Vatsala, Vatsalā: 20 definitions
Introduction:
Vatsala means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi, Hindi. 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.
Alternative spellings of this word include Vatsal.
In Hinduism
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
Vatsala (वत्सल) or the “sentiment (rasa) of parental affection”.—Vatsala is accepted by Bharata and subsequently by Viśvanātha also, as the tenth rasa. The feeling of parental affection is the corresponding mood of this sentiment, while son and the like are the ālambanas. The actions, learning, heroic brilliance and compassion of them are the uddīpanas, whereas, embrace, touching of the body, kissing on the head, gazing, delight, tears etc. are the anubhāvas. Again, probable evil consequences, ecstasy, pride etc. are considered as the vyabhicāribhāvas.
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).
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Vatsalā (वत्सला).—An attendant of Subrahmaṇya. (Mahābhārata Śalya Parva, Chapter 45, Stanza 72).
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)
Vatsala (वत्सल) refers to “one who is loved”, according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—Accordingly, “(A true practitioner) is a hero (vīra) who exerts himself and is courageous. [...] He is always content and is loved by the Yoginīs. He is free of attachment, aversion and ego. He is loved by his (spiritual) clan [i.e., svagotra-vatsala]. He is wise and he observes the Rules. He is the joy of those who are devoted to him and always does what he promises to do. He who has these characteristics is an accomplished soul (siddha) (already) in his previous life. Otherwise he is not a Siddha and his tradition is not Kaula”.
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.
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Vatsalā (वत्सला) or Vīravatsalā is a substitute for Vīranāyikā or “heroine”, according to Kṣemarāja’s quote while commenting on Netratantra verse 19.55.—Accordingly, “A woman who at night becomes naked, urinates, then circumambulates, and would consume blood—and then with hair unbound, would subdue—she sādhakas should know to be an ucchuṣmikā, a heroine [i.e., vīra-nāyikā]”.
Note: The Nepalese manuscripts collated attest two substantive variants: prāśayate for prāśayed, and vīra-vatsalā for vīra-nāyikā.
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.
Vastushastra (architecture)
Vatsala (वत्सल) (gum) is used as an ingredient of a mixture of Vajralepa (“a special kind of hard cement”) which was used in the construction of a Temple and as a binding agent for joining bricks, according to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, an ancient Sanskrit text which (being encyclopedic in nature) deals with a variety of cultural topics such as arts, architecture, music, grammar and astronomy. In the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, five procedures of preparing the vajralepa are suggested. [The first method]—It is incorporated there that the equal portion of some particular objects should be boiled in water for eight times till it reduces to one eighth portion of the original value. After that, some more ingredients [e.g., gum of mallakī] are added with the mixture and again boiled properly to make the first variety of vajralepa.
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
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Vatsala (वत्सल) refers to a “slave”, according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter 41).—Accordingly, “[The eighteen āveṇika-dharmas (‘special attributes’)]— [...] (13-15). Every physical, vocal or mental action of the Buddha accompanies knowledge.—[...] The Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas do not have this privilege. First they do good in their mind and then only afterwards by means of bodily or vocal actions Sometimes even their mental action is indeterminate and is produced without accompanying knowledge. [If that is so for them], what can be said for other people? [...] See also the Bhikṣu-Arhat Madhuvāsiṣṭha who climbed onto scaffolding (gosāraka), walls (bhitti) and trees (vṛkṣa). Finally, see Pilindavatsa who insulted the Ganges and treated it as a little slave (vatsala). [...]”.
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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Vatsala (वत्सल) refers to “(being) devoted” (to the helpless), according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “That very same doctrine, which is devoted to the helpless (anātha-vatsala), is a preceptor and a friend, and the doctrine is a master and a brother. It is a protector without a motive. This doctrine saves the three worlds [from] sinking into the pit of hell. Also, it confers happiness beyond the senses for corporeal [souls]”.
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
Marathi-English dictionary
vatsala (वत्सल).—a (S) Affectionate, loving, tenderly fond or anxiously careful of. Some compounds are anāthavatsala, dīnavatsala, bhaktavatsala.
vatsala (वत्सल).—a Affectionate, loving.
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
Vatsala (वत्सल).—a. [vatsaṃ lāti lā-ka Uṇādi-sūtra 3.74]
1) Child-loving, affectionate towards children or offspring; as वत्सला धेनुः, माता (vatsalā dhenuḥ, mātā) &c.
