Nandini, Namdini, Nandinī: 25 definitions
Introduction:
Nandini means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi, Jainism, Prakrit, Hindi, biology. 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
Ayurveda (science of life)
Rasashastra (Alchemy and Herbo-Mineral preparations)
Source: Wisdom Library: Rasa-śāstraNandinī (नन्दिनी):—One of the sixty-eight Rasauṣadhi, very powerful drugs known to be useful in alchemical processes related to mercury (rasa), according to Rasaprakāśa-sudhākara (chapter 9).
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.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Wisdom Library: The Matsya-purāṇaNandinī (नन्दिनी) is the name of a mind-born ‘divine mother’ (mātṛ), created for the purpose of drinking the blood of the Andhaka demons, according to the Matsya-purāṇa 179.8. The Andhaka demons spawned out of every drop of blood spilled from the original Andhakāsura (Andhaka-demon). According to the Matsya-purāṇa 179.35, “Most terrible they (e.g., Nandinī) all drank the blood of those Andhakas and become exceedingly satiated.”
The Matsyapurāṇa is categorised as a Mahāpurāṇa, and was originally composed of 20,000 metrical verses, dating from the 1st-millennium BCE. The narrator is Matsya, one of the ten major avatars of Viṣṇu.
Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia1) Nandinī (नन्दिनी).—A cow of the world of the gods (Devas). (See under Kāmadhenu).
2) Nandinī (नन्दिनी).—A holy place. In this place there is a well esteemed by the gods. It is mentioned in Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 84, Stanza 15, that those who bathe in this holy well will obtain the fruits of Naramedhayajña (human sacrifice).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index1a) Nandinī (नन्दिनी).—A Śakti: the goddess enshrined at Devīkātaṭa; a Mother-goddess.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 44. 84; Matsya-purāṇa 13. 38; 179. 14 and 25.
1b) A R. of the Ketumālā continent.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 44. 20.
Nandinī (नन्दिनी) refers to the name of a Lady mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. IX.45.5). Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Nandinī) 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.
Chandas (prosody, study of Sanskrit metres)
Source: Shodhganga: a concise history of Sanskrit Chanda literature1) Nandinī (नन्दिनी) is the alternative name of a Sanskrit metre (chandas) mentioned by Hemacandra (1088-1173 C.E.) in his auto-commentary on the second chapter of the Chandonuśāsana. Nandinī corresponds to Manovatī (according to Bharata) as well as Kanakaprabhā, Jayā, Sumaṅgalī. Hemacandra gives these alternative names for the metres by other authorities (like Bharata), even though the number of gaṇas or letters do not differ.
2) Nandinī (नन्दिनी) 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., Nandinī) in 20 verses.
Source: Journal of the University of Bombay Volume V: Apabhramsa metres (2)Nandinī (नन्दिनी) (also called Chittaka) is the name of a catuṣpadi metre (as popularly employed by the Apabhraṃśa bards), as discussed in books such as the Chandonuśāsana, Kavidarpaṇa, Vṛttajātisamuccaya and Svayambhūchandas.—Nandinī has 16 mātrās in each of its four lines, divided into the groups of [IIS], [IIS], [IIS] and [IIS] mātrās.—The Nandinī or the Chittaka and Bhittaka are varṇa-vṛttas known respectively as Toḍaka and Dodhaka.
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.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram1) Nandinī (नन्दिनी) and Ānandīśa refers to the pair of Goddess and God appearing in the fifth Kalpa (aeon), according to the Kularatnoddyota.—Chapter nine of the Kularatnoddyota opens with the goddess asking how the Kula tradition (kulāmnāya) will be worshipped along with its mantras and Vidyās and who will bring it down (avatāraka) into the world in the various cosmic aeons (kalpa). After explaining that it is brought down into the world by incarnations or aspects of both the god and the goddess (aṃśamātra), the god goes on to list the names of these aspects—a goddess and her consort [i.e., Nandinī—Ānandīśa]—in nineteen aeons (kalpa), many of which we recognize from the earlier version in the Tantrasadbhāva.—(cf. Jayadrathayāmala-tantra of the Kāpālikas).
