Abhidhana, Abhidhāna: 23 definitions
Introduction:
Abhidhana means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi, Hindi. 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.
Alternative spellings of this word include Abhidhan.
In Hinduism
Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar)
Abhidhāna (अभिधान).—Designation, denotation, expression of sense by a word which is looked upon as the very nature of a word. The expression अभिधानं पुनः स्वाभाविकम् (abhidhānaṃ punaḥ svābhāvikam) (denotation of sense is only a natural characteristic of a word) frequently occurs in the Mahābhāṣya; cf. M. Bh. on 1.2.64 Vārt 93, II.1.1, cf. नपुसकं यदूष्मान्तं तस्य बह्वभिधानजः (napusakaṃ yadūṣmāntaṃ tasya bahvabhidhānajaḥ) (R. Pr. XIII.7) where the word बह्वभिधान (bahvabhidhāna) means बहुवचन (bahuvacana).
Vyakarana (व्याकरण, vyākaraṇa) refers to Sanskrit grammar and represents one of the six additional sciences (vedanga) to be studied along with the Vedas. Vyakarana concerns itself with the rules of Sanskrit grammar and linguistic analysis in order to establish the correct context of words and sentences.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Abhidhāna (अभिधान) refers to the “names (of a particular deity)”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.48 (“Description of Marriage of Śiva and Pārvatī”).—Accordingly, as Brahmā narrated to Nārada: “[...] Then at his behest, the sages jubilantly performed the holy ablution over the head of Pārvatī. Being conversant with the Vedas he asked them specially to perform this. Repeating the names of lord Śiva (deva-abhidhāna), they performed Paryukṣaṇa rite. There was a great jubilation and gaiety, O sage”.
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
Yoga (school of philosophy)
Abhidhāna (अभिधान) refers to “lexicons”, according to the Amanaska Yoga treatise dealing with meditation, absorption, yogic powers and liberation.—Accordingly, as Īśvara says to Vāmadeva: “[...] Not by studying the doctrines of scriptural exegesis, logic, planets and mathematics, nor by the Vedas, Upaniṣads, Dharmaśāstras [and the like]; not even by lexicons (abhidhāna) nor metre, grammar, poetry nor rhetoric; the sage's attainment of the highest reality is gained only from the oral teachings of his own guru.[...]”.
Yoga is originally considered a branch of Hindu philosophy (astika), but both ancient and modern Yoga combine the physical, mental and spiritual. Yoga teaches various physical techniques also known as āsanas (postures), used for various purposes (eg., meditation, contemplation, relaxation).
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
abhidhāna (अष्टाभिषेक) refers to “being given (a name)” (after one’s coronation), according to the Yogakhaṇḍa of the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—Accordingly, [while discussing the Hagiography of Siddha Bauddhadeva]: “[...] Thus seeing (her) power, which is the most excellent radiance of the Command, the lord of the gods was pleased and gave the girl boons. The god consecrated her with eight jars (of holy water) and she was given (abhidhāna) the name Vimalānandā by (his) Command. (Thus) she has authority in the midst of the sixteen Siddhas. [...]”.
Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Abhidhāna (अभिधान) refers to “synonyms” and is known in Tibetan as mngon brjod.—As one of the “Five Minor Sciences” (Tibetan: rig gnas chung lnga) it forms part of the “Ten Sciences” (Tibetan: rig gnas bcu), or fields of knowledge.
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
In Jainism
Jain philosophy
Abhidhāna (अभिधान) refers to the “word” (which is distinct from its sense—abhidheya), according to Bhadrabāhusvāmin (quoted by Devabhadra in his Ṭippaṇa on Nyāyāvatārava-vṛtti and in Śyādvādamañjarī)—[Cf. Anekāntajayapatākā-prakaraṇa, P. 318, l. 20]—When the word ‘kṣurikā’ (knife), ‘anala’ (fire) and ‘acala’ (mountain) are uttered, the mouth ought to get cut or burnt or filled by these words respectively. But such a thing never happens. Therefore vastu and śabda (word) are not identical. Bhadrabāhusvāmin says—“when the word ‘moyaga’ (Sanskrit: ‘modaka’) is uttered, the thing denoted by this word is presented to the mind and not anything else. So it follows that the word (abhidhāna) is not distinct from its sense (abhidheya)”.—That abhidhāna (word) is both distinct and non-distinct from abhidheya (vācya) is the Jaina view.
