Sankata, Samkata, Saṅkaṭa, Saṃkaṭa, Saṃkaṭā, Saṅkaṭā, Shankata: 17 definitions
Introduction:
Sankata means something in 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.
Alternative spellings of this word include Sankat.
Images (photo gallery)
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English TranslationSaṅkaṭa (सङ्कट) refers to a “dilemma”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.14 (“The Birth of Tāraka and Vajrāṅga”).—Accordingly, after Vajrāṅga spoke to Varāṅgī: “O sage, thus Vajrāṅga whirled a lot in a dilemma [i.e., saṅkaṭa]. Intelligently he considered the corresponding strength and weakness of both the alternatives. O sage, as willed by Śiva, though intelligent the king of demons agreed to the proposal. He told his wife ‘So be it’. For that purpose he performed another very difficult penance with great zeal with me as the object of worship, for number of years. [...]”.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexSaṅkaṭa (सङ्कट).—The son of Kakubha and Dharma. Father of Kīkaṭa.*
- * Bhāgavata-purāṇa VI. 6. 6.

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.
Kavya (poetry)
Source: Wisdom Library: KathāsaritsāgaraSaṅkaṭa (सङ्कट) is the name of a swan (haṃsa), according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 59. Accordingly, “... there was in a certain lake a tortoise, named Kambugrīva, and he had two swans for friends, Vikaṭa and Saṅkaṭa. Once on a time the lake was dried up by drought, and they wanted to go to another lake..”.
The story of Saṅkaṭa was narrated in order to demonstrate that “people must follow good advice, otherwise they will be ruined”, in other words, that “a person who lets go common sense will be ruined”.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Saṅkaṭa, 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 (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’.
Sports, Arts and Entertainment (wordly enjoyments)
Source: archive.org: Syainika Sastra of Rudradeva with English Translation (art)Saṅkaṭa (सङ्कट) refers to “critical times”, according to the Śyainika-śāstra: a Sanskrit treatise dealing with the divisions and benefits of Hunting and Hawking, written by Rājā Rudradeva (or Candradeva) in possibly the 13th century.—Accordingly, “[...] It has been said that there are eighteen addictions. These are the outcome of the desire for earthly enjovments. [...] Severity of punishment means hard sentences on those who do not deserve them. It becomes tolerable in critical times (saṅkaṭa) for the sake of prestige. It should not otherwise be resorted to. [...]”.

This section covers the skills and profiencies of the Kalas (“performing arts”) and Shastras (“sciences”) involving ancient Indian traditions of sports, games, arts, entertainment, love-making and other means of wordly enjoyments. Traditionally these topics were dealt with in Sanskrit treatises explaing the philosophy and the justification of enjoying the pleasures of the senses.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: The University of Sydney: A study of the Twelve Reflections1) Saṃkaṭa (संकट) refers to a “crowded (with a troop of ruttish elephants)”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “This most powerful [and] cruel death devours against their will the life of those who possess a body that has settled in the middle world, in hell, in the world of Brahmā, in Indra’s abode, in the middle of the ocean, inside the forest, at all quarters of the globe, on a mountain-peak, in a place difficult of access on account of fire, forest, cold, darkness, thunderbolts [and] swords, or in [a place] crowded with a troop of ruttish elephants (samadakarin-ghaṭā-saṃkaṭa)”.
2) Saṃkaṭa (संकट) refers to the “difficulty (of battle)”, according to the Jñānārṇava.—Accordingly, “That which is evidently cessation of action causing the cycle of rebirth is to be considered as the mental stopping of the influx of karma by those who know about that from the most excellent scripture. Like the hero who is well-clad in armour is not pierced by arrows in the difficulty of battle (samara-saṃkaṭa), the one who has subdued his senses, whose self is restrained, is not pierced by arrows which are made of non-restraint”.
Source: academia.edu: The Original Paṇhavāyaraṇa/Praśnavyākaraṇa DiscoveredSaṃkaṭa (संकट) refers to “contracted (akṣaras)”, as taught in the Paṇhavāgaraṇa (Sanskrit: Praśnavyākaraṇa): the tenth Anga of the Jain canon which deals with the prophetic explanation of queries regarding divination.—The Praśnavyākaraṇa deals with the praśnavidyā in a rather complex way. It is divided into at least 33 short chapters [e.g., saṃkaṭa-vikaṭa-prakaraṇa], some of which are further divided into sub-chapters. Some contents of the text, mainly those related with articulation and pronunciation can have significance far beyond the scope of the praśnavidyā.

