Shrishaila, Shri-shaila, Śrīśaila: 16 definitions
Introduction:
Shrishaila means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India. 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.
The Sanskrit term Śrīśaila can be transliterated into English as Srisaila or Shrishaila, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Wisdom Library: Varāha-purāṇaŚrīśaila (श्रीशैल).—Name of a minor mountain (kṣudraparvata) situated in Bhārata, a region south of mount Meru, according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 85. In the settlements (janapada) along these mountains dwell Āryas and Mlecchas who drink water from the rivers flowing there. Meru is one of the seven mountains located in Jambūdvīpa, which is ruled over by Āgnīdhra, a grandson of Svāyambhuva Manu, who was created by Brahmā, who was in turn created by Nārāyaṇa, the unknowable all-pervasive primordial being, who was created by Brahmā, who was in turn created by Nārāyaṇa, the unknowable all-pervasive primordial being.
Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation1) Śrīśaila (श्रीशैल) or Mallikārjuna refers to one of twelve Jyotirliṅgas, according to the Śivapurāṇa 1.22 while explaining the importance of the partaking of the Naivedya of Śiva. Śrīśaila is located at on a mountain near the river Kṛṣṇā.
2) Śrīśaila (श्रीशैल) is another name for the Mountain Śrīgiri, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.37 (“The letter of betrothal is dispatched”).—Note: Śrīgiri or Śrīśaila is situated in Telangana. Cf. Śaktisaṅgama-tantra III. 7.14.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexŚrīśaila (श्रीशैल).—A Mt in Bhārata varṣa, sacred to Śiva. Rukmī addressed himself to this god: visited by Balarāma;1 sacred to Lalitāpīṭha;2 sacred to Goddess Mahādevī and the Pitṛs;3 a part of the burning Tripura fell there.4
- 1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa V. 19. 16; X. 61. 23[1]; 79. 13.
- 2) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 44. 98.
- 3) Matsya-purāṇa 13. 31; 22. 43.
- 4) Ib. 188. 79.
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.
Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
Source: Prabhupada Books: Sri Caitanya CaritamrtaŚrīśaila (श्रीशैल).—According to Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madya-lila 9.174-175, “Thus Paramānanda Purī started for Jagannātha Purī, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu began walking toward Śrī Śaila. It was in Śrī Śaila that Lord Śiva and his wife Durgā lived in the dress of brāhmaṇas, and when they saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they became very much pleased”.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura remarks, "Which Śrī Śaila is being indicated by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī is not clearly understood. There is no temple of Mallikārjuna in this area because the Śrī Śaila located in the district of Dhārwād cannot possibly be there. That Śrī Śaila is on the southern side of Belgaumā, and the Śiva temple of Mallikārjuna is located there. (Refer to text fifteen of this chapter.) It is said that on that hill Lord Śiva lived with Devī. Also, Lord Brahmā lived there with all the demigods."
Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram1) Śrīśaila (श्रीशैल) is another name for the Kaumara mountain (identified with Śrīśaila in Andhra) and refers to one of the ten places visited by the Goddess on her pilgrimage, according to Tantric texts such as the Kubjikāmata-tantra, the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—Accordingly, as the Goddess said: “I am (now) going again there to the Kula mountain in India that has been praised by those who know it as Śrīparvata from ages without beginning. (Also) called (mount) Kumāra, it is adorned with an umbrella for shade”.
Like Kailāśa and Meru, Śrīśaila, also known as Śrīparvata, is projected into the End of the Twelve, to crown the sacred body. Śrīśaila is the mountain of Śrī—good fortune, sovereign power, spiritual and material wealth. Śrīśaila is a hill, explains Day: “situated in the Karnal country in the Balaghaut Ceded districts and on the south side of the Kṛṣṇā river, at the north-western extremity of the Karnul territory, about 102 miles west, south-west of Dharanikoṭa and 82 miles east, north-east of Karnul and 50 miles from the Kṛṣṇa station of the G.I.P. Railway.... It is an isolated hill about 1570 feet high surrounded on three sides by the river Kṛṣṇā and on the fourth partly by the Bhimanakollam torrent”.
2) Śrīśaila (कोङ्कणा) is the name of a sacred mountain presided over by the Goddess Barbarā, according to the Śrīmatottara-tantra, an expansion of the Kubjikāmatatantra: the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.