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Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
abhidhāna : (nt.) name; appellation.
abhidhāna (အဘိဓာန) [(na) (န)]—
[abhi+dhā+yu]
[အဘိ+ဓာ+ယု]
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
Marathi-English dictionary
abhidhāna (अभिधान).—n S A name. 2 Specification or mention; signification or discrimination effected by a name or by naming. Ex. ghaṭa hā śabda kambugrīvādi- mān jō vyaktiviśēṣa tyācēṃ a0 karitō.
abhidhāna (अभिधान).—n A name. Specification or men- tion, signification or discrimination.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Abhidhāna (अभिधान).—
1) Telling, mentioning, speaking, naming, denotation; एतावतामर्थानामिदमभिधानम् (etāvatāmarthānāmidamabhidhānam) Nir.; गोशब्दस्य वाही- कार्थाभिधानम् (gośabdasya vāhī- kārthābhidhānam) S. D.
2) (In gram.) Asserting or predicating something of another, as the subject of an assertion, (which then can be put in the nom. case only); predication, assertion; See P.II.3.2 Sk.
3) A name, appellation, title, designation; अभिधानं तु पश्चात्तस्याहमश्रौषम् (abhidhānaṃ tu paścāttasyāhamaśrauṣam) K.32; तवाभिधानाद् व्यथते नताननः (tavābhidhānād vyathate natānanaḥ) Kirātārjunīya 1.24; (at the end of comp.) called, named; ऋणाभिधानाद् बन्धनात् (ṛṇābhidhānād bandhanāt) R.3.2.
4) An expression, word.
5) Speech, discourse महत्तमा- नामभिधानयोगः (mahattamā- nāmabhidhānayogaḥ) Bhāgavata 1.18.18.
6) A dictionary, vocabulary (of words), lexicon (in these last 4 senses said to be also m.)
7) A song, षट्पादतन्त्रीमधुराभिधानम् (ṣaṭpādatantrīmadhurābhidhānam) Rām.4.28,36.
Derivable forms: abhidhānam (अभिधानम्).
Abhidhāna (अभिधान).—n.
(-naṃ) 1. A name, an appellation. 2. Speaking, speech. 3. A vocabulary, a dictionary. E. As before, lyuṭ aff.
Abhidhāna (अभिधान).—i. e. abhi-dhā + ana, n. 1. A name, [Kathāsaritsāgara, (ed. Brockhaus.)] 7, 112. 2. A word.
Abhidhāna (अभिधान).—[neuter] = [preceding] [feminine] + statement, speech, discourse, word; also = seq; [feminine] dhānī a halter.
1) Abhidhāna (अभिधान):—[=abhi-dhāna] [from abhi-dhā] n. telling, naming, speaking, speech, manifesting
2) [v.s. ...] a name, title, appellation, expression, word
3) [v.s. ...] a vocabulary, dictionary, lexicon
4) [v.s. ...] putting together, bringing in close connection, [Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā-prātiśākhya]
5) [v.s. ...] ([Comparative degree] -tara), [???]
Abhidhāna (अभिधान):—[tatpurusha compound] 1. n.
