Apurva, Apūrva: 21 definitions
Introduction:
Apurva means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, 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 Apurv.
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In Hinduism
Mīmāṃsā (school of philosophy)
Apūrva (अपूर्व) refers to “original injunction”. It is sub-division of vidhi (injunciton).—Apūrva-vidhi enjoins something not otherwise known; eg. “the grains should be washed”.
Mimamsa (मीमांसा, mīmāṃsā) refers to one of the six orthodox Hindu schools of philosophy, emphasizing the nature of dharma and the philosophy of language. The literature in this school is also known for its in-depth study of ritual actions and social duties.
Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar)
Apūrva (अपूर्व).—(l) not existing before; cf. आगमश्च नाम अपूर्वः शब्दोपजनः (āgamaśca nāma apūrvaḥ śabdopajanaḥ) M. Bh. on I.1-20, I.1.46; (2) not preceded by any letter or so, cf अपूर्वलक्षण आदिः (apūrvalakṣaṇa ādiḥ) M. Bh. on I.1.21: (3) a rule prescribing something not prescribed before; cf. तत्र अपूर्वो विधिरस्तु नियमोस्तु इति अपूर्व एव विधिर्भविष्यति न नियमः (tatra apūrvo vidhirastu niyamostu iti apūrva eva vidhirbhaviṣyati na niyamaḥ) M.Bh. on I.4.3., III.1.46, III.2. 127, III.3.19.
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.
Dharmashastra (religious law)
Apūrva (अपूर्व) is explained by the commentator, not in its usual sense of miraculous, but as not being subject to the former regulations.
Dharmashastra (धर्मशास्त्र, dharmaśāstra) contains the instructions (shastra) regarding religious conduct of livelihood (dharma), ceremonies, jurisprudence (study of law) and more. It is categorized as smriti, an important and authoritative selection of books dealing with the Hindu lifestyle.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Apūrva (अपूर्व) refers to “unique (and excellent teaching)”, according to verse 11.39-45 of the Kularatnoddyota, one of the earliest Kubjikā Tantras.—Accordingly, “[...] O beloved, having quickly (taras) caught that fish with the net of Śakti, the lord of Siddhas will study (the scripture) in the belly of that fish. Practicing (the teachings) of the book in the middle of that (fish), he (will become) powerful. He will see (reality) once seen that unique (apūrva) and excellent teaching”.
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.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Apūrva (अपूर्व) refers to “(one’s) native (city)” , according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 16) (“On the planets—graha-bhaktiyoga”), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “[...] If on the other hand he should appear otherwise than as described above, the same persons and objects will suffer miseries and people will also suffer from wars and from diseases and kings will be afflicted with sorrow. Though free from enemies, princes will suffer from the intrigues of their sons or ministers. Their subjects, suffering from drought, will quit their native cities (apūrva-pura) and resort to new towns and mountains”.
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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Apūrva (अपूर्व) refers to “extraordinary”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “If the body were extraordinary (apūrva) or absolutely eternal, then on account of [that] it is suitable to do a despicable action for the sake of it”.
Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.
India history and geography
Apūrva.—cf. apūrva-Brāhmaṇa (IA 18), a new Brāhmaṇa who was not fed on a previous occasion and is not to be fed again. Note: apūrva is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
apūrva (अपूर्व).—a (S) That has not (taken place, been done, been) before; that is not preceded by any instance or example; first, primary, primitive, original. Ex. hyā gāvānta mājhēṃ yēṇēṃ hēṃ a0 ca āhē; āja samudrācēṃ a0 darśana jhālēṃ. 2 Strange, singular, uncommon, unprecedented: also unexcelled, surpassing, superlatively fine or precious. 3 Used as s n Moral quality; merit or demerit; desert in the soul of happiness or wo, as arising from virtuous or vitious deeds. It is called apūrva as having had no antecedent (See Sig. I.) existence, but as springing into being from moral action in the present birth.
apūrva (अपूर्व).—a That has not taken place before, not preceded, quite new, first, Singu- lar, uncommon, unprecedented, un- excelled, surpassing.
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
Apūrva (अपूर्व).—a.
1) Not preceded, not having existed before, like of which did not exist before, quite new; °र्वं नाटकम् (rvaṃ nāṭakam) Ś.1; °र्वं राजकुलम् (rvaṃ rājakulam) M.5; K.191;
2) Strange, extraordinary, wonderful; अपूर्वः कोऽपि बहुमानहेतुर्गुरुषु (apūrvaḥ ko'pi bahumānaheturguruṣu) Uttararāmacarita 4; अपूर्वो दृश्यते वह्निः कामिन्याः स्तनमण्डले । दूरतो दहतीवाङ्गं हृदि लग्नस्तु शीतलः (apūrvo dṛśyate vahniḥ kāminyāḥ stanamaṇḍale | dūrato dahatīvāṅgaṃ hṛdi lagnastu śītalaḥ) || Ś. Til.17; singular, unexampled, unprecedented; अपूर्व एष विरहमार्गः (apūrva eṣa virahamārgaḥ) Ś.6; अपूर्वरूपा दारिका (apūrvarūpā dārikā) M.1; अतोऽ- पूर्वः खलु वो ऽ नुग्रहः (ato'- pūrvaḥ khalu vo ' nugrahaḥ) Ś.7; अपूर्वकर्मचाण्डालमयि मुग्धे विमुञ्च माम् (apūrvakarmacāṇḍālamayi mugdhe vimuñca mām) Uttararāmacarita 1.46 committing an unparalleled atrocity.
3) Unknown, unacquainted, stranger; अपूर्वोऽप्यथवा विद्वान् य (apūrvo'pyathavā vidvān ya)Mahābhārata (Bombay) 13.22.8; विदितेऽप्यपूर्व इव (vidite'pyapūrva iva) Kirātārjunīya 6.39.
4) Not first.
5) Preceded by अ (a) or आ (ā).
6) (In phil.) 'That unseen virtue which is a relation superinduced, not before possessed, unseen but efficacious to connect the consequence with its past and remote cause and to bring about at a distant period or in another world the relative effect. -Colebrooke.
-rvam 1 The remote consequence of an act (as the acquisition of heaven which is the result of good deeds), (Mīmāṃsā). -
2) Virtue and vice (pāpapuṇyam) as the eventual cause of future happiness or misery.
-rvaḥ The Supreme Soul (parabrahma).
Apūrva (अपूर्व) or Apūrvva.—mfn.
(-rvaḥ-rvā-rvaṃ) 1. Wonderful, extraordinary. 2. Unprecedented, unpreceded. 3. Excellent, not exceeded. 4. Not easterly. n.
(-rvaṃ) The remote or unforeseen consequence of an act, as heaven of religious rites, a consequence not immediately preceded by its cause. E. a neg. pūrva prior.
Apūrva (अपूर्व).—adj. 1. new, [Pañcatantra] ii. [distich] 16; unknown, 68, 13. 2. incomparable.
Apūrva is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms a and pūrva (पूर्व).
Apūrva (अपूर्व).—[adjective] having no predecessor, not having existed before, unknown, unheard of, unprecedented, extraordinary, wonderful, incomparable, strange, new; [instrumental] [adverb] never before. Abstr. apūrvatā [feminine], apūrvatva [neuter]
1) Apūrva (अपूर्व):—[=a-pūrva] mf(ā)n. unpreceded, unprecedented, [Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa xiv, etc.]
2) [v.s. ...] not having existed before, quite new
3) [v.s. ...] unparalleled, incomparable, extraordinary
4) [v.s. ...] not married before, [Āpastamba]
5) [v.s. ...] not first
6) [v.s. ...] preceded by a, [Pāṇini 8-3, 17]
7) [v.s. ...] m. Name of a sacrifice (offered to Prajāpati), [Pbr.; Vaitāna-sūtra]
8) [v.s. ...] m. a novice, [Kirātārjunīya vi, 39]
9) [v.s. ...] n. the remote or unforeseen consequence of an act (as heaven of religious rites), [Nyāyamālā-vistara]
10) [v.s. ...] a consequence not immediately preceded by its cause
Apūrva (अपूर्व):—[a-pūrva] (rvvaḥ-rvvā-rvvaṃ) a. Unprecedented, unequalled, wonderful.
Apūrva (अपूर्व):—(3. a + pūrva)
1) adj. a) kein Vorderes habend: tadetadbrahmāpūrvamanaparam [The Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 14, 5, 5, 19.] [?(= Bṛhadāranyakopaniṣad 2, 5, 19.) 6, 8, 8.] — b) keinen Vorgang habend, nie dagewesen, ganz neu, unvergleichlich [Vājasaneyisaṃhitā 34, 2.] apūrvāṇāṃ (sc. astrāṇāṃ) ca janane śaktaḥ [Rāmāyaṇa 1, 23, 17.] parvatam [6, 84, 2.] maṇiḥ [Pañcatantra V, 40.] sattvam [63, 7.] bhakṣyaviśeṣān [199, 13. II, 16.] anugrahaḥ [Śākuntala 110, 7.] dṛṣṭaḥ kiṃ ko pi yuṣmābhirihāpūrvaḥ pumān [Geschichte des Vidūṣaka 296.] caritādbhutam [Kathāsaritsāgara 1, 51.] nāpūrvaṃ varṇitaṃ tvayā [54.] [Śṛṅgāratilaka 17.] Vgl. apūrveṇa . —
2) n. eine nicht unmittelbare, eine entfernte Folge [ADHIKARAṆAMĀLĀ im Śabdakalpadruma] [Colebrooke I, 318.]
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Apūrva (अपूर्व):—
1) a) [Prātiśākha zum Atharvaveda 3, 57.] — b) [Kathāsaritsāgara 53, 186.] — c) a zum vorangehenden Laut habend [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 8, 3, 17.]
