Virahan, Vīrahan, Vira-han: 8 definitions
Introduction:
Virahan means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Hinduism
Kavya (poetry)
Source: archive.org: Naisadhacarita of SriharsaVīrahan (वीरहन्) refers to “one who allows the sacrificial fire to die out by neglect”, and is mentioned in the Naiṣadha-carita 17.197.—Kṣīrasvāmin and Hemacandra derive the word thus—“vīrayate vīro'gnistamupekṣayā hanti”. This explanation does not seem to be correct. The word Vīrahatyā occurs in Manu 11.41. Kullūka explains Vīra as Putra, and both he and Medhātithi quote the following Śruti—“vīrahā vā eṣa devānāṃ bhavati yo'gnimudvāsayate” (Taittirīyasaṃhitā 1.5.2). The Śruti is quoted also in Śāṃkarabhāṣya 3.4.18. [...] The word Vīrahan is extremely rare in Kāvya literature. The expression Vīrahtyā is found in Śaṃkaradigvijaya of Vidyāraṇya 8.26.
The word Vīra thus means “a child” and Vīrahan is a child-murderer. He who neglects the Sacred Fire is, according to the above Śruti, the murderer of the child of the gods, i.e. Fire. Manu, on the other hand, says that the offence of neglecting the sacrificial fire is as grave as Vīrahatyā or child-murder. According to this version, it would seem that a man who failed to maintain the Sacred Fire was relegated to the position of a Vīrahan or child-murderer, and gradually Vīrahan itself came to mean a sinner who allowed the sacrificial fire to become extinct.
With regard to Vīrahan, the word is rarely used in its original sense of child-murderer, and found only in the sense of Naṣṭāgni, this being the meaning given by Amara and Hemacandra, and recognised by the Smṛtis. The word seems, however, to be used in the original sense in the following passages of Liṅgapurāṇa—Pūrvabhāga 65.174; 82.188. The above conclusion is based on the fact that in similar enumerations of crimes found in Padmapurāṇa (Uttarakhaṇḍa) the word Bala is substituted for Vīra, e.g. verse 133.32; 75.13. Liṅgapurāṇa is a more archaic work than the Padma, and it is very probable that the former uses the older expression.
Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryVīrahan (वीरहन्).—m. a Brāhmaṇa who has neglected his domestic fire; तेनादृश्यन्त वीरघ्ना न तु वीरहणो जनाः (tenādṛśyanta vīraghnā na tu vīrahaṇo janāḥ) N.17.197; (cf. Note on N.17.197 given by the English translator Handiqui, P.63.).
2) A childmurderer; वीरहा वा एष देवानां भवति योऽग्निमुद्वासयते (vīrahā vā eṣa devānāṃ bhavati yo'gnimudvāsayate) Ts.1.5.2.
3) Name of Viṣṇu.
Vīrahan is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms vīra and han (हन्).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryVīrahan (वीरहन्).—m.
(-hā) A Brahman, who has suffered the sacred demestic fire to become extinct, either from carelessness, impiety, or absence. E. vīra sacrificial fire, and han who destroys.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryVīrahan (वीरहन्).—[vīra-han], m. A Brāhmaṇa who has suffered the sacred domestic fire to become extinct.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryVīrahan (वीरहन्).—[feminine] vīrahan++ghnī & vīrahaṇī slaying men.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Vīrahan (वीरहन्):—[=vīra-han] [from vīra > vīr] mf(ghnī or haṇī)n. slaying men or enemies, [Taittirīya-saṃhitā; Brāhmaṇa; Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa]
2) [v.s. ...] m. destroyer of sacrificial fire, a Brāhman who has suffered his sacred domestic fire to become extinct (either from carelessness, impiety, or absence), [Vasiṣṭha]
3) [v.s. ...] Name of Viṣṇu, [Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryVīrahan (वीरहन्):—[vīra-han] (hā) 5. m. A brāhman who has suffered the sacred fire to become extinct.
[Sanskrit to German]
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Virahana, Virahanala, Virahanta, Virahantra.
Ends with: Avirahan, Paravirahan.
Full-text: Viraghni, Paravirahan, Vairahatya, Avirahan, Vira, Virahatya, Han.
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Gautama Dharmasūtra (by Gautama)