2) Affectionate towards, fondly loving, devoted to, fond of, kind or compassionate towards; त्वद्वत्सलः क्व स तपस्विजनस्य हन्ता (tvadvatsalaḥ kva sa tapasvijanasya hantā) Mālatīmādhava (Bombay) 8.8;6.14; R.2. 69;8.41; so शरणागतवत्सल, दीनवत्सल (śaraṇāgatavatsala, dīnavatsala) &c.
-laḥ 1 A fire fed with grass.
2) Name of Viṣṇu.
3) The sentiment of affection (vātsalyarasa).
-lā A cow fond of her calf.
-lam Affection, fondness; Pañcatantra (Bombay) 2.9.
Vatsala (वत्सल).—mfn.
(-laḥ-lā-laṃ) Afflctionate, kind. n.
(-laṃ) Affection, fondness. f.
(-lā) A cow anxious for her calf. m.
(-laḥ) A fire fed with grass. E. vatsa a child, and lac aff.
Vatsala (वत्सल).—[vatsa + la], I. adj., f. lā, Affectionate, loving, [Pañcatantra] 222, 14; tender, [Uttara Rāmacarita, 2. ed. Calc., 1862.] 48, 1. Ii. f. lā, A cow anxious for her calf. Iii. n. Fondness.
Vatsala (वत्सल).—[feminine] ā loving her calf, as subst. such a cow; adj. affectionate, tender, kind i.[grammar], fond of, wholly given up or devoted to ([locative], [genetive], prati, or —°). Abstr. tā [feminine], tva [neuter]
1) Vatsala (वत्सल):—[from vatsa] mf(ā)n. child-loving, affectionate towards offspring (ā f. with or [scilicet] go or dhenu, a cow longing for her calf), [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa; Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
2) [v.s. ...] kind, loving, tender, fond of or devoted to ([locative case] [genitive case] [accusative] with prati, or [compound]), [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature] etc.
3) [v.s. ...] m. (with rasa) the tender sentiment in a poem, [Sāhitya-darpaṇa]
4) [v.s. ...] a fire fed with grass (id est. quickly burning away), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
5) [v.s. ...] Name of one of Skanda’s attendants, [Mahābhārata]
6) [v.s. ...] n. = next, [Horace H. Wilson]
Vatsala (वत्सल):—[(laḥ-lā-laṃ) a.] Affectionate kind. f. One anxious for her young. n. Affection, fondness.
Vatsala (वत्सल):—(von vatsa)
1) adj. (f. ā) [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 5, 2, 98.] a) f. mit oder ohne Hinzufügung von go, dhenu eine Kuh, die zärtlich an ihrem Kalbe hängt, [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1271.] [Halāyudha 2, 115.] [Mahābhārata 7, 2410. 13, 3132. 3523.] [Spr. 4302.] [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 40, 42. 43, 17. 74, 9 (76, 14 Gorresio). 87, 8 (95, 9 Gorresio).] [Rāmāyaṇa Gorresio 2, 17, 11. 66, 28. 5, 67, 3.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 3, 33, 21. 4, 18, 9.] — b) zärtlich, liebevoll [Amarakoṣa 3, 1, 14.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 478.] [Mahābhārata 13, 6999 Viṣṇu] [Suśruta 1, 371, 16.] [UTTARAR. 36, 3 (48, 1).] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 4, 7, 38.] ati [Kathāsaritsāgara 18, 260.] nāti [Mārkāṇḍeyapurāṇa 71, 24.] sahaja [Hitopadeśa 87, 12.] nitānta [Raghuvaṃśa 8, 41.] kaitava verstellter Weise [48.] Die Ergänzung im loc.: gāvo vatseṣu vatsalāḥ [Harivaṃśa 4328.] pareṣu [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 62, 7.] dīneṣu [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 4, 30, 28.] im gen.: ripūṇāmapi [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 21, 6 (18, 8 Gorresio).] im acc. mit prati [Rāmāyaṇa Gorresio 2, 19, 13.] im comp. vorangehend: suta [?63, 3. Rāmāyaṇa SCHL. 2, 24, 16. Pañcatantra 238, 7.] duhitṛ [Kathāsaritsāgara 13, 70.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 3, 14, 12.] bhṛtya [4, 8, 22.] [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 52, 53.] bhrātṛ [82, 20.] [Mahābhārata 1, 5900.] pati [12, 1076.] bhartṛ [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 52, 55.] [Spr. 4581.] yaśodā, (hari) [PAÑCAR. 