Vatsalya, Vātsalya: 17 definitions
Introduction:
Vatsalya means something in 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 Vatsaly.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य) refers to “fond love” (viz., of Śiva), according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.2.40.—Accordingly, as Brahmā narrated to Nārada:—“[...] after going beyond Alakā, the capital of the king of Yakṣas and the Saugandhika park, they saw the fig-tree of Śiva. [...] Beneath that vaṭa of yogic potentialities, Viṣṇu and other Devas saw Śiva seated. [...] Lord Śiva had the divine form liked by the sages. His fond love (vātsalya) befriended everyone. He shone with the ashes smeared over his body”.
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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य) refers to “loving kindness” and represents an aspect of samyaktva (right belief) classified under the guṇa heading according to, for example, Cāmuṇḍarāya, Amitagati and Vasunandin and classified according to the aṅga heading, according to, for example, Pūjyapāda, Samantabhadra, Cāmuṇḍarāya, Somadeva and Amṛtacandra.
Samantabhadra, in his Ratna-Karaṇḍa-śrāvakācāra, defines vātsalya as unfeigned and wholehearted assistance to members of one’s community. Cāmuṇḍarāya, in his Caritrasāra, calls vātsalya “unfeigned affection for the fourfold Jaina community, like that of a cow for its calf, as a result of attachment to the sacred doctrine”. Somadeva, in his Yaśastilaka, connects with this vātsalya-aṅga the qualities of vaiyāvṛttya, vinaya, and bhakti. Vinaya comprises veneration for all who are deserving of respect, and bhakti devotion to the Jina, the gurus, and the scriptures. As the concept denoted by vaiyāvṛttya, or sometimes by vātsalya, is so important in the Jaina community it deserves separate consideration.
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य) refers to “affection towards spiritual breathren.” and represents one of the eight aṅgas (requirements), needed for attaining the right faith. Firm belief in ones goal is the basic milestone for attaining that goal. Unwavering faith only can work like a miracle because firm faith leads to personal commitment for achieving that goal and gives us boldness to face the challenges incoming while proceeding towards the aimed goal.
The seventh limb (aṅga) is called vātsalya, disinterested affection. It means affection towards spiritual brethren. As per pañcādhyāyī, Vātsalya is nothing but which involves a non-selfish love for the high ideal of mokṣa and the monks strive to attain that ideal. Hence one might dedicate ones life to the service (vaiyāvṛtya) of Jain ascetics, recognizing their exalted nature and the fact that they have no families who contribute to their support. In modern terminology, we can relate this concept of vātsalya with non-selfish affection and universal brotherhood in any organization. All the workers working in a particular organization must have affectionate behaviour among themselves. Sharing and caring is very important aspect of vātsalya. But it should begin from the home.
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य) refers to “affection for faith” and represents one of the eight limbs of samyagdṛṣṭi (“right faith”) according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 7.23.
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
vātsalya (वात्सल्य).—n S Affectionateness, lovingness, tender fondness.
vātsalya (वात्सल्य).—n Lovingness, tender fondness.
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
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य).—[vatsalasya bhāvaḥ ṣyañ]
1) Affection (towards one's offspring), affection or tenderness in general; न पुत्रवात्सल्यमपाकरिष्यति (na putravātsalyamapākariṣyati) Kumārasambhava 5.14; पतिवात्सल्यात् (pativātsalyāt) R.15.98; so भार्या°, प्रजा°, शरणागत° (bhāryā°, prajā°, śaraṇāgata°), etc.
2) Fond affection or partiality.
Derivable forms: vātsalyam (वात्सल्यम्).
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य).—n.
(-lyaṃ) Tenderness, affection, fondness. E. vatsala affectionate, ṣyañ aff.
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य).—i. e. vatsala + ya, n. Tenderness, [Pañcatantra] 221, 1; [Vikramorvaśī, (ed. Bollensen.)] [distich] 147; love, [Hitopadeśa] ii. [distich] 4.
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य).—[neuter] affection, tenderness towards ([locative], [genetive], or —°).
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य):—[from vātsa] n. ([from] vatsala) affection or tenderness ([especially] towards offspring), fondness or love for ([genitive case] [locative case] or [compound]), [Rāmāyaṇa; Kālidāsa etc.]
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य):—(lyaṃ) 1. n. Fondness.
