Aradhana, Ārādhanā, Ārādhana: 25 definitions
Introduction:
Aradhana means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Buddhism, Pali, 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.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Ārādhana (आराधन) refers to “propitiating someone” and is used to describe Śiva, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.12.—Accordingly, as Himācala (i.e., Himālaya) said to Śiva: “O lord, my daughter who is eager to serve you, the moon-crested lord, I have brought here with a desire to propitiate you [i.e., ārādhana—tvadārādhanakāṃkṣayā]. Let her serve you, the benefactor, for ever, along with two of her maids. O lord, if you wish to bless me, please permit her. [...]”.
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.
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Ārādhana (आराधन) refers to “(being) devoted to the propitiation (of mantras)”, according to the Svacchandatantra verse 4.79b-81b.—Accordingly, “The Sādhaka is of two kinds. On the one hand, there is the śivadharmī, for whom the cosmic path is purified by Śaiva mantras and who is yoked to [particular] mantras that are to be mastered; he is knowledgeable, consecrated [to office], and devoted to the propitiation of mantras (mantra-ārādhana). This Śaiva Sādhaka is capable [of mastering] the threefold supernatural powers. The second [kind of Sādhaka] adheres to the mundane path and is devoted to the performance of good and meritorious works; desiring the fruits produced by [his] karma, he abides solely [devoted to] meritorious [karma], free of the unmeritorious. [The Guru] should always perform the destruction of the unmeritorious portion [of the candidate’s karma] with mantras”.
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)
Ārādhana (आराधन) refers to the “rite of adoration”, according to the Kularatnoddyota (verse 2.4cd-10).—Accordingly, “[The Śrīkula is] accomplished by the Command and, supremely divine, it is adorned with the lineage of the Śrīkrama. [...] It is the great contemplation of Vidyā and mantra based on the teaching of the Kula tradition. It is adorned with the primary and secondary sacred fields, meeting grounds and the secondary seats. (The teachings also) concern spiritual discipline, the rite of adoration (ārādhana), initiation, and the visualization (of the deities)”.
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.
Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)
1) Ārādhana (आराधन) refers to “worship (that is capable of accomplishing certain desires)”, as discussed in the name of the twenty-ninth chapter of the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā, a Pāñcarātra work in 60 chapters dealing with topics such as Viṣṇu’s discus-power, the processes of creation and esoteric practices related to Sudarśana (such as mantras and yantras).—Description of the chapter [kāmyārādhana-vidhi-nirūpaṇa]: Nārada asks about the ārādhana-worship that is capable of accomplishing certain desires. He is told about special ways of worship which may be instituted by kings. [...]
2) Ārādhana (आराधन) refers to “worship procedures”, as discussed in the second chapter of the Nāradīyasaṃhitā: a Pāñcarātra document comprising over 3000 verses in 30 chapters presenting in a narrative framework the teachings of Nārada to Gautama, dealing primarily with modes of worship and festivals.—Description of the chapter [ārādhana-vidhāna]: Gautama asks how to worship Vāsudeva and others in the proper way. Nārada commences the reply by outlining the daily routine activities to be observed by an ācāryasnāna (4-18), certain other preliminary preparations prior to going to the temple (19-26a), entering the temple (26b-31a), attending to purifying steps before worship (31b-49a), and actual overt worship itself (49b-65). [...]
3) Ārādhana (आराधन) refers to one of the six prerequisites of Tapas, as discussed in chapter 1 (Yogapāda) of the Padmasaṃhitā: the most widely followed of Saṃhitā covering the entire range of concerns of Pāñcarātra doctrine and practice (i.e., the four-fold formulation of subject matter—jñāna, yoga, kriyā and caryā) consisting of roughly 9000 verses.—Description of the chapter [āsanabheda-lakṣaṇa]:—Brahmā asks to know about Yogas. Bhagavān replies that there are two kinds of Yoga—karmayoga and jñānayoga. [...] A devotee may achieve liberation by either method [...] however, in the case of karmayoga it is to be noted that the eight steps are especially defined—Tapas, the second step, involves six prerequisites, [e.g., ārādhana].