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 Dictionarysaṅkaṭa (संकट).—n (S Narrow.) A strait, difficulty, pressing distress; a calamity or trouble in general. saṅkaṭāsamōra ubhā rāhaṇēṃ To stand up manfully against a distress or difficulty; to face a trouble.
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saṅkaṭa (संकट).—a S Narrow, strait, contracted.
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saṅkaṭā (संकटा).—f (S) The name of a yōginī. Hence saṅkaṭā ālī -gudaralī -paḍalī &c. āmhāsa or āmhāvara Adversity is come upon us.
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sāṅkāṭā (सांकाटा).—m (Commonly sāṅgāḍā) The skeleton, box, or frame (of a building, boat, cart, the body). 2 A frame or texture of sticks (as for the covering of a maṇḍapa or shed, for the flooring of a loft &c.); a crate, a hurdle, or similar thing.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishsaṅkaṭa (संकट).—n A strait, difficulty; a calamity. a Narrow, straight.
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 dictionarySaṃkaṭa (संकट).—a.
1) Contracted, narrow, strait; संकटद्वारकाणि स्युरुच्छ्वासार्थं पुरस्य च (saṃkaṭadvārakāṇi syurucchvāsārthaṃ purasya ca) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 12.69.44.
2) Impervious, impassable.
3) Full of, crowded with, beset with, hemmed in; संकटा ह्याहिताग्नीनां प्रत्यवायैर्गृहस्थता (saṃkaṭā hyāhitāgnīnāṃ pratyavāyairgṛhasthatā) Mv.4.33; विषमशिलासंकटस्खलितवेगः (viṣamaśilāsaṃkaṭaskhalitavegaḥ) V.2.8; Uttararāmacarita 1.8.
4) Pressed, made thin (kṛśīkṛta); कृतप्रतिकृतैश्चित्रैर्बाहुभिश्च सुसंकटैः (kṛtapratikṛtaiścitrairbāhubhiśca susaṃkaṭaiḥ) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 4.13.27.
5) Dangerous, critical.
-ṭam 1 A narrow passage, defile, pass.
2) A difficulty, strait, risk, peril, danger; संकटेष्वविषण्णधीः (saṃkaṭeṣvaviṣaṇṇadhīḥ) K.; संकटे हि परीक्ष्यन्ते प्राज्ञाः शूराश्च संगरे (saṃkaṭe hi parīkṣyante prājñāḥ śūrāśca saṃgare) Kathāsaritsāgara 31.93.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionarySaṃkaṭa (संकट).—[adjective] narrow, strait; thick, dense; difficult, hard. [neuter] narrow path, difficult passage, difficulty, danger, distress, pain.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Saṃkaṭa (संकट):—[=saṃ-kaṭa] mf(ā)n. ([probably] Prākṛt for saṃ-kṛta; cf. 2. vi-kaṭa etc.) ‘brought together’, contracted, closed, narrow, strait, [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature] etc.
2) [v.s. ...] crowded together, dense, impervious, impassable, [Mahābhārata; Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa]
3) [v.s. ...] dangerous, critical, [Mahābhārata]
4) [v.s. ...] (ifc.) crowded with, full of [Kādambarī]
5) [v.s. ...] m. Name of a [particular] personification (a son of Kakubh), [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
6) [v.s. ...] of a man, [Rājataraṅgiṇī]
7) [v.s. ...] of a gander or flamingo, [Kathāsaritsāgara; Pañcatantra; Hitopadeśa]
8) Saṃkaṭā (संकटा):—[=saṃ-kaṭā] [from saṃ-kaṭa] a f. See below
9) Saṃkaṭa (संकट):—[=saṃ-kaṭa] n. a narrow passage, strait, defile, pass, [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature] etc., a strait, difficulty, critical condition, danger to or from ([compound]; cf. prāṇa-s), [ib.]
