मंदर
यन्त्रोपारोपितकोशांशः
[सम्पाद्यताम्]Purana Encyclopedia
[सम्पाद्यताम्]
 पृष्ठभागोऽयं यन्त्रेण केनचित् काले काले मार्जयित्वा यथास्रोतः परिवर्तयिष्यते। तेन मा भूदत्र शोधनसम्भ्रमः। सज्जनैः मूलमेव शोध्यताम्। |
Mandara : m.: Name of a mountain; also referred to as Mahāmandara (7. 57. 29).
A. Location:
(1) In the north (asyāṁ diśi…uttarāyāṁ 5. 109. 3.) 5. 109. 9; 13. 20. 28; beyond the Uśīrabīja, the Maināka and the Śveta mountains 3. 140. 1; close to the Śvetagiri (śvetaṁ giriṁ pravekṣyāmo mandaraṁ caiva parvatam) 3. 140. 4; the river Śailodā flows between the Meru and the Mandara 2. 48. 2;
(2) Mandara covers the entire earth up to the ocean in the east (prācīṁ diśam…asau sāgaraparyantāṁ bhūmiṁ āvṛtya tiṣṭhati) 3. 160. 3-4;
(3) The root of the Himavant reaches in the west (cf. 5. 108. 1-2) eternally up to the Mandara mountain so deep that one cannot reach its end even after a thousand years (atra mūlaṁ himavato mandaraṁ yāti śāśvatam/api varṣasahasreṇa na cāsyānto 'dhigamyate) 5. 108. 9 (Nī. on Bom. Ed. 5. 110. 9: mandaraṁ samudre magnaṁ etena himavanmūlasya samudrajalasya cāprameyatvam uktam).
B. Description:
(1) Excellent mounain (parvatavara) 1. 16. 1; (śailavara) 3. 99. 14;
(2) big mountain (mahādri) 1. 16. 19; (mahāśaila) 3. 43. 24; 13. 20. 29; (mahāmandara) 7. 57. 29; eleven thousand yojanas high (above the earth), and established the same number of yojanas deep below the earth 1. 16. 3; all the gods together could not lift it 1. 16. 4; but king Duḥṣanta was capable of lifting it with its forest and carry it on his arms (udyamya mandaraṁ dorbhyāṁ haret savanakānanam) 1. 62. 11;
(3) King of mountains (parvatarājan) 1. 16. 7; (śailarāja) 3. 43. 21; 3. 160. 4; (adrirāja) 3. 43. 24;
(4) Adorned with summits which were like towering clouds (abhraśikharākārair giriḥ śṛṅgair alaṁkṛtam) 1. 16. 1; its peaks were formed of gold and silver (hemarūpyamayaiḥ śṛṅgaiḥ) 7. 57. 26;
(5) Its caves were attractive (cārukandara) 3. 220. 22;
(6) Full of tīrthas (tīrthavant) 3. 43. 24;
(7) Covered with the network of creepers (latājālasamāvṛta) 1. 16. 1;
(8) Resounding with sounds of many birds (nānāvihagasaṁghuṣṭa) 1. 16. 2;
(9) Beset with many tusked animals (nānādaṁṣṭrisamākula) 1. 16. 2 (10) Resorted to by the Kiṁnaras, the Apsarases, and even by gods 1. 16. 2; 7. 57. 29;
