Totaka, aka: Toṭaka; 6 Definition(s)
Introduction
Totaka means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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
Purāṇa
Toṭaka (तोटक).—A Chandas in which Bāṇāsura prayed to Śiva who blessed him with immortality.*
- * Matsya-purāṇa 188. 66 and 72.
The Purāṇas (पुराण, purana) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahāpurāṇas total over 400,000 ślokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
Nāṭyaśāstra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
1) Toṭaka (तोटक) refers to a type of syllabic metre (vṛtta), according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 16. In this metre, the third, the sixth, the ninth and the twelfth syllables of a foot (pāda) are heavy (guru), while the rest of the syllables are light (laghu).
⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦¦⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦¦
⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦¦⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦⏑⏑⎼¦¦
Toṭaka falls in the Jagatī class of chandas (rhythm-type), which implies that verses constructed with this metre have four pādas (‘foot’ or ‘quarter-verse’) containing twelve syllables each.
2) Toṭaka (तोटक, “quarreling”) represents one of the thirteen garbhasandhi, according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 21. Garbhasandhi refers to the “segments (sandhi) of the development part (garbha)” and represents one of the five segments of the plot (itivṛtta or vastu) of a dramatic composition (nāṭaka).
(Source): Wisdom Library: Nāṭya-śāstraToṭaka (तोटक).—One of the thirteen elements of the ‘development segment’ (garbhasandhi);—(Description:) An angry speech is called Quarrel (toṭaka).
(Source): archive.org: Natya Shastra
Nāṭyaśāstra (नाट्यशास्त्र, natya-shastra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition of performing arts, (e.g., 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 (nāṭya) and poetic works (kāvya).
Chandas (prosody, study of Sanskrit metres)
1) Toṭaka (तोटक) refers to one of the 27 metres mentioned in Kṣemendra’s Suvṛttatilaka. The Suvṛttatilaka is a monumental work of Sanskrit prosody considered as unique in its nature. In this work Kṣemendra neither introduces any new metre nor discusses all the metres used in his time. He discusses 27 popular metres (eg., Toṭaka) which were used frequently by the poets.
2) Toṭaka (तोटक) is the alternative name of a Sanskrit metre (chandas) mentioned by Hemacandra (1088-1173 C.E.) in his auto-commentary on the second chapter of the Chandonuśāsana. Toṭaka corresponds to Mātrāsamaka. Hemacandra gives these alternative names for the metres by other authorities (like Bharata), even though the number of gaṇas or letters do not differ. This is a peculiar feature of Sanskrit prosody.
(Source): Shodhganga: a concise history of Sanskrit Chanda literatureChandas (छन्दस्) refers to Sanskrit prosody and represents one of the six Vedangas (auxiliary disciplines belonging to the study of the Vedas). The science of prosody (chandas-shastra) focusses on the study of the poetic meters such as the commonly known twenty-six metres mentioned by Pingalas.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
tōṭakā (तोटका).—& tōṭagā m Commonly tōḍagā.
(Source): DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarytōṭakā (तोटका).—m Verification of a prediction; See tōḍagā.
(Source): DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-EnglishMarathi 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.
Relevant definitions
Search found 3 related definition(s) that might help you understand this better. Below you will find the 15 most relevant articles:
| Garbhasandhi | Garbhasandhi (गर्भसन्धि).—The “dramatic juncture of the development or catastasis” in which, fo... | |
| Totakacharya |
According to tradition, Toṭakāchārya, whose original name was Giri was the aṃśa of Agni, whi... | |
| Matrasamaka | 1) Mātrāsamaka (मात्रासमक) is a type of mātrāvṛtta (quantitative verse) described in the Mātrās... |
Relevant text
Search found 5 books and stories containing Totaka or Toṭaka. You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Preceptors of Advaita (by T. M. P. Mahadevan)
The Natyashastra (by Bharata-muni)
Chapter XXI - Limbs of Segments (sandhi)
Chapter XVI - Metrical Patterns (chandas)
Sushruta Samhita, Volume 5: Kalpasthana (by Sushruta)
Śrī Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛtam (by Śrīla Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura)
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