# शरभा (śarabhā)

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

शरभा (śarabhā) is a Sanskrit word meaning a young elephant, a camel, a grasshopper, a locust, a kind of metre, an epithet of Vishnu. Its 18 recorded definitions are grouped into 9 contexts, among them Proper Name of an Individual/Character, Insects (Grasshopper, Locust), Other Specific Animals (Elephant, Camel).

- **SLP1:** `SaraBA`  **IAST:** śarabhā  **Devanagari:** शरभा
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharabha
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/sharabha/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** शरभ (śarabha)

## Meanings by context

### Proper Name of an Individual/Character (8 definitions)
- an epithet of Vishnu  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of Viṣṇu, Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary, 1st edition with marginal notes (Title) [ ID=213765 ]
- an Asura  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of an Asura, Mahābhārata (Title) [ ID=213767 ]
- of two serpent-demons  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of two serpent-demons, in the same place [Cologne Addition] (Title) [ ID=213768 ]
- of various men  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of various men, Ṛg-veda (Title); Mahābhārata (Title) &c. [ ID=213769 ]
- a son of Shishupala  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of a son of Śiśu-pāla, Mahābhārata (Title) [ ID=213770 ]
- of brother of Shakuni  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of brother of Śakuni, in the same place [Cologne Addition] (Title) [ ID=213771 ]
- of a prince of the Ashmakas  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of a prince of the Aśmakas, Harṣacarita (Title) [ ID=213772 ]
- a monkey in Rama's army  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of a monkey in Rāma's army, Rāmāyaṇa (Title) [ ID=213773 ]

### Insects (Grasshopper, Locust) (2 definitions)
- a grasshopper  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a grasshopper (= शलभ (śalabha) ), Horace H. Wilson, author of first Sanskrit-English dictionary in 1819 (Author) [ ID=213762 ]
- a locust  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a locust, in the same place [Cologne Addition] (Title) [ ID=213763 ]

### Other Specific Animals (Elephant, Camel) (2 definitions)
- a young elephant  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a young elephant, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=213760 ]
- a camel  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a camel, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=213761 ]

### A Kind of Wooden Machine (1 definition)
- a kind of wooden machine  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > ( prob. ) a kind of wooden machine. [ cf. accord. to some, Gk., κίραϕος, κόραϕος.] [ ID=213776 ]

### A Type of Metre (1 definition)
- a kind of metre  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a kind of metre, Colebrooke (Author) [ ID=213764 ]

### Girl with Withered Limbs (Śarabhā) (1 definition)
- a girl with withered limbs and therefore unfit for marriage  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1B) [Printed book page 1057,2] शरभा (śarabhā) ( आ (ā) ), f. a girl with withered limbs and therefore unfit for marriage, Gṛhya-sūtra (Literary category) [ ID=213775 ]

### Mythical Eight-Legged Creature (1 definition)
- a kind of deer or a fabulous eight-legged mountain animal stronger than a lion and elephant  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 1057,2] शरभ (śarabha) m. a kind of deer or (in later times) a fabulous animal (supposed to have eight legs and to inhabit the snowy mountains; it is represented as stronger than the lion and the elephant; cf. अष्ट - पद् (aṣṭa-pad) and महा - स्कन्धिन् (mahā-skandhin) ), Atharva-veda (Title) &c. &c. [ ID=213759 ]

### Name of a People/Tribe (1 definition)
- Name of a people  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > ( pl. ) N. of a people, Mahābhārata (Title) ( B. शबर (śabara) ) [ ID=213774 ]

### Name of an Upanishad (1 definition)
- of an Upanishad  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of an Upaniṣad ( cf. शरभो (śarabho) पनिषद् (paniṣad) ) [ ID=213766 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899).
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