Adhvan, Adhva, Adhvā: 24 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
In Buddhism
1. Mahayana
2. General definition
Languages
1. Marathi
2. Sanskrit
3. Kannada
See also

Introduction:

Adhvan means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi. 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

Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)

Source: McGill: The architectural theory of the Mānasāra (shaivism)

Adhvan (अध्वन्).—The efficient agency of the divinity to create the world is conceived as adhvan, way (path), or realm. Adhvan is hexadic:

kalā, aspect;
tattva, the thirty-six principles of cosmic evolution;
bhuvana, planes of experience totaling 224;
varṇa, the fifty-one letters of the alphabet;
pada, the eighty-one magical words;
mantra, the eleven syllabic farmulae.

In meditational and ritual worship, adhvan is conceived as the mode of being of Śiva. The five-fold modality of kalā from transcendental to phenomenal pervades each of the other adhvans as well.

Source: IGNCA: Prakṛti Volume 3

Adhvan (अध्वन्).—The concept of adhvan is common to South Indian Śaivism, Kashmir Śaivism and Śāktism. In a distorted pattern. this concept figures in some of the Pāñcarātra texts also. Mantra, pada, varṇa, bhuvana, tattva and kalā are the six kinds of adhvan which constitute the cosmic-cum-amorphic body of Lord Śiva. In His adhvan form, Lord Śiva assumes varṇādhvan as His skin; padādhvan as His head; tattvādhvan as His heart; bhuvanādhvan as His body-hairs; mantrādhvan as His blood, semen, marrow, bone, etc. and kalādhvan as His entire limbs.

Source: academia.edu: The Yoga of the Mālinīvijayottaratantra

Adhvan (अध्वन्, “path”) refers to the “conquered levels of the ontological courses” and is dealt with in the Mālinīvijayottara.—In the Mālinīvijayottara and in the Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṃgraha there are six such paths. Which path is followed depends on the incidental Perfections sought by the Yogin. The Mālinīvijayottara terms this Perfection-based yoga the system of six lakṣyabheda; the Svāyambhuvasūtrasaṃgraha knows it as the phalabheda. But additionally, in the Mālinīvijayottara, the stages of this gradual advancement have, by assimilation to a hierarchy of seven experients, aquired an apperceptive dimension.The original ontological ascent is no longer the only, or even the primary path to Śiva.

Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions

Adhvan (अध्वन्) refers to the “cosmic path”, according to the Svacchandatantra verse 4.79b-81b.—Accordingly, “Next there is the initiation for the purpose of the purification of the cosmic path (adhvan) for those who seek the fruit of [either] enjoyment or liberation. The subtle method that causes the cutting of the bonds is explained. The Guru asks the candidate seeking benefits [about] the two-fold [option]. Whatever fruit he desires, accordingly he should start the propitiation of Mantras”.

context information

Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.

Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram

1) Adhvan (अध्वन्) refers to the “path (of emanation and withdrawal)”, according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—Accordingly, “[...] The Equal One is the inferior (immanent form of) Māyā. Thus the universe is contained within Māyā. Beyond Māyā, beyond the energies (kalā) and beyond the path (of emanation and withdrawal) [i.e., adhva-atīta] is (the ultimate) faultless (reality). [...]”.

2) Adhva (अध्व) is the name of a sacred place classified as an Upadvāra, according to the Manthānabhairavatantra.—The eight seats are the main group of eight groups [i.e., Adhva] of eight types of sacred sites. The figure sixty-four is a common ideal number as it is often configured into eight groups of eight.

Source: JSTOR: Tāntric Dīkṣā by Surya Kanta

Adhvan (अध्वन्) refers a set of six “paths” being purified during the Kriyāvatī-dīkṣā: an important Śākta ritual described Śāradātilaka-tantra, chapters III-V.—“... Looking with the divine eye he transfers the caitanya of his disciple into himself and unites it with that of his own, thereby effecting a purification of the six adhvans namely: kalā, tattva, bhavana, varṇa, pada, and mantra”.

The word adhvā means ‘path’, and when the above six adhvans are purified they lead to Brahman-experience.

context information

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.

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Adhvan (अध्वन्) refers to the “Vedic path”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.4.9 (“Boasting of Tāraka”).—Accordingly, as Tāraka-Asura said to the Gods: “[...] Indra, his elder brother, is a greater sinner. He has committed many sins for his self-interest. To gain his selfish end, by him Diti’s foetus was destroyed; the modesty of Gautama’s wife was outraged, Vṛtra, the son of a Brahmin, was killed. He beheaded the Brahmin Viśvarūpa, the nephew of Bṛhaspati. Thus he transgressed the Vedic path (adhvan). [...]”.

context information

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.