2) Nandinī (नन्दिनी) means “to delight in”, according to the Jayadrathayāmala: one of the earliest and most extensive Tantric sources of the Kālīkrama system.—Accordingly, as Bhairava teaches the Goddess about his inner state: “Established in the supreme state, I was penetrated by powerful meditation. Then (when this was happening) my supreme energy was awakened from the Root Wheel (kandacakra). Her nature the Great Consciousness [i.e., mahāsaṃvid-svarūpā] and delighting in bliss endowed with consciousness [i.e., sa-cidānanda-nandinī], she entered into the reality in the centre within the foundation, which is the Void of the Pulsing Union (saṃghaṭṭa). There in the centre, O daughter of the mountains, is the supreme light between the two, being and non-being. [...]”.
Source: Kamakoti Mandali: The Yoginis of Narasimha VyuhaNandinī (नन्दिनी) is the name of a Mātṛkā-Śakti created by Mahārudra in order to control the plague of demons created by Andhakāsura.—Accordingly, Andhaka-Asura tried to kidnap Umā (Devī Pārvatī), and was fiercely attacked by Mahārudra who shot arrows at him from his mahāpināka. when the arrows pierced the body of Andhakāsura, drops of blood fell to earth and from those drops, thousands of Andhakas arose. To control this plague of demons, Mahārudra created Mātṛkā-Śaktis [viz., Nandinī] and ordered them to drink the blood of the demons and drain them dry.
Source: Kamakoti Mandali: Nrisimha matrika-mandalaNandinī (नन्दिनी) refers to one of the various Mātṛkā-Śaktis created by Rudra in order to destroy the clones that spawned from Andhaka’s body.—Accordingly, [...] Andhakāsura attempted to abduct Girājanandinī (Pārvatī) and thus ensued a fierce battle between Andhakāsura and the great Rudra, the Lord of Umā. Like raktabīja, every drop of blood that fell from the body of Andhaka created another Asura like him and in no time, the entire world was filled with Andhakas. To destroy the growing number of Andhakas, Rudra created innumerable Mātṛkā-Śaktis [viz., Nandinī]. These Śaktis of immense power at once began to drink every drop of blood that flowed from the body of Andhaka, but they could still not effectively contain the emergence of more and more demons.
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.
Kavya (poetry)
Source: academia.edu: Gleanings from Atula’s MusikavamsaNandinī (नन्दिनी) is the daughter of the Cedi king and became the wife of Īśānavarman, an ancient king, according to the historical poem Mūṣikavaṃśa by Atula dealing with the royal lineage of North Kerala in roughly 1000 verses.—Īśānavarman married the beautiful Nandinī, the daughter of the Cedi King, who was living incognito in exile when he had been overpowered by enemies. Not being blessed with a child in their union, he married the daughter of the Cola King and got a son called Nūpārāma in that marriage. The frustrated Nandinī worships Goddess Bhadrakālī, who visualizes before her and grants her the boon that henceforth, the kingship of the country should pass on the son of the women of her line.
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’.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: Apam Napat: Indian MythologyNandini is a calf owned by Vasishta, which was given as a gift to him by Indra. This calf is the daughter of Indra's cow Kamadhenu. Like her mother, this calf is capable of yielding everything one's heart could desire.
Source: WikiPedia: HinduismNandinī (नन्दिनी): Vasishtha's divinely beautiful cow, child of Kamadhenu.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Tibetan Buddhism1) Nandinī (नन्दिनी) is the name of a Yakṣiṇī mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Nandinī).
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.
Biology (plants and animals)
Source: Google Books: CRC World Dictionary (Regional names)1) Nandini in India is the name of a plant defined with Lepidium sativum in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Crucifera nasturtium E.H.L. Krause (among others).
2) Nandini is also identified with Terminalia chebula It has the synonym Myrobalanus chebula (Retz.) Gaertn. (etc.).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Deutschlands Flora, Abtheilung II, Cryptogamie (1902)
· Acta Facultatis Rerum Naturalium Universitatis Comenianae, Botanica (1986)
· Species Plantarum (1753)
· Systema Naturae, ed. 12 (1767)
· Methodus Plantas Horti Botanici (1794)
· Observationes Botanicae (1789)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Nandini, for example chemical composition, diet and recipes, extract dosage, pregnancy safety, health benefits, side effects, 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
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarynandinī (नंदिनी).—f S A daughter.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishnandinī (नंदिनी).—f A daughter.
