Apamrityu, Apamṛtyu: 18 definitions
Introduction:
Apamrityu means something in 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.
The Sanskrit term Apamṛtyu can be transliterated into English as Apamrtyu or Apamrityu, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Alternative spellings of this word include Apmartu.
In Hinduism
Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु) refers to “untimely deaths”, according to the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā, belonging to the Pāñcarātra tradition which deals with theology, rituals, iconography, narrative mythology and others.—Accordingly, “[...] [The demons born of] the aggressive magic of [his] enemies, having failed to take hold of him, frightened will possess the performer [of the ritual], like a river[’s fury] blocked by a mountain. Droughts will end and enemies will run away. In his kingdom there will not be dangers in the form of untimely deaths (apamṛtyu), wild animals, beasts of prey, thieves, illnesses etc. and strength shall reside in his lineage”.
Pancaratra (पाञ्चरात्र, pāñcarātra) represents a tradition of Hinduism where Narayana is revered and worshipped. Closeley related to Vaishnavism, the Pancaratra literature includes various Agamas and tantras incorporating many Vaishnava philosophies.
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु) refers to “sudden death” and represents one of the worldly ailments, according to the Netratantra of Kṣemarāja: a Śaiva text from the 9th century in which Śiva (Bhairava) teaches Pārvatī topics such as metaphysics, cosmology, and soteriology.—The Netratantra’s Second Chapter begins with the goddess Pārvatī’s request that Śiva reveal to her the remedy for the ailments that afflict divine and worldly beings. [...]. Śiva adds to the list of maladies the afflictions of sudden (apamṛtyu) and natural death (kālapāśa), [...]. That Śiva discusses supernatural beings that cause such disease demonstrates how invisible forces affect the world in observable ways. In order to counter these forces, Śiva reveals another invisible but observable element, mantra.
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.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु) refers to “premature death”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.55 (“Śiva returns to Kailāsa”).—Accordingly, as Brahmā narrated to Nārada: “O dear, I have thus narrated the auspicious story of the marriage of Śiva, that dispels sorrow, generates delight and increases wealth and longevity. [...] It is conducive to glory and the attainment of heaven. It bestows longevity, sons and grandsons, all cherished desires, worldly pleasures and salvation too. It wards off premature death (apamṛtyu-praśamana). It is auspicious and it causes peace. It makes bad dreams subside. It is an instrument for the acquisition of keen intellect. [...]”.
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.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु) refers to “having a brush with death”, as discussed in the eleventh chapter of the Karmaprakāśa—one of the earliest preserved Sanskrit works on Perso-Arabic (Tājika) astrology authored by Samarasiṃha in the 13th century.— Chapter 11 (nidhana-adhikāra) makes a return to the topic of the hillāja and discusses how to establish the precise time of death using Indian calendric parameters, though still without explaining the mathematical procedures properly underlying the method of direction. It also describes how to predict the cause of death, or of a brush with death (apamṛtyu)—‘by illness or by iron’—from the planet afflicting the hillāja. [...]
Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु).—m (S) A minor death. A term applied to a desperate sickness, an alarming danger, any awful accident or perilous circumstances, from which, contrarily to expectation, the subject recovers or escapes. v caka, ṭaḷa, vāra, nivāra, yē, jā, uḍa. Pr. a0 cā ēkhādavēḷa mahāmṛtyu hōtō. 2 It is used by some of any evil accident occasioning death.
apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु).—m Accidental & untimely death. A desperate sickness, an alarming danger &c. from which, contrary to expectation, a person recovers or escapes.
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
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु).—[apakṛṣṭo duṣṭahetujanyatvena mṛtyuḥ]
1) Sudden or untimely death, accidental or unnatural death; भर्तृ- सक्तोऽपमृत्युस्तस्य संचरति (bhartṛ- sakto'pamṛtyustasya saṃcarati) Pañcatantra (Bombay) 4.