Shaiva philosophy

Source: archive.org: Chittanubodha Shastram By Bhaskara Kantha

Adhvan (अध्वन्) refers to the “six paths”, according to the Cittānubodhaśāstra by Rājanaka Bhāskarakaṇṭha: an 18th century text dealing with aspects of Kashmir Śaivism such as the Pratyabhijñā (lit. “divine recognition”) philosophical branch.—The purport of the Cittānubodhaśāstra is to awaken the mind and to make it realize the truth of its own nature. [...] The ninth chapter explains the six ‘paths’ (adhvan), especially the threcfold paths related to the word (varṇādi) and the path of time (kālādhvan).

context information

In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: academia.edu: A Study and Translation of the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā

Adhva (अध्व) refers to the “(three) times”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “What then, son of good family, is the recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), which is authorized by the Lord for Bodhisattvas? [...] (5) while recollection the Buddha from the perspective of the vision of the knowledge of liberation, he is not attached to any knowledge; (6) while recollecting the Buddha from the perspective of power, he is not moving concerning the knowledge which is equanimous in all three times (tri-adhva-samatā); (7) while recollecting the Buddha from the perspective of fearlessness, he does not stay with any defilement; (8) while recollecting the Buddha from the perspective of all qualities of the Buddha, he does not have any false discrimination in the sameness of the realm of the dharma”.

context information

Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.

General definition (in Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Dharma-samgraha

Adhvan (अध्वन्) or Tryadhvan refers to the “three times” as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 86):

atīta-adhvan (past time),
anāgata-adhvan (future time),
pratyutpanna-adhvan (present time).

The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (e.g., adhvan). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.

Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

adhvā (अध्वा).—m S A road. adhvayāvaracā One off the road; i.e. one suddenly sprung up into power or eminence; an upstart.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

adhvā (अध्वा).—m A road.

context information

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

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Adhvan (अध्वन्).—m. [atti balaṃ; ad-kvanip dhādeśaḥ Uṇādi-sūtra 4.115; perhaps from at also]

1) (a) A way, road; passage, orbit (of planets &c.); मुक्ताध्वानं ये लङ्घयेयुर्भवन्तम् (muktādhvānaṃ ye laṅghayeyurbhavantam) Meghadūta 54. (b) Distance, space (traversed or to be traversed); पञ्चदशयोजनमात्रमध्वानं जगाम (pañcadaśayojanamātramadhvānaṃ jagāma) K.119,12; कियत्यध्वनि सा उज्ज- यिनी (kiyatyadhvani sā ujja- yinī) 27; Daśakumāracarita 13; अपि लङ्धितमध्वानं बुबुधे न बुधोपसः (api laṅdhitamadhvānaṃ bubudhe na budhopasaḥ) R.1. 47; उल्लङ्घिताध्वा (ullaṅghitādhvā) Meghadūta 45; कालाध्वनोरत्यन्तसंयोगे (kālādhvanoratyantasaṃyoge) &c. (c) Journey, travel, course, march; नैकः प्रपद्येताध्वानम् (naikaḥ prapadyetādhvānam) Manusmṛti 4.6 undertake a journey; अध्वसु त्रिषु विसृष्टमैथिलः (adhvasu triṣu visṛṣṭamaithilaḥ) R.11.57 after three marches; परिक्लान्तः किलाध्वना (pariklāntaḥ kilādhvanā) Kirātārjunīya 11.2 wayworn; अध्वश्रमपरिगतम् (adhvaśramaparigatam) Meghadūta 17.4; अध्वा वर्णकफस्थौल्यसौकुमा- र्यविनाशनः (adhvā varṇakaphasthaulyasaukumā- ryavināśanaḥ) Suśr.

2) A recension of the Vedas and the school upholding it (śākhā, avayava) एकविंशत्यध्वयुक्त- मृय्वेदमृषयो विदुः । सहस्राध्वा सामवेदो यजुरेकशताध्वकम् ॥ अध्वा देवगतिः शाखा इति पर्यायवाचकाः (ekaviṃśatyadhvayukta- mṛyvedamṛṣayo viduḥ | sahasrādhvā sāmavedo yajurekaśatādhvakam || adhvā devagatiḥ śākhā iti paryāyavācakāḥ) |

3) Time (Kāla), time personified, (being the eater of all) दुर्मरं पुरुषेणेह मन्ये ह्यध्वन्यनागते (durmaraṃ puruṣeṇeha manye hyadhvanyanāgate) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 14.8.24.

4) Air; sky, atmosphere.

5) Place. प्रस्थितं दीर्घमध्वानं स्वबन्धुमिव बान्धवाः (prasthitaṃ dīrghamadhvānaṃ svabandhumiva bāndhavāḥ) Rām.5.1.45.

6) Means, resource; method.