4) Ārādhana (आराधन) refers to a certain procedure of worship-routine involving the elements from nityotsava, as discussed in chapter 15 of the Mārkaṇḍeyasaṃhitā: a Pāñcarātra text comprising some 2200 Sanskrit verses mainly dealing with temple-building, iconography, pūjā (worship procedures), utsava (festivities) and prāyaścitta (expiatory measures).—Description of chapter [nityārcana]: Routine worship in the temple, properly attended to, has immense rewards (1-3). [...] Various names have been given to different elements of the pūjā-liturgy (38b-46a): [e.g., “ ārādhana” (the regular nityotsava);] [...]
5) Ārādhana (आराधन) refers to “worship-routines”, as discussed in chapter 10 of the Viśvāmitrasaṃhitā: a Pāñcarātra text comprising some 2600 Sanskrit verses covering topics such as initiation (dīkṣā) and the construction, decoration and consecration of temples and icons, as well as routines of regular and special worship cycles.—Description of the chapter [ārādhana-vidhi]: Kāśyapa asks about conducting worship-rites honoring Viṣṇu, and how these may be done so that all worldly existence for an individual may be terminated (1) Viśvāmitra commences his answer by citing the importance of the would-be worshipper’s purity; thus he treats the seven types of snāna-cleansings. [...]
Ārādhana (आराधन) refers to “daily rituals” according to the Ahirbudhnya-Saṃhitā.—The Meta-section on Ritual envisages a number of rituals which are presented in the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā as specifically relevant to royal purposes. This special repertoire includes a ritual to aid the conquest of all directions, a ritual to cure various illnesses, a ritual to fulfill all desires and a pacificatory ritual. Apart from these, the other two major procedures described in the saṃhitā are a ritual of initiation and the daily ritual (here simply called ārādhana-vidhi, Adhyāya 28).
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.
Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
Ārādhana (आराधन) refers to—Worship.
Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Ārādhanā (आराधना).—The Bhagavatī-ārādhanā is one of the most valuable ancient works belonging to the Digambara Jaina tradition. It was composed by Śivarāya (or Śivakoṭī) in the second century AD and contains some 2170 verses in Śaurasenī Prākṛt. The Bhagavatī-ārādhanā deals mainly with the different types of ārādhanā, including the practice of the three jewels (ratnatraya), asceticism (tapas) and samādhimaraṇa or ‘voluntary peaceful death’. The Bhagavatī-ārādhanā also includes descriptions of hellish miseries as well as of the eternal bliss of final liberation.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
ārādhanā : (f.) invitation; accomplishment; winning of favour.
Ārādhana, (nt.) & °ā (f.) (either fr. ā + rādh or ā + rabh, cp. ārādhaka) satisfying, accomplishing; satisfaction, accomplishment D. II, 287 (opp. virādhanā failure); M. I, 479; II, 199; A. V, 211 sq. ; J. IV, 427. (Page 108)
1) ārādhana (အာရာဓန) [(na,thī) (န၊ထီ)]—
[ā+rādha+ṇe+yu]
[အာ+ရာဓ+ဏေ+ယု]
2) ārādhana (အာရာဓန) [(na,thī) (န၊ထီ)]—
[ā+rādha+yu]
[အာ+ရာဓ+ယု]
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
ārādhana (आराधन).—n (S) Worship or adoration; praising, flattering, courting, serving; acts gen. to propitiate or win. 2 Accomplishment or achievement; acquirement or attainment.
--- OR ---
ārādhanā (आराधना).—f (S) See the preceding word. 2 A ceremony to serve for a Shraddh, performed to the memory of a sannyāsī that buried himself alive.
ārādhana (आराधन).—n-nā f Worship; praising. Ac- complishment.
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
Ārādhana (आराधन).—
1) Pleasing, satisfaction, entertainment, gratification; येषामाराधनाय (yeṣāmārādhanāya) Uttararāmacarita 1; यदि वा जानकीमपि, आरा- धनाय लोकानां मुञ्चतो नास्ति मे व्यथा (yadi vā jānakīmapi, ārā- dhanāya lokānāṃ muñcato nāsti me vyathā) 1.12.41.
