Chanchala is a
Sanskrit adjective basically referring to the unsteady vacillating nature of human mind and actions which need to be stilled, neutralized or controlled for gaining right speech and vision.
Meaning
Chanchala (
Sanskrit: चञ्चल) means - 'inconsiderate', 'nimble', 'shaking', 'inconstant', 'moveable', 'flickering', 'moving', 'unsteady', 'fortune', 'wind', 'long pepper',
In Hinduism
''Chanchala'' is the good word for 'vacillation' in Sanskrit language; in
Sanskrit poetry the girl with the dancing eyes is called ''chanchalakshi'', which is considered to be rare attribute. However, as part of the literary evidence of
Kusana period, the word ''Chanchala'', like ''Dhavani'' and ''Rodini'', indicates the nature or action of
Mother goddess
A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or th ...
. In the sixth chapter on ''
Dhyāna Yoga'' in the ''
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...
'' (Sloka
6.26):
:यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम् ,
:ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वंश नयेत् , ,
the word Chanchala used in the first line refers to the restless and the unsteady mind that wanders away.
''Chanchala'', meaning, 'the fickle-fortune', is one of the many names of
Lakshmi. There is no mention of ''Lakshmi'' in the
Rig Veda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
.
Sri of the Rig Veda is deified as a personified being in the
Yajurveda, and in the
Atharvaveda
The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...
(I.18) she is prayed to secure prosperity. ''Jatavedas Agni'' is repeatedly asked to make the goddess come to the votary; the epithet ''anapagamini'' reflects the ''chanchala'' i.e. fleet or fickle aspect of the goddess. ''Lakshmi'' or ''Chanchala'' as the mobile one associates only with the rich and the dynamic, no matter what their caste, creed or colour. Because ''Lakshmi'' is ''chanchala'' i.e. quick on her feet, to make her ''achala'' i.e. 'immobile', she needs to be worshipped quietly so that she does not get distracted.
In yoga
In
Yoga, ''
vritti
Vritti (Vrutti) (Sanskrit: वृत्ति, Harvard-Kyoto: vṛtti, Gujarati: વૃત્તિ), means "streams of consciousness",it is also a technical term used in yoga meant to indicate mental awareness against disturbances in the medium ...
'' indicates the contents of mental awareness that are disturbances in the medium of
consciousness. The ''vrittis'' of the ''
gunas'' are ever-active and swift, the ''gunas'' serve as parts of ''
buddhi'', their habitual conduct is fickle, restless, tremulous (''chanchala'') activity, which activity can be controlled through ''
Abhyasa'', ''
Vairagya'' and ''
Ishvarapranidhana''. ''Sri Narada Pancharatnam'' (Sloka VIII.15) tells us that ''Chanchala'' is the ''
nadi
Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...
'' which along with ''Medhya'' resides in the ''Visuddha Chakra'' on the throat.
In Sikhism
Dasam Granth, which like the
Guru Granth Sahib is an important book of
Sikhism, it is not composed in
raga
A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...
s (its first composition dates 1684 A.D.) tells us that ''Chanchala'' is the name a ''
chhand
''Chhand'' ( pa, ਛੰਦ , ur, چھند, hi, छंद) is a quatrain used in the poetic traditions of North India and Pakistan.
Chhands in culture
In the culture of the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, it is customary for ''chha ...
'' or metre of sixteen syllables having ''ragan'', ''jagan'', ''ragan'', ''jagan'' and ''laghu'' consecutively in each quarter, this metre is also known as ''Chitra'', ''Biraj and ''Brahmrupak'', and has been used twice in ''Choubis Autar''.
References
Hindu philosophical concepts
Sikh terminology
Language and mysticism
Philosophy of mind
Yoga concepts
Sanskrit words and phrases
Vedanta
{{Hinduism-stub