Delinker at 13:35, 31 July 2023

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{{About||the Nepali film|Dakshina (film)}}
'''Dakshinā''', ''{{IAST|dakṣiṇā}}'', or {{lang|hi|दक्षिणा}}), is a Sanskrit word found in Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and Jain literature where it may mean any donation, fees or honorarium given to a cause, monastery, temple, spiritual guide or after a ritual. It may be expected, or a tradition or voluntary form of [[daana]].<ref name="Egge2013p21">{{cite book|author=James Egge|title=Religious Giving and the Invention of Karma in Theravada Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkddAgAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-85915-1|pages=21, 33, 74, 84–86}}</ref><ref name="Heim2004p119">{{cite book|author=Maria Heim|title=Theories of the Gift in South Asia: Hindu, Buddhist and Jain Reflections on Dana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqKTAgAAQBAJ |year=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1-135-87851-X|pages=118–120}}</ref> The term is found in this context in the Vedic literature.<ref name="Heim2004p119"/>

It may mean honorarium to a [[guru]] for education, training or guidance.<ref>Mahendra Caturvedi, A practical Hindi-English dictionary[http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/search3advanced?dbname=caturvedi&query=दक्षिणा&matchtype=exact&display]=utf8</ref>

==Etymology and description==

According to Monier Williams, the term is found in many Vedic texts, in the context of "a fee or present to the officiating priest (consisting originally of a cow, [[Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra]] 15, [[Lāṭyāyana Śrautasūtra]] 8.1.2)", a "donation to the priest", a "reward", an "offering to a guru", a "gift, donation".<ref name =mw>Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary [http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MW72Scan/2014/web/webtc1/index.php]; Quote: f. Donation to the priest (personified along with Brahman2as-pati ब्रह्मणस्-पति, Indra इन्द्र, and Soma सोम, i, 18, 5; x, 103, 8; authoress of x, 107 RAnukr.; wife of Sacrifice [Ragh. i, 31 BhP. ii, 7, 21], both being children of Ruci रुचि and A1ku1ti आकूति, iv, l, 4 f. VP. i, 7, 18 f.); f. reward RV. viii, 24, 2I; f. (offered to the Guru गुरु) MBh. v Ragh. v, 20 Katha1s. iv, 93 f.; f. (˚णाम् आ- √दिश्, "to thank" DivyA7v. vii, 104; Caus. "to earn thanks", i); f. a gift, donation (cf. अभय-, प्रा*ण-) Mn. iii R. ii; {{PD-notice}}</ref>

The word also connotes "south", a cardinal direction.<ref name=mw/> Dakshina is also found in various other expressions such as 'dakshinachara', [[Dakṣiṇācāra|right-hand path]] of tantra.<ref>Bhattacharya, N. N. History of the Tantric Religion. Second Revised Edition. Manohar Publications, Delhi, 1999. {{ISBN|81-7304-025-7}}</ref> The neuter noun dakshinam means 'the Deccan', a transformation of dakshinam as the language evolved.

==Gurudakshina==

''Gurudakshina'' refers to the tradition of repaying one's teacher or [[guru]] after a period of study or the completion of formal education, or an acknowledgment to a spiritual guide.<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=gurudakshina+&trans=Translate&direction=AU गुरुदक्षिणा, Gurudakshina] English-Sanskrit Dictionary, Spoken Sanskrit, Germany (2010)</ref> The tradition is one of acknowledgment, respect, and thanks.<ref>Radhakrishnan, L. J., & Rabb, H. (2010). Even in nephrology, ''gurudakshina'' is important, Kidney International, 78, 3-5</ref> It is a form of reciprocity and exchange between student and teacher. The repayment is not exclusively monetary and may be a special task the teacher wants the student to accomplish.

==Dakshina in Indian epics==
There is a symbolic story in the Indian epic [[Mahabharata]] that discusses proper and improper ''gurudakshina'', after a character named ''[[Ekalavya]].''.<ref>Kakar, S. (1971). The Theme of Authority in Social Relation in India. The Journal of Social Psychology, 84(1), 93-101</ref> This story refers to a tribal boy's passion to learn and master archery.

The story, like many stories in Mahabharata, is an open ended parable on education, personal drive to learn, and what is proper and improper ''dakshina'' In the epic ''Mahabharata'', after the right hand thumb as ''gurudakshina'' event, Drona is haunted and wonders if demanding Ekalavya's thumb was proper,<ref>Kumar, S. THE MAHABHARATA. HarperCollins Publishers India (2011), {{ISBN|978-93-5029-191-7}}</ref> Ekalavya goes on to re-master archery with four fingers of his right hand, as well as left hand, thereby becoming a mighty warrior, becomes accepted as a king, and tells his children that education is for everyone and that no one can close the doors of education on any human being.<ref>Brodbeck, S. (2006). Ekalavya and Mahābhārata 1.121–28, International Journal of Hindu Studies, 10(1), 1-34</ref><ref>Brodbeck, Simon (2004) 'The story of Ekalavya in the Mahabharata.' In: Leslie, J. and Clark, M., (eds.), Text, belief and personal identity: creating a dialogue, {{ISBN|9780728603639}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Guru-shishya tradition]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Hindu traditions]]
[[Category:Rigveda]]

Dakshina - Revision history

Delinker at 13:35, 31 July 2023