# लास्य (lāsya)

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

लास्य (lāsya) is a Sanskrit word meaning dancing or a dramatic dance expressing love, a dancer, the name of a king, a dancing girl, dancing in general, a combination of song, dance, and instrumental music. Its 12 recorded definitions are grouped into 5 contexts, among them The Act or Concept of Dance, A Female Dancer, A Lancer.

- **Etymology:** E. लस् to be skilled in the art of dancing, ण्यत् aff — E. las to be skilled in the art of dancing, ṇyat aff
- **SLP1:** `lAsya`  **IAST:** lāsya  **Devanagari:** लास्य
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasya
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/lasya/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** लास्या (lāsyā)

## Meanings by context

### The Act or Concept of Dance (8 definitions)
- dancing or a dramatic dance expressing love  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 899,2] लास्य (lāsya) n. dancing, a dance ( esp. accompanied with instrumental music and singing), a dance representing the emotions of love dramatically (this was at one time a principal part of the drama, and as such accord. to Bharata and the Daśa-rūpa consisted of 10 divisions or Aṅgas, viz. गेय - पद (geya-pada), स्थित - पाठ्य (sthita-pāṭhya), आसीन (āsīna), पुष्प - गण्डिका (puṣpa-gaṇḍikā), प्रच्छेदक (pracchedaka), त्रि - गूढ (tri-gūḍha) or त्रि - मूढक (tri-mūḍhaka), सैन्धव (saindhava), द्विगूढक (dvigūḍhaka) or विमूढक (vimūḍhaka), उत्तमोत्तमक (uttamottamaka), and उक्त - प्रत्युक्त (ukta-pratyukta); including also a style of dramatic composition in which there is abrupt transition from Sanskṛt to Prākṛt and from Prākṛt to Sanskṛt; the term लास्य (lāsya) is also applied to the Nāch [Nautch] dance of the Indian dancing girls, consisting chiefly of gesticulation with a shuffling movement of the feet forwards and backwards, as invented by Pārvati and opposed to the boisterous masculine dance called Tāṇḍava practised by Śiva and his followers; cf. Indian Wisdom, by Sir M. Monier-Williams (Title) 467 ), Mahābhārata (Title); Kāvya literature (Literary category) &c. [ ID=182034 ]
- 1. Dancing in general. 2. A combination of song, dance, and instrumental music. 3. A graceful style of dance performed mainly by women with subtle gestures and foot movements, contrasted with the boisterous Tandava dance of Shiva. 4. An element in dramatic composition involving music and singing. 5. A dancer.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > लास्य (lāsya) [Printed book page 720 ] लास्य (lāsya) n. ( - स्यं (-syaṃ) ) Dancing in general. 2 Symphony, or union of song, dance, and instrumental music. 3 A mode of dancing; the Nāc of India, or dance practised by women chiefly, and confined to attitude and gesticulation, with a shuffling motion of the feet seldom lifted from the ground; this style is said to have been invented by PĀRVATĪ, and communicated by her to the daughter of Vāṇāsura, by whom her female friends and companions were instructed in it; as a species, it is opposed to the Tāṇḍava, the more boisterous dance of ŚIVA, and his followers or men. 4 A part or embellishment of dramatic composition, the occasional introduction of music and singing; also abrupt transition from Prākṛta to Sanscrit and Sanscrit to Prākṛta, &c. m. ( - स्यः (-syaḥ) ) A dancer. f. ( - स्या (-syā) ) A female dancer. E. लम (lama) to be skilled in the art of dancing, ण्यत् (ṇyat) aff. [ ID=32933 ]
- 1. Dancing or the combination of song and dance. 2. A dancer.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > लास्य (lāsya) [Printed book page 643-b ] लास्य (lāsya) ( स्यं ) ((syaṃ)) 1. n. Dancing; union of song, dance, &c. m. f. A dancer. [ ID=32512 ]
- 1. Dancing. 2. A dance accompanied by singing and instrumental music. 3. A dance representing the emotions of love through mime.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > लास्य (lāsya) [Printed book page 625-26 ] लास्य (lāsya) (I) n. 1. Dancing, a dauce, R. xvi.14; 2. a dance. accompanied with singing and instrumental music; 3. a dance in which the emotions of love are represented mimically. [ ID=32713 ]
- 1. Dancing in general. 2. A combination of song, dance, and instrumental music. 3. A graceful dance expressing love, performed mainly by women with subtle gestures and foot movements. 4. An element of dramatic composition involving music and singing, or a sudden shift in language. A dancer. A female dancer.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > लास्य (lāsya) [Printed book page 617-a ] लास्य (lāsya) n. ( - स्यं (-syaṃ) ) 1. Dancing in general. 2. Symphony, or union of song, dance, and instrumental music. 3. A mode of dance in which the emotions of love are represented mimically, the Nāutch of India, or dance practised by women chiefly, and confined to attitude and gesticulation, with a shuffling motion of the feet Page617-b+ 60 seldom lifted from the ground; this style is said to have been invented by PĀRVATĪ, and communicated by her to the daughter of VĀṆASURA, by whom her female friends and companions were instructed in it; as a species, it is opposed to the TĀNDAVA, the most boisterous dance of ŚIVA, and his followers or men. 4. A part or embellishment of dramatic composition, the occasional introduction of music and singing; also abrupt transition from Prākrita to Sanskrit and from Sanskrit to Prākrita, &c. m. ( - स्यः (-syaḥ) ) A dancer. f. ( - स्या (-syā) ) A female dancer. E. लस् (las) to be skilled in the art of dancing, ण्यत् (ṇyat) aff. [ ID=34344 ]
- 1. A male dancer. 2. A female dancer. 3. Dancing. 4. Union of dance and music.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > लास्य (lāsya) [Printed book page 0794-a ] लास्य (lāsya) lāsya, i. e. lāsa + ya, I. m. A dancer. II. f. yā, A female dancer. III. n. 1. Dancing. 2. Union of dance and music, Mārk. P. 68, 26. 3. The dance of the Indian dancing girls. [ ID=12423 ]
- 1. A dance. 2. A dancer.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > लास्य (lāsya) [Printed book page 461 ] लास्य (lāsya) n. dance; m. dancer. [ ID=27570 ]
- 1. A dance or dancing accompanied by instrumental music and singing, particularly a dance expressing love through attitude and gesture. 2. A particular kind of dramatic representation involving music and song. 3. A dancer.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > लास्य (lāsya) [Printed book page 0864-c ] Lāsya, am, n. a dance, dancing; a dance accom- panied with instrumental music and singing; a dance in which the emotions of love are mimically repre- sented, the dance of the Indian dancing girls, a Nach dance (confined to attitude and gesticulation, with a shuffling motion of the feet seldom lifted from the ground; this style is said to have been invented by Pārvatī and communicated by her to the daughter of Vāṇāsura, by whom her female friends and com- panions were instructed in it; it is opposed to the Tāṇḍava, the more boisterous dance of Śiva and his followers); a part or particular kind of drama or dra- matic representation (said to be the occasional intro- duction of music and singing; also a style of dramatic composition in which there is abrupt transition from Prākṛt to Sanskrit and from Sanskrit to Prākṛt, &c.); ( as ), m. a dancer; ( ā ), f. a female dancer, dancing girl. —Lāsyāṅga (°ya-aṅ°), am, n. that part of a drama in which the Lāsya described above is introduced. [ ID=40301 ]

### A Female Dancer (1 definition)
- a dancing girl  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2B) [Printed book page 899,2] लास्या (lāsyā) f. a dancing girl, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=182037 ]

### A Lancer (1 definition)
- A lancer.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > लास्य (lāsya) (II) m. A lancer. [ ID=32714 ]

### A Male Dancer (1 definition)
- a dancer  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > लास्य (lāsya) m. a dancer, Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa (Title) [ ID=182035 ]

### Name of a King (1 definition)
- the name of a king  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a king, Viṣṇu-purāṇa (Title) [ ID=182036 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller 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.

The Sanskrit Lexicon app for iPhone, iPad and Mac: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sanskrit-lexicon-dictionary/id6746787546