By Swami Harshananda
Halāyudha literally means ‘one whose weapon is the hala or the plough’.
Variants of Halāyudha are as follows:
- Weapon of Balarāma : Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother, is equipped with two weapons. These weapons are the hala and the musala (the pestle). Hence he is known as Halāyudha and Musalī.
- Author of Sanskrit Dictionary : Halāyudha is also the name of an author who wrote the well-known Sanskrit dictionary Abhidhāna-ratnamālā, also referred as Halāyudhakosa. He lived in the 10th century. Two more works, the Kavirahasya and the Mrtasañjivanī are attributed to him.
- Author of Brāhmanasarvasva : According to dharmaśāstra, there was another Halāyudha (CE 1160-1200) who wrote the work Brāhmanasarvasva containing the explanations of the mantras used by a brāhmaṇa in his daily life as also in the performance of the sanskāras (sacraments).
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore