# अम्बा (ambā)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/amba

अम्बा (ambā) is a Sanskrit word meaning a mother, a good woman as a title of respect, the name of a plant, an epithet of Durga, name of an Apsaras, name of a daughter of the king of Kashi. Its 17 recorded definitions are grouped into 8 contexts, among them Mother, good woman, respectful title, or interjection, Princess Ambā of Kāśī (Mahābhārata character), Astrological term / South Indian linguistic variation.

- **SLP1:** `ambA`  **IAST:** ambā  **Devanagari:** अम्बा
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amba_%28Mahabharata%29
- **Declensions:** 24 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/amba/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** आम्ब (āmba), अंबा (aṃbā), अंब (aṃba), अम्ब (amba)

## Meanings by context

### Mother, good woman, respectful title, or interjection (9 definitions)
- 1. A mother. 2. A good woman as a title of respect.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 83,2] अम्ब (amba) ा (ambā) f. ( Ved. voc. अम्ब (amba) े (ambe) [ Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā (Title) ] or अम्ब (amba) [ Ṛg-veda (Title) ], in later Sanskṛt अम्ब (amba) only, sometimes a mere interjection, Āśvalāyana-śrauta-sūtra (Title) ), a mother, good woman (as a title of respect) [ ID=14445 ]
- 1. Mother. 2. An exclamation of surprise.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अम्बा (ambā) [Printed book page 025-3 ] अम्बा (ambā) ambā́, f. mother: vc. ámbe ( V. ), ámba ( V. C. ): ámba, often mere ij. ah! [ ID=2465 ]
- 1. A mother. 2. A name of Durga.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अम्बा (ambā) [Printed book page 062 ] अम्बा (ambā) f. ( - म्बा (-mbā) ) 1 A mother. 2 The same, (in theatrical language.) 3 A name of DURGĀ. See अम्बिका (ambikā). E. अबि (abi) to sound, अप् (ap) and टाप् (ṭāp) affs. [ ID=2953 ]
- 1. A mother. 2. Durga.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अम्बा (ambā) [Printed book page 049-a ] अम्बा (ambā) ( म्बा ) ((mbā)) 1. f. A mother; Durga. [ ID=2447 ]
- 1. A mother or term of respect. 2. A name of Durga. 3. The name of a daughter of Kashiraja.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अम्बा (ambā) [Printed book page 058-15 ] अम्बा (ambā) f. (In the first sense, the voc. sing. is अंब (aṃba) in classical literature.) 1. A mother (also used as a term of respect), कृताञ्जलिस्तत्र यदम्ब सत्यात् (kṛtāñjalistatra yadamba satyāt) R. xiv.16, किमम्बाभिःप्रेषितः (kimambābhiḥpreṣitaḥ) Sak. ii.; 2. a name of Durgā; 3. the name of a daughter of Kāśīrāja. [ ID=3034 ]
- 1. A mother. 2. A name of Durga.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अम्बा (ambā) [Printed book page 052-a ] अम्बा (ambā) f. ( - म्बा (-mbā) ) 1. A mother. 2. The same, (in theatrical language.) 3. A name of DŪRGĀ. See अम्बिका (ambikā). E. अबि (abi) to sound, अप् (ap) and टाप् (ṭāp) affs. [ ID=2951 ]
- 1. A mother. 2. A proper name.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अम्बा (ambā) [Printed book page 0045-b ] अम्बा (ambā) ambā ( voc. sing. amba; in the Veda also ambe ). 1. f. A mother, Böhtl. Ind. Spr. 855. 2. A proper name, Chr. 4, 10. — Cf. O.H.G. amma and ama. [ ID=930 ]
- 1. Mother. 2. A proper name.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अम्ब (amba) ा (ambā) [Printed book page 038 ] अम्ब (amba) ा (ambā) f. mother ( voc. अम्ब (amba) े (ambe) or अम्ब (amba), the latter form o. used as a simple exclamation); N. of a princess. [ ID=2643 ]
- 1. A mother. 2. A term of respect for a good woman. 3. A plant. 4. An epithet of Durga, the wife of Shiva. 5. An Apsaras. 6. A daughter of a king of Kashi and sister of Pandu's mother. 7. A term in astrology.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > अम्बा (ambā) [Printed book page 0077-c ] अम्बा (ambā) ambā, f. (fr. rt. amb? the voc. case in the Veda is ambe or amba; in later Sanskrit amba only), a mother, good woman (as a title of respect); N. of a plant: N. of Durgā, the wife of Śiva; N. of an Apsaras; N. of a daughter of a king of Kāśi; a sister of Pāṇḍu's mother; a term in astrology to denote the fourth condition (?). In the South-Indian languages, ambā is corrupted into ammā, and is often affixed to the names of goddesses, and females in general [with ambā has been compared the Germ. Amme, ‘a nurse;’ Old Germ. amma, Them. ammôn, am- mûn]. —Ambā-gaṅgā, f. a river in Ceylon. —Ambā- janman, a, n., N. of a Tīrtha. [ ID=5561 ]

