Sutradhara, Sūtradhāra, Sutra-dhara, Sūtradhara: 17 definitions
Introduction:
Sutradhara means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, Marathi. 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
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
Sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार) refers to the “director” of a dramatic play (nāṭya), according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 35. Accordingly, “The qualities of a Director.—First of all, he should possess knowledge of characteristics of everything concerning the theatre, desirable refinement of speech, knowledge of the rules of tāla and theory of notes and instruments in general”.
(Characteristics of a sūtradhāra or director): “He should be possessed of memory and intelligence, and should be patient, liberal, firm in his words, poetical, free from any disease, sweet in his manners, forbearing, self-possessed, sweet-tongued, free from anger, truthful, impartial, honest, and free from greed for praise”.
According to verse 35.98, “definition of a director (sūtradhāra).—One who knows from the teaching of the learned (śiṣṭa) the principles (sūtra) of applying songs, instrumental music and recitatives in their unity, is called a sūtradhāra (director)”
Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (shastra) of performing arts, (natya—theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing Dramatic plays (nataka), construction and performance of Theater, and Poetic works (kavya).
Vastushastra (architecture)
Sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार).—Chapter II of the Nāṭyasastra is dedicated entirely to outhning the procedures of making theatres. The initial procedures of site-clearance, soil-examination, disposition of plots and laying of foundation are conducted by the sūtradhāra, who is the maker of stage-sets (as well as director of plays).
Vastushastra (वास्तुशास्त्र, vāstuśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian science (shastra) of architecture (vastu), dealing with topics such architecture, sculpture, town-building, fort building and various other constructions. Vastu also deals with the philosophy of the architectural relation with the cosmic universe.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Sūtrādhāra (सूत्राधार) (Cf. Sūtravitata) refers to the “casting of a cord”, according to the Bhūśalyasūtrapātananimittavidhi section of Jagaddarpaṇa’s Ācāryakriyāsamuccaya, a text within Tantric Buddhism dealing with construction manual for monasteries etc.—Accordingly, “[...] If a cord is stepped over by a specific kind of creature, then there must be a bone of that creature beneath the site on which the cord is being cast (sūtrādhāra). [...]”.
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार) refers to one of the 16 stories narrated by either Kuñcika or Munipati, according to the Munipaticaritrasāroddhāra (narrating stories from Jain literature), which is included in the collection of manuscripts at the ‘Vincenzo Joppi’ library, collected by Luigi Pio Tessitori during his visit to Rajasthan between 1914 and 1919.—Background story:—[...] Both [Kuñcika and Munipati] started to exchange stories on ungratefulness or lie. The red thread of the work is the Prakrit list of 16 catchwords referring to 16 stories (end of the text; metre not correct). They are narrated here in Sanskrit prose, in turn by Kuñcika and Muni alias Munipati: [for example,] 11. Sūtradhāra-kathānaka [sūtradhārasya kathānakam], told by Kuṃcika, ends on 8v17; [...].
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.
India history and geography
Sūtradhāra.—(EI 24; CII 4; BL), a mason; an artisan; an epithet generally applied to the engravers of stone inscriptions of the medieval period. See Sūtrabhṛt, Sūtradhṛt, Sūtradhārin. Note: sūtradhāra is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार).—m (S) The principal actor or manager of a company of players, and chief interlocutor in the prologue or prelude to a drama. 2 The holder and manager of the strings or wires (of puppets &c. in puppet-shows). 3 The managing, guiding, or leading man (of a company or body generally).
sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार).—m The principal actor of a com- pany of players. The leading man.
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
Sūtradhara (सूत्रधर) or Sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार).—
1) 'the threadholder', a stage-manager, the principal actor who arranges the cast of characters and instructs them, and takes a prominent part in the Prastāvanā or prelude; he is thus defined:-नाट्यस्य यदनुष्ठानं तत् सूत्रं स्यात् सबीजकम् । रङ्गदैवतपूजाकृत् सूत्रधार इति स्मृतः (nāṭyasya yadanuṣṭhānaṃ tat sūtraṃ syāt sabījakam | raṅgadaivatapūjākṛt sūtradhāra iti smṛtaḥ) ||
2) a carpenter, an artisan.
