# कालरात्रि (kālarātri)

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

कालरात्रि (kālarātri) is a Sanskrit word meaning a dark night, the night of destruction at the end of the world, the night of a man's death, a Brahman woman skilled in magic, the final night of a Kalpa, a form of Durga. Its 10 recorded definitions are grouped into 6 contexts, among them Comprehensive Dictionary Definitions, Night of Destruction/Death and Associated Deity, A Dark Night (General).

- **Etymology:** E. काल black, time, and रात्रि a night: see भीमरथी — E. kāla black, time, and rātri a night: see bhīmarathī
- **SLP1:** `kAlarAtri`  **IAST:** kālarātri  **Devanagari:** कालरात्रि
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalaratri
- **Declensions:** 72 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/kalaratri/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** कालरात्री (kālarātrī)

## Meanings by context

### Comprehensive Dictionary Definitions (3 definitions)
- 1. A specific night occurring on the seventh day of the seventh month of every seventy-seventh year. 2. The final night of a Kalpa. 3. A dark night. 4. A form of Durga.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > काल (kāla) रात्रि (rātri) (kālarātri) [Printed book page 217 ] काल (kāla) रात्रि (rātri) (kālarātri) m. ( - त्रिः (-triḥ) ) 1 A particular night, one which occurs on the 7th day of the 7th month of every 77th year; after such a period of life, a man is exempt from attention to the usual ordinances. 2 The last night of a Kalpa. 3 A dark night. 4 A form of Śakti or DURGĀ. E. काल (kāla) black, time, and रात्रि (rātri) a night: see भीमरथी (bhīmarathī). [ ID=10235 ]
- 1. A dark night. 2. The final night of a Kalpa. 3. A special night such as the seventh day of the seventh month in the seventy-seventh year of life. 4. A form of Durga.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > कालरात्रि (kālarātri) [Printed book page 183-a ] काल - रात्रि (kāla-rātri) ( त्रिः ) ((triḥ)) 2. m. A particular night, as that of the 7th day of the 7th month of the 77th year of life; a dark night; final night of a Kalpa; form of Durgā. [ ID=9674 ]
- 1. A particular night occurring after seventy-seven years. 2. The final night of a cosmic cycle. 3. A dark night. 4. A form of Durga.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > काल (kāla) रात्रि (rātri) (kālarātri) [Printed book page 178-b ] काल (kāla) रात्रि (rātri) (kālarātri) m. ( - त्रिः (-triḥ) ) 1. A particular night, one which occurs on the 7th day of the 7th month of every 77th years; after such a period of life, a man is exempt from attention to the usual ordinances. 2. The last night of a Kalpa 3. A dark night. 4. A form of Sakti or DURGA. E. काल (kāla) black, time, and रात्रि (rātri) a night: see भीमरथी (bhīmarathī). [ ID=10230 ]

### Night of Destruction/Death and Associated Deity (3 definitions)
- the night of destruction at the end of the world  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H3) [Printed book page 278,3] 2. काल (kāla) — रात्रि (—rātri) f. the night of all-destroying time, night of destruction at the end of the world (often personified and identified with Durgā or with one of her Śaktis), Mahābhārata (Title); Rāmāyaṇa (Title) &c. [ ID=49499 ]
- the night of a man's death  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the night of a man's death, Pañcadaṇḍacchattra-prabandha (Title) [ ID=49500 ]
- 1. A dark night. 2. The night of destruction at the end of the world.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > कालरात्रि (kālarātri) [Printed book page 185-08 ] काल - रात्रि (kāla-rātri) f. 1. a dark night; 2. the night of destruction at the end of the world. [ ID=9215 ]

### A Dark Night (General) (1 definition)
- a dark night  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H3) [Printed book page 277,2] 1. काल (kāla) — रात्रि (—rātri) f. a dark night, Horace H. Wilson, author of first Sanskrit-English dictionary in 1819 (Author) [ ID=49171 ]

### Metalinguistic / Cross-Reference (1 definition)
- See page 278, column 3.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (for 2. - रात्रि (-rātri) See p. 278, col. 3.) [ ID=49172 ]

### Proper Noun (Name of a Person) (1 definition)
- a Brahman woman skilled in magic  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a Brāhman woman (skilled in magic), Kathāsaritsāgara (Title) xx, 104. [ ID=49502 ]

### Specific Ritualistic Night (77th Year) (1 definition)
- a particular night in a man's life occurring in his seventy-seventh year, after which he is exempt from usual ordinances  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a particular night in the life of a man (on the seventh day of the seventh month of the seventy-seventh year, after which period a man is exempt from attention to the usual ordinances), Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=49501 ]

## Sources

Definitions from 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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