The Sanskrit terms Śiraśchēda and Śiraścheda and Śiraccheda can be transliterated into English as Sirascheda or Shirashcheda or Siraccheda or Shiraccheda, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

Alternative spellings of this word include Shirashchheda.

In Hinduism

Kavya (poetry)

Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (kavya)

Śiraścheda (शिरश्छेद) refers to “decapitations”, according to Bāṇa’s Kādambarī (p. 225-226).—Accordingly, while describing the shire of the Goddess Caṇḍikā, “[Then follows the image of the Goddess Caṇḍikā, which matches the conception of Kālarātri in the passage from the Mahābhārata:] Her feet were never bereft of cloths [dyed with] red lac thrown upon the mound of her seat [on the altar] as if they were the lives of all creatures arrived there for shelter; she resembled an inhabitant of the Underworld because of the intense darkness obstructed [only] by the flashes from axes, spears, etc., weapons deadly for beings, that seemed to hold nets of hair stuck from decapitations (śiraścheda-lagna) because of the reflections of black yak-tail whisks cast [upon their surfaces]; [...]”.

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’.

Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Source: Google books: Genesis and Development of Tantra (Shaktism)

Śiraścheda (शिरश्छेद) is another name for the Jayadrathayāmala: an ancient Sanskrit text devoted to cults of Goddesses as the Vidyāpīṭha or Vidyā Corpus.—The Śiraścheda (=Jayadrathayāmala) consisting of four parts called hexads (ṣaṭka) because each is approximately six thousand verses in length, which teaches the cult of Kālasaṃkarṣaṇī or Kālī [...].

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.

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Śiraścheda (शिरश्छेद) refers to “cutting off someone’s head”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.15 (“The birth of Jalandhara and his marriage”).—Accordingly, as Bhārgava narrated to Jalandhara the details regarding the headless Rāhu: “[...] The enemies of the Asuras extracted jewels from the ocean. The gods seized the nectar and drank it deceitfully. Then the gods including Indra increased in strength and prowess by the drinking of the nectar and harassed the Asuras with the assistance of Viṣṇu. This Viṣṇu who is always a partisan of Indra, cut off the head (śiraścheda) of Rahu as he was drinking the nectar along with the gods. [...]”.

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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.

Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

śiracchēda (शिरच्छेद).—m (Corr. from śiraśchēda S) Decapitation.

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

śiraśchēda (शिरश्छेद).—m (S) Cutting off the head, decapitation.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

śiracchēda (शिरच्छेद).—m (Corr. from śiraśchēda). Decapi- tation.

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.

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Śiraścheda (शिरश्छेद).—(śiraśchedaḥ &c.) beheading, decapitation.

Derivable forms: śiraśchedaḥ (शिरश्छेदः).

Śiraścheda is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms śiras and cheda (छेद). See also (synonyms): śiraśchedana.

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

Śiraścheda (शिरश्छेद).—[masculine] na [neuter] cutting of a head.

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

Śiraścheda (शिरश्छेद):—[=śiraś-cheda] [from śiraś > śiras] m. ([Kāvya literature; Kathāsaritsāgara] etc.) ([Catalogue(s)]) cutting off the head, decapitation.

[Sanskrit to German]

Shirashcheda 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.

Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Śiracchēda (ಶಿರಚ್ಛೇದ):—[noun] the act of cutting off the head; decapitation.

context information

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: Shiras, Cheda.

Starts with: Shiracchedana.

Full-text: Shirashchedana, Cheda, Jayadrathayamala.

Relevant text

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