Saptatantu, Saptan-tantu, Saptatamtu: 9 definitions
Introduction:
Saptatantu means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit. 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.
In Hinduism
Kavya (poetry)
Source: archive.org: Naisadhacarita of SriharsaSaptatantu (सप्ततन्तु) refers to a “sacrifice”, and is mentioned in the Naiṣadha-carita 11.100.—The word literally means “that which has seven tantus”, but the meaning of tantu is not clear. According to Kṣīrasvāmin, the reference is to the seven metres (“saptabhiḥ chandobhistanyata iti”). Hemacandra he explains the seven tantus also as the seven varieties of the Soma sacrifice [...].
Sāyaṇa in his commnetary on Ṛgveda 10.124.1 gives two explanations of the word [saptatantu].
According to one, the reference is to thee seven varieties of the Soma sacrifice:
- Agniṣṭoma,
- Atyagniṣṭoma,
- Ukthya,
- Ṣoḍaśin,
- Vājapeya,
- Atirātra,
- Aptoryāma.
The other explanation is the more probable. Tantu means here “one who extends”, and organiser, i.e. the officiating priest. The word is used in this sense in Bhāgavata 4.24.37, [...]. The word is used in this sense also in Bhāgavata 3.19.28 (addressed to the Varāha incarnation of Viṣṇu). Here tantu clearly means vistāraka, though the commentator says “akhilayajñānāṃ tantave vistārāya kāraṇāyeti vā”. Here, too, it would be more natural to take the word in the same sense as in the other passage. Saptatantu thus means “that which has seven organisers i.e. priests”. The seven priests are enumerated in Taittirīya-āraṇyaka 3.5 in connetion with the Saptahotṛmantra. Cf. Sāyaṇa.
In the Naiṣadhacarita vere in question the word saptatantu means at first sight “seven-threaded” (see footnote to translation), but the ordinary meaning of tantu “thread” does not seam to have anything to do with a sacrifice. Hemacandra, it is true, says in one of his explanations that “the seven threads” are the cords with which the sacrificial animal is tied, but he does not quote any authority in support of this. In the verse of our poem, the alternative meaning “seven-threaded” is mere word-play or śabdacchala employed for the purpose of Virodhābhāsa or apparent contradiction. A similar word-play is found in Jānakīharaṇa 6.34.
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’.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionarySaptatantu (सप्ततन्तु).—a sacrifice; सप्ततन्तु- मधिगन्तुमिच्छतः (saptatantu- madhigantumicchataḥ) Śiśupālavadha 14.6; पुनः प्रवर्तयिष्यामि सप्ततन्त्वादिकाः क्रियाः (punaḥ pravartayiṣyāmi saptatantvādikāḥ kriyāḥ) Śiva B.5.56; विधये सप्ततन्तूनाम् (vidhaye saptatantūnām) ibid.18.23. cf. note on N.11.1.
Derivable forms: saptatantuḥ (सप्ततन्तुः).
Saptatantu is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms saptan and tantu (तन्तु).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionarySaptatantu (सप्ततन्तु).—m.
(-ntuḥ) A sacrifice, an offering or oblation. E. sapta seven, (prayers, or the tongues of Agni,) tan to spread, aff. tun .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionarySaptatantu (सप्ततन्तु).—m. a sacrifice.
Saptatantu is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms saptan and tantu (तन्तु).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionarySaptatantu (सप्ततन्तु).—[adjective] having seven threads.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Saptatantu (सप्ततन्तु):—[=sapta-tantu] [from sapta > saptan] mfn. (ta-) ‘7-threaded’, consisting of 7 parts (as a sacrifice), [Ṛg-veda; Mahābhārata]
2) [v.s. ...] m. a sacrifice, offering, [Mahābhārata; Śiśupāla-vadha; Bhāgavata-purāṇa etc.]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionarySaptatantu (सप्ततन्तु):—[sapta-tantu] (ntuḥ) 2. m. A sacrifice.
[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.
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusSaptataṃtu (ಸಪ್ತತಂತು):—[noun] an elaborate religious sacrifice.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Sapta, Tantu.
Ends with: Shatasaptatamtu.
Full-text: Saptatantava, Tantu.
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