7) Attack (adhikadurāroha- ṇam). अध्वन् (adhvan) is changed to अध्व (adhva) after prepositions; प्राध्वः, व्यध्वः (prādhvaḥ, vyadhvaḥ) &c.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Adhvan (अध्वन्).—m. (= Pali addha[n], addhāna), time. (Cf. 1 aṃśa, 1.). The three adhvānaḥ listed Dharmasaṃgraha 86 [Page019-a+ 71] (atīto, anāgato, pratyutpanno 'dhvā). Very common are atīte and anāgate (less common pratyutpanne, Saddharmapuṇḍarīka 42.1) 'dhvani in past (future, present) time Saddharmapuṇḍarīka 17.8; 40.16; 41.10; Lalitavistara 87.11; 88.13; Mahāvastu i.1.8; 39.9; Divyāvadāna 60.13; 62.7; Avadāna-śataka i.32.8; Suvarṇabhāsottamasūtra 97.3; atītānāgatapratyutpanneṣv adhvasu Lalitavistara 263.7; 435.4; adhvasu triṣu Rāṣṭrapālaparipṛcchā 6.11; also acc., in dating, ahaṃ pi bhaveyaṃ anāgatam adhvānaṃ tathāgato… Mahāvastu i.238.14, may I also in future time become…; 335.14; but acc. generally of extent of time, ciraṃ dīrgham adhvā- naṃ for a very long time Mahāvastu i.52.3; 244.19 (suciraṃ°); ii.424.10; Udānavarga v.7 (omits ciraṃ); tr(i)yadhva-, past, present and future Lalitavistara 151.12; 435.5; Bhadracarī 1 etc.; Śikṣāsamuccaya 17.13; Daśabhūmikasūtra 55.22; trayo adhvānaḥ Gaṇḍavyūha 478.9; yasmin-yasmin adhvani Gaṇḍavyūha 82.14, in whatever time; dīrghasyādhvano 'tyayeṇa Mahāvastu i.338.14, with the lapse of a long time.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Adhvan (अध्वन्).—m.

(-dhvā) 1. A road. 2. Fixing, placing. 3. Time. 4. Assault. 5. Correcting viscidity, dilution of the phlegm and marrow. E. ata to go constantly, kvanip affix; dha substituted for ta.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Adhvan (अध्वन्).—m. A road, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 4, 60.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Adhvan (अध्वन्).—[masculine] road, path, travel; length, space.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Adhvan (अध्वन्):—m. a road, way, orbit

2) a journey, course

3) distance

4) time, [Buddhist literature] and, [Jaina literature]

5) means, method, resource

6) the zodiac (?), sky, air, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

7) a place

8) a recension of the Vedas and the school upholding it

9) assault (?)

-- OR --

1) Adhva (अध्व):—[from adhvan] a m. ifc.

2) [from adhvan] b (in [compound] for adhvan).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Goldstücker Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Adhvan (अध्वन्):—m.

(-dhvā) 1) Sky, atmosphere (only in the Vedas).

2) A road.

3) Time.

4) A place (perhaps, a place where four roads meet).

5) A branch or school of the Vedas or sacred literature.—In some Tatpurusha compounds the former part of which is an upasarga (q. v.), this word occurs in the form of adhva; i. e. the compound assumes the samāsānta aff. ac; e. g. prādhva, niradhva, pratyadhva.—(The two last meanings of this word are rather unsettled through the variety of readings in the native dictionaries from which they are taken; some read adhvā…saṃsthāne syādavaskandhe, others saṃsthāne sāśravaskandhe; the best reading, however, that which has been adopted in the present translation, seems to be this: saṃsthāne śāstravatskandhe.) E. doubtful; according to some, ad, uṇ. aff. kvanip, with dh substituted for d ‘because it eats up the strength of the traveller’; or according to others, at, uṇ. aff. kvanip, with dh instead of t.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Adhvan (अध्वन्):—(dhvā) 5. m. A road; time.

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Adhvan (अध्वन्) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Addha, Addhāṇa.

[Sanskrit to German]

Adhvan in German

context information

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.

Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Adhva (ಅಧ್ವ):—

1) [noun] a road; a highway; a street, a path.

2) [noun] indefinite, unlimited duration in which things are considered as happening in the past, present or future; the time.

3) [noun] all, including the whole mass of air, that surrounds the earth; atmosphere; the sky.

4) [noun] a revising of a text of the Vedas on the basis of a critical examination of sources and the revised text so produced; a recension of the Vedas.

5) [noun] the school upholding such a recension.

6) [noun] a place.

7) [noun] the distance to be travelled.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

Relevant text

Search found 22 books and stories containing Adhvan, Adhva, Adhvā; (plurals include: Adhvans, Adhvas, Adhvās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Part 6 - Ṣaḍadhvā (six ways in the process of creation) < [Philosophy of Kashmir Tantric System]

Verse 181 [Śakti’s worship helps transcend bond of Ṣaḍadhvā] < [Chapter 4 - Fourth Vimarśa]

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Rig Veda 1.113.3 < [Sukta 113]

Rig Veda 8.31.11 < [Sukta 31]

Rig Veda 1.173.11 < [Sukta 173]

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Verse 2.4.31 < [Part 4 - Transient Ecstatic Disturbances (vyābhicāri-bhāva)]

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Chapter 17 - The rules governing Śaivite initiation < [Section 7.2 - Vāyavīya-saṃhitā (2)]

Chapter 31 - Instruction in perfect wisdom < [Section 7.1 - Vāyavīya-saṃhitā (1)]

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