3) Śrīśaila (श्रीशैल) is associated with letter "Ra" of the Meruprasta (Grid of Meru), according to the Ṭīkā (commentary) on the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—Accordingly, [while describing the process to extract Navātman from the grid of Meru]: “Now one should extract (Navātman) again from the grid of Meru. [...] The one beginning with ŚRĪ is Śrīśaila (the letter) Ra. [...] Thus (we get) SAHAKṢAMALAVARAYA-ŪṂ. Such is the basic form in the entire tradition (and so) the extraction of Navātman is complete. [...]”.
4) Śrīśaila (श्रीशैल) refers to the birthplace of Mātaṅga: one of the Nine Nāthas according to the Kubjikānityāhnikatilaka: a derative text drawing from Tantras and other sources such as the Ṣaṭsāhasrasaṃhitā.—The Nine Nāthas propagated the Western Transmission noted in the Kubjikā Tantras. Although each Siddha has a consort with which he shares some part of his spiritual discipline, she is not considered to be his wife. Thus, from the perspective of his identity as an initiate, he is not a householder.—Mātaṅga is the Caryā name of this Nātha (i.e., the public name the Siddha uses when living as a wandering renouncer) and his birth-place is Śrīśaila [Alternatively, according to the Kulakaulinīmata: Siṃhala]. [...]
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.
Yoga (school of philosophy)
Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (yoga)Śrīśaila (श्रीशैल) is the name of an ancient city, according to the Rājatarala, an 18th-century text dealing with Yoga.—The Rājatarala is a lengthy commentary on the Yogatārāvalī (circa 14th c.) that was composed by Rāmasvāmipaṇḍita, who is described as a worshipper of Śaṅkarācārya’s feet. [...] Also, a verse pays homage to a Dakṣiṇāmūrti in the city of Śrīśaila, near Kadalī, which appears to locate the work in Andhra Pradesh (Mahadevan 2018, 68).
Source: ORA: Amanaska (king of all yogas): A Critical Edition and Annotated Translation by Jason BirchŚrīśaila (श्रीशैल) refers to the “Śrī Śaila mountain”, according to the Yogatārāvalī: a short Yoga text of twenty-nine verses presenting Haṭhayoga as the means to Rājayoga (i.e., Samādhi).—Accordingly, while describing the no-mind state: “'[Practising] in caves on the peak of Śrī Śaila [mountain], when will I succeed in dissolving my mind as prescribed [earlier and attain success] in Samādhi? When vines cover my body and when birds build nests in my ear”.
Yoga is originally considered a branch of Hindu philosophy (astika), but both ancient and modern Yoga combine the physical, mental and spiritual. Yoga teaches various physical techniques also known as āsanas (postures), used for various purposes (eg., meditation, contemplation, relaxation).
Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)
Source: archive.org: Catalogue of Pancaratra Agama TextsŚrīśaila (श्रीशैल) is the name of a mountain correspondeing to Tirupati, as discussed in chapter 1 of the Viṣṇusaṃhitā: a Sanskrit text written in 2600 verses which covers typical Pāñcarātra topics through a narrative dialogue between Aupagāyana and Siddha Sumati.—Description of the chapter [tantra-uddeśa]: The scene is the peak of Śrīśaila [=Tirupati mountain] where a Siddha-saint named Sumati—a man of great learning in Tantras who now lives in seclusion there having “returned” recently from Viṣṇuloka—is seated. He is paid a visit by Aupagāyana (1-10). [...]
Pancaratra (पाञ्चरात्र, pāñcarātra) represents a tradition of Hinduism where Narayana is revered and worshipped. Closeley related to Vaishnavism, the Pancaratra literature includes various Agamas and tantras incorporating many Vaishnava philosophies.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: archive.org: TrisastisalakapurusacaritraŚrīśaila (श्रीशैल) is another name for Hanuman, the son of Añjanā and Pavana (son of Vidyādhara-king Prahlāda), according to the Jain Ramayana and chapter 7.2 [Rāvaṇa’s expedition of conquest] of Hemacandra’s 11th century Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra: an ancient Sanskrit epic poem narrating the history and legends of sixty-three illustrious persons in Jainism.