3) the author of a set of aphorisms.
4) an epithet of Indra.
Derivable forms: sūtradharaḥ (सूत्रधरः), sūtradhāraḥ (सूत्रधारः).
Sūtradhara is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms sūtra and dhara (धर).
Sūtradhara (सूत्रधर).—m. (= Pali suttadhara, Childers), a master of the sūtras (q.v.), one who controls them: Mahāvyutpatti 5141.
Sūtradhara (सूत्रधर).—m.
(-raḥ) A stage-manager: see the next.
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Sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार).—m.
(-raḥ) 1. The principal actor or manager of a company, and chief interlocutor in the prologue or prelude to a drama. 2. A carpenter. 3. The author of a set of rules or axioms. 4. Indra. E. sūtra a rule, &c., and dhāra who holds; also sūtradhara and sūtrabhṛt .
Sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार).—[sūtra-dhāra], m. 1. A carpenter, [Hitopadeśa] 49, 12. 2. The manager or principal actor of a company [Vikramorvaśī, (ed. Bollensen.)] 3, 12. 3. The author of a set of rules. 4. Indra.
Sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार).—[masculine] thread-holder, carpenter or stagemanager, director ([feminine] rī).
1) Sūtradhara (सूत्रधर):—[=sūtra-dhara] [from sūtra > sūtr] mfn. wearing a string of ([compound]), [Mahābhārata]
2) [v.s. ...] m. one versed in the Sūtras, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.] = next, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
3) Sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार):—[=sūtra-dhāra] [from sūtra > sūtr] m. ‘rule or thread-holder’, an architect, carpenter, [Mahābhārata; Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā]
4) [v.s. ...] a stage-manager (or principal actor who superintends the whole performance; [according to] to some he was originally so called from holding the strings of puppets; his assistants are the pāripārśvika and sthāpaka, qq.vv.), [Bharata-nāṭya-śāstra; Sāhitya-darpaṇa] etc.
5) [v.s. ...] Name of Indra, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
6) [=sūtra-dhāra] [from sūtra > sūtr] mf(ī)n. being the chief or leading person at any performance ([compound]), [Bālarāmāyaṇa]
Sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार):—[sūtra-dhāra] (raḥ) 1. m. Indra; a carpenter; chief actor; author of rules.
Sūtradhara (सूत्रधर):—
1) adj. a) eine Schnur tragend: rakta [Mahābhārata 13, 894.] — b) Kenner der Sūtra [Vyutpatti oder Mahāvyutpatti 124.] —
2) m. = sūtradhāra [Śabdakalpadruma]
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Sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार):—m.
1) Zimmermann, Baumeister, Architect [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha 4, 284.] [Medinīkoṣa r. 303] (pāripātraprabheda?). [Mahābhārata.1,2029.] [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 43,12.] [Oxforder Handschriften 21,b, Nalopākhyāna 3. 155,b,19. 21.] [Hitopadeśa 49,12.] [Scholiast] zu [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi.6,1,5.] Inschr. in [Journ. of the Am. Or. S. 6, 408,] [Śloka 36. fg.] —
2) Schauspieldirector [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 330.] [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha] [Medinīkoṣa] [Bharata] [NĀṬYAŚ. 34,99.] [Sāhityadarpana 287.] [Oxforder Handschriften 135,a,6 v. u.] [Śākuntala 3,6. fgg.] [Vikramorvaśī 3,6. fgg.] [Mālavikāgnimitra 3,5. fgg.] [UTTARAR. 1,7. fgg.] [MĀLATĪM. 2,1. fgg.] [Mudrārākṣasa 1,13. fgg.] [RATNĀV.2,9. fgg.] [PRABODHAC. 2,1. fgg.] [Dhūrtasamāgama 66,12. fgg.] suratatāṇḍavasūtradhārī f. so v. a. Hauptperson [Caurapañcāśikā 7.] —
3) ein N. Indra's [Medinīkoṣa]
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
Sūtradhara (ಸೂತ್ರಧರ):—[noun] = ಸೂತ್ರಧಾರ [sutradhara].