(11) Resort of sages (munisaṁśraya) 3. 43. 24; (also see the next section
C. ).
C. Characteristics:
(1) The Meru and the Mandara mountains adorn the earth (merumandarabhūṣaṇāṁ…vasundharām) 3. 187. 10; the sun circles untiringly round the Meru and returns to the Mandara (in the east to start his course the next day) (evam eva parikramya mahāmerum atandritaḥ/…punar gacchati mandaram) 3. 160. 28;
(2) Mandara is the place of Śaṅkara (śaṅkarasthānam); Śaṅkara lives there; unless one goes to the Mandara one cannot see Śiva 7. 69. 55-56;
(3) Yakṣa Māṇicara and Kubera, the king of the Yakṣas, live there; thousands of Gandharvas, Kiṁpuruṣas and Yakṣas, having varied forms and equipped with different weapons, wait upon Māṇibhadra, the lord of the Yakṣas (yakṣendraṁ…māṇibhadram upāsate) 3. 140. 4-6; in the bowers of Mandara the Gandharvas sing gāthās which enchant one's mind and intelligence (atra mandarakuñjeṣu…/gandharvā gānti gāthā vai cittabuddhiharāḥ) 5. 107. 9; the regions of the Mandara resound with songs of the Kiṁnaras 7. 57. 26;
(4) The regions of the Mandara were illuminated by the different kinds of herbs and by its gold and silver peaks (hemarūpyamayaiḥ śṛṅgair nānauṣadhividīpitān); they were also adorned by blossoming Mandāra trees 7. 57. 26;
(5) The mountain is one of those which are looked upon as difficult of access (durgamāḥ parvatāḥ) 3. 140. 8;
(6) Mandara was the place of resort of the pious sages who longed for heaven; by the grace of the Mandara, the Brāhmaṇas, the Kṣatriyas, and the Vaiśyas reach heaven and live there with gods, free from distress 3. 43. 22, 23;
(7) The mountain had many peaks, bowers, rivers streams and many holy tīrthas on it (tava sānūni kuñjāṁś ca nadyaḥ prasravaṇāni ca/tīrthāni ca supuṇyāni) 3. 43. 25;
(8) Various tribes like the Khaśas, the Ekāśanājyohas (? ekāśanā jyohāḥ ?), the Pradaras, the Dīrghaveṇus, the Paśupas, the Kuṇindas, the Taṅgaṇas and the Parataṅgaṇas lived there 2. 48. 3.
D. Epic events:
(1) At the time of the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest a huge peak of the Mandara mountain was uprooted by Indra and hurled, along with trees on it, at Arjuna 1. 218. 47;
(2) The tribes living along the Śailodā river flowing between Meru and Mandara brought tributes of various kinds to Yudhiṣṭhira for his Rājasūya 2. 48. 2-5;
(3) Arjuna, in the company of Mātali, started from this mountain for his journey to Indraloka; while taking leave of the mountain, Arjuna said that he had lived there happily and had seen there many peaks, bowers, rivers and holy tīrthas 3. 43. 21, 24, 25;
(4) Lomaśa pointed out Mandara to Yudhiṣṭhira as they were about to enter it after crossing the Uśīrabīja, the Maināka, the Śveta and the Kālaśaila 3. 140. 1, 4;
(5) Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa saw the mountain Mandara on their way while they were going to the Kailāsa 7. 57. 26, 29.
E. Mythological and past events:
(1) When gods were advised by the god Nārāyaṇa to churn the great Kalaśodadhi (1. 15. 11-12), they went to the Mandara but could not lift it (for using it as a churning rod) 1. 16. 1, 4; then, at the bidding of Brahman, the serpent Ananta lifted it for them 1. 16. 5-7; when gods took it to the ocean and told it that they wanted to churn the ocean for amṛta, the ocean asked for a share in it as it would bear the pounding by the Mandara 1. 16. 8-9; gods then requested Akūpāra, the king of tortoises, to offer support to the mountain; it agreed and then Indra fixed the top of the mountain on the tortoise with some mechanism (tasya śailasya cāgraṁ vai yantreṇedro 'bhyapīḍayat); gods then started churning the ocean using Mandara as the churning rod 1. 16. 10-12; from the top of the mountain showers of flowers fell on gods and demons and there arose a loud noise as the ocean was being churned; the great mountain crushed many acquatic creatures and they perished by hundreds; the mountain destroyed many creatures belonging to Varuṇa who lived in Pātāla; huge trees, as they rubbed against each, other, fell down, together with the birds on them, from the top of the mountain when the ocean was being churned; fire which arose due to the rubbing of the trees engulfed the Mandara mountain; the fire burnt elephants, lions and other creatures (on the mountain) 1. 16. 17-23; when gods were tired, Viṣṇu gave them strength and exhorted them to agitate the Kalaśa ocean by rotating Mandara 1. 16. 31; when at the end gods got victory over demons they honoured the mountain and replaced it on its original site 1. 17. 29; the water of the ocean which was churned by gods and demons using Mandara as a churning rod was mixed with the milk of four cows, the daughters of Surabhi, who guarded the four directions (āsāṁ tu payasā miśraṁ payo nirmathya sāgare) 5. 100. 11, (1, 7);
(2) When gods, led by Indra, were defeated by Vṛtra they sat down on the top of the mountain Mandara and prayed to Viṣṇu; thereupon Viṣṇu showed them the way 5. 9. 52, (5. 10. 6-13);
(3) In another version, Viṣṇu advised gods, Indra and the rest, to go to Mandara to see Śiva; only then they would be able to kill their enemy (Vṛtra); then gods, together with Brahman, went to Mandara and saw Śiva there 7. 69. 56;
(4) When Śiva's chariot was assembled for his fight with the three sons of Tāraka, riding the tripuras, Mandara was made the axle of the chariot (mandaraṁ parvataṁ cākṣam) 8. 24. 69;
(5) Viṣṇu once hurled Mandara (against his enemy) 3. 99. 14;
(6) As directed by Vadānya, Aṣṭāvakra, in his journey towards the north to meet the old female ascetic, came across mountains Kailāsa, Mandara, and Haima, and he went beyond them (sarvān anucacāra ha//tān atītya mahāśailān) 13. 20. 28-29;
(7) Nahuṣa, after he became the king of heaven, sported with the Apsarases and the Devakanyās on mountain Kailāsa, Himavant, Mandara and Śveta 5. 11. 9;
(8) Mārkaṇḍeya saw, among other mountains, Mandara in the belly of the Bāla (3. 186. 83 = Nārāyaṇa 3. 187. 4) 3. 186. 103.
