# कृत्तिका (kṛttikā)

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

कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) is a Sanskrit word meaning the Pleiads or the third lunar mansion, the six nymphs who became the nurses of Karttikeya, white spots, a vehicle or cart, the Pleiades constellation, forming the third lunar mansion, a vehicle, carriage, or cart. Its 14 recorded definitions are grouped into 3 contexts, among them The Kṛttikā Constellation (Pleiades) and associated mythology/astrology, Kṛttikā as a Vehicle or Cart, Kṛttikā as White Spots.

- **Etymology:** E. कृत to cut, क्तिन् and कन् affixes; the figure of the asterism is a razor or knife — E. kṛta to cut, ktin and kan affixes; the figure of the asterism is a razor or knife
- **SLP1:** `kfttikA`  **IAST:** kṛttikā  **Devanagari:** कृत्तिका
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krittika
- **Declensions:** 24 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/krittika/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** कृत्तिक (kṛttika)

## Meanings by context

### The Kṛttikā Constellation (Pleiades) and associated mythology/astrology (12 definitions)
- 1. The Pleiads or the third lunar mansion. 2. The six nymphs who became the nurses of Karttikeya.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 304,3] कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) f. pl. (rarely sg. Mahābhārata (Title) iii, 14464; Bhāgavata-purāṇa (Title) vi, 14, 30 ), N. of a constellation (the Pleiads, originally the first, but in later times the third lunar mansion, having Agni as its regent; this constellation, containing six stars, is sometimes represented as a flame or as a kind of razor or knife; for their oldest names See Taittirīya-saṃhitā (Title) iv, 4, 5, 1; in mythol. the six Kṛttikās are nymphs who became the nurses of the god of war, Kārttikeya), AV.; Taittirīya-saṃhitā (Title); ŚBr. &c. [ ID=54795 ]
- The third of the 27 lunar mansions, consisting of the Pleiades.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) [Printed book page 0420-a ] कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) ( pl. ) [ कृत् - तिकन् किच्च (kṛt-tikan kicca); Uṇādisūtras 3. 147 ] 1 The third of the 27 lunar mansions or asterisms, (consisting of 6 stars) the Pleiades
- The six stars that acted as nurses to Kartikeya  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) [Printed book page 0420-a ] कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) ( pl. ) [ कृत् - तिकन् किच्च (kṛt-tikan kicca); Uṇādisūtras 3. 147 ] 2 The six stars represented as nymphs acting as nurses to Kārtikeya, the god of war
- the Pleiades, personified as the six nurses of Skanda  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) [Printed book page 073-2 ] कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) kṛttikā, f. ( pl. V., sg. C. ) the Pleiades ( a lunar mansion ): personified as the six nurses of Skanda. [ ID=6221 ]
- 1. The third lunar mansion corresponding to the Pleiades. 2. A mythological nymph, one of the six nurses of Kartikeya.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > कृत (kṛta) ्तिका (kṛttikā) [Printed book page 243 ] कृत (kṛta) ्तिका (kṛttikā) f. ( - का (-kā) ) 1 The third of the lunar mansions, or constellations in the moon's path, consisting of six stars, and corresponding to the Pleiades. 2 (In mythology,) a nymph; one of six, the nurses of KĀRTTIKEYA. E. कृत (kṛta) to cut, क्तिन् (ktin) and कन् (kan) affixes; the figure of the asterism is a razor or knife. [ ID=11386 ]
- 1. The third of the twenty-seven constellations, consisting of six stars, the Pleiades. 2. Those six stars represented as six nymphs nursing Kartikeya, the god of war.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) [Printed book page 205-02 ] कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) f. pl. 1. The third of the 27 constellations consisting of 6 stars, the Pleiades; 2. those six stars represented as six nymphs nursing Kārtikeya, the god of war. [ ID=10186 ]
- 1. The Pleiades, the third lunar mansion consisting of six stars. 2. A mythological nymph, one of the six nurses of Karttikeya.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > कृत् (kṛt) तिका (kṛttikā) [Printed book page 200-a ] कृत् (kṛt) तिका (kṛttikā) f. ( - का (-kā) ) 1. The third of the lunar mansions, or constellations in the moon's path, consisting of six stars, and corresponding to the Pleiades. 2. (In mythology,) a nymph; one of six, the nurses of KARTTIKEYA. E. कृत् (kṛt) to cut, क्तिन् (ktin) and कन् (kan) affixes; the figure of the asterism is a razor or knife. [ ID=11380 ]