2) Serving, worshipping, adoration, propitiation (as of a deity); आराधनायास्य सखीसमेताम् (ārādhanāyāsya sakhīsametām) Kumārasambhava 1.58; Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 7.22; कृतमाराधनं रवेः (kṛtamārādhanaṃ raveḥ) Mb.
3) A means of pleasing; इदं तु ते भक्तिनम्रं सता- माराधनं वपुः (idaṃ tu te bhaktinamraṃ satā- mārādhanaṃ vapuḥ) Kumārasambhava 6.73.
4) Honouring, respecting; सम्बन्धे विपरीतमेव तदभूदाराधनं ते मयि (sambandhe viparītameva tadabhūdārādhanaṃ te mayi) Uttararāmacarita 4.17.
5) Cooking.
6) Accomplishment, undertaking.
7) Acouirement, attainment; मन्त्राराधनतत्परेण मनसा नीताः श्मशाने निशाः (mantrārādhanatatpareṇa manasā nītāḥ śmaśāne niśāḥ) Bhartṛhari 3.4.
-nā Service.
-nī Worship, adoration, propitiation (of a deity).
Derivable forms: ārādhanam (आराधनम्).
Ārādhana (आराधन).—n.
(-naṃ) 1. Accomplishment. 2. Acquirement, attainment. 3. Gratifying, propitiating. 4. Worshipping. 5. Cooking. f.
(-nā) Ser- vice. (-nī) Worship, adoration, propitiation of the deities. E. āṅ before rādh to finish, lyuṭ aff.
Ārādhana (आराधन).—[ā-rādh + ana]. I. adj. Who or what conciliates, wins. Ii. n. 1. Acquirement, [Bhartṛhari, (ed. Bohlen.)] 3, 5. 2. Accomplishment (representation), [Śākuntala, (ed. Böhtlingk.)] 12, 1. 3. Gratification. 4. Adoration, [Kathāsaritsāgara, (ed. Brockhaus.)] 17, 26.
Ārādhana (आराधन).—[adjective] propitiating, conciliating, gaining over. [neuter] the same as subst., also adoration, homage.
1) Ārādhana (आराधन):—[=ā-rādhana] [from ā-rādh] mfn. propitiating, rendering favourable to one’s self, [Kumāra-sambhava; Kathāsaritsāgara]
2) [v.s. ...] n. gratifying, propitiation, homage, worship, adoration, [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa; Kathāsaritsāgara; Kumāra-sambhava] etc.
3) [v.s. ...] effecting, accomplishment, [Śakuntalā]
4) [v.s. ...] acquirement, attainment, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
5) [v.s. ...] cooking, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
6) Ārādhanā (आराधना):—[=ā-rādhanā] [from ā-rādhana > ā-rādh] f. worship, adoration, propitiation of the deities, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
1) Ārādhana (आराधन):—[ā-rādhana] (naṃ) 1. n. Worshipping, propitiating; acquirement, accomplishment. f. Worship.
2) Ārādhanā (आराधना):—[ā-rādhanā] (nā-nī) 1. 3 f. Service.
[Sanskrit to German]
Ārādhana (आराधन) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Ārāhaṇa, Ārāhaṇā.
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
Ārādhanā (आराधना):—(nf) worship; adoration; also ~[dhana] (nm); ~[dhita] worshipped, adored.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Ārādhana (ಆರಾಧನ):—
1) [noun] adoration paid to a god; a worshipping; a religious service.
2) [noun] the act of pleasing, entertaining or propitiating; propitiation.
3) [noun] work done for a master or feudal lord; b) work done or duty performed for another or others; service.
4) [noun] an assiduous practice or study.
5) [noun] something accomplished or done successfully; work completed; achievement.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Ārādhanā (आराधना):—n. 1. worship; adoration; 2. propitiation;
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: Radhana, Yu, Radha, Ne, A.
Starts with: Aradhanakrama, Aradhanalopa, Aradhanalopavicara, Aradhanaprakara, Aradhanaprayashcitta, Aradhanaprayoga, Aradhanaratnamala, Aradhanasamattha, Aradhanastotra, Aradhanasukhata, Aