In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra

1) Apramāṇa (अप्रमाण) refers to “innumerable (punishments)”, according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter 21).—Accordingly, “[...] Finally, the immoral person is always fearful, like a sick man who constantly fears the approach of death, or a person guilty of the five sins leading to immediate damnation and who always says he is the enemy of the Buddha. He hides himself and lies like a brigand fearful of being taken. Years, months and days pass; he never finds any safety. Although the immoral man may get honors and benefits, his happiness is impure: it is as though madmen had dressed and adorned a corpse, and wise people, who know it, do not want to look at it. These are the many (nānāvidha) innumerable (apramāṇa) punishments of immorality; all of them could not be enumerated. The ascetic will therefore carefully observe the precepts”.

2) Apramāṇa (अप्रमाण) refers to the “four immeasurables”, according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter 32.—The third class of supplementary dharmas recommended by the Prajñāpāramitā for the Bodhisattva is made up of the four immeasurables (apramāṇa):

1. loving kindness (maitrī or maitrā),
2. compassion (karuṇā),
3. joy (muditā),
4. equanimity (upekṣā).

These are the four limitless ones (apramāṇa), the four liberations of the mind (cetovimukti) or the four abodes of Brahmā (brahmavihāra). This last term is by far the most frequent in the post-canonical Sanskrit texts and in the Mahāyāna sūtras and śāstras.

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

Apramāṇa (अप्रमाण) refers to “(ten) immeasurables”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “Through these ten immeasurables (apramāṇa), son of good family, the Bodhisattva completes the accumulations of merit (puṇya-saṃbhāra).”

What are these ten immeasurables (apramāṇa)?—

1. completion of the immeasurable ornaments for the body by fulfilling the characteristics of a great man and the marks of beauty;
2. completion of the immeasurable ornaments of speech by purifying his realm of speech so it is in accordance with all beings;
3. completion of the immeasurable ornaments for thought in accordance with the thought of all beings;
4. completion of the immeasurable maturation of living beings through immeasurable behaviour of practice and knowledge;
5. completion of the immeasurable purity of Buddha-fields through immeasurable forms;
6. completion of the immeasurable behaviour of the Buddha by infinitely reflecting and pondering on the thought of merits;
7. completion of the immeasurable embellishment of the place of awakening through all practices with all arrangements of the ornaments;
8. completion of the immeasurable enjoyment of the circle of hair between the eyebrows by accumulating endless offerings;
9. completion of the immeasurable, invisible crown of the head by serving teachers with endless homage and conquering pride;
10. completion of the immeasurable unfailing courage by adequately grasping the coming and going without deception or guile.

Accordingly, “Through those ten immeasurables (apramāṇa), son of good family, the Bodhisattva accumulates the collection of merit. Furthermore, son of good family, when the thought of the Bodhisattva becomes like open space, all his undertakings are infinitely established everywhere since open space is infinite, and thus it is called merit like open space (gaganasama-puṇya)”.

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: Open Research Library: The Samvarodaya-tantra: selected chapters

The four Apramāṇas (अप्रमाण):

1. Care for the welfare of others is maitrī (benevolence);
2. Karuṇā (compassion) makes the affliction of others disappear;
3. Muditā (joy) is delight in the happiness of others;
4. And upekṣā (resignation) is indifference to other beings.

Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

apramāṇa (अप्रमाण).—a (S) That is without proof or authority.

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

apramāṇa (अप्रमाण).—a That is without proof or authority.

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

Apramāṇa (अप्रमाण).—a.

1) Unlimited, immeasurable, boundless.

2) Without authority, proof or weight, unauthorized.

3) Not regarded as an authority, not trustworthy; आजन्मनः शाठ्यमशिक्षितो यस्तस्याप्रमाणं वचनं जनस्य (ājanmanaḥ śāṭhyamaśikṣito yastasyāpramāṇaṃ vacanaṃ janasya) Ś.5.25.

-ṇam 1 That which cannot be taken as authority in actions; i. e. a rule, direction &c. which cannot be accepted as obligatory.

2) Irrelevancy.

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

Apramāṇa (अप्रमाण).—nt. (in meaning 1 = Pali appamaññā, f.; see Critical Pali Dictionary s.v.), (1) infinitude, as n. for brahmavihāra (q.v.), of which there are four, maitrī (maitrā), karuṇā, muditā, upekṣā: listed as apramāṇāni Asaṅga (Mahāyāna-sūtrālaṃkāra) xvii.17., compare xx—xxi.43; Abhidharmakośa LaV-P. viii.196; Mahāvyutpatti 1503—7; Bodhisattvabhūmi 241.15—16; Lalitavistara 297.12 (verse) maitrī-upekṣa-karuṇā-muditā- pramāṇāḥ (read °ṇā? hardly [bahuvrīhi]); mentioned without list, Gaṇḍavyūha 471.18 catur-apramāṇa-vihāra-; Śikṣāsamuccaya 105.16; Lalitavistara 45.16 catur-apramāṇa-prabha-teja-dharaḥ; 341.1 catur- apramāṇa (wrongly printed catura pramāṇa); (2) a high number: Mahāvyutpatti 7934 (cited from Gaṇḍavyūha); 8041; Gaṇḍavyūha 134.7.

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

Apramāṇa (अप्रमाण).—[neuter] no authority.

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

1) Apramāṇa (अप्रमाण):—[=a-pramāṇa] [from a-pramā] n. a rule which is no standard of action, [Mahābhārata; Śākaṭāyana etc.]

2) [v.s. ...] (in discussion) a statement of no importance or authority.

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

Apramāṇa (अप्रमाण):—I. [tatpurusha compound] n.