Accordingly, “[...] Since he had come to the city Hanuruha as soon as he was born, the uncle gave the name Hanumat (Hanuman) to her son. And because the mountain had been reduced to powder by his fall from the car, he gave him another name also, Śrīśaila. Hanumat grew up, playing happily, like a young rājahaṃsa in a bed of lotuses in Mānasa”.
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.
India history and geography
Source: archive.org: Studies In Indian Literary HistoryŚrīśaila (श्रीशैल) is the name of a South-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., śrīśaila-kṣetra] 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]
Source: Epigraphia Indica Vol. 36: Tenali plates of eastern Chālukya Vijayāditya I grantŚrīśaila (श्रीशैल) is one of the three shrines (liṅga) associated with Triliṅga: an ancient Sanskrit name of the Andhra country, accoriding to verses on the Annavarappāḍu plates of Kāṭaya Vema Reḍḍi. The Reḍḍis (Reddy) were an ancient Telugu dynasty from the 14th century who brought about a golden age of the Andhra country. According to the plates, their captial was named Addaṅki (Addaṃki) which resembled Heaven (Amarāvatī) by the beauty of its horses, the donors and the women. King Vema, son of Anna-bhūpati of the Paṇṭa family, can be identified with Anavema of the inscription at Śrīśaila.
Source: Institut Français de Pondichéry: The Shaivite legends of KanchipuramŚrīśaila (श्रीशैल) (in Sanskrit) refers to the Tamil Tiruccayilam, and represents one of the proper nouns mentioned in the Kanchipuranam, which narrates the Shaivite Legends of Kanchipuram—an ancient and sacred district in Tamil Nadu (India). The Kanchipuranam (mentioning Śrīśaila) reminds us that Kanchipuram represents an important seat of Hinduism where Vaishnavism and Shaivism have co-existed since ancient times.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryŚrīśaila (श्रीशैल).—[masculine] [Name] of [several] mountains.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Śrīśaila (श्रीशैल):—[=śrī-śaila] [from śrī] m. Name of various mountains, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
2) [v.s. ...] (with sūri) Name of an author
[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.
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusŚrīśaila (ಶ್ರೀಶೈಲ):—
1) [noun] name of a famous mountain in Andhra Pradesh, on top of which is the celebrated temple of Mallikārjuna, popularly known as Śrī Śaila.
2) [noun] the hill of Tirupati on which the temple of Veṃkaṭēśa is situated.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Shaila, Shri, Caila.
Starts with: Shrishaila suri, Shrishailacarya, Shrishailadakshinadvarasthalakalpa, Shrishailadri, Shrishailakhanda, Shrishailakshetra, Shrishailamahatmya, Shrishailanatha, Shrishailashringa, Shrishailatatacarya.
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Full-text (+115): Shrishailatatacarya, Shrishailamahatmya, Shrishailakhanda, Shrisailam, Shrishailashringa, Shrishaila suri, Shrigiri, Mallikarjuna, Shrishailopakhyana, Siddhavatasthalakalpa, Shailashringa, Shrishailadri, Shriparvata, Khaga, Lata, Kuhara, Vine, Peak, Manovilaya, Nest.
Relevant text
Search found 58 books and stories containing Shrishaila, Shri-shaila, Śrī--śaila, Sri--saila, Śrī-śaila, Sri-saila, Śrīśaila, Srisaila; (plurals include: Shrishailas, shailas, śailas, sailas, Śrīśailas, Srisailas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Lalitopakhyana (Lalita Mahatmya) (by G.V. Tagare)
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 6.14.11 < [Chapter 14 - The Glories of Ratnākara, Raivata, and Kācala]
Verse 6.14.17 < [Chapter 14 - The Glories of Ratnākara, Raivata, and Kācala]
Verses 3.10.24-25 < [Chapter 10 - The Glory of Śrī Girirāja]
Skanda Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 6 - Tīrthādhyāya (Sacred Places) < [Section 1 - Pūrvārdha]
Chapter 33 - Dvārakā as an abode to all regions and places of pilgrimage < [Section 4 - Dvārakā-māhātmya]
Chapter 32 - Eminence of Dvārakā—as per attendants of Viṣṇu < [Section 4 - Dvārakā-māhātmya]
Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)
Verse 1.9.130 < [Chapter 9 - Nityānanda’s Childhood Pastimes and Travels to Holy Places]
Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)
Siddhanta Sangraha of Sri Sailacharya (by E. Sowmya Narayanan)
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