# किरात (kirāta)

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

किरात (kirāta) is a Sanskrit word meaning an ancient mountain tribe of hunters, a man of the Kirata tribe, a prince of the Kiratas, a dwarf, a groom or horseman, the plant Agathotes Chirayta. Its 28 recorded definitions are grouped into 13 contexts, among them The Kirāta People/Tribe, The River Gaṅgā, Śiva as a Kirāta.

- **Etymology:** E. कॄ to scatter, (speech, &c.) and अत who goes; also किरातक — E. kṝ to scatter, (speech, &c.) and ata who goes; also kirātaka
- **SLP1:** `kirAta`  **IAST:** kirāta  **Devanagari:** किरात
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirata
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/kirata/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** किराट (kirāṭa)

## Meanings by context

### The Kirāta People/Tribe (14 definitions)
- An ancient mountain tribe of hunters.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 283,3] किरात (kirāta) m. pl. N. of a degraded mountain-tribe (inhabiting woods and mountains and living by hunting, having become Śūdras by their neglect of all prescribed religious rites; also regarded as Mlecchas; the Kirrhadae of Arrian), Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā (Title) xxx, 16; TāṇḍyaBr.; Manu-smṛti (Title) x, 44; MBh. &c. [ ID=50521 ]
- a man of the Kirata tribe  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > किरात (kirāta) m. a man of the Kirāta tribe [ ID=50522 ]
- a woman of the Kirata tribe  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1B) [Printed book page 283,3] किराती (kirātī) f. a woman of the Kirāta tribe [ ID=50528 ]
- 1. A member of a barbarous mountain tribe of hunters. 2. A man or king of this tribe.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > किरात (kirāta) [Printed book page 068-3 ] किरात (kirāta) kírāta, m. pl. N. of a barbarous mountain tribe of hunters; sg. man or king of the Kirātas: ī, f. Kirāta woman; -arjunīya, n. Arjunaʼs combat with Śiva disguised as a Kirāta: T. of a poem by Bhāravi ( 6th cent. A. D. ). [ ID=5916 ]
- 1. A member of a wild mountain tribe or savage. 2. Shiva disguised as a mountaineer. 3. A kind of gentian. 4. A dwarf or pigmy. 5. A groom or horseman. Female: 1. The Ganges river or its goddess. 2. A name of Durga. 3. A procuress. 4. The celestial Ganges.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > किरात (kirāta) [Printed book page 222 ] किरात (kirāta) m. ( - तः (-taḥ) ) 1 A savage, one of the barbarous tribes who inhabit woods and mountains and live by the chase, the Kirrhadoe of Arrian. 2 ŚIVA as a mountaineer opposed to ARJUNA, the account of which is the subject of the poem, the Kirātārjunīya. 3 A kind of gentian: see किरात (kirāta) तिक्त (kirātatikta). 4 A pigmy, a dwarf. 5 A groom, a horseman. f. ( - ती (-tī) ) 1 The river GAṄGES or its goddess. 2 A name of DURGĀ. 3 A bawd, a procuress. 4 The celestial GAṄGES or river of Svarga. E. कॄ (kṝ) to scatter, (speech, &c.) and अत (ata) who goes; also किरात (kirāta) क (kirātaka). [ ID=10445 ]
- 1. A savage, Shiva, a kind of gentian, a pigmy, or a groom. 2. The Ganges, its goddess, Durga, or a procuress.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > किरात (kirāta) [Printed book page 187-b ] किरात (kirāta) ( तः ) ((taḥ)) 1. 3. m. A savage; Shiva; a kind of gentian; a pigmy; a groom. f. ( ती (tī) ) The Ganges, or its goddess; Durgā; a bawd or procuress. [ ID=9885 ]
- 1. A member of a degraded mountain tribe living by hunting. 2. A savage. 3. A dwarf. 4. A groom or horseman. 5. Shiva in the disguise of a Kirata.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > किरात (kirāta) [Printed book page 189-05 ] किरात (kirāta) (I) m. 1. Name of a degraded mountain tribe who live by hunting, विंदंति मार्गं नखरंध्रमुक्तैर्मुक्ताफलैः केसरिनां किरात (kirāta) ाः (viṃdaṃti mārgaṃ nakharaṃdhramuktairmuktāphalaiḥ kesarināṃ kirātāḥ) K.S. i.6, 15; 2. savage; 3. a dwarf, पर्यंताश्रयिभिर्निजस्य सदृशं नात्रः किरात (kirāta) ैः कृतम् (paryaṃtāśrayibhirnijasya sadṛśaṃ nātraḥ kirātaiḥ kṛtam) Rat. ii.; 4. a groom, a horseman; 5. name of Śiva in the disguise of a Kirāta. [ ID=9428 ]
