Iravati, Irāvatī, Irāvaṭi: 15 definitions
Introduction:
Iravati means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India, biology, Tamil. 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
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Wisdom Library: Varāha-purāṇaIrāvatī (इरावती).—Name of a river originating from Himālaya, a holy mountain (kulaparvata) in Bhārata, according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 85. There are settlements (janapada) where Āryas and Mlecchas dwell who drink water from these rivers.
Bhārata is a region south of Hemādri, once ruled over by Bharata (son of Ṛṣabha), whose ancestral lineage can be traced back to Svāyambhuva Manu, who was created by Brahmā, who was in turn created by Nārāyaṇa, the unknowable all-pervasive primordial being.
Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia1) Irāvatī (इरावती).—Grand daughter of Kaśyapa. Ten daughters were born to Kaśyapa by his wife Krodhavaśā, viz. Mṛgī, Mṛgamandā, Harī, Bhadramatā, Mātaṃgī, Śārdūlī, Śvetā, Surabhi and Kadrū, and Irāvatī was Kadrū’s daughter. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa).
2) Irāvatī (इरावती).—A sacred river. (Mahābhārata Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 146, Verse 18).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index1a) Irāvatī (इरावती).—A daughter of Uttara and wife of Parīkṣit.*
- * Bhāgavata-purāṇa I. 16. 2.
1b) One of the wives of Rudra.*
- * Bhāgavata-purāṇa III. 12. 13.
1c) A R. from the Himālayas;1 sacred to Pitṛs; a river-consort of fire Havyavāha; in the chariot of Tripurāri.2
- 1) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 16. 25; Vāyu-purāṇa 45. 95.
- 2) Matsya-purāṇa 22. 19; 51. 13; 133. 23; Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 12. 15; Vāyu-purāṇa 29. 13.
1d) A daughter of Krodhavaśa and wife of Pulaha: In her womb was placed the aṅḍakapāla by the progenitor and she gave birth to 4 kingly sons (elephants), Airāvaṇa, Kumuda, Añjana and Vāmana.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 7. 172, 289-292.
1e) A daughter of Krodhā and mother of Airāvata.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 69. 205, 211.
Irāvatī (इरावती) refers to the name of a River mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. VI.10.15, VIII.30.21, VIII.30.35). Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Irāvatī) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.
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.
Kavya (poetry)
Source: Wisdom Library: KathāsaritsāgaraIrāvatī (इरावती) is the name of an ancient city according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 42. Accordingly, “there is in this world a city named Irāvatī, which surpasses Alakā; in it there dwelt a king named Parityāgasena. And he had two beloved queens, whom he valued as his life”.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Irāvatī, 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 RajasekharaIrāvatī (इरावती) is the name a locality mentioned in Rājaśekhara’s 10th-century Kāvyamīmāṃsā.—Irāvatī may be identified with the river Ravi on the Banks of which Lahore is situated. Some of the scholars identified this with the river Rāpti in Oudh, but it does not seem to be correct. It the Kāvyamīmāṃsā, Rājaśekhara locates the river in the northern India.
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’.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Nighantu (Synonyms and Characteristics of Drugs and technical terms)
Source: WorldCat: Rāj nighaṇṭuIrāvatī (इरावती) is another name for Vaṭapatrī, an unidentified medicinal plant, according to verse 5.41-42 of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rājanighaṇṭu. The fifth chapter (parpaṭādi-varga) of this book enumerates sixty varieties of smaller plants (kṣudra-kṣupa). Together with the names Irāvatī and Vaṭapatrī, there are a total of five Sanskrit synonyms identified for this plant.
Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by VarahamihiraIrāvatī (इरावती) is the name of a River, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 16) (“On the planets—graha-bhaktiyoga”), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “[...] Venus presides over the town of Takṣaśīlā, the countries of Mārttīkāvata, Bahugiri, Gāndhāra, Puṣkalāvataka, Prasthala, Mālvā, Kaikaya, Dāśārṇa, Uśīnara and Śibi; over the people living on the banks of the Vitastā, the Irāvatī and the Candrabhāgā; over chariots, silver mines, elephants, horses, elephant drivers and rich men; [...]”.
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: Wisdom Library: HinduismIrāvatī (इरावती)—One of the eleven wives of Rudra, called a Rudrāṇī.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: 84000: The Basket’s DisplayIrāvatī (इरावती) (identified with river Ravi) refers to one of the great rivers of Jambudvīpa, according to the Kāraṇḍavyūha-sūtra chapter 2 (“”).—Accordingly, as Tathāgata Padmottama praises the qualities of this six-syllable mahāvidyā: “As a comparison, in Jambudvīpa there are great rivers that flow day and night. They are the [e.g., Irāvatī, Ravi] [...]. Each of these rivers has five hundred tributaries. Day and night they flow into the ocean. Noble son, this is how the accumulation of merit increases as the result of a single repetition of the six-syllable mahāvidyā: I can count each drop in those great rivers, but, noble son, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit that comes from repeating the six-syllable mahāvidyā once”.