(-nam) 1) Naming, telling, expressing; e. g. in the Vārtt. to Pāṇ.: kṣubdhaṃ manthābhidhāna iti vaktavyam; or svāntaṃ manobhidhāna iti vaktavyam; or dhvāntaṃ manobhidhāna iti vaktavyam; or avātābhidhāna iti vaktavyam; or Patanj. to Pāṇ.: kaḥ punarvīpsārthaḥ . anavayavābhidhānaṃ vīpsārthaḥ . anavayavena dravyāṇāmabhidhānameṣa vīpsārthaḥ; or in the Nyāya S.: arthādāpannasya svaśabdena punarabhidhānam; or in the Mīmāṃsā S.: guṇābhidhānātsarvārthamabhidhānam; or Sāhityad.: (nāndī) pūrvaraṅgasya raṅgadvārābhidhānamaṅgamityucyate.—In writings on the Mīmāṃsā philosophy abhidhāna or abhidhāyakatva are used sometimes in opposition to vidhāyakatva, when the former imply such expressions or passages in the Vedas as do not contain a vidhi or injunction, but merely a description or explanation; the word becomes in such cases a synonyme of anuvāda q. v.; e. g. Mīmāṃsā S.: vidhimantrayoraikārthyamaikaśabdyāt . api vā prayogasāmarthyānmantro bhidhānavācī syāt; Jaiminīyanyāyam.: devāṃśca yābhiryajata ityākhyātaṃ tu mantragam . vidhāyakaṃ na vānyena samatvāttadvidhāyakam . yacchabdādeḥ kṣīṇaśaktirna vidhistrividhaṃ tataḥ . ākhyātamabhidhānaṃ ca pradhānaguṇakarmaṇī (comm.: ayaṃ mantra āmnāyate . devāṃśca yābhiryajate dadāti ca jyogittābhiḥ sacate gopatiḥ saheti .…tatra yathā brāhmaṇagatamākhyātapadaṃ pradhānaguṇakarmaṇoranyatarasya vidhāyakam . tathā mantragatamapīti cet .. maivam . yacchabdādinā vidhiśakteḥ kṣīṇatvāt . sati hi yacchabde tasya vākyasyānuvādakatvaṃ pratīyate . na tu vidhāyakatvam .…tasmādākhyātasya pradhānakarmavidhāyakatvaṃ guṇakarmavidhāyakatvaṃ cetyevaṃ dvāveva prakārau na bhavataḥ . kiṃtvabhidhāyakatvamityapyasti tṛtīyaḥ prakāraḥ . tato na mantragatākhyātasya vidhāyakatvam).—Comp. also bahvabhidhāna (in the sense of bahuvacana).
2) A proposition, a rule, an axiom; (this seems to be the sense of the word in the comm. on the Vājas. Prātiś. 4. 141., where abhidhāna would imply the axiom or law taught by the Sūtra; comp. the preceding words tasyaitaducyate).
3) The same as abhidhā Ii. 2.; e. g. Kāvyapr.: lakṣaṇātmakameva dhvananam . tadanugamena tasya darśanāt . na ca tadanugatameva . abhidhānāvalambanenāpi tasya bhāvānna cobhayānusāryeva.
4) The being named, the being expressed; e. g. in the Nyāya S.: kāraṇadravyasya pradeśaśabdenābhidhānāt; or in the Vedānta S.: jyotiścaraṇābhidhānāt; or chandobhidhānānneti cenna &c.; or sukhaviśiṣṭābhidhānādeva ca; or Jayamangala in the comm. on the Bhaṭṭik.: samaśabdenopamāyā abhidhānāt &c.; or Bharatas. in his comm. on the same: vṛddhikriyayostulyakālayorvavṛdha ityanenābhidhānāt.
5) Speech, discourse.
6) A vocabulary; e. g. Vopad.: kṛttaddhitasamāsānāmabhidhānaṃ niyāmakam; comp. also Colebr. Ess. Ii. p. 52. 2. m. n.
(-naḥ-nam) 1) A name, an appellation; e. g. Kirātārj.: tavābhidhānādvyathate natānanaḥ (Mallin.: tavābhidhānānnāmadheyānnāmadheyasmaraṇāt); or Śiśupālab.: jagati sumanasastadādi nūnaṃ dadhati parisphuṭamarthatobhidhānam; or Jaimini Sūtra: uktaṃ kriyābhidhānaṃ syāttadabhāve prasiddhaṃ syāt; comp. also the instance s. v. abhicāramantra.
2) A word; e. g. the Ṭīkā on the Sāhityad.: anvitābhidhānavādino (i. e. those who argue that the words of a sentence are logically connected) mīmāṃsakaguravastu kriyākārakayoḥ prathamata evānvayabodho jāyate tataḥ śaktigrahaḥ; or Kāvyapr.: himapayaḥśaṅkādyāśrayeṣu paramārthato bhinneṣu śuklādiṣu yadvaśena śuklaḥ śukla ityādyabhinnābhidhānapratyayotpattiḥ; or Suśruta: vyaktābhidhānamakhilena vidhiṃ nibodha &c.; or Manu: strīṇāṃ…āśīrvādābhidhānavat (scil. nāmadheyam).
3) A sound (?); comp. abhidhā Ii. 3. and the following article. [The double gender of the word is mentioned by the Siddhāntak., but apparently restricted to the meanings given under 2., for the Gaṇaratnam. which mentions the word in the Gaṇa ardharcādi—Pāṇ. Ii. 4. 31. —explains it abhidhānaṃ or abhidhāno nāma śabdaśca.] 3. f.
(-nī) (ved.) A rope, a halter; (thus explained by Kaiyyaṭa when speaking of the meanings of dhā with abhi, viz. abhipūrvastāvaddadhātirbandhanoccāraṇapratipādaneṣu vartate . aśvābhidhānīmādatta ityatra bandhanavṛttiḥ &c.). E. dhā with abhi, kṛt aff. lyuṭ.
Abhidhāna (अभिधान):—[abhi-dhāna] (naṃ) 1. n. A name; speaking; a dictionary.
Abhidhāna (अभिधान):—(wie eben) m. n. [Siddhāntakaumudī.249], a, [9.]
1) n. Bezeichnung, Benennung [Amarakoṣa 1, 1, 5, 8.] [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 1, 1, 118.] etāvatāmarthānāmidamabhidhānam [Yāska’s Nirukta 1, 20. 7, 5. 13.] [Prātiśākhya zum Ṛgveda 13, 7.] [Aśvalāyana’s Śrautasūtrāni 4, 1.] [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 20, 7, 19.] gośabdasya bāhīkārthābhidhāne [Sāhityadarpana 14, 16.] ekenaiva gotrapratyayena sarveṣāṃ gotrāṇāṃ paryāyeṇābhidhānaṃ bhavati [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 4, 1, 93,] [Scholiast] [Siddhāntakaumudī] zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 2, 3, 1.] āśīrvādābhidhānavat adj. [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 2, 33.] Name: abhidhānaṃ mama mālyavānitīdam [Kathāsaritsāgara 7, 112.] [Rāmāyaṇa 3, 35, 59.] Sehr häufig am Ende eines adj. comp. [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 23, 15.] [Pañcatantra 155, 5.] [Hitopadeśa 26, 13.] [Kathāsaritsāgara 12, 84.] [Geschichte des Vidūṣaka 224. 268.] [Raghuvaṃśa 3, 20.] f. ā [Hitopadeśa 27, 10.] Rede [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 81.] —
2) n. Wörterbuch [Vopadeva’s Grammatik 26, 219.]
--- OR ---
Abhidhāna (अभिधान):—
1) füge noch das Ausdrücken, Ausdruck hinzu. bandhamudrābhidhānāya paścādbāhū tadājñayā . turuṣkā dadhate vyaktam [Rājataraṅgiṇī 4, 179.] —
3) Zusammenlegung, Verknüpfung [Scholiast] zu [Prātiśākhya zur Vājasaneyisaṃhitā 4, 141.] abhidhānatara (loc.) ivābhita itarau paścādupanidadhāti enger zusammen (= atisaṃbandhena [Scholiast]) [Śāṅkhāyana’s Brāhmaṇa 13, 5.] — Vgl. ābhidhānika .
