According to

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and reg ...

, Manisha is the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

of the enterity. When used in this context, it symbolizes

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

and

desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...

. In

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, the word 'Manisha' means decisive wisdom or determinate knowledge. Such knowledge is resolute and completely free of any doubt.

Uses

Manisha is a

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...

noun, used as a girls name in India. It is mainly used in Hindu religion.

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

Zodiac sign In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30-degree sectors that make up Earth's 360-degree orbit around the Sun. The signs enumerate from the first day of spring, known as the First Point of Aries, which is the vernal equinox. ...

of name Manisha is Simha or Leo.

Origin

The Sanskrit term ''Manīṣā'' can be transliterated into English as Manisa or Manisha. The noun Manisha appears as early as the

Rigveda Samhita 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 S ...

and also in the

Aitareya Upanishad The Aitareya Upanishad (Sanskrit: ऐतरेय उपनिषद् IAST ') is a Mukhya Upanishad, associated with the Rigveda. It comprises the fourth, fifth and sixth chapters of the second book of Aitareya Aranyaka, which is one of the f ...

, which is a part of the second book of

Aitareya Aranyaka The Aranyakas (; sa, आरण्यक; IAST: ' ) are the part of the ancient Indian Vedas concerned with the meaning of ritual sacrifice. They typically represent the later sections of the Vedas, and are one of many layers of the Vedic texts. ...

of Rigveda. And in the Rigveda Samhita, Manisha in most of the places is used to mean, ‘''praise''’. However, both

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

charya and Sayanacharya have stated that Manisha means "the independence of intellect (mati)’. Therefore, Manisha can be deciphered as "the intelligence which is capable of independent logical reasoning and rational analysis in determining truth or facts". However, in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, Manisha is reference given to goddess of wish. While, according to Sanskrit-English dictionary, Manisha has several meanings, some of them are: * Desire, wish; यो दुर्जनं वशयितुं तनुते मनीषाम् ''(yo durjanam vashayitum tanute manisham)'' * Intelligence, wisdom, understanding; अतः साधोऽत्र यत् सारं मनुद्धृत्य मनीषया ''(atah sadhotra yat saaram manuddhartya manishya)''; प्रविभज्य पृथङ्मनीषया स्वगुणं यत्किल तत्करिष्यसि ''(pravibhajya prathamanishya svagunam yatkila tatkarishyasi)'' * In Rigveda as hymn, praise, prayer. * A thoughtfulness, reflection, idea, notion. Whereas, according to Marathi-English dictionary, Manisha (मनीषा) means wish or desire.

References

{{Reflist Hindu goddesses