# Utpala

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{{Short description|Sanskrit neuter noun}}
{{Other}}
[[File:Nymphaea nouchali kz02.jpg|thumb|Flower of ''[Nymphaea nouchali](/source/Nymphaea_nouchali)'']]
[[File:Tara Bianca.jpg|thumb|White [Tara](/source/Tara_(Buddhism)) holding an utpala flower.]]
'''Utpala''' in [Sanskrit](/source/Sanskrit) is a neuter noun with two meanings, both given by ''[{{IAST|Amarakoṣa}}](/source/Amarakosha)'' (a lexicon of circa. 400 AD). The first meaning is ''[Nymphaea nouchali](/source/Nymphaea_nouchali)'', the "blue lotus", also known as ''kuvalaya'' in Sanskrit.<ref>''{{IAST|Amarakoṣa}}'' 1.10.37</ref><ref>For electronic edition of Amarakoṣa definition see: [http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sohum/amar/amar1.itx].</ref> The second meaning of ''utpala'' is a variety of medicinal plant known as '{{IAST|kooṭh}}' in Hindi and '{{IAST|kusṭham}}, vyādhi, paribhavyam or pāribhavyam, vāpyam, pākalam' according to {{IAST|Amarkośa}}.<ref>''{{IAST|Amarakoṣa}}'' 2.4.126</ref><ref>For electronic edition of Amarakoṣa definition see: [http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sohum/amar/amar2.itx].</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Khare |first1=C. P. |title=Indian Herbal Remedies: Rational Western Therapy, Ayurvedic and Other Traditional Usage, Botany |date=27 June 2011 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-642-18659-2 |page=456 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njLtCAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Caraka Saṃhitā |date=1996 |publisher=Sri Satguru Publications |isbn=978-81-7030-491-3 |page=766 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lGxFAAAAYAAJ |language=en}}</ref>

In [Buddhist art](/source/Buddhist_art) the ''utpala'' flower is an attribute of the goddess [Tara](/source/Tara_(Buddhism)), who very often holds one in her hand,<ref>Donaldson, Thomas Eugene, ''Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of Odisha'', p. 356, 2001, Abhinav Publications, {{ISBN|81-7017-375-2}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=DbxE8zOuRbUC&pg=PA356 google books]</ref> as other Buddhist and Hindu figures may also do.  Later, the ''utpala'' becomes specific to the Green Tara form, while the White Tara holds a white lotus flower (probably ''[Nymphaea pubescens](/source/Nymphaea_pubescens)'', syn. ''Nymphaea lotus'' var. ''pubescens'').<ref>Getty, Alice, ''The Gods of Northern Buddhism: Their History and Iconography'', p. 120, 1988 (reprint), Dover Pictorial Archive Series, Courier Corporation, {{ISBN|0486255751}}, 9780486255750, [https://books.google.com/books?id=KxczE2AZ7T8C&pg=PA120 google books]</ref>   In Tibet, where none of the tender aquatic plants [that may be known as lotus](/source/List_of_plants_known_as_lotus) can grow, ''utpala'' became a general term for all of them.<ref>Beer, Robert, ''The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols'', p. 170, Serindia Publications, Inc., {{ISBN|1932476032}}, 9781932476033, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-3804Ud9-4IC&pg=PA170 google books]</ref>

[Monier-Williams](/source/Monier-Williams) gives the following meanings of ''utpala'': (1) the blossom of the blue lotus ''[Nymphaea nouchali](/source/Nymphaea_nouchali)'' (-Mahābhārata, Rāmāyana, Suśruta, Raghuvamsa, Meghdoota, etc.),(2) a seed of  ''[Nymphaea nouchali](/source/Nymphaea_nouchali)'' (-Suśruta), (3) the plant ''[Costus speciosus](/source/Costus_speciosus)'' (-Bhagavata Purāna), (4) any water-lily, any flower, (-lexicons) (5) [a particular hell](/source/Naraka_(Buddhism)) (-Buddhist literature), (6) name of a Nāga, (7) names of several persons, including an astronomer, (8) its feminine form ''utpalā'' meant a river (-Harivamśa), (9) its feminine form ''utpalā'' also meant a kind of cake made of unwinnowed corn (-lexicons);

An unrelated homonym, compounded from ''ud'' "apart" + ''pala'' "flesh" means 'fleshless, emaciated' (-lexicons) and is the name of a particular hell (-lexicons).

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{Citation
 | last =Monier-Williams
 | first =Monier
 | author-link =Monier Monier-Williams
 | date =1899
 | title =A Sanskrit-English Dictionary
 | place =Delhi
 | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass
 | url =http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/
 }}.
*{{Citation
 | last=Śāstri
 | first=Hargovinda
 | date=1978
 | title={{IAST|Amarkoṣa}} with Hindi commentary
 | place=Vārānasi
 | publisher=Chowkhambā Sanskrit Series Office
 }}

Category:Buddhist iconography
Category:Flowers in religion

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Utpala](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utpala) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utpala?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.