2) Any great danger, illness &c. from which a person, hopelessly given up for lost, recovers, quite contrary to expectation.
Derivable forms: apamṛtyuḥ (अपमृत्युः).
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु).—m.
(-tyuḥ) Sudden death, dying of some causalty, not of sickness or decay. E. apa, mṛtyu death.
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु).—m. sudden, or unnatural death, [Pañcatantra] 186, 24.
Apamṛtyu is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms apa and mṛtyu (मृत्यु).
1) Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु):—[=apa-mṛtyu] m. sudden or accidental death
2) [v.s. ...] a great danger or illness (from which a person recovers).
3) Apāmṛtyu (अपामृत्यु):—[=apā-mṛtyu] = apa-mṛtyu, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु):—[tatpurusha compound] m.
(-tyuḥ) 1) Sudden death, death caused by some casualty, as by animals, lightning &c., not by sickness or decay.
2) A minor death: a term applied to a desperate sickness, an alarming danger, to any awful accident or perilous circumstance, from which, contrary to expectation, the subject recovers or escapes (Molesw.). E. apa and mṛtyu.
1) Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु):—[apa-mṛtyu] (tyuḥ) 2. m. Sudden death.
2) Apāmṛtyu (अपामृत्यु):—(tyuḥ) 2. m. Sudden death.
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु):—(1. apa + mṛtyu) m. plötzlicher, unnatürlicher Tod [Pañcatantra 186, 24. 187, 7.] [Mahīdhara] zu [Vājasaneyisaṃhitā 3, 17. 19. 60.] Dagegen ist [Pañcaviṃśabrāhmaṇa 25, 15.] in [Weber’s Indische Studien I, 35, 16.] zu lesen: sarpā apa mṛtyumajayan; vgl. [Bṛhadāranyakopaniṣad 1, 2, 7. 5, 2.]
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Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु):—, tritaya [Kathāsaritsāgara 55, 181. 224.]
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु):—m. grosse Todesgefahr.
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Avamaccu.
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
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु) [Also spelled apmartu]:—(nf) accidental/unnatural death.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Apamṛtyu (ಅಪಮೃತ್ಯು):—
1) [noun] untimely, premature death.
2) [noun] unnatural death (as due to an accident).
3) [noun] a life-taking mishap; a fatal accident.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Apamṛtyu (अपमृत्यु):—n. sudden/untimely death; accidental/unnatural death;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Apamrityupariharakastotra, Apamrityuprashamana, Apamrityurogadishantividhi.
Full-text: Apamrityuprashamana, Autana, Apamiruttiyu, Apamriti, Avamiruttu, Avamaccu, Apmartu, Vighna, Mahamrityu, Avaghata, Sudden death, Kalapasha, Niddhana, Nidhanadhikara, Cukanem, Atana.
Relevant text
Search found 8 books and stories containing Apamrityu, Apa-mrityu, Apa-mṛtyu, Apa-mrtyu, Apā-mṛtyu, Apamṛtyu, Apamrtyu, Apāmṛtyu; (plurals include: Apamrityus, mrityus, mṛtyus, mrtyus, Apamṛtyus, Apamrtyus, Apāmṛtyus). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Mahabharata (English) (by Kisari Mohan Ganguli)
Section CCXCVIII < [Mokshadharma Parva]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 77 < [Bengali-Hindi-English, Volume 1]
Page 119 < [Marathi-Hindi-English, Volume 1]
Page 797 < [Marathi-Hindi-English, Volume 1]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Rudra-Shiva concept (Study) (by Maumita Bhattacharjee)
2. Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā (d): Tryambaka Homa < [Chapter 2 - Rudra-Śiva in the Saṃhitā Literature]
The Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha (by E. B. Cowell)
Journal of Ayurveda and Integrated Medical Sciences
Mystical Insights into Amrithakala and Visha Kala - A conceptual study w.s.r.... < [Vol. 10 No. 1 (2025)]