4, 1, 18.] [Kathāsaritsāgara 56, 320.] pitṛ [Mahābhārata 3, 16671.] guru [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 96, 33.] dvijātijana [Mahābhārata 3, 2478.] sadvatsala [Raghuvaṃśa 2, 69.] bhakta [Mahābhārata 4, 203.] [Kathāsaritsāgara 42, 57. 50, 197.] [WEBER, Rāmatāpanīya Upaniṣad 356.] [PAÑCAR. 1, 4, 1.] [SARVADARŚANAS. 54, 17. 56, 2. 57, 8.] śaraṇāgata [Kathāsaritsāgara 21, 44. 59, 10.] upeta [Spr. 3957.] abhyupapanna [Mṛcchakaṭikā 108, 5.] pratipanna [Oxforder Handschriften 209,a,20.] dīna [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 1, 5, 30. 4, 17, 20.] vatsalo rasaḥ der zärtliche Grundton (eines Kunstwerks) [Sāhityadarpana 241.] — c) von ganzer Seele einer Sache ergeben, ein Freund von: dharma [Mahābhārata 3, 2459.] [Rāmāyaṇa 1, 4, 15. 2, 27, 23. 28, 1. 53, 34. 113, 8.] [Rāmāyaṇa] [Gorresio 2, 21, 4. 4, 3, 7.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 9, 1, 41.] [Pañcatantra 222, 14.] cāritra [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 45, 19.] satya [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 9, 4, 11.] —
2) m. a) ein durch Gräser genährtes (schnell verlöschendes) Feuer [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 1, 1, 69.] — b) Nomen proprium eines Wesens im Gefolge des Skanda [Mahābhārata 9, 2574.] — Vgl. mitra, vātsalya .
Vatsala (वत्सल) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Vacchala.
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.
Hindi dictionary
Vatsala (वत्सल) [Also spelled vatsal]:—(a) affectionate, tender; ~[tā] affection, fondness, tenderness; —[bhāva] affectionate feeling, tenderness.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Vatsala (ವತ್ಸಲ):—
1) [adjective] child-loving; affectionate.
2) [adjective] kind; tender.
3) [adjective] fond of; liking intensely.
--- OR ---
Vatsala (ವತ್ಸಲ):—
1) [noun] the quality of being affectionate, loving or liking intensely.
2) [noun] a man having fondness for; an affectionate, loving man.
--- OR ---
Vatsaḷa (ವತ್ಸಳ):—[adjective] = ವತ್ಸಲ [vatsala]1.
--- OR ---
Vatsaḷa (ವತ್ಸಳ):—[noun] = ವತ್ಸಲ [vatsala]2.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Vatsala (वत्सल):—adj. 1. loving; endearing; affectionate; 2. kind to child; fond of children;
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)
Starts with: Vatsalan, Vatsalanchana, Vatsalarasa, Vatsalata, Vatsalatva, Vatsalay, Vatsalaya, Vatsalayati.
Full-text (+45): Bhaktavatsala, Varavatsala, Mitravatsala, Matrivatsala, Bhartrivatsala, Dinavatsala, Vatsalata, Dharmavatsala, Nirvatsala, Kripanavatsala, Sharanagatavatsala, Kutumbavatsala, Vatsalya, Vatsalatva, Vacchala, Nativatsala, Vatsalan, Sahajavatsala, Sutavatsala, Sadvatsala.
Relevant text
Search found 55 books and stories containing Vatsala, Vatsalā, Vatsaḷa; (plurals include: Vatsalas, Vatsalās, Vatsaḷas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 2.2.112 < [Chapter 2 - Jñāna (knowledge)]
Verse 2.1.60 < [Chapter 1 - Vairāgya (renunciation)]
Verse 1.7.13-14 < [Chapter 7 - Pūrṇa (pinnacle of excellent devotees)]
Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī)
Verse 4.8.80 < [Part 8 - Compatible & Incompatible Mellows (maitrī-vaira-sthiti)]
Verse 3.4.52 < [Part 4 - Parenthood (vātsalya-rasa)]
Verse 3.4.78 < [Part 4 - Parenthood (vātsalya-rasa)]
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 8.13.47 < [Chapter 13 - A Thousand Names of Lord Balarāma]
Verse 5.13.2 < [Chapter 13 - The Arrival of Sri Uddhava]
Verse 2.24.26 < [Chapter 24 - The Story of Asuri Muni in the Rāsa-dance Pastime]
A True Servant—A True Master (by Swami Bhaktivedanta Madhava Maharaja)
Letter 127 - Return to India from preaching the message of Śrī Gaura,...
Letter 118 - Nothing is out of reach for those who are Akiñcana,...
Kailash: Journal of Himalayan Studies
The Goddess Vatsala—her Temple and Yatra (festival procession) < [Volume 11, Number 3-4 (1984)]
Part 30 - Guide to Daksin Kali < [A Buddhist Guide to the Power Places of the Kathmandu Valley]