F. Importance: Finds place in the Daivata-ṚṣiVaṁśa 13. 151. 26, 2.
G. Bad omen related to it: Among the bad omens noticed by Vyāsa before the war mention is made of the falling down of the summits of the mountains Kailāsa, Mandara and Himavant 6. 3. 35.
H. Similes:
(1) Hanūmant assumed a form as huge as Vindhya and Mandara 3. 149. 10;
(2) The golden mountain with Skanda on it shone like Mandara with the sun having a circle of rays around it 3. 220. 22;
(3) Karṇa with his arrows in his chariot appeared like Mandara with the sun full of rays 8. 26. 15;
(4) The towers on the gates of Indraprastha were (huge) like Mandara (gopurair mandaropamaiḥ) 1. 199. 31;
(5) The vajra was hurled by Indra at Vṛtra as Mandara was hurled by Viṣṇu 3. 99. 14.
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*1st word in left half of page p403_mci (+offset) in original book.
previous page p402_mci .......... next page p405_mci
Mandara : m. (pl.): Name of a people.
On the fourteenth day of war, Mandara warriors were among those three thousand horse-riders who, led by Duryodhana, attacked Sātyaki (trīṇi sādisahasrāṇi duryodhanapurogamāḥ/abhyadravanta śaineyam) 7. 97. 13-14. [For Mandara mountain see Vol. I, pp. 403-405].
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*3rd word in right half of page p829_mci (+offset) in original book.
Mahabharata Cultural Index
[सम्पाद्यताम्]|
पृष्ठभागोऽयं यन्त्रेण केनचित् काले काले मार्जयित्वा यथास्रोतः परिवर्तयिष्यते। तेन मा भूदत्र शोधनसम्भ्रमः। सज्जनैः मूलमेव शोध्यताम्। |
Mandara : m.: Name of a mountain; also referred to as Mahāmandara (7. 57. 29).
A. Location:
(1) In the north (asyāṁ diśi…uttarāyāṁ 5. 109. 3.) 5. 109. 9; 13. 20. 28; beyond the Uśīrabīja, the Maināka and the Śveta mountains 3. 140. 1; close to the Śvetagiri (śvetaṁ giriṁ pravekṣyāmo mandaraṁ caiva parvatam) 3. 140. 4; the river Śailodā flows between the Meru and the Mandara 2. 48. 2;
(2) Mandara covers the entire earth up to the ocean in the east (prācīṁ diśam…asau sāgaraparyantāṁ bhūmiṁ āvṛtya tiṣṭhati) 3. 160. 3-4;
(3) The root of the Himavant reaches in the west (cf. 5. 108. 1-2) eternally up to the Mandara mountain so deep that one cannot reach its end even after a thousand years (atra mūlaṁ himavato mandaraṁ yāti śāśvatam/api varṣasahasreṇa na cāsyānto 'dhigamyate) 5. 108. 9 (Nī. on Bom. Ed. 5. 110. 9: mandaraṁ samudre magnaṁ etena himavanmūlasya samudrajalasya cāprameyatvam uktam).