Note: The Tibetan transliterates this river as Airavati. The Sanskrit has Erāvatī, though it is primarily known as Irāvatī.
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: Nilamata Purana: a cultural and literary study (history)Irāvatī (इरावती) is the name of a river mentioned in the Nīlamatapurāṇa. Irāvatī (Ravi) is a famous river of Madradeśa.
Source: archive.org: Studies In Indian Literary HistoryIrāvatī (इरावती) or Irāvatīnadī is the name of a North-Indian Tirtha (sacred place) mentioned in the Gīrvāṇapadamañjarī authored by Varadarāja (A.D. 1600-1650), a pupil of Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita.—Varadarāja in his Gīrvāṇapadamañjarī refers to several works which ought to be studied by a Pandit. In the same text are listed some Ghats of Benares (Varanasi). We also find in this work a list of holy places or tīrthas on folio 6 of the manuscript [e.g., irāvatī-nadī] which appears to have been composed say between A.D. 1600 and 1650.—[Cf. the manuscript of the Gīrvāṇapadamañjarī at the Government Manuscripts Library, B.O.R. = Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona]
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.
Biology (plants and animals)
Source: Google Books: CRC World Dictionary (Regional names)1) Iravati in India is the name of a plant defined with Amomum subulatum in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Cardamomum subulatum (Roxb.) Kuntze (among others).
2) Iravati is also identified with Elettaria cardamomum It has the synonym Amomum racemosum Ruiz & Pav. (etc.).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Species Plantarum (1753)
· Asiatic Researches, or ‘Transactions of the Society’ (1810)
· Revisio Generum Plantarum (1891)
· Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (1972)
· Nomenclator Botanicus (1797)
· Botanico-Medica
If you are looking for specific details regarding Iravati, for example extract dosage, diet and recipes, pregnancy safety, chemical composition, side effects, health benefits, have a look at these references.
This sections includes definitions from the five kingdoms of living things: Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists and Monera. It will include both the official binomial nomenclature (scientific names usually in Latin) as well as regional spellings and variants.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Irāvatī (इरावती):—[=irā-vatī] [from irā-vat > irā] f. (tī) Name of a plant, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
2) [v.s. ...] Name of Durgā (the wife of Rudra), [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
3) [v.s. ...] of a daughter of the Nāga Suśravas, [Rājataraṅgiṇī]
4) [v.s. ...] Name of a river in the Pañjāb (now called Rāvī), [Mahābhārata; Harivaṃśa; Viṣṇu-purāṇa]
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.
Tamil dictionary
Source: DDSA: University of Madras: Tamil LexiconIrāvaṭi (இராவடி) noun < drāviḍī.
1. Cardamom plant. See ஏலம். (வைத்திய மூலிகை) [elam. (vaithiya muligai)]
2. Greater cardamom. See பேரேலம். (வைத்திய மலையகராதி) [perelam. (vaithiya malaiyagarathi)]
Tamil is an ancient language of India from the Dravidian family spoken by roughly 250 million people mainly in southern India and Sri Lanka.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Iravatikacceti, Iravatikam, Iravatinadi.
Query error!
Full-text (+24): Dviravatika, Triravatika, Pancanada, Godhavati, Airavana, Iravadi, Vatapattri, Airavata, Iravatinadi, Vatapattra, Talaketu, Sairavant, Rudra, Ira, Godha, Bhauvana, Avriddha, Iravant, Vatapatri, Indivarasena.
Relevant text
Search found 46 books and stories containing Iravati, Ira-vati, Irā-vatī, Iraavadi, Iravadi, Irāvatī, Irāvaṭi; (plurals include: Iravatis, vatis, vatīs, Iraavadis, Iravadis, Irāvatīs, Irāvaṭis). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
List of Mahabharata people and places (by Laxman Burdak)
Rivers in Ancient India (study) (by Archana Sarma)
7. Other Rivers in the Samhitās < [Chapter 2 - The Rivers in the Saṃhitā Literature]
10. The river Puruṣṇī or Ravi or Irāvatī and its present status < [Chapter 6 - Changing trends of the Rivers from Vedic to Purāṇic Age]
11. Descriptions of the rivers in the Jambudvīpa < [Chapter 5 - Rivers in the Purāṇic Literature]
Rig Veda (translation and commentary) (by H. H. Wilson)
Kamashastra and Classical Sanskrit literature (study) (by Vishwanath K. Hampiholi)
Chapter 4.2 - Regarding the conduct of the elder wife < [Chapter 5 - Kamasutra part 4 (Bharya-adhikarana )—Critical study]
Chapter 1.4 - The life of Citizens and Educated persons < [Chapter 2 - Kamasutra part 1 (Sadharana-adhikarana)—Critical study]
Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)
Animal Kingdom (Tiryak) in Epics (by Saranya P.S)