Ujjayini, Ujjayinī: 23 definitions
Introduction:
Ujjayini means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India. 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
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Source: Wisdom Library: Kubjikāmata-tantraUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी):—Sanskrit name for one of the twenty-four sacred sites of the Sūryamaṇḍala, the first maṇḍala of the Khecarīcakra, according to the kubjikāmata-tantra. It is also known as Ekāmraka, according to the Ṣaṭsāhasraṭippanī. The Khecarīcakra is the fifth and final cakra located just above the head. Each one of these holy sites (pītha) is presided over by a particular Khecarī (‘sky-goddess’). This Ujjayinī-pītha is connected with the goddess Mahāmāyā.
Source: Wisdom Library: Śaivism1) Ujjayini (उज्जयिनि) is a Sanskrit word referring to one of the sixty-eight places hosting a svāyambhuvaliṅga, one of the most sacred of liṅgas according to the Śaivāgamas. The presiding deity residing over the liṅga in this place (Ujjayini) is named Mahākāla. The list of sixty-eight svāyambhuvaliṅgas is found in the commentary of the Jirṇoddhāra-daśaka by Nigamajñānadeva. The word liṅga refers to a symbol used in the worship of Śiva and is used thoughout Śaiva literature, such as the sacred Āgamas.
2) Ujjayinī (उज्जयिनी) is the name of a sacred site (pīṭha) to be assigned to eye-brows (bhrū) during the pīṭhavidhi (‘ritual of sacred sites’) according to the Tantrāloka chapter 29. This chapter of the Tantrāloka by Abhinavagupta expounds details regarding the Kula initiation ritual. Kula or Kaula is a specific tradition within Śaivism, closely related to Siddhānta and Śaktism. In the Jñānārṇava-tantra it is also mentioned as a pīṭha and is also called Kolvagiri.
Source: academia.edu: A Critical Study of the Vajraḍākamahātantrarāja (II) (shaivism)Ujjayinī (उज्जयिनी) refers to one of the twenty-four sacred districts mentioned in the Kubjikāmatatantra. Ujjayinī is presided over by the Goddess (Devī) named Mahāmāyā accompanied by the Field-protector (Kṣetrapāla) named Mahākāla. Their weapon possibly corresponds to the pāśa and their abode is the aśvattha-tree. A similar system appears in the 9th century Vajraḍākatantra (chapter 18).
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.
Kavya (poetry)
Source: Wisdom Library: KathāsaritsāgaraUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी) is the name of an ancient city and dwelling-place of Śiva, situated in Avanti, as mentioned in the “story of king Vikramasiṃha and the two Brāhmans”, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 27. Accordingly, “There is in Avanti a city named Ujjayinī, famous in the world, which is the dwelling-place of Śiva, and which gleams with its white palaces as if with the peaks of Kailāsa, come thither in the ardour of their devotion to the god. This vast city, profound as the sea, having a splendid emperor for its water, had hundreds of armies entering it, as hundreds of rivers flow into the sea, and was the refuge of allied kings, as the sea is of mountains that retain their wings”.
Ujjayinī is associated with the Kaliyuga, as mentioned in the ninth story of the Vetālapañcaviṃśati in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 83. Accordingly, “... there is in Avanti a city built by gods at the beginning of the world, which is limitless as the body of Śiva, and renowned for enjoyment and prosperity, even as his body is adorned with the snake’s hood and ashes. It was called Padmāvatī in the Kṛta Yuga, Bhogavatī in the Tretā Yuga, Hiraṇyavatī in the Dvāpara Yuga, and Ujjayinī in the Kali Yuga. And in it there lived an excellent king, named Vīradeva, and he had a queen named Padmarati”.
Ujjayinī is also mentioned in the eighteenth story of the Vetālapañcaviṃśati in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 92. Accordingly, “... there is a city called Ujjayinī, inferior only to Bhogavatī and Amarāvatī, which Śiva, who was won by the toilsome asceticism of Gaurī, being in love with the matchless preeminence of its excellence, himself selected as his habitation. It is full of various enjoyments, to be attained only by distinguished well-doing”.
Ujjayinī is also described in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 102. Accordingly, “... and after crossing the cemetery [Mahākāla], he beheld [Mṛgāṅkadatta] the city of Ujjayinī, a yuga old, ruled by King Karmasena. Its streets were watched by guards with various weapons, who were themselves begirt by many brave high-born Rājputs; it was surrounded with ramparts resembling the peaks of mighty mountains; it was crowded with elephants, horses and chariots, and hard for strangers to enter”.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Ujjayinī, is a famous Sanskrit epic story revolving around prince Naravāhanadatta and his quest to become the emperor of the vidyādharas (celestial beings). The work is said to have been an adaptation of Guṇāḍhya’s Bṛhatkathā consisting of 100,000 verses, which in turn is part of a larger work containing 700,000 verses.
