Vidyunmala, Vidyut-mala, Vidyunmālā, Vidyumala: 7 definitions
Introduction:
Vidyunmala means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. 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
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
Source: Wisdom Library: Nāṭya-śāstra1) Vidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला) is another name for Vidyullekhā, which refers to a type of syllabic metre (vṛtta), according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 16. In this metre all of the eight syllables of a foot (pāda) are heavy (guru).
⎼⎼⎼¦⎼⎼⎼¦⎼⎼¦¦⎼⎼⎼¦⎼⎼⎼¦⎼⎼¦¦
⎼⎼⎼¦⎼⎼⎼¦⎼⎼¦¦⎼⎼⎼¦⎼⎼⎼¦⎼⎼¦¦
Vidyunmālā falls in the Anuṣṭup (Anuṣṭubh) class of chandas (rhythm-type), which implies that verses constructed with this metre have four pādas (‘foot’ or ‘quarter-verse’) containing eight syllables each.
2) Vidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला) is the name of a meter described in the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 32:—“the metre which has in its feet of thirteen syllables the first eight and the final long, is vidyunmālā”.
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).
Chandas (prosody, study of Sanskrit metres)
Source: Shodhganga: a concise history of Sanskrit Chanda literature1) Vidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला) refers to one of the 27 metres mentioned in the Suvṛttatilaka ascribed to Kṣemendra (11th century). 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 (e.g., Vidyunmālā) which were used frequently by the poets.
2) Vidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला) refers to one of the 135 metres (chandas) mentioned by Nañjuṇḍa (1794-1868 C.E.) in his Vṛttaratnāvalī. Nañjuṇḍa was a poet of both Kannada and Sanskrit literature flourished in the court of the famous Kṛṣṇarāja Woḍeyar of Mysore. He introduces the names of these metres (e.g., Vidyunmālā) in 20 verses.
3) Vidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला) refers to one of the 130 varṇavṛttas (syllabo-quantitative verse) dealt with in the second chapter of the Vṛttamuktāvalī, ascribed to Durgādatta (19th century), author of eight Sanskrit work and patronised by Hindupati: an ancient king of the Bundela tribe (presently Bundelkhand of Uttar Pradesh). A Varṇavṛtta (e.g., vidyunmālā) refers to a type of classical Sanskrit metre depending on syllable count where the light-heavy patterns are fixed.
4) Vidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला) refers to one of the 34 varṇavṛttas (syllabo-quantitative verse) dealt with in the Vṛttamaṇimañjūṣā, whose authorship could be traced (also see the “New Catalogus Catalogorum” XXXI. p. 7).
5) Vidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला) refers to one of the seventy-two sama-varṇavṛtta (regular syllabo-quantitative verse) mentioned in the 334th chapter of the Agnipurāṇa. The Agnipurāṇa deals with various subjects viz. literature, poetics, grammar, architecture in its 383 chapters and deals with the entire science of prosody (e.g., the vidyunmālā metre) in 8 chapters (328-335) in 101 verses in total.
Chandas (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.
Kavya (poetry)
Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara1) Vidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला), daughter of king Suroha, was captivated by love at the sight of Sūryaprabha, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 44. Accordingly, as Vajraprabha said to Naravāhanadatta: “... and wherever any princesses beheld him [Sūryaprabha] she was immediately bewildered by love and chose him for her husband. ... And the fifth was the daughter of king Suroha, the lord of the land of Cīna (China), Vidyunmālā, with charming limbs, yellow as gold”.
2) Vidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला) is the name of Yakṣī that was summoned by Ādityaśarman and a certain wandering hermit, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 49. Accordingly, as Vidyunmālā said to Ādityaśarman: “... Mendicant, I am a Yakṣī named Vidyunmālā, and these others are Yakṣiṇīs. Take a suitable wife from my following according to your pleasure. So much have you obtained by your employment of spells; you have not discovered the perfect spell for obtaining me; so, as I am obtained by that only, do not take any further trouble to no purpose”.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Vidyunmālā, 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.
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 Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: De Gruyter: A Buddhist Ritual Manual on AgricultureVidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला) refers to “masses of lightning”, according to the 2nd-century Meghasūtra (“Cloud Sutra”) in those passages which contain ritual instructions.—Accordingly, “[...] with [this] ‘Heart of the snakes;’ the cloud-monarchs too must be depicted, emitting a shower, and rubbing against one another; at the end masses of rain-birds and lightning (vidyunmālā—ante vidyuccakoramālā) are to be painted; and parched rice canopied by the swastika, also fish and flesh, and honey-food without curds, and a sumptuous offering must be made there. [...]”
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryVidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला).—[feminine] garland of lightning, [Name] of a metre.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Vidyunmāla (विद्युन्माल):—[=vidyun-māla] [from vidyun > vi-dyut] m. Name of a monkey, [Rāmāyaṇa]
2) Vidyunmālā (विद्युन्माला):—[=vidyun-mālā] [from vidyun-māla > vidyun > vi-dyut] f. a wreath of l°, [Rāmāyaṇa; Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā; Kathāsaritsāgara] etc.
3) [v.s. ...] a kind of metre, [Śrutabodha] etc.
4) [v.s. ...] Name of a Yakṣī, [Kathāsaritsāgara]
5) [v.s. ...] of a daughter of Su-roha, [ib.]
[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: Vidyun, Vidyut, Maala, Mala.
Ends with: Mattakridavidyunmala.
Full-text: Vidyullekha, Vyakhya, Suroha, Candralekha, Anushtubh, Sulocana, Mala.
Relevant text
Search found 7 books and stories containing Vidyunmala, Vidyut-mala, Vidyunmālā, Vidyutmālā, Vidyutmala, Vidyun-mālā, Vidyut-mālā, Vidyun-mala, Vidyumala, Vidyumāla, Vidyun-māla, Vidyumālā, Vidyunmāla; (plurals include: Vidyunmalas, malas, Vidyunmālās, Vidyutmālās, Vidyutmalas, mālās, Vidyumalas, Vidyumālas, mālas, Vidyumālās, Vidyunmālas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
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