Shabdarashi, Shabda-rashi, Śabdarāśi: 4 definitions

Introduction:

Shabdarashi 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.

The Sanskrit term Śabdarāśi can be transliterated into English as Sabdarasi or Shabdarashi, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Hinduism

Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)

[«previous next»] — Shabdarashi in Shaivism glossary
Source: HAL: The alphabet goddess Mātṛkā in some early Śaiva Tantras

The Sanskrit alphabet is personified in other deities too: Śabdarāśi (शब्दराशि), the Heap of Sounds, is a male equivalent of Mātṛkā. The appearance and development of these other alphabet deities are often inseparable from the ways in which the concept of Mātṛkā evolves.

Shaivism book cover
context information

Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.

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Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

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

Śabdarāśi (शब्दराशि) refers to the “assembly of sounds”, according to the Tantric texts such as the Kubjikāmata-tantra, the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—Śabdarāśi is the assembly of the fifty ‘male’ letters. When these are understood to be energies it is called the Sequence of Mātṛkās who are their fifty female counterparts. One could say, in general terms, that they are the partners of the Bhairavas but in more elaborate expositions and practical applications, they are the Yoginīs (who could also be called mātṛkās) who govern the letters of the Mālinī alphabet. The Yoginī of the letter a particular Bhairava governs couples (with him) in the corresponding triangular compartment (i.e. yoni) of the goddess’s Triangle.

Source: academia.edu: The Śāradātilakatantra on Yoga

Śabdarāśi (शब्दराशि) is explained in terms of kuṇḍalinī by Lakṣmaṇadeśika in his 11th-century Śaradātilaka verse 25.67.—“We worship the supreme deity, who, having on the way passed beyond the mass of sounds produced from the agitation [caused by] the fusion of the two winds [prāṇa and apāna], ascends into the light that shines with the lustre of ten million lightning [bolts], [the deity] who is red like the fresh javā/japā [flower], red lead and the dawn, who has reached the supreme Śiva [and] who partakes of the concentrated nectar of bliss”.

Note: Śabdarāśi refers to the “mass or totality of sounds”, a stage of phonetic emanation associated with the mūlādhāra.

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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Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Shabdarashi in Sanskrit glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Śabdarāśi (शब्दराशि):—[=śabda-rāśi] [from śabda > śabd] m. (in [philosophy]) a collection of sounds or words or in fallible verbal teachings (said of the Veda)

2) [v.s. ...] ‘collection of sounds or letters’, the alphabet

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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