B. Description:
(1) Excellent mounain (parvatavara) 1. 16. 1; (śailavara) 3. 99. 14;
(2) big mountain (mahādri) 1. 16. 19; (mahāśaila) 3. 43. 24; 13. 20. 29; (mahāmandara) 7. 57. 29; eleven thousand yojanas high (above the earth), and established the same number of yojanas deep below the earth 1. 16. 3; all the gods together could not lift it 1. 16. 4; but king Duḥṣanta was capable of lifting it with its forest and carry it on his arms (udyamya mandaraṁ dorbhyāṁ haret savanakānanam) 1. 62. 11;
(3) King of mountains (parvatarājan) 1. 16. 7; (śailarāja) 3. 43. 21; 3. 160. 4; (adrirāja) 3. 43. 24;
(4) Adorned with summits which were like towering clouds (abhraśikharākārair giriḥ śṛṅgair alaṁkṛtam) 1. 16. 1; its peaks were formed of gold and silver (hemarūpyamayaiḥ śṛṅgaiḥ) 7. 57. 26;
(5) Its caves were attractive (cārukandara) 3. 220. 22;
(6) Full of tīrthas (tīrthavant) 3. 43. 24;
(7) Covered with the network of creepers (latājālasamāvṛta) 1. 16. 1;
(8) Resounding with sounds of many birds (nānāvihagasaṁghuṣṭa) 1. 16. 2;
(9) Beset with many tusked animals (nānādaṁṣṭrisamākula) 1. 16. 2 (10) Resorted to by the Kiṁnaras, the Apsarases, and even by gods 1. 16. 2; 7. 57. 29;
(11) Resort of sages (munisaṁśraya) 3. 43. 24; (also see the next section
C. ).
C. Characteristics:
(1) The Meru and the Mandara mountains adorn the earth (merumandarabhūṣaṇāṁ…vasundharām) 3. 187. 10; the sun circles untiringly round the Meru and returns to the Mandara (in the east to start his course the next day) (evam eva parikramya mahāmerum atandritaḥ/…punar gacchati mandaram) 3. 160. 28;
(2) Mandara is the place of Śaṅkara (śaṅkarasthānam); Śaṅkara lives there; unless one goes to the Mandara one cannot see Śiva 7. 69. 55-56;
(3) Yakṣa Māṇicara and Kubera, the king of the Yakṣas, live there; thousands of Gandharvas, Kiṁpuruṣas and Yakṣas, having varied forms and equipped with different weapons, wait upon Māṇibhadra, the lord of the Yakṣas (yakṣendraṁ…māṇibhadram upāsate) 3. 140. 4-6; in the bowers of Mandara the Gandharvas sing gāthās which enchant one's mind and intelligence (atra mandarakuñjeṣu…/gandharvā gānti gāthā vai cittabuddhiharāḥ) 5. 107. 9; the regions of the Mandara resound with songs of the Kiṁnaras 7. 57. 26;
(4) The regions of the Mandara were illuminated by the different kinds of herbs and by its gold and silver peaks (hemarūpyamayaiḥ śṛṅgair nānauṣadhividīpitān); they were also adorned by blossoming Mandāra trees 7. 57. 26;
(5) The mountain is one of those which are looked upon as difficult of access (durgamāḥ parvatāḥ) 3. 140. 8;
(6) Mandara was the place of resort of the pious sages who longed for heaven; by the grace of the Mandara, the Brāhmaṇas, the Kṣatriyas, and the Vaiśyas reach heaven and live there with gods, free from distress 3. 43. 22, 23;
(7) The mountain had many peaks, bowers, rivers streams and many holy tīrthas on it (tava sānūni kuñjāṁś ca nadyaḥ prasravaṇāni ca/tīrthāni ca supuṇyāni) 3. 43. 25;
(8) Various tribes like the Khaśas, the Ekāśanājyohas (? ekāśanā jyohāḥ ?), the Pradaras, the Dīrghaveṇus, the Paśupas, the Kuṇindas, the Taṅgaṇas and the Parataṅgaṇas lived there 2. 48. 3.
D. Epic events:
(1) At the time of the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest a huge peak of the Mandara mountain was uprooted by Indra and hurled, along with trees on it, at Arjuna 1. 218. 47;
(2) The tribes living along the Śailodā river flowing between Meru and Mandara brought tributes of various kinds to Yudhiṣṭhira for his Rājasūya 2. 48. 2-5;
(3) Arjuna, in the company of Mātali, started from this mountain for his journey to Indraloka; while taking leave of the mountain, Arjuna said that he had lived there happily and had seen there many peaks, bowers, rivers and holy tīrthas 3. 43. 21, 24, 25;
(4) Lomaśa pointed out Mandara to Yudhiṣṭhira as they were about to enter it after crossing the Uśīrabīja, the Maināka, the Śveta and the Kālaśaila 3. 140. 1, 4;
(5) Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa saw the mountain Mandara on their way while they were going to the Kailāsa 7. 57. 26, 29.