Abhidhāna (अभिधान):——
1) n. — a) Zusammenlegung , Verknüpfung. tare Loc. (v.l. tas) enger zusammen. — b) das zur Sprache Bringen , Aussagen , Kundthun [209,15.] — c) einfache Aussage (keine Vorschrift) [Jaimini's Mimāṃsādarśana 2,1,31.] — d) Nennung , Benennung [Bādarāyaṇa’s Brahmasūtra 1,1,24,25.] Dazu Nom.abstr. tva n. [Jaimini's Mimāṃsādarśana 2,1,13.] — e) Name. An Ende eines adj. Comp. f. ā [126,19.] — f) Wort [Mānavadharmaśāstra. 2,33.] — g) *Rede. — h) Wörterbuch. —
2) f. dhānī Halfter.
Abhidhāna (अभिधान) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Abhihāṇa, Ahihāṇa.
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.
Hindi dictionary
Abhidhāna (अभिधान) [Also spelled abhidhan]:—(nm) a name; noun; nomenclature.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Abhidhāna (ಅಭಿಧಾನ):—
1) [noun] the act of naming or calling by name.
2) [noun] a name.
3) [noun] expression or communication of thoughts and feelings by spoken words; speech.
4) [noun] mutual exchange of thoughts, feelings, opinions or ideas, by spoken words; conversation.
5) [noun] a book of words (usu. alphabetically listed) in a language, with definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, and other information either in the same language or in another language; a lexicon; a dictionary.
6) [noun] the meaning or literary expanse of a word.
7) [noun] fame; renown.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Ao, Yu, Yu, Dha, Abhi, Dhana, Ta, Tana.
Starts with (+6): Abhidhanacandrika, Abhidhanacintamani, Abhidhanacintamaninamamala, Abhidhanacudamani, Abhidhanadoru, Abhidhanaka, Abhidhanakathana, Abhidhanakomsha, Abhidhanakosha, Abhidhanalakkhanatta, Abhidhanamala, Abhidhanamanjari, Abhidhananisamsa, Abhidhananurodha, Abhidhanapada, Abhidhanaparampare, Abhidhanappadipika, Abhidhanappayojana, Abhidhanapravina, Abhidhanaratnamala.
Full-text (+204): Abhidhanaratnamala, Abhidhanacintamani, Abhidhanamala, Abhidhanakosha, Namabhidhana, Mithyabhidhana, Lakshminivasabhidhana, Bahvabhidhana, Kimabhidhana, Punarabhidhana, Abhidhanatva, Abhidhanatantra, Rashyabhidhana, Upamabhidhana, Nanabhidhana, Paccuppannabhidhana, Abhidhanattha, Paccayabhidhana, Gandabhidhana, Mahabhidhana.
Relevant text
Search found 77 books and stories containing Abhidhana, Abhi-dha-yu, Abhi-dhā-yu, Abhi-dhana, Abhi-dhāna, Abhidhāna; (plurals include: Abhidhanas, yus, dhanas, dhānas, Abhidhānas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (by Rajendralala Mitra)
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 48 < [Hindi-Malayalam-English Volume 2]
Page 38 < [Hindi-English-Nepali (1 volume)]
Page 4 < [Bengali-Hindi-English, Volume 1]
Sidelights on History and Culture Of Orissa (by Manmath Nath Das)
Chapter 53 - Orissan palm leaf manuscripts < [Part 4 - Language, Literature and Education]
Chapter 24 - Jainism in Orissa < [Part 2 - Religious Developments]
Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana (by Gaurapada Dāsa)
Text 10.78 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Text 10.275 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Text 11.22 < [Chapter 11 - Additional Ornaments]
Hari-bhakti-kalpa-latikā (by Sarasvati Thkura)
Text 11 < [First Stabaka]
Krishna Sandarbha of Jiva Goswami (by Kusakratha Prabhu)
Verse 115.2 < [Anuccheda 115]