### Princess Ambā of Kāśī (Mahābhārata character) (2 definitions)
- name of a daughter of the king of Kashi  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a daughter of a king of Kāśī, Mahābhārata (Title) [ ID=14449 ]
- The eldest daughter of the king of Kashi who was carried off by Bhishma and later reborn as Shikhandin.  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > अम्बा (ambā) [Printed book page 030-1 ] Ambā, the eldest daughter of the king of Kāśi, chosen by the Saubha king, carried off by Bhīṣma to be married to Vicitravīrya, but released; refused by the Saubha king, etc., reborn as Śikhaṇḍin (v. Ambopākhyānaparvan). § 167 (Vicitravīryoparama): I, 102, 4136 ( jyeṣṭhāṃ Kāśipateḥ sutāṃ ).—§ 290 (Śiśupālavadhap.): II, 41, 1454.—§ 573 (Ambop.): V, 173, 5951—2; 175, 5977, 5985; 176, 6040, 6068, (6080); 177, (6087), (7009), (7017); 178, (7029), (7031), 7033 ( Rāmāmbayoḥ ); 186, 7367 (only in B., a river in Vatsabhūmi, to which Ambā was changed after death with half her body); 188, 7408; 192, 7551.—§ 576 (Bhaga- vadgītāp.): VI, 14, 554.—§ 596 (Pratijñāp.): VII, 72, 2501. [ ID=413 ]

### Astrological term / South Indian linguistic variation (1 definition)
- 1. An astrological term for the fourth condition resulting from planetary conjunction. 2. A suffix often attached to the names of goddesses and women.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a term in astrol. (to denote the fourth condition which results from the conjunction of planets?). In the South Indian languages, अम्बा (ambā) is corrupted into अम्मा (ammā), and is often affixed to the names of goddesses, and females in general [ ID=14451 ]

### Comparative etymology (Germanic) (1 definition)
- mother, a respectful form of address  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > अम्बा (ambā) [ Germ. Amme, a nurse; Old Germ. amma, Them. ammôn, ammûn ] [ ID=14451.1 ]

### Epithet of Goddess Durgā (1 definition)
- an epithet of Durga  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of Durgā (the wife of Śiva) [ ID=14447 ]

### Name of a Kṛttikā (Pleiades nymph) (1 definition)
- one of the seven Krittikas  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of one of the seven Kṛttikās, Taittirīya-saṃhitā (Title); Kāṭhaka (Literary category); Taittirīya-brāhmaṇa (Title) [ ID=14450 ]

### Name of a plant (1 definition)
- The name of a plant  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a plant [ ID=14446 ]

### Name of an Apsaras (1 definition)
- Name of an Apsaras  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of an Apsaras, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=14448 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872); Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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