E. Mythological and past events:
(1) When gods were advised by the god Nārāyaṇa to churn the great Kalaśodadhi (1. 15. 11-12), they went to the Mandara but could not lift it (for using it as a churning rod) 1. 16. 1, 4; then, at the bidding of Brahman, the serpent Ananta lifted it for them 1. 16. 5-7; when gods took it to the ocean and told it that they wanted to churn the ocean for amṛta, the ocean asked for a share in it as it would bear the pounding by the Mandara 1. 16. 8-9; gods then requested Akūpāra, the king of tortoises, to offer support to the mountain; it agreed and then Indra fixed the top of the mountain on the tortoise with some mechanism (tasya śailasya cāgraṁ vai yantreṇedro 'bhyapīḍayat); gods then started churning the ocean using Mandara as the churning rod 1. 16. 10-12; from the top of the mountain showers of flowers fell on gods and demons and there arose a loud noise as the ocean was being churned; the great mountain crushed many acquatic creatures and they perished by hundreds; the mountain destroyed many creatures belonging to Varuṇa who lived in Pātāla; huge trees, as they rubbed against each, other, fell down, together with the birds on them, from the top of the mountain when the ocean was being churned; fire which arose due to the rubbing of the trees engulfed the Mandara mountain; the fire burnt elephants, lions and other creatures (on the mountain) 1. 16. 17-23; when gods were tired, Viṣṇu gave them strength and exhorted them to agitate the Kalaśa ocean by rotating Mandara 1. 16. 31; when at the end gods got victory over demons they honoured the mountain and replaced it on its original site 1. 17. 29; the water of the ocean which was churned by gods and demons using Mandara as a churning rod was mixed with the milk of four cows, the daughters of Surabhi, who guarded the four directions (āsāṁ tu payasā miśraṁ payo nirmathya sāgare) 5. 100. 11, (1, 7);
(2) When gods, led by Indra, were defeated by Vṛtra they sat down on the top of the mountain Mandara and prayed to Viṣṇu; thereupon Viṣṇu showed them the way 5. 9. 52, (5. 10. 6-13);
(3) In another version, Viṣṇu advised gods, Indra and the rest, to go to Mandara to see Śiva; only then they would be able to kill their enemy (Vṛtra); then gods, together with Brahman, went to Mandara and saw Śiva there 7. 69. 56;
(4) When Śiva's chariot was assembled for his fight with the three sons of Tāraka, riding the tripuras, Mandara was made the axle of the chariot (mandaraṁ parvataṁ cākṣam) 8. 24. 69;
(5) Viṣṇu once hurled Mandara (against his enemy) 3. 99. 14;
(6) As directed by Vadānya, Aṣṭāvakra, in his journey towards the north to meet the old female ascetic, came across mountains Kailāsa, Mandara, and Haima, and he went beyond them (sarvān anucacāra ha//tān atītya mahāśailān) 13. 20. 28-29;
(7) Nahuṣa, after he became the king of heaven, sported with the Apsarases and the Devakanyās on mountain Kailāsa, Himavant, Mandara and Śveta 5. 11. 9;
(8) Mārkaṇḍeya saw, among other mountains, Mandara in the belly of the Bāla (3. 186. 83 = Nārāyaṇa 3. 187. 4) 3. 186. 103.
F. Importance: Finds place in the Daivata-ṚṣiVaṁśa 13. 151. 26, 2.
G. Bad omen related to it: Among the bad omens noticed by Vyāsa before the war mention is made of the falling down of the summits of the mountains Kailāsa, Mandara and Himavant 6. 3. 35.
H. Similes:
(1) Hanūmant assumed a form as huge as Vindhya and Mandara 3. 149. 10;
(2) The golden mountain with Skanda on it shone like Mandara with the sun having a circle of rays around it 3. 220. 22;
(3) Karṇa with his arrows in his chariot appeared like Mandara with the sun full of rays 8. 26. 15;
(4) The towers on the gates of Indraprastha were (huge) like Mandara (gopurair mandaropamaiḥ) 1. 199. 31;
(5) The vajra was hurled by Indra at Vṛtra as Mandara was hurled by Viṣṇu 3. 99. 14.
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*1st word in left half of page p403_mci (+offset) in original book.
previous page p402_mci .......... next page p405_mci
Mandara : m. (pl.): Name of a people.
On the fourteenth day of war, Mandara warriors were among those three thousand horse-riders who, led by Duryodhana, attacked Sātyaki (trīṇi sādisahasrāṇi duryodhanapurogamāḥ/abhyadravanta śaineyam) 7. 97. 13-14. [For Mandara mountain see Vol. I, pp. 403-405].
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*3rd word in right half of page p829_mci (+offset) in original book.