(-ṇam) No-authority, a rule, injunction, reasoning, saying, precedent &c. which is not binding, no standard to be guided by, irrelevancy; (comp. the similar terms apramā, aprāmāṇya, amā, amātva, amāna, amānatā, also pramāṇābhāsa); e. g. in Mādhava's Jaiminīya-nyāyam.: arthābodhādapramāṇaṃ pikālambhanacodanā . maivaṃ mlecchaprasiddhyāpi tadbodhādaviruddhayā; or aguṇatvādanāmatvādamantratvādananvaye . aṣṭatvādyapramāṇaṃ cennārthavādatayānvayāt; or in the Nyāya S.: rodhopaghātasādṛśyebhyo vyabhicārādanumānamapramāṇam, or in the instance s. v. anaikāntikatva; or Śaṅkara in the comm. on the Bṛhadār.: yadi tāvadupaniṣado brahmaikatvapratipattipramāṃ kurvanti kathamapramāṇaṃ bhaveyuḥ; or in a Vārtt. to Pāṇini: taddhitārthanirdeśe liṅgavacanamapramāṇaṃ tasyāvivakṣitatvāt ‘gender and number are irrelevant (i. e. not the subject of the rule) in the chapter on the derivations with taddhitas &c.’ (Kaiyyaṭa: apramāṇamiti . tadvaśātkāryasya vidhiniṣedhau na bhavata ityarthaḥ); or in the Śakunt.: tasyāpramāṇaṃ vacanaṃ janasya ‘the word of such a person is no-authority, (where apramāṇam is not to be considered as a [bahuvrihi compound]). E. a neg. and pramāṇa. Ii. [bahuvrihi compound] m. f. n.

(-ṇaḥ-ṇā-ṇam) Immeasurable, immense, infinite; (the word occurs scarcely in this sense in the classical Saṃskṛt; comp. the following articles). E. a priv. and pramāṇa.

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

Apramāṇa (अप्रमाण) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Apamāṇa.

[Sanskrit to German]

Apramana 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

Apramāṇa (ಅಪ್ರಮಾಣ):—

1) [adjective] that cannot be measured or is beyond measurable; immeasurable.

2) [adjective] very big, great, large, huge or vast.

3) [adjective] not conforming to what is usual, regular or typical; not standard.

4) [adjective] having no proof; of doubtful authority.

--- OR ---

Apramāṇa (ಅಪ್ರಮಾಣ):—

1) [noun] that which cannot be taken as a standard, proof, measure.

2) [noun] (log.) one who does not recognise the validity of direct proofs.

context information

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

Nepali dictionary

Source: unoes: Nepali-English Dictionary

Apramāṇa (अप्रमाण):—adj. 1. unsubstantiated; unauthentic; 2. unreliable; unauthoritative; untrustworthy;

context information

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)

Partial matches: A, Pramana.

Starts with: Apramaan, Apramanabala, Apramanabha, Apramanabhacakravartin, Apramanabhasvara, Apramanabhi, Apramanabuddhakshetra, Apramanacitta, Apramanadosha, Apramanagocara, Apramanaguna, Apramanagunasagaraprabha, Apramanaparivarta, Apramanashubh, Apramanashubha, Apramanashubhacakravartin, Apramanashubhi, Apramanavid.

Full-text (+59): Apramanashubha, Apramanabha, Apramanavid, Apramaan, Apramanabuddhakshetra, Apramanadosha, Maitra, Aprama, Caturapramana, Durikrita, Darshana, Apamana, Apramanabala, Maitri, Apramanacitta, Apramanaguna, Upeksha, Mudita, Brahmavihara, Alpapramanaka.

Relevant text

Search found 57 books and stories containing Apramana, A-pramana, A-pramāṇa, Apramāṇa; (plurals include: Apramanas, pramanas, pramāṇas, Apramāṇas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)

I. Definition of the immeasurables (apramāṇa) < [Class 3: The four immeasurables]

Introduction to the eight classes of dharmas < [Chapter XXXII-XXXIV - The eight classes of supplementary dharmas]

III. Puṇyakriyāvastu consisting of meditation < [Part 5 - Establishing beings in the puṇyakriyāvastus]

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Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)

Verse 2.4.205 < [Chapter 4 - Vaikuṇṭha (the spiritual world)]

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Taittiriya Upanishad Bhashya Vartika (by R. Balasubramanian)

Verse 2.619 < [Book 2 - Brahmavallī]

Verse 2.525 < [Book 2 - Brahmavallī]

Verse 2.701 < [Book 2 - Brahmavallī]

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Yoga-sutra with Bhashya Vivarana (study) (by Susmi Sabu)

Books on Yoga by Polakam Rama Sastri and S. R. Krishnamurthi Sastri < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]

Yoga in Brahmasutra Bhasya < [Chapter 3 - The Authorship Problem of Patanjala-yogasutra-bhashya-vivarana]

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Liberation in early Advaita Vedanta (by Aleksandar Uskokov)

2. Dharma and the Validity of the Veda < [Chapter 6 - General characteristics of Dharma and the Path of Engagement]

2. Mahā-vākya in Mīmāṃsā < [Chapter 10 - Sarvajñātman and the doctrine of Upaniṣadic Mahā-vākya]

8. Language and Prābhākara Mīmāṃsā < [Chapter 2 - The Mīmāṃsā model of Puruṣārtha and the role of Scripture]

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A History of Indian Philosophy Volume 3 (by Surendranath Dasgupta)

Part 13 - The Doctrine of Self-validity of Knowledge < [Chapter XX - Philosophy of the Rāmānuja School of Thought]

Part 5 - Self-Luminosity and Ignorance < [Chapter XXII - The Philosophy of Vijñāna Bhikṣu]

Part 9 - Error and Doubt according to Veṅkaṭanātha < [Chapter XX - Philosophy of the Rāmānuja School of Thought]

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Click here for all 57 books