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
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryNandinī (नन्दिनी).—name of a devakumārikā in the eastern quarter: Lalitavistara 388.10 = Mahāvastu iii.306.7.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus CatalogorumNandinī (नन्दिनी) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—Mānavadharmaśāstraṭīkā by Nandana. Burnell. 126^a.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Nandinī (नन्दिनी):—[from nand] f. a daughter, [Mahābhārata] etc.
2) [v.s. ...] a husband’s sister (= nanāndṛ), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
3) [v.s. ...] Name of Durgā, [Matsya-purāṇa]
4) [v.s. ...] of Gaṅgā, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
5) [v.s. ...] of the river Bāṇa-nāśa, [Brahma-purāṇa]
6) [v.s. ...] of one of the Mātṛs attending on Skanda, [Mahābhārata]
7) [v.s. ...] of a fabulous cow (mother of Surabhi and property of the sage Vasiṣṭha), [Mahābhārata; Raghuvaṃśa]
8) [v.s. ...] of the mother of Vyāḍi, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
9) [v.s. ...] Name of sub voce plants (= tulasī, jaṭāmāṃsī etc.), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
10) [v.s. ...] a kind of perfume (reṇukā), [Bhāvaprakāśa]
11) [v.s. ...] a kind of metre, [Colebrooke]
12) [v.s. ...] (in music) a [particular] composition
13) [v.s. ...] Name of a locality, [Mahābhārata]
14) [v.s. ...] of [commentator or commentary] on [Manu-smṛti]
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Nandinī (नन्दिनी) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Ṇaṃdiṇī.
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
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionaryNandini in Hindi refers in English to:—(nf) a daughter..—nandini (नंदिनी) is alternatively transliterated as Naṃdinī.
...
Prakrit-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionaryṆaṃdiṇī (णंदिणी) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Nandinī.
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.
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusNaṃdini (ನಂದಿನಿ):—
1) [noun] she who delights.
2) [noun] one’s daughter.
3) [noun] the tree Lagerstroemia lanceolata of Lythraceae family.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Source: unoes: Nepali-English DictionaryNandinī (नन्दिनी):—n. 1. daughter; 2. husband's younger sister; sister-in-law; 3. Mythol. a fabulous cow; daughter of Surabhi yielding all desires and in the possession of the sage vasistha; 4. a particular classical meter;
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: Nandininada, Nandinipita, Nandiniputra, Nandinisuta, Nandinitanaya, Nandinitirtha.
Query error!
Full-text (+57): Naganandini, Adrinandini, Dashanandini, Nandinitanaya, Kalindanandini, Girinandini, Janakanandini, Nandinitirtha, Amoghanandini, Nandinisuta, Nandiniputra, Sunandini, Parthivanandini, Namdini, Nandanandini, Vrishabhanunandini, Jaladhinandini, Kosalanandini, Kulanandini, Kamadhenu.
Relevant text
Search found 64 books and stories containing Nandini, Namdini, Ṇaṃdiṇī, Naṃdini, Nandinī, Ṇandiṇī; (plurals include: Nandinis, Namdinis, Ṇaṃdiṇīs, Naṃdinis, Nandinīs, Ṇandiṇīs). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 2.4.25 < [Chapter 4 - The Liberation of Vatsāsura]
Verse 2.15.18 < [Chapter 15 - Description of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s Falling in Love]
Verse 2.15.17 < [Chapter 15 - Description of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s Falling in Love]
List of Mahabharata people and places (by Laxman Burdak)
Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)
Skanda Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 51 - Greatness of Kalaśeśvara (Kalaśa-īśvara) < [Section 1 - Tīrtha-māhātmya]
Chapter 167 - Viśvāmitra Renounces Kingdom < [Section 1 - Tīrtha-māhātmya]
Chapter 264 - Greatness of Nandinī Guphā < [Section 1 - Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya]
Śrī Śrī Rādhā-kripa-kaṭākṣa-stava-rāja
Padma Purana (by N.A. Deshpande)
Chapter 203 - Dilīpa Obtains a Son by Propitiating Nandinī < [Section 6 - Uttara-Khaṇḍa (Concluding Section)]
Chapter 202 - The Story of King Dilīpa < [Section 6 - Uttara-Khaṇḍa (Concluding Section)]
One hundred and eight (108) names of Sāvitrī < [Section 1 - Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa (section on creation)]
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