- The third of the lunar mansions  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) [Printed book page 0211-b ] कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) kṛttikā, f., generally pl. Page0212-a+ 44 The third of the lunar mansions, MBh. 1, 2588. [ ID=3714 ]
- the Pleiads, personified as the nurses of Skanda  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) [Printed book page 130 ] कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) f. pl. (later sgl.) the Pleiads, personif. as the nurses of Skanda. [ ID=8318 ]
- the Pleiades  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) [Printed book page 144-a ] kṛ́ttikā, f. pl. the Pleiads. [ cf. kṛtti: perhaps the constellation was conceived as having the shape of a pelt.] [ ID=1190 ]
- 1. The Pleiades constellation, forming the third lunar mansion. 2. A vehicle, carriage, or cart.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) [Printed book page 0249-a ] Kṛttikā, ās, f. pl., N. of a constellation, = the Pleiades, (originally the first, but in later times the third lunar mansion, having Agni as its regent; this constellation, containing six stars, is sometimes re- presented as a flame or as a kind of razor or knife; in mythology the six Kṛttikās are nymphs who became the nurses of the god of war, Kārttikeya); a vehicle, carriage, cart. —Kṛttikāñji (°kā-añ°), is, is, i, having a carriage as an emblem or sign. —Kṛttikā-bhava, as, m. ‘being in the lunar mansion Kṛttikā,’ an epithet of Candra, the moon. —Kṛttikā-suta, as, m. ‘son of the Kṛttikās,’ an epithet of Skanda or Kārttikeya; (the nymphs called Kṛttikās being his foster-mothers.) [ ID=15638 ]
- The six wives of the seven rishis, the Pleiads constellation  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > कृत्तिका (kṛttikā) [Printed book page 429-1 ] Kṛttikā, pl. ( °āḥ ), the six wives of the seven ṛṣis, name of a constellation (the Pleiads). § 116 (Vasu, pl.): I, 66, 2588 ( °ābhyupapatteś ca Kārttikeya iti smṛtaḥ, sc. Skanda).—§ 370 (Tīrthayātrāp.): III, 84, 8029 ( °-Maghayoś caiva tīrthaṃ ).—§ 412 (Aṣṭāvakrīya): III, 134, †10663 ( ṣaṭ ).—§ 488 (Āṅgirasa): III, 217, 14103 ( Radrāc ca sambhūto Gaṅgāyāṃ K°āsu ca, sc. Skanda).—§ 501 (Skando- pākhyāna): III, 229, 14429 ( Pāvakasyendriyaṃ Śvete K°ābhiḥ kṛtaṃ nage ).—§ 502 (Manuṣyagrahak.): III, 230, 14464 (when Svāhā had assumed the forms of the six wives of the saptarṣis and cohabited with Agni, and Skanda was born, their husbands divorced them; then they adopted Skanda, rose to the sky, and became a nakṣatra— tridivaṃ K°ā gatā nakṣatraṃ saptaśīrṣābhaṃ bhāti tad Vahni- daivataṃ ).—§ 509 (Kārttikeyastava): III, 232, 14642 ( Svāhā-Mahī-K°ānāṃ, sc. sutaḥ, i.e. Skanda).—§ 574 (Jambūkh.): VI, 3, 96 (sg. °āṃ pīḍayaṃs tīkṣṇair nakṣatraṃ, sc. Ṛāhu, omens).—§ 592 (Saṃśaptakavadhap.): VII, 20, 809 ( °yogayuktena paurṇamāsyāṃ ivendunā ).—§ 615 u (Skanda): IX, 44, 2459, 2462 (reared Skanda); 46, 2717 ( °ānāṃ, sc. sutaḥ, i.e. Skanda).—§ 656 (Khaḍgotpattik.): XII, 166, 6201 ( °ās tasya nakṣatram Aser Agniś ca daivataṃ ).—§ 733 f (Mahāgaṅgā): XIII, 25, 1708 ( °āṅgārake, name of a tīrtha?, at the conjunction of the Kṛttikās and Aṅgāraka, i.e. the planet Mars, BR.).—§ 733 k (Vaimānika): XIII, 25, 1711 Page429-b+ 63 ( °ānām āśrame, a tīrtha).—§ 733 u (Punarāvartanandā): XIII, 25, 1732 ( °yoge ).—§ 746 (Ānuśāsanik.): XIII, 64, 3256 (merit of gifts of food made under the nakṣatra K.).—§ 747 b (Suvarṇotpatti): XIII, 85, 4097 (reared Skanda, who therefore was called Kārttikeya).—§ 748 b (Tārakavadhop.): XIII, 86, 4190, 4193, 4195 (reared Skanda), 4198.—§ 749 (Ānuśāsanik.): XIII, 89 α, 4256 ( °yoge ).—§ 759 (do.): XIII, 90, 5390 (description of the candravrata). [ ID=5968 ]

### Kṛttikā as a Vehicle or Cart (1 definition)
- a vehicle or cart  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a vehicle, cart, Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa (Title) xiii, Sch. [ ID=54797 ]

### Kṛttikā as White Spots (1 definition)
- white spots  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > white spots, Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā (Title) lxv, 5, Sch. [ ID=54796 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary; 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.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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