Apūrva (अपूर्व):—1. —
1) Adj. (f. ā) — a) keinen Vorderen — , kein Vorderes habend. — b) keinen Vorgänger habend [Pāṇini. 4,2,13.] noch nicht dagewesen , ganz neu [Jaimini's Mimāṃsādarśana 3,8,31.] prajāpatastenūḥ [Āśvalāyana’s Śrautasūtra 8,13,13.] unvergleichlich. —
2) m. (sc. yajña) mit oder ohne prajāpates ein best. Opfer [Tāṇḍyabrāhmaṇa 17,10,4.] [Vaitānasūtra 39.] —
3) n. die wunderthätige Wirkung einer religiösen Handlung [Jaiminiyanyāyamālāvistara 2,1,1.fgg.] Comm. zu [Jaimini's Mimāṃsādarśana 2,1,1.fgg.]
--- OR ---
Apūrva (अपूर्व):—2. Adj. ā zum vorangehenden Laut habend.
Apūrva (अपूर्व) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Auvva, Apuvva.
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
Apūrva (अपूर्व) [Also spelled apurv]:—(a) unprecedented; novel; unique; hence~[tā] (nf).
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Apūrva (ಅಪೂರ್ವ):—
1) [adjective] having no precedent or parallel; unheard-of; novel.
2) [adjective] quite unusual or uncommon; extraordinary; strange; wonderful.
3) [adjective] queer; peculiar; odd.
4) [adjective] unparalleled; excellent.
5) [adjective] without beginning.
--- OR ---
Apūrva (ಅಪೂರ್ವ):—
1) [noun] a rare, novel thing.
2) [noun] that which is believed to bring evil; an inauspicious thing.
3) [noun] (phil.) virtuous or vicious deeds as the eventual cause of future happiness or misery or remote consequence.
4) [noun] (Jain.) the eighth of the fourteen stages the soul has to pass through to attain final emancipation.
5) [noun] a kind of tax (now obsolete).
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Apurva (अपुर्व):—adj. new; strange;
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 (+0): Purva, A.
Starts with (+16): Apurva-champaka, Apurva-champakame, Apurvabhavana, Apurvabhavanopapatti, Apurvabhitti, Apurvacampaka, Apurvadarshana, Apurvadhvani, Apurvai, Apurvajanaka, Apurvaka, Apurvakarana, Apurvakarman, Apurvam, Apurvamani, Apurvanishpadaka, Apurvapada, Apurvapadantaga, Apurvapati, Apurvapura.
Full-text (+64): Apurvata, Pandapurva, Apurvavada, Apurvatva, Apurvapati, Apurvakarana, Apurvadarshana, Apurvavat, Apurvakarman, Apurvapada, Angapurva, Phalapurva, Apurvam, Apurv, Apurvasamvara, Apurvamarga, Apurvapradurbhava, Apurvavidhi, Kalikapurva, Apurviya.
Relevant text
Search found 112 books and stories containing Apurva, Apūrva, A-purva, A-pūrva; (plurals include: Apurvas, Apūrvas, purvas, pūrvas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 2.1.142 < [Chapter 1 - Vairāgya (renunciation)]
Verse 2.2.51 < [Chapter 2 - Jñāna (knowledge)]
Verse 1.7.3-4 < [Chapter 7 - Pūrṇa (pinnacle of excellent devotees)]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 3.124 < [Section VIII - Śrāddhas]
Verse 12.95 < [Section XI - Supremacy of the Veda]
Verse 2.6 < [Section III - Sources of Knowledge of Dharma]
Atithi or Guest Reception (study) (by Sarika. P.)
Part 8 - Gārhasthya and Atithi-saparyā in Smṛtis < [Chapter 9 - Atithi-saparyā in Dharmaśāstra Literature]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 54 < [Tamil-Hindi-English, Volume 1]
Page 93 < [Hindi-Bengali-English Volume 1]
Page 36 < [Hindi-English-Nepali (1 volume)]
Liberation in early Advaita Vedanta (by Aleksandar Uskokov)
4. The Doctrine of Apūrva and the Temporal Unity of the Ritual < [Chapter 2 - The Mīmāṃsā model of Puruṣārtha and the role of Scripture]
8. Language and Prābhākara Mīmāṃsā < [Chapter 2 - The Mīmāṃsā model of Puruṣārtha and the role of Scripture]
5. The Idea of Mediate Causality < [Chapter 2 - The Mīmāṃsā model of Puruṣārtha and the role of Scripture]
Vakyapadiya of Bhartrihari (by K. A. Subramania Iyer)
Verse 3.7.34 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (7): Sādhana-samuddeśa (On the Means)]
Verse 2.119 < [Book 2 - Vākya-kāṇḍa]
Verse 2.133 < [Book 2 - Vākya-kāṇḍa]