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य):—(von vatsala) n. Zärtlichkeit, das Gefühl zärtlicher Liebe [Rāmāyaṇa Gorresio 2, 17, 11. 25, 8.] [Vikramorvaśī 147.] Cit. beim Schol. zu [Śākuntala 51, 16.] [Rājataraṅgiṇī 5, 21.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 4, 6, 35. 9, 59. 19, 39. 22, 61. 5, 7, 8. 9, 11, 5.] [Mārkāṇḍeyapurāṇa 77, 31.] [WILSON, Sel. Works I, 164.] als rasa [GAUḌA] beim Schol. zu [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 294.] [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 1, 1, 126.] a [Suśruta 1, 372, 10.] svabhakteṣu [SARVADARŚANAS. 55, 5.] āśritānām (obj.) [Hitopadeśa 16, 12, v. l.] in comp. mit dem obj.: kharī [Mahābhārata 5, 4587.] bhrātṛ [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 115, 5 (126, 5. 6 Gorresio).] śaraṇāgata [KĀM. NĪTIS. 8, 10.] pati [Raghuvaṃśa 15, 98.] putra [Kumārasaṃbhava 5, 14.] prajā [Rājataraṅgiṇī 3, 472.] bhāryā [Pañcatantra 221, 1.] āśrita [Hitopadeśa 16, 12.] bhṛtya [100, 6.] janmabhūmi Heimathsliebe [Spr. 388.]
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Vacchalla.
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
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य) [Also spelled vatsaly]:—(nm) affection, affectionate love, fond/tender feeling (esp. towards the offspring); -[bhājana] an object of affection, who is loved; the loved one; -[bhāva] affectionate feeling, sentiment of affection; ~[maya] affectionate, having fond attachment; —[rasa] manifestation or relish of the sentiment of affection.
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Kannada-English dictionary
Vātsalya (ವಾತ್ಸಲ್ಯ):—[noun] fond or tender feeling, warm liking for a younger person; parental love or affection.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Vātsalya (वात्सल्य):—n. 1. calf-love; 2. the love of a cow for her calf; 3. parental; especially maternal affection;
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: Vatsalya-bhaajan, Vatsalya-bhajana, Vatsalya-ras, Vatsalya-rasa, Vatsalyabandhin, Vatsalyabhava, Vatsalyakara, Vatsalyam, Vatsalyamaya, Vatsalyamayi, Vatsalyamvistirna, Vatsalyata.
Full-text (+19): Bhrityavatsalya, Kharivatsalya, Svamivatsalya, Vatsalyabandhin, Vatsalyata, Bhaktavatsalya, Vatsalyabhava, Vatsalyam, Vatsalya-bhajana, Vatsalya-rasa, Vatsalyamvistirna, Vatsalya-bhaajan, Vatsalya-ras, Janmavatsalya, Vatsalyamaya, Sadharmi-vatsalya, Vatsalyamayi, Bandhin, Sthayibhava, Kauttanya.
Relevant text
Search found 54 books and stories containing Vatsalya, Vātsalya; (plurals include: Vatsalyas, Vātsalyas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 836 < [Malayalam-English-Kannada (1 volume)]
Page 306 < [Hindi-English-Nepali (1 volume)]
Page 858 < [Hindi-Malayalam-English Volume 2]
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 2.2.33 < [Chapter 2 - Jñāna (knowledge)]
Verse 1.4.22 < [Chapter 4 - Bhakta (the devotee)]
Verse 1.4.85 < [Chapter 4 - Bhakta (the devotee)]
Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī)
Verse 2.5.33 < [Part 5 - Permanent Ecstatic Mood (sthāyī-bhāva)]
Verse 3.4.14 < [Part 4 - Parenthood (vātsalya-rasa)]
Verse 3.4.82 < [Part 4 - Parenthood (vātsalya-rasa)]
Tattvartha Sutra (with commentary) (by Vijay K. Jain)
Verse 6.24 - The influx of Tīrthaṅkara name-karma (nāmakarma) < [Chapter 6 - Influx of Karmas]
108 Tirupathi Anthathi (English translation) (by Sri Varadachari Sadagopan)
A History of Indian Philosophy Volume 3 (by Surendranath Dasgupta)
Part 3 - Āḻvārs and Śrī-vaiṣṇavas on certain points of controversy in religious dogmas < [Chapter XVII - The Āḻvārs]