Source: Shodhganga: The Kavyamimamsa of RajasekharaUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी) is the name a locality mentioned in Rājaśekhara’s 10th-century Kāvyamīmāṃsā.—Modern Ujjain, situated in Madhya Pradesh state.
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’.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Puranic EncyclopediaUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी).—One of the seven very sacred places in ancient India. Its ancient name was Avantī. The seven sacred cities are: Ayodhyā, Mathurā, Māyā, Kāśī, Kāñcī, Avantikā, and Dvāravatī. The famous Mahākāla temple described by Kālidāsa was on the banks of the river Śiprā flowing through Ujjayinī. Jyotirliṅga of Śiva is the presiding deity in the temple. There is also a holy bathing ghat called Koṭitīrtha here. A bath in it is as beneficial as an Aśvamedha yajña. (Mahābhārata Vana Parva, Chapter 82).
Source: Shodhganga: The saurapurana - a critical studyUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी) refers to one of the ancient places glorified in the 10th century Saurapurāṇa: one of the various Upapurāṇas depicting Śaivism.—From the detailed glorification of certain places, we may venture to conjecture that a particular version of the Purāṇa sprang up in that locality. The Saurapurāṇa glorifies Vārāṇasī, Ujjayinī, Prayāga, Gayā and the śivaliṅgas in these localities.
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.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Google Books: ManthanabhairavatantramUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी) (region) is the name of a saṃdoha (meeting place) [or upasaṃdoha—secondary meeting place?), according to the Śrīmatottara-tantra verse 3.135-138, an expansion of the Kubjikāmatatantra: the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—The first saṃdoha of the Yoginīs was emanated near to Śrīgiri and the second near the town of Ujjayinī. The others are Trikūṭa, Tripura, Gopura, Bhadrakarṇa ([Manuscript] Kh: Bhadrakaṣṭa; [Manuscript] G: Bhadrakīrṇa), Kirāta, the region of Kaśmīra, Sauvala (kh: Sauvara, g: Śaivāla) and Sindhudeśa.
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.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by VarahamihiraUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी) is the name of an ancient kingdom identified with Ujjain, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 10), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “If the course of Saturn (śanaiścara) [i.e., Arkaputra] should lie through the constellation of Uttarāṣādha, the people of Daśārṇa, the Yavanas, the people of Ujjain, barbarians, the people of Pāriyātra and the Kuntibhojas will suffer. If the course of Saturn should lie through Śravaṇa public officials, the chief Brāhmins, physicians, priests and the people of Kaliṅga will suffer miseries. If his course should lie through Dhaniṣṭhā, the ruler of Magadha will become triumphant and treasury officers will prosper”.
Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: WikiPedia: HinduismUjjayini (उज्जयिनि) or Ujjain (उज्जैन): is an ancient city of central India, in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh near which the ancient throne of Vikramaditya was discovered, one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus, where the Kumbh Mela is held every twelve years. It is also home to Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines to the god Shiva.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita SastraUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी), in Pāli Ujjenī, in Greek Ozene (Ptolemy, VII, i, v. 63; Periple of the Erythrean Sea, v. 48), capital of Avanti, situated at 77 degress E and 23 degrees N (Rh. D., Buddhist India, p. 40; CAGI, p. 560). Native city of several disciples of the Buddha, it was visited by Hiuan tsang (Beal, II, p. 270; Watters, Travels, II, p. 250).
Source: archive.org: Bulletin of the French School of the Far East (volume 5)Ujjayinī (उज्जयिनी) (in Chinese: Yeou-tch'an-ni) refers to one of the fifty-five kingdoms enumerated in chapter 17 of the Candragarbha: the 55th section of the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra, a large compilation of Sūtras (texts) in Mahāyāna Buddhism partly available in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese.—In the Candragarbhasūtra, the Bhagavat invites all classes of Gods and Deities to protect the Law [dharma?] and the faithful in their respective districts.—In Ujjayinī, the following deities are appointed (among others): The Devaputra Candramegha; the Gandharvas Dvāra and Maṇikarṇa; the Yakṣa Pañcaduṣṭa [?]; the Nāgarāja Giribāhu; the Asura Kāṣṭhapāṇi [?]; the Kumbhāṇḍa Sudarśana; the Goddess Lomadanta;
Ujjayinī (उज्जयिनी) (in Chinese: Yeou-tch'an-ni) is the name of an ancient kingdom associated with Punarvasu or Punarvasunakṣatra, as mentioned in chapter 18.
Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: academia.edu: Holy Sites in Buddhist Saṃvara CycleUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी) refers to one of the eight inner channels running through the dharmacakra, according to the 10th century Ḍākārṇava. Dharmacakra is an inner circle of the shape of a lotus with eight petals. This inner circle is visualized at one’s heart region. The inner channels [viz., Ujjayinī] run through the petals of these inner circles.
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.
India history and geography
Source: archive.org: Geography in Ancient Indian inscriptionsUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी) is another name for Ujeni.—Ujjayinī was the scene of activity of Kālidāsa. whose dramas were performed here on the occasion of the spring festival at the royal court. The Dīpavaṃśa ascribes its foundation to Accutagāmi. The importance of the city of Ujjayinī os a commercial link with the ports on western coasts is noted by the author of Periplus, and Ptolemy associates It with Caṣṭana.
Source: Knowledge Traditions & Practices of India: Architecture (1): Early and Classical Architecture (h)Ujjayinī is an archaeologically important site dating to the Ganges civilization (1000 BCE).—Nearly a millennium after the Indus civilization had collapsed, the Ganges civilization arose in the first millennium BCE. But this urban development extended beyond the Ganges valley, as testified by, for example, Ujjayinī (Ujjain), in Madhya Pradesh.
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
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी).—Name of a city, the modern Ujjain in Mālvā, the capital of Vikramāditya. It is one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus (cf. avanti), and the first meridian of their geographers from which they calculate longitude; सौधोत्सङ्गप्रणयविमुखो मा स्म भूरुज्जयिन्याः (saudhotsaṅgapraṇayavimukho mā sma bhūrujjayinyāḥ) Meghadūta 27.
See also (synonyms): ujjayanī.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी).—f. (-nī) The city Oujein. E. See ujjayanī.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी).—i. e. ud-ji + in + ī, 1. The city Oujein, [Daśakumāracarita] in
Ujjayinī (उज्जयिनी).—[feminine] [Name] of a city.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English DictionaryUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी):—[=uj-jayinī] [from uj-ji] f. the city Oujein (the [Greek] *᾿οζήνη, a city so called in Avanti or Mālava, formerly the capital of Vikramāditya; it is one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindūs, and the first meridian of their geographers, from which they calculate longitude; the modern Oujein is about a mile south of the ancient city), [Hitopadeśa; Meghadūta; Rājataraṅgiṇī etc.]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryUjjayinī (उज्जयिनी):—[ujja+yinī] (nī) 3. f. The city so called, the city Oujein.
[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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Jayini.
Ends with: Abhyujjayini.
Full-text (+226): Candamahasena, Abhyujjayini, Madhyarekha, Jaladana, Pushpakarandini, Avantipura, Mahakalapura, Mahakaleshvara, Kalapriyanatha, Mahakala, Makarandodyana, Pradyota, Pushpakarandaka, Vikramasimha, Vikramapattana, Radhanagari, Punyasena, Avanti, Ugjayini, Karmasena.
Relevant text
Search found 42 books and stories containing Ujjayini, Ujjayinī, Uj-jayini, Uj-jayinī; (plurals include: Ujjayinis, Ujjayinīs, jayinis, jayinīs). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Buddhist records of the Western world (Xuanzang) (by Samuel Beal)
Chapter 12 - Country of U-she-yen-na (Ujjayini) < [Book XI - Twenty-three Countries]
Chapter 1 - Country of Sang-kia-lo (Simhala) < [Book XI - Twenty-three Countries]
Chapter 21 - Country of Kien-t’o-lo (Gandhara) < [Book II - Three Countries]
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 4.19.121 < [Chapter 19 - A Thousand Names of Srī Yamunā]
Impact of Vedic Culture on Society (by Kaushik Acharya)
Sanskrit Inscriptions (C): Guhilās of Kiṣkindhāpura < [Chapter 3]
Mingling of Cultures (O): The Guhilās < [Chapter 4]
Chart: Movement of Vedic Brāhmaṇas < [Chapter 3]
Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)
The Skanda Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 43 - The Greatness of the Name Ujjayinī < [Section 1 - Avantīkṣetra-māhātmya]
Chapter 36 - The Greatness of Naradīpa < [Section 1 - Avantīkṣetra-māhātmya]
Chapter 44 - The Greatness of the Name Padmāvatī < [Section 1 - Avantīkṣetra-māhātmya]
Harshacharita (socio-cultural Study) (by Mrs. Nandita Sarmah)
1. Similarities (2): Duties of the Kings < [Chapter 8 - Comparative Society as described in the Kādambarī and the Harṣacarita]
1. Similarities (5): Economic Condition < [Chapter 8 - Comparative Society as described in the Kādambarī and the Harṣacarita]
Part 5(b): Kādambarī—the other Gadyakāvya of Bāṇabhaṭṭa < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
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