Akusala, Akushala: 20 definitions
Introduction:
Akusala means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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 Akushal.
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Access to Insight: A Glossary of Pali and Buddhist TermsUnwholesome, unskillful, demeritorious. See its opposite, kusala.
Source: Dhamma Dana: Pali English GlossaryAkusala (That which is bad, improper).—Demerit caused by a negative action, a negative word or a negative intention, which does forcibly generate a painful consequence, whether in thos present life or the followings, for the one who does commit it.
All negative actions are akusalas.
There do exist five akusalas (pancanantariyakan) that do prevent one from realising nibbana in this present life:
- matu yataka—Killing ones mother
- phitu yataka—Killing ones father
- arahanta yataka—Killing an arahanta
- lohituppa taka—To inflict an haematoma to a Buddha (it is impossible to kill a Buddha)
- sangha bhedaka—To create a schism or a conflict within the sangha
See Akusala Cittas
Source: Pali Kanon: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines'unwholesome',
are all those karmic volitions (kamma-cetanā; s. cetanā) and the consciousness and mental concomitants associated therewith, which are accompanied either by greed (lobha) or hate (dosa) or merely delusion (moha); and all these phenomena are causes of unfavourable karma-results and contain the seeds of unhappy destiny or rebirth.
Cf. karma, paticca-samuppāda (1), Tab. II.
Source: Pali Kanon: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines(Unwholesome) = akusala -- or -- karmically: akusala.
Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita SastraAkuśala (अकुशल) refers to “that which is bad”, according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter 4).—Accordingly, “[Why is the Buddha called Śāstā Devamanuṣyāṇām]—Śāstā means teacher, deva means gods and manuṣyāṇām means men (in the genitive case). The expression thus means ‘Teacher of gods and men’. Why is he called teacher of gods and men? The Buddha shows [gods and men] what should be done and what should not be done, what is good (kuśala) and what is bad (akuśala). Those who follow his instructions do not abandon the doctrine of the Path and acquire liberation from their passions (kleśavimokṣa) as reward (vipāka). Thus he is called Teacher of gods and men”.
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: Buddhist Door: GlossarySanskrit word. It means bad Karma.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionaryakusala : (nt.) demerit; sin; bad action. (adj.), unskilful.
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
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionaryakuśala (अकुशल).—a (S) Unskilful, inexpert, unapt, not clever or adroit.
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 dictionaryAkuśala (अकुशल).—a. [na. ta]
1) Inauspicious, evil; unlucky, unfortunate.
2) Not clever or skilful.
3) Unpleasant, unwelcome; न द्वेष्ट्यकुशलं कर्म (na dveṣṭyakuśalaṃ karma) Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 1.1.
-lam Evil; स स्निग्धो ऽकुशलान्निवारयति यः (sa snigdho 'kuśalānnivārayati yaḥ) H.2.141 guards from evils.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryAkuśala (अकुशल).—nt. (= Pali °sala), sin, evil; ten (3 of body, 4 of speech, 3 of thought): Mahāvyutpatti 1681—4 (not named); Dharmasaṃgraha 56 (named; opposites of the 10 kuśala, q.v.).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryAkuśala (अकुशल).—mfn.
(-laḥ-lā-laṃ) 1. Unlucky, inauspicious. 2. Clumsy, not clever. E. a neg. kuśala lucky, clever.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryAkuśala (अकुशल).—adj. unlucky, [Bhagavadgītā, (ed. Schlegel.)] 18, 21; [Rāmāyaṇa] 2, 64, 44.
Akuśala is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms a and kuśala (कुशल).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryAkuśala (अकुशल).—[adjective] inauspicious, unlucky; incapable, awkward, clumsy.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Akuśala (अकुशल):—[=a-kuśala] mf(ā)n. inauspicious, evil, [Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa]
2) [v.s. ...] not clever
3) [v.s. ...] n. evil, an evil word, [Manu-smṛti]
4) [from a-kuśala] n. (with Buddhists) demerit, sin, [Monier-Williams’ Buddhism 124].
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Goldstücker Sanskrit-English DictionaryAkuśala (अकुशल):—[tatpurusha compound] I. m. f. n.
(-laḥ-lā-lam) 1) Unlucky, inau-spicious.
2) Clumsy, not clever. Ii. n.
(-lam) Misfortune, bad luck. E. a neg. and kuśala.
[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.
Hindi dictionary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionaryAkuśala (अकुशल) [Also spelled akushal]:—(a) unskilled; novice, amateurish; hence ~[tā] (nf).
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusAkuśala (ಅಕುಶಲ):—
1) [adjective] not skilled; wanting dexterity; not clever; unskilled.
2) [adjective] ill-omened; inauspicious; causing or foreboding evil; unlucky.
--- OR ---
Akuśala (ಅಕುಶಲ):—[noun] an unskilled man.
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)
Starts with: Akusala Cetasika, Akusala Citta, Akusala Sadharana Cetasika, Akusala Sutta, Akusala Vipakacitta, Akusala Vitakka, Akusaladhamma Sutta, Akusalamula Sutta, Akushalacaitasika, Akushalacitta, Akushaladharma, Akushalamula.
Ends with (+37): Acarakusala, Ahavadharmakushala, Akhyanakushala, Akshakushala, Amaggakusala, Arthakushala, Arupakusala, Ashvakushala, Atharvakushala, Atthakusala, Ayakusala, Ayatanakusala, Becakusala, Darshanakushala, Dashakushala, Dhanakushala, Disakusala, Gajakushala, Harshakushala, Jinakushala.
Full-text (+65): Akaushala, Uddhacca, Kushala, Akusala Cetasika, Akusala Citta, Vicikiccha, Akusala Vitakka, Citta, Kukkucca, Miscellaneous Team, Sammappadhana, Mithyadarshana, Moha Team, Akushal, Abaddhapralapa, Dosa Team, Adhyacarati, Japamala, Lobha, Asobhana Citta.
Relevant text
Search found 58 books and stories containing Akusala, A-kuśala, A-kusala, A-kushala, Akuśala, Akushala; (plurals include: Akusalas, kuśalas, kusalas, kushalas, Akuśalas, Akushalas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Shrimad Bhagavad-gita (by Narayana Gosvami)
Verse 18.10 < [Chapter 18 - Mokṣa-yoga (the Yoga of Liberation)]
Buddhist Outlook on Daily Life (by Nina van Gorkom)
Abhidhamma in Daily Life (by Ashin Janakabhivamsa) (by Ashin Janakabhivamsa)
Chapter 2 - On akusala cetasikas (unwholesome mental factors)
Condition 4 - Payoga Sampatti And Payoga Vipatti < [Part 4 - Condition for sufficiency and condition for deficiency (prosperity (sampatti) and misfortune (vipatti))]
Conclusion < [Chapter 2 - On akusala cetasikas (unwholesome mental factors)]
Introduction to Dhammasangani (by U Ko Lay)
Division I - Cittuppada Kanda < [Part II - The Dhammasangani]
Division III - Nikkhepa Kanda < [Part II - The Dhammasangani]
A Manual of Abhidhamma (by Nārada Thera)
Form Sphere Consciousness < [Chapter I - Different Types of Consciousness]
Summary of Doors < [Chapter III - Miscellaneous Section]
Section on Planes < [Chapter IV - Analysis of Thought-Processes]
Kamma And Its Fruit (by Nyanaponika Thera)