- 1. A member of a wild mountain tribe. 2. Shiva as a mountaineer. 3. A kind of gentian. 4. A dwarf. 5. A groom or horseman. 6. The river Ganges or its goddess. 7. An epithet of Durga. 8. A procuress. 9. The celestial Ganges.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > किरात (kirāta) [Printed book page 182-b ] किरात (kirāta) m. ( - तः (-taḥ) ) 1. A savage, one of the barbarous tribes who inhabit woods and mountains and live by the chase, the Kirrhadœ of Arrian. 2. SIVA as a mountaineer opposed to ARJUNA, the account of which is the subject of the poem, the Kiratarjuniya. 3. A kind of gentian: see किरात (kirāta) तिक्त (kirātatikta). 4. A pigmy a dwarf. 5. A groom, a horseman. f. ( - ती (-tī) ) 1. The river GANGES or its goddess. 2. A name of DURGA. 3. A bawd, a procuress. 4. The celestial GANGES or river of Swarga. E. कॄ (kṝ) to scatter, (speech, &c.) and अत (ata) who goes; also किरात (kirāta) क (kirātaka). [ ID=10438 ]
- The name of a people  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > किरात (kirāta) [Printed book page 0187-b ] किरात (kirāta) kirāta, m., f. tī, The name of a people, MBh. 2, 584; Ragh. 16, 57. [ ID=3417 ]
- Name of a barbarous mountain tribe  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > किरात (kirāta) [Printed book page 121 ] किरात (kirāta) m. ई (ī) f. N. of a barbarous mountain-tribe (appearing also in the service of kings). [ ID=7804 ]
- 1. A member of a degraded mountain tribe of hunters. 2. A savage, pigmy, or dwarf. 3. A groom or horseman. 4. A kind of gentian. 5. An epithet of Shiva as a mountaineer. 6. (f.) A woman of the Kirata tribe. 7. A female fly-flap bearer. 8. An epithet of the goddess Durga. 9. A bawd or procuress. 10. An epithet of the river Ganga.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > किरात (kirāta) [Printed book page 0230-a ] किरात (kirāta) kirāta, as, m., N. of a degraded mountain-tribe, one of the barbarous tribes who in- habit woods and mountains and live by hunting (the Kirrhadæ of Arrian), having become Śūdras by their neglect of all prescribed religious rites (they are also regarded as Mlecchas); a savage; a pigmy, a dwarf; a groom, a horseman; N. of a plant, a kind of gen- tian [cf. kirāta-tikta ]; N. of Śiva, as a moun- taineer opposed to Arjuna, the account of which is the subject of the celebrated poem by Bhāravi called Kirātārjunīya; ( ī ), f. a woman of the Kirāta tribe; a woman who carries a fly-flap or anything to keep off flies; an epithet of the goddess Durgā; a bawd, a procuress; an epithet of the river Gaṅgā; the celes- tial Gaṅgā or river of Svarga. —Kirāta-tikta, as, m. the plant Agathotes Chirayta, a kind of gentian; also kirāta-tiktaka. —Kirātārjunīya, am, n. (fr. °ta + arjuna ), title of an artificial poem by Bhā- ravi, describing the combat of Arjuna with the god Śiva in the form of a wild mountaineer or Kirāta, (this combat and its result is described in the Vana- parva or third book of the Mahā-bhārata 1538-1664.) —Kirātāśin (°ta-āś°), ī, m. an epithet of Garuḍa, the bird of Viṣṇu (‘swallowing the Kirātas’). [ ID=14785 ]
- a barbarous tribe of hunters  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > किरात (kirāta) [Printed book page 408-1 ] Kirāta, pl. ( °āḥ ), a barbarous people (“hunters”). § 223 (Vāsiṣṭha): I, 175, 6684 (among the peoples who sprang from the cow of Vasiṣṭha).—§ 273 (Rājasūyārambhap.): II, 14, 584 ( Vaṅga-Puṇḍra-K°eṣu ).—§ 279 (Arjuna): II, 26, 1002 (followed Bhagadatta).—§ 280 (Bhīmasena): II, 30, 1085 (in the east, seven kings of the K. vanquished by Bhīmasena).—§ 285 (Nakula): II, 32, 1199 (in the west, vanquished by Nakula).—§ 295 (Dyūtap.): II, 52, 1865 ( carmavāsasaḥ, brought tribute to Yudhiṣṭhira).—§ 342 (Indralokābhigamanap.): III, 51, 1990 (present at the rājasūya of Yudhiṣṭhira).