The Sanskrit term Ratnavarṣa can be transliterated into English as Ratnavarsa or Ratnavarsha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Hinduism

Kavya (poetry)

Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara

Ratnavarṣa (रत्नवर्ष) is an ancient Yakṣa king, whose daughter Vidyutprabhā married Devadatta, as mentioned in the story “Devadatta the gambler”, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 26. Accordingly, as Vidyutprabhā said to Devadatta:  “illustrious sir, I am the maiden daughter of a king of the Yakṣas, named Ratnavarṣa, and I am known by the name of Vidyutprabhā; and this great ascetic Jālapāda was endeavouring to gain my favour; to him I will give the attainment of his ends, but you are the lord of my life. So, as you see my affection, marry me”.

The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Ratnavarṣa, 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.

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’.

In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: academia.edu: A Study and Translation of the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā

Ratnavarṣa (रत्नवर्ष) refers to the “rain of jewels”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly: “[...] Then the Bodhisattva Samantāloka, having been astonished, uttered a joyous utterance: ‘The accomplishment of the magical presence of the Bodhisattva Gaganagañja’s vow is inconceivable. O Good man, please pure down a rain like this on all Buddha-fields immediately’. Then, by the power of the Buddha and the magical presence of the Bodhisattva Gaganagañja, the whole assembly saw the rain of jewels (ratnavarṣa) and the rain of the dharma pouring down on those Buddha-fields. By this miracle, the rain of jewels and the rain of the dharma, performed by the Bodhisattva Gaganagañja, immeasurable beings produced the thought of awakening”.

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.

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

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

Ratnavarṣa (रत्नवर्ष):—[=ratna-varṣa] [from ratna] m. Name of a king of the Yakṣas, [ib.]

[Sanskrit to German]

Ratnavarsha 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.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Partial matches: Varsha, Ratna.

Ends with: Maharatnavarsha.

Full-text: Vidyutprabha.

Relevant text

Search found 2 books and stories containing Ratnavarsha, Ratnavarṣa, Ratnavarsa, Ratna-varsha, Ratna-varṣa, Ratna-varsa; (plurals include: Ratnavarshas, Ratnavarṣas, Ratnavarsas, varshas, varṣas, varsas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)

Story of Devadatta

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Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of Story) (by Somadeva)

Chapter XXVI < [Book V - Caturdārikā]

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