purīṣa (पुरीष) refers to the “dung” (of a cow), according to the Bhūśalyasūtrapātananimittavidhi section of Jagaddarpaṇa’s Ācāryakriyāsamuccaya, a text within Tantric Buddhism dealing with construction manual for monasteries etc.—Accordingly, “[...] If a cow comes and drops dung (purīṣa), then there is the same amount of gold as the [dung beneath the site]. Alternatively, if a young girl [comes and] urinates, then there must be the same amount of silver as [the urine beneath the site]”.

Source: OSU Press: Cakrasamvara Samadhi

Purīṣa (पुरीष) or “feces” is associated with Hayakarṇā and Bhairava, according to the Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala or Saṃvaramaṇḍala of Abhayākaragupta’s Niṣpannayogāvalī, p. 45 and n. 145; (Cf. Cakrasaṃvaratantra, Gray, David B., 2007).—The Cakrasaṃvara mandala has a total of sixty-two deities. [...] Three concentric circles going outward, the body, speech and mind wheels (kāya-vāka-citta), in the order: mind (blue), speech (red), and body (white), with eight Ḍākinīs each in non-dual union with their Ḍākas, "male consorts".

Associated elements of Hayakarṇā and Bhairava:

Circle: vākacakra [=vākcakra?] (speech-wheel) (red);
Ḍākinī (female consort): Hayakarṇā;
Ḍāka (male consort): Bhairava;
Bīja: kāṃ;
Body-part: heart;
Pīṭha: Kāñcī;
Bodily constituent: purīṣa (feces);
Bodhipakṣa (wings of enlightenment): samādhibodhyaṅga (awakening of concentration).

context information

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

Pali-English dictionary

Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary

purisa : (m.) a male; a man.

Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary

Purisa, (according to Geiger, Gr. § 303 the base is *pūrṣa, from which the Vedic form puruṣa, and the Prk. -P. form purisa. The further contraction *pussa *possa yielded posa (q. v.). From the Prk. form puliśa (Māgadhī) we get pulla) man (as representative of the male sex, contrasted to itthi woman, e.g. at A. III, 209; IV, 197; J. I, 90; V, 72; PvA. 51). Definitions of the C. are “puriso nāma manussa-puriso na yakkho na peto etc. ” (i.e. man kat) e)coxήn) Vin. IV, 269 (the same expln for purisa-puggala at Vin. IV, 214); “seṭṭh’aṭṭhena puri setī ti puriso ti satto vuccati” VvA. 42 — 1. man D. I, 61 (p. kassaka “free man”); II, 13; S. I, 225; A. I, 28, 126; II, 115; III, 156; Sn. 102, 112, 316, 740, 806 and passim; Dh. 117, 152, 248; Nd1 124; PvA. 3, 4, 165, 187; VvA. 13 (majjhima°, paṭhama°, as t. t. g. ?). uttama° S. II, 278; III, 61, 166; IV, 380; It. 97; mahā° S. V, 158; A. II, 35; III, 223; IV, 229 (see also under mahā); sappurisa (q. v.). Var. epithets of the Buddha e.g. at S. I. 28 sq.—Kāpurisa a contemptible man; kimpurisa a wild man of the woods (“whatever man”), f. kimpurisī J. V, 215.—purisa as “a man, some one, somebody” as character or hero in var. similes, e.g. aṅgārakāsuyaṃ khipanaka° Vism. 489; asucimhi patita Vism. 465; āgantuka° VbhA. 23; dubbala Vism. 533; papāte patanto VbhA. 23 (cannot be a help to others; similarly with patita at VbhA. 170=Vism. 559); bhikkhusaṅghaṃ disvā Vism. 333; maṇḍapa-lagga Vism. 339 sq.; lakuṇṭaka-pāda & dīghapāda VbhA. 26; cp. the foll. : of a man pleasing the king VbhA. 442 sq.; a man wishing to perform a long journey in one day Vism. 244; a man breathing when exhausted Vism. 274. Frequently elsewhere.—2. an attendant, servant, waiter Vin. II, 297; D. I, 60 (dāsa+), 72 (id.); J. I, 385 (dāsa°); VI, 462. Cp. porisa, posa.—atthika one who seeks a servant Vin. II, 297.—anta= purisādhama Sn. 664 (anta=Sk. antya; SnA. 479 explns by antimapurisa).—antaragatā touched by a man (lit. gone in by ... ), a woman who has sexual intercourse, a woman in intercourse with a man D. I, 166 (cp. Dial. I. 228); M. I, 77; A. I, 295; II, 206; Vin. IV, 322; Pug. 55 (=he does not accept food, lest their intercourse should be broken: rati antarāyo hoti PugA 231); DA. I, 79 (=itthi, as opp. to kumārikā). Cp. pumaṃ gata, J. V, 154.—allu (& ālu) N. of certain monstrous beings, living in the wilderness J. V, 416 (=vaḷavā-mukhayakkhinī, a y. with the face of a mare), 418; VI, 537 (°ālu=vaḷavā-m. -pekkhī C.).—ājañña “a noble steed of a man, ” a thorough-bred or remarkable man S. III, 91; A. V, 325 sq. , Sn. 544; Dh. 193; as —ājāneyya at DhA. I, 310;—ājāniya at A. I, 290; II, 115; IV, 397 sq.; V, 324.—āda a bad man (“man-eater”) a wild man, cannibal J. V, 25 (cp. puruṣāda Jtm 3141); °ādaka J. V, 30.—ādhama a wicked man Dh. 78; J. V, 268.—indriya male faculty, masculinity S. V, 204; A. IV, 57; Dhs. 634, 715, 839, 972; Vism. 447, 492.—uttama “the highest of men, ” an excellent man A. V, 16, 325 sq.; Sn. 544; Dh. 78; DhA. II, 188.—usabha (purisusabha) “a bull of a man, ” a very strong man Vin. III, 39.—kathā talk about men D. I, 8.—kāra manliness D. I, 53 (cp. DA. I, 161); Miln. 96.—thāma manly strength D. I, 53; S. II, 28; A. II, 118; IV, 190.—dammasārathi guide of men who have to be restrained, Ep. of the Buddha (cp. BSk. puruṣa-damyasārathi Divy 54 and passim) S. II, 69; A. I, 168, 207; II, 56, 112, 147; Sn. p. 103 (=vicitrehi vinayan’ûpāyehi purisadamme sāretī ti SnA 443); It. 79; Pug. 57; Vism. 207; ThA. 178.—dosā (pl.) faults or defects in a man; eight are discussed in detail at A. IV, 190 sq.; Ps. I, 130; eighteen at J. VI, 542, 548.—dhorayha a human beast of burden S. I, 29.—parakkama manly energy D. I, 53; S. II, 28.—puggala a man, a human character D. III, 5, 227 (eight); S. I, 220 (8); II, 69, 82, 206; IV, 272 sq. = It. 88 (8) (expld at Vism. 219); A. I, 32, 130, 173, 189; II, 34, 56; III, 36, 349; IV, 407 (8); V, 139, 183 (8), 330 (8); Vin. IV, 212 sq. (=male); VbhA. 497;—bhava state of being a man, manhood, virility J. III, 124; Dhs. 634, 415, 839; PvA. 63.—bhūmi man’s stage, as “eight stages of a prophet’s existence” (Dial. I. 72) at D. I, 54, in detail at DA. I, 162, 163.—medha man-sacrifice, human sacrifice S. I, 76; A. II, 42; IV, 151; It. 21; Sn. 303.—yugāni (pl.) (4) pairs of men S. IV, 272 sq.; A. I, 208; II, 34, 56; III, 36; IV, 407; V, 330; D. III, 5, 227; It. 88; in verse Vv 4421; expld Vism. 219 (see under yuga).—lakkhaṇa (lucky) marks on a man D. I, 9.—linga (see also pullinga) a man’s characteristic, membrum virile Vin. III, 35; Dhs. 634, 715, 839; Tikp 50; Vism. 184.—viriya manly vigour S. II, 28.—vyañjana the membrum virile (=°linga) Vin. II, 269. (Page 469)