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Sūtradhāra (ಸೂತ್ರಧಾರ):—
1) [noun] a man who directs or plays a key role in, a play, cinema.
2) [noun] a man who plays from behind puppets by pulling the strings tied to them; a puppeteer.
3) [noun] the chief architect who plans the construction and structure of a temple and other buildings.
4) [noun] Indra, the lord of ods.
5) [noun] (fig.) a man who directs others' action.
6) [noun] the Supreme Being, who is the prime cause for the actions of all beings in this world.
7) [noun] (fig.) a man who instigates another or others to commit a crime or crimes.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Sūtradhāra (सूत्रधार):—n. (theatre) stage manager; a mastermind;
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 (+0): Sutra, Dhara, Tara.
Starts with (+0): Sutradhara-pitamaha, Sutradharaka, Sutradharakathanaka, Sutradharamandana.
Full-text (+51): Sutradharamandana, Samaranganasutradhara, Takshaka, Sutradharin, Sutrabhrit, Kathodghata, Sutradhara-pitamaha, Gajadhara, Sthapaka, Prenkhana, Abhirupapati, Sutrika, Sutradharaka, Sutradhrik, Sutradharakathanaka, Cuttirataran, Sutaradhar, Matrigupta, Pariparshvaka, Sutrin.
Relevant text
Search found 74 books and stories containing Sutradhara, Sutra-dhara, Sūtra-dhāra, Sūtra-dhara, Sūtradhāra, Sūtradhara; (plurals include: Sutradharas, dharas, dhāras, Sūtradhāras, Sūtradharas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Abhijnana Sakuntala (with Katayavema commentary) (by C. Sankara Rama Sastri)
Chapter 1 - Sanskrit text (prathama-anka) < [Abhijnana Sakuntalam, text and commentary]
Chapter 1 - Notes and Analysis of First Act < [Abhijnana Sakuntalam, text and commentary]
Bhasa’s dramas (socio-cultural study) (by Dutta Pallabi)
Part 3.2 - Introduction to basic concepts of Sanskrit dramatic plays < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
Part 2 - Authorship of the thirteen Plays < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
Part 2 - Popular Beliefs and Practices (during Bhāsa’s time) < [Chapter 4 - The religio-philosophical aspect]
Vakyapadiya of Bhartrihari (by K. A. Subramania Iyer)
Verse 3.9.4 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (9): Kāla-samuddeśa (On Time)]
Sanskrit dramas by Kerala authors (Study) (by S. Subramania Iyer)
2. Characteristics of the Kerala Sanskrit dramas < [Chapter 2]
7. Technique of the Candrikakalapida < [Chapter 9: Candrikakalapida (Chandrika-Kalapida) (Study)]
16. Influence of other Sanskrit poets (in the Sita Raghava) < [Chapter 6: Sita Raghava (Study)]
Abhijnana Shakuntala (synthetic study) (by Ramendra Mohan Bose)
Prastavana (Prologue) < [Abhijnana Sakuntalam, text and commentary]
Introduction (5): Dramatis personae
Chapter 2 - Dvitiya-anka (dvitiyo'nkah) < [Abhijnana Sakuntalam, text and commentary]
Abhijnana Shakuntalam (Sanskrit and English) (by Saradaranjan Ray)
Prastavana (Sanskrit Introduction of the Abhijnana Shakuntalam) < [Abhijnana Shakuntalam (text, translation, notes)]