Alternative spellings of this word include Vankachula.

In Hinduism

Kavya (poetry)

Source: OpenEdition books: Vividhatīrthakalpaḥ (Kāvya)

Vaṅkacūla (वङ्कचूल) is another name for Puṣpacūla: the son of king Vimalayaśas , as mentioned in the Vividhatīrthakalpa by Jinaprabhasūri (13th century A.D.): an ancient text devoted to various Jaina holy places (tīrthas).—Accordingly, “Here, in the land of Bharata, lived King Vimalayaśas . Knowing the meaning of happiness with Queen Sumangala, he soon had two children, a son, Puṣpacūla, and a daughter, Puṣpacūlā. As Puṣpacūla caused bad luck, people nicknamed him Vaṅkacūla. Informed by his dignitaries, the angry king expelled Vaṅkacūla from the city. [...]”.

Note: Only a few textual differences distinguish the legend of the Vividhatīrthakalpa from the version of Prabandhakośa 75-8. The other prabandhas (Prabandhacintāmaṇi, Purātanaprabandhasaṃgraha and Panchashati-prabandha-sambandha) ignore this story.

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’.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Source: academia.edu: Tessitori Collection I

1) Vaṅkacūla (वङ्कचूल) or Vaṅkacūlakathā refers to one of the 157 stories embedded in the Kathāmahodadhi by Somacandra (narrating stories from Jain literature, based on the Karpūraprakara), 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.—The Kathāmahodadhi represents a repository of 157 stories [e.g., Vaṅkacūla-kathā] written in prose Sanskrit, although each of them is preceded by a verse. Together, they stage a large number of Jain characters (including early teachers). [...]

2) Vaṃkacūla (वंकचूल) was the head of a thief-gang, according to the Vaṃkacūlacopaī by Lālacanda (dealing with the lives of Jain teachers).—Vaṃkacūla was the head of a thief-gang who was first opposed to receive any Jain teaching. Later on, however, he accepted to observe four vows that had been given to him by a monk. Respecting them dutifully saved him from terrible misdeeds or dangers. He was assisted by the Jain layman Jinadāsa (here Jaṇadāsa) in his spiritual progress. He embodies the transformation from a bad individual to a good one. Therefore, he features in Merutuṅgasūri’s Upadeśaśata among those who were purified thanks to an atonement (see Berlin: Weber no. 1986).

context information

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.

Languages of India and abroad

Prakrit-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary

Vaṃkacūla (वंकचूल) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Vaṅkacūla.

context information

Prakrit is an ancient language closely associated with both Pali and Sanskrit. Jain literature is often composed in this language or sub-dialects, such as the Agamas and their commentaries which are written in Ardhamagadhi and Maharashtri Prakrit. The earliest extant texts can be dated to as early as the 4th century BCE although core portions might be older.

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Vaṅkacūla (वङ्कचूल) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Vaṃkacūla.

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.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Starts with: Vamkaculacopai, Vankaculakatha.

Full-text: Vamkaculacopai, Sumangala, Pushpacula, Jinadasa, Dharmadatta, Dharmarshi, Susthita, Janadasa.

Relevant text

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