Raktaksha, Raktākṣa, Rakta-aksha: 16 definitions

Introduction:

Raktaksha means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi. 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 Raktākṣa can be transliterated into English as Raktaksa or Raktaksha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

[«previous next»] — Raktaksha in Purana glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Varāha-purāṇa

1) Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष).—One of the twelve rākṣasas facing the twelve ādityas in the battle of the gods (devas) between the demons (asuras), according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 94.

2) Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष).—One of the eleven rākṣasas facing the eleven rudras in the battle of the gods (devas) between the demons (asuras), according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 94.

This battle was initiated by Mahiṣāsura in order to win over the hand of Vaiṣṇavī, the form of Trikalā having a red body representing the energy of Viṣṇu. Trikalā is the name of a Goddess born from the combined looks of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara (Śiva).

The Varāhapurāṇa is categorised as a Mahāpurāṇa, and was originally composed of 24,000 metrical verses, possibly originating from before the 10th century. It is composed of two parts and Sūta is the main narrator.

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष) refers to “having red eyes (filled with anger)”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.15 (“The birth of Jalandhara and his marriage”).—Accordingly, after Bhārgava narrated the details regarding the headless Rāhu: “Then on hearing about the churning of his father, the heroic son of the ocean, the valorous Jalandhara became furious and his eyes turned red with anger (krodha-raktākṣa). Then he called his excellent emissary Ghasmara and told him everything what the wise preceptor had said to him. He then lovingly honoured the clever emissary in various ways, assured him of protection and sent him to Indra as his messenger. [...]”.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष).—An attendant on Śiva.*

  • * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 41. 26.
Purana book cover
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.

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Kavya (poetry)

[«previous next»] — Raktaksha in Kavya glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara

1) Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष) is a minister of the owl-king named Avamarda, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 62. Accordingly, “... and he [Raktākṣa], being a discreet minister, said to him: ‘King [Avamarda], these ministers have done their best to ruin you by impolitic advice. Those who know policy place no confidence in the acts of an hereditary enemy. It is only a fool that, though he sees the fault, is satisfied with insincere flattery’...”.

2) Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष) is the name of a Vidyādhara champion allied to Mandaradeva who marched in war against Naravāhanadatta, as mentioned in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 109. Accordingly, “... and the kings of Mandaradeva’s party, Kāñcanadaṃṣṭra, Aśokaka, Raktākṣa, Kālajihva and the others, submitted to the sway of Naravāhanadatta”.

The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Raktākṣa, is a famous Sanskrit epic story revolving around prince Naravāhanadatta and his quest to become the emperor of the vidyādharas (celestial beings). The work is said to have been an adaptation of Guṇāḍhya’s Bṛhatkathā consisting of 100,000 verses, which in turn is part of a larger work containing 700,000 verses.

Kavya book cover
context information

Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.

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Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

[«previous next»] — Raktaksha in Shaktism glossary
Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram

1) Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष) refers to one of the eight Servants (ceṭa-aṣṭaka) associated with Jālandhara (which is in the southern quarter), according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—[...] The eight servants (ceṭāṣṭaka): Ali, Cīvara, Raktākṣa, Kṛṣṇa, Pakṣa, Khāṭaka, Somāda, Dhūmaka.

2) Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष) also refers to one of the eight Servants (ceṭa-aṣṭaka) associated with Kāmākhya (corresponding to the eastern face of Bhairava).—[...] The eight Servants (ceṭāṣṭaka): Śaṃkhapāla, Kaṃkāla, Viśālaka, Ajaya, Vijaya, Vīrabhadra, Raktākṣa, Kasmāla.

Shaktism book cover
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.

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Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)

[«previous next»] — Raktaksha in Jyotisha glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by Varahamihira

Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष) refers to the fifty-eighth of the sixty-year cycle of Jupiter, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 8), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “In the twelvth yuga sacred to god Bhāga (Sun), the first year is known as Dundubhi; the crops will thrive well. The next year is known as Udgāri; in it the ruling sovereigns will perish and there will not be good rain. The third year is known as Raktākṣa; in it there will be fear from the attack of tusked animals and mankind will suffer from disease. The fourth year is known as Krodha; in it there will be anger in the land and countries will be ruined in consequence of internal strife. [...]”.

Jyotisha book cover
context information

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.

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Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

[«previous next»] — Raktaksha in Marathi glossary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष).—a (S) Of red eyes--a horse &c. 2 Blood-colored or reddish;--used of pearls, rudrākṣa &c.

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.

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Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Raktaksha in Sanskrit glossary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष).—a.

1) red-eyed.

2) fearful. (-kṣaḥ) 1 a buffalo.

2) a pigeon.

3) a crane (sārasa).

4) Name of a संवत्सर (saṃvatsara).

5) the Chakora bird.

Raktākṣa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms rakta and akṣa (अक्ष).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष).—name of a heretical ascetic: Divyāvadāna 151.25 ff. (See also s.v. Tārākṣa.)

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

Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष).—mfn. (-kṣaḥ-kṣī-kṣa) Red-eyed. m.

(-kṣaḥ) 1. A buffalo. 2. A pigeon. 3. The Greek partridge, (Perdix rufa.) “cakore. 4. A tyrant, a savage, a barbarous or cruel man. 5. The Indian crane. E. rakta red, akṣi the eye, aff. ṣa .

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

Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष).—[feminine] ī red-eyed.

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

1) Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष):—[from rakta > raj] mf(ī)n. red-eyed, having red or blood-shot eyes, [Rāmāyaṇa; Bhāgavata-purāṇa] (-tā f., [Dharmaśarmābhyudaya])

2) [v.s. ...] fearful, dreadful, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

3) [v.s. ...] m. a buffalo, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

4) [v.s. ...] Perdix Rufa, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

5) [v.s. ...] a pigeon, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

6) [v.s. ...] the Indian crane, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

7) [v.s. ...] Name of a sorcerer, [Buddhist literature]

8) [v.s. ...] Name of the minister of an owl-king, [Kathāsaritsāgara; Pañcatantra]

9) [v.s. ...] n. Name of the fifty-eighth year in a Jupiter’s cycle of sixty years, [Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā] (also kṣi m. or kṣin m., [Catalogue(s)])

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

Raktākṣa (रक्ताक्ष):—[raktā+kṣa] (kṣaḥ) 1. m. A buffalo; a pigeon; Greek patridge; a tyrant; savage; Indian crane. a. Red-eyed.

[Sanskrit to German]

Raktaksha 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.

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Kannada-English dictionary

[«previous next»] — Raktaksha in Kannada glossary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Raktākṣa (ರಕ್ತಾಕ್ಷ):—

1) [adjective] having red eye.

2) [adjective] creating fear; frightening; fierce.

--- OR ---

Raktākṣa (ರಕ್ತಾಕ್ಷ):—

1) [noun] a male buffalo.

2) [noun] any of a family (Columbidae order Columbiformes) of birds with a small head, plump body, long, pointed wings, and short legs; pigeon.

3) [noun] the bird Ardea sibirica; the Indian crane.

4) [noun] the bird Perdix rufus fabled to subsist upon moon-beams; Greek partridge.

context information

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

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