10) Saṃkaṭā (संकटा):—[from saṃ-kaṭa] b f. Name of a Yoginī (seven others are named, viz. Maṅgalā, Piṅgalā, Dhanyā, Bhrāmarī, Bhadrikā, Ulkā, Siddhi), [Jyotiṣa]
11) [v.s. ...] of a goddess worshipped in Benares, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionarySaṅkaṭa (सङ्कट):—[(ṭaḥ-ṭā-ṭaṃ) a.] Narrow, contracted; crowded; imperious. n. A defile, strait; perplexity, distress.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Saṃkaṭa (संकट) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Saṃkaḍa.
[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 dictionarySaṃkaṭa (संकट) [Also spelled sankat]:—(nm) a crisis, emergency; danger, hazard; —[kī ghaḍī] hour of crisis, critical moment; —[kī stiti] emergency, crisis; -[ke bādala maṃḍarānā] a crisis to hover around; —[ke sāthī] a friend in need; ~[pūrṇa/maya] dangerous, hazardous; ~[stha] in distress, in the grip of a crisis.
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Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusSaṃkaṭa (ಸಂಕಟ):—
1) [adjective] that cannot be passed, crossed or traveled over; impassable; narrow; strait.
2) [adjective] having or posing a problem; difficult; hard to do, manage.
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Saṃkaṭa (ಸಂಕಟ):—
1) [noun] a narrow passage or room; a strait.
2) [noun] a difficult, critical condition; a danger.
3) [noun] the distress or suffering, mental or physical, caused by anxiety, anguish, grief, disappointment, etc.
4) [noun] sorrow; grief.
5) [noun] (myth.) name of a hell.
6) [noun] ಸಂಕಟ ಬಂದಾಗ ವೆಂಕಟರಮಣ [samkata bamdaga vemkataramana] saṃkaṭa bandāga veṃkaṭaramaṇa (prov.) adversity reminds men of religion.
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 Dictionary1) Saṃkaṭa (संकट):—n. → सङ्कट [saṅkaṭa]
2) Saṅkaṭa (सङ्कट):—n. 1. a dire difficulty; dire misfortune; distress; 2. a danger; a risk; an emergency; a crisis; 3. danger; hazard; 4. dilemma; stake;
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)
Partial matches: Sam, Cam, Kata.
Starts with (+2): Samkatagol, Samkatajyotiga, Samkatapadu, Samkatavikata, Sankata-kala, Sankatacaturttaci, Sankatacaturtti, Sankatagrast, Sankatagrasta, Sankataka, Sankataksha, Sankatam, Sankatamay, Sankatamaya, Sankatana, Sankatanem, Sankatapann, Sankatapanna, Sankatapurna, Sankatasana.
Full-text (+67): Vishankata, Pranasamkata, Pranasankata, Vrikshasamkata, Samkatacaturthi, Visamkata, Vanasankata, Samkatanamashtaka, Samkatamukha, Samkatastotra, Vishankatam, Yonisamkata, Vanasamkata, Nativistarasamkata, Mahasamkata, Samkatanashana, Samkatastha, Samkatamuha, Sankatam, Sankat.
Relevant text
Search found 28 books and stories containing Sankata, Samkata, Sāṅkāṭā, Saṅkaṭa, Saṃkaṭa, Saṃkaṭā, Saṅkaṭā, Sam-kata, Saṃ-kaṭa, Saṃ-kaṭā, Shankata, Śaṅkaṭa, Sankaṭa; (plurals include: Sankatas, Samkatas, Sāṅkāṭās, Saṅkaṭas, Saṃkaṭas, Saṃkaṭās, Saṅkaṭās, katas, kaṭas, kaṭās, Shankatas, Śaṅkaṭas, Sankaṭas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)
Verse 1.8.90 < [Chapter 8 - The Disappearance of Jagannātha Miśra]
Verse 2.13.89 < [Chapter 13 - The Deliverance of Jagāi and Mādhāi]
Verse 3.2.489 < [Chapter 2 - Description of the Lord’s Travel Through Bhuvaneśvara and Other Placesto Jagannātha Purī]
Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (by Rajendralala Mitra)
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī)
Verse 3.2.10 < [Part 2 - Affection and Service (dāsya-rasa)]
Vishnudharmottara Purana (Art and Architecture) (by Bhagyashree Sarma)
7. Characteristic Features of Common Temples < [Chapter 4 - Temple Building]
Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)