context information

Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

purīṣa (पुरीष).—n S Fæces, excrement, ordure, dung.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

purīṣa (पुरीष).—n Fæces, ordure

context information

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 dictionary

Purīṣa (पुरीष).—[pṝ-īṣan kicca Uṇādi-sūtra 4.27]

1) Feces, excrement, ordure; तस्याः पुरीषे तन्मांसं पितरस्तस्य शेरते (tasyāḥ purīṣe tanmāṃsaṃ pitarastasya śerate) Manusmṛti 3.25;4. 56;5;123;6,76.

2) Rubbish, dirt.

-ṣyam excremental dirt; द्रवत्पुरीष्याः पुलिनैः समन्ततः (dravatpurīṣyāḥ pulinaiḥ samantataḥ) Bhāgavata 1.18.6.

3) Ved. Water.

Derivable forms: purīṣam (पुरीषम्).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Puriśa (पुरिश).—m.

(-śaḥ) A living being.

--- OR ---

Purīṣa (पुरीष).—n.

(-ṣaṃ) 1. Fæces, excrement, ordure. 2. Rubbish, mould. E. pṝ to nourish or fill, (the body,) aff. īṣan.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Purīṣa (पुरीष).— (akin to pṛ10), I. n. 1. Fæces, excrements, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 5, 138. 2. The remains of food (in a pot), [Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, (ed. Burnouf.)] 5, 9, 12. Ii. f. ṣī (perhaps f. of purīṣya), The name of a religious ceremony, 3, 12, 40.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Purīṣa (पुरीष).—[neuter] crumbling or loose earth, rubbish, excrement, ordure; poss. vant.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Purīṣa (पुरीष):—n. (√pṝ) earth, land, [Ṛg-veda]

2) ([especially]) crumbling or loose earth, rubbish (perhaps ‘that which fills up’, as opp. to that which flows off, ‘the solid’ opp. to the fluid), rubble, anything used to fill up interstices in a wall, [Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā; Taittirīya-saṃhitā; Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa; Gṛhya-sūtra and śrauta-sūtra]

3) feces, excrement, ordure, [Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa] etc. etc. (ifc. f(ī). , [Bhāgavata-purāṇa])

4) a disk, orb (e.g. sūryasya id est. ‘fulness of the sun’ ?), [Ṛg-veda x, 27, 21]

5) (with ātharvaṇa) Name of a Sāman, [Ārṣeya-brāhmaṇa]

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Purīṣa (पुरीष):—(ṣaṃ) 1. n. Fæces, ordure.

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Purīṣa (पुरीष) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Purīsa.

[Sanskrit to German]

Purisha in German

context information

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 dictionary

Purīṣa (पुरीष):—(nm) excrement, faeces, stool; ordure; dung.

context information

...

Prakrit-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary

1) Purisa (पुरिस) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Puruṣa.

2) Purīsa (पुरीस) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Purīṣa.

context information

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 corpus

Purisa (ಪುರಿಸ):—[noun] = ಪುರೀಷ [purisha].

--- OR ---

Purīṣa (ಪುರೀಷ):—

1) [noun] waste matter expelled from the bowels; excrement; faeces.

2) [noun] disgustingly offensive dirt, garbage, etc.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

Relevant text

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