—§ 377 (Dhaumyatīrthak.): III, 90, 8391 ( °Kinnarāvāsaṃ śailaṃ, at Gaṅgādvāra).—§ 419 (Gandhamādanapr.): III, 140, 10864 ( Subāhuviṣayaṃ… K°-Taṅganākīrṇaṃ ).—§ 555 (Sainyodyogap.): V, 19, 584 (in the akṣauhiṇī of Bhagadatta).—§ 561 (Yānasandhip.): V, 64, 2470, 2475.—§ 573 (Ambopākhyānap.): V, 195 ε, 7609 (in the army of Duryodhana).—§ 574 (Jambūkh.): VI, 9 μ, 358, 364, (ν), 376 (in the north-east).—§ 576 (Bhagavadgītāp.): VI, 20, †753 (followed Kṛpa).—§ 578 (Bhīṣmavadhap.): VI, 50 π, 2080 (in the army of Yudhiṣṭhira).—§ 589 (Droṇābhiṣekap.): VII, 4 β, 121 ( Himavaddurganilayāḥ, had been vanquished by Karṇa for Duryodhana).—§ 599 (Jayadrathavadhap.): VII, 112, 4318, 4320, 4322 ( c : the K. have elephants sprung from the race of Añjana, with impenetrable skins, well trained…adorned with armour of solid gold, and resembling Airāvata and coming from the northern hills, ridden by fierce robbers of strong limbs, the foremost of warriors, cased in steel coats of mail; among them are persons born of the cow, or of the ape, or of Page408-b+ 63 various other creatures, and also born of men. That division of the assembled Mlecchas, who are all sinful and come from the fastnesses of Himavat, seem at a distance to be of a smoky colour), 4339 ( viṣakalpaiḥ prahāribhiḥ ); 119 ββ, 4716 (Sātyaki has vanquished many Śakas, K., etc.), (γγ), 4747 (thousands of K., etc., have been slain by Sātyaki).— § 608 (Karṇap.): VIII, 73, 3653 (have been vanquished by Arjuna).—§ 641 (Rājadh.): XII, 65 θ, 2429 (enumeration of barbarous peoples).—§ 664 (Mokṣadh.): XII, 207 θ, 7560 (among the barbarous peoples of the north).—§ 730 g (Upamanyu): XIII, 14 η, 732 ( °-Śabarāṇāṃ, Śiva assumes their form).—§ 739 (Ānuśāsanik.): XIII, 35 ε, 2159 (have been degraded to śūdras).—§ 785 (Anugītāp.): XIV, 73, 2136 (vanquished by Arjuna, when he followed the sacrificial horse); 83, 2469 ( Kośalān K°ān atha Taṅganān ). [ ID=5764 ]
- A hill tribe or people of an eastern mountain kingdom.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Kirātas — People of an eastern kingdom; a mountain kingdom; defeated by Bharata and purified of sin by the worship of Hari; 1 vanquished by Kalki; 2 a hill tribe. 3 Defeated by Sagara, took caves and hills as residences; 4 reside on the east of Bhāratavarṣa; 5 co-habitation with Kirāta women by a Brāhmaṇa; purification at the end of the twelfth day — rites cited. 6 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. IX. 20. 30; II. 4. 18; Br. II. 16. 12 and 51, 60. 68; M. 114. 56; 121. 49; Vā. 45. 82; 120. 136; 47-48; 58. 83.] [ Footnote: 2) Br. II. 18. 50; III. 73. 109; IV. 29. 131 and 135; Vā. 98. 108.] [ Footnote: 3) Br. II. 16. 68; III. 48-49; IV. 7. 19; M. 114. 11 and 35.] [ Footnote: 4) Br. III. 48. 23-49.] [ Footnote: 5) Vi. II. 3. 8.] [ Footnote: 6) Br. IV. 8. 9.] [ ID=3040 ]
- A name applied to mountain-dwelling hill people or aborigines.  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > किरात (kirāta) [Printed book page 1-157 ] 1. Kirāta is a name applied to a people living in the caves of the mountains, as appears clearly from the dedication of the Kirāta to the caves ( guhā ) in the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, 1 and from the reference in the Atharvaveda 2 to a Kirāta girl ( kairā- tikā ), who digs a remedy on the ridges of the mountains. Page1-158+ 54 Later 3 the people called Kirātas were located in Eastern Nepal, but the name seems to have been applied to any hill folk, no doubt aborigines, though the Mānava Dharma Śāstra 4 regards them as degraded Kṣatriyas. [ Footnote: 1) xxx. 16; Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, iii. 4, 12, 1.] [ Footnote: 2) x. 4, 14.] [ Footnote: 3) Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, 1^2, 530, 534.] [ Footnote: 4) x. 44. Cf. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, 32; Ludwig, Translation of the Rigveda, 3, 207; V. Smith, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Socicty, 1909, 258, n. 1; Lévi, Le Népal, 2, 77.] [ ID=614 ]

### The River Gaṅgā (2 definitions)
- of the river Ganga  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of the river Gaṅgā, L. [ ID=50532 ]
- the celestial Ganga as river of Svarga  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of the celestial Gaṅgā as river of Svarga, L. [ ID=50533 ]

### Śiva as a Kirāta (2 definitions)
- an epithet of Shiva  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of Śiva (as a mountaineer opposed to Arjuna, described in Bhāravi's poem Kirātārjunīya) [ ID=50527 ]
- Shiva in the shape of a Kirata  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > [Printed book page 408-2 ] Kirāta, sg. = Śiva in the shape of a K., when he fought with Arjuna (v. Kairātaparvan): I, †160 ( Devadevaṃ K°rūpaṃ ), 433 ( °vapuṣā, sc. Mahādevena ); III, 1555 ( °veśa- saṃchannaḥ, sc. Śiva), 1561, 1563, 1567, 1572, (1578), 1582, 1586, 1604 ( °rūpī, sc. Śiva), 1605 ( °samarūpini, sc. Śiva), 1606, 1607, 1609, 1616, 11956, 11977 ( °rūpaṃ ); IV, 1536 ( °rūpeṇa sthitaṃ Rudraṃ ); VIII, 1251 ( °rūpeṇa sthitaṃ Śarvaṃ ). [ ID=5765 ]

### A Bawd/Procuress (1 definition)
- a bawd or procuress  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a bawd, procuress, L. [ ID=50530 ]

### A Dwarf/Pigmy (1 definition)
- a dwarf  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a dwarf, L. ( cf. कुब्ज - क् (kubja-k) ° (°) ) [ ID=50524 ]

### A Groom/Horseman (1 definition)
- a groom or horseman  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a groom, horseman, L. [ ID=50525 ]

### A Medicinal Plant (Gentian) (1 definition)
- the plant Agathotes Chirayta  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the plant Agathotes Chirayta (also called किरात - तिक्त (kirāta-tikta) ), L. [ ID=50526 ]

### Kirāta as a Personal Name (Priest) (1 definition)
- A priest opposed to the Gaupayanas, appearing alongside Akuli in Vedic texts.  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > [Printed book page 1-158 ] 2. Kirāta. — In the story of Asamāti there appear, as the two priests who are opposed to the Gaupāyanas, Kirāta and Akuli according to the Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa, 1 or Kilāta and Ākuli according to the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa. 2 No doubt the name is chosen, not as that of a historic person, but as a suitable designation of a hostile priest; for it is probably identical with the name of the mountaineers described in the preceding article. [ Footnote: 1) xiii. 12, 5 (where the text reads kirāta-kulyau ). Böhtlingk, Dictionary, s.v., takes the word, with Sāyaṇa, as an adjective, kirāta-kula, ‘of the family of Kirāta.’ The reading in the Bṛhad- devatā (vii. 86) is kirātākulī. ] [ Footnote: 2) i. 1, 4, 14 (where the text reads kilātākulī ). Cf. also Sāṭyāyanaka Brāh- maṇa apud Sāyaṇa on Rv. x. 57, 1; 60, 1; Jaiminīya Brāhmaṇa, iii. 167; Journal of the American Oriental Socicty, 18, 41 et seq.; Hopkins, Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, 15, 48, n. 1.] [ ID=615 ]

### Kirāta as a Place/Region (1 definition)
- The name of a country  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > किरात (kirāta) (II) m. pl. The name of a country. [ ID=9429 ]

### Kirāta Royalty/Leader (1 definition)
- a prince of the Kiratas  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a prince of the Kirātas, Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā (Title) xi, 60 [ ID=50523 ]

### Story of/about Kirāta(s) (1 definition)
- the story of Kirata  
  *The Purana Index*
  > किरात (kirāta) [Printed book page 1-379 ] Kirāta — the story of. Br. IV. 7. 13; 8. 9. [ ID=3039 ]

### The Goddess Durgā (1 definition)
- An epithet of the goddess Durga.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of the goddess Durgā, Harivaṃśa (Title) 10248 [ ID=50531 ]

### Woman with Fly-Flap (1 definition)
- a low-caste woman who carries a fly-flap  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a low-caste woman who carries a fly-flap or anything to keep off flies, Raghuvaṃśa (Title) xvi, 57 [ ID=50529 ]

## 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; The Purana Index; The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects; 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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