Gunavara, Guṇavarā, Guṇāvarā: 4 definitions
Introduction:
Gunavara means something in 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
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia1) Guṇavarā (गुणवरा).—A heroine, devoted to her husband, in the ancient literature of India. There is a story in Kathāsaritsāgara describing the depth of her devotion to her husband.
Guṇavarā was the queen of Vīrabhuja, King of the country of Vardhamāna. He had besides Guṇavarā ninetynine other wives. But none had any children. So, the King asked the chief physician of the state to suggest a way to remedy this. The physician asked for a white and horned goat to be brought and he then made with its flesh a preparation. Then sprinkling over it a special medicinal dust, he gave it to the wives to eat. But Guṇavarā who never left her husband for a moment came late to take the preparation and by the time she came the others had already consumed the whole lot. Then by an order of the King the horns of the goat were made into a similar preparation and Guṇavarā took it with the dust sprinkled over it. All the wives got a child each. Guṇavarā’s son was named Śṛṅgabhuja. (See full article at Story of Guṇavarā from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)
2) Guṇāvarā (गुणावरा).—A celestial lady. This lady was present at the birthday celebration of Arjuna and gave there then a performance in dancing. (Śloka 61, Chapter 122, Ādi Parva).
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: KathāsaritsāgaraGuṇavarā (गुणवरा) is one of the queens of Vīrabhuja: an ancient king from Vardhamāna according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 39. Accordingly, “there is a city on the earth named Vardhamāna, and in it there dwelt a king named Vīrabhuja, chief of righteous men. And though he had a hundred wives, one queen, of the name of Guṇavarā, was dearer to him than his life. And, in spite of his hundred wives, it happened, as Fate would have it, that not one of them bore him a son”.
The story of Guṇavarā and Vīrabhuja was narrated by Hariśikha in order to demonstrate that “good women value nothing more than their husbands”, in other words, “virtuous women serve their husbands in every way, devoted to them alone”.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Guṇavarā, 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’.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English DictionaryGuṇāvarā (गुणावरा):—[from guṇa] f. ‘lowest as to virtues’, Name of an Apsaras, [Mahābhārata i, 4817.]
[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)
Full-text: Ganavara, Shringabhuja, Sharavega, Virabhuja, Apsaras.
Relevant text
Search found 3 books and stories containing Gunavara, Guṇavarā, Guṇāvarā; (plurals include: Gunavaras, Guṇavarās, Guṇāvarās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)
Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of Story) (by Somadeva)
Chapter XXXIX < [Book VII - Ratnaprabhā]
Mahabharata (English) (by Kisari Mohan Ganguli)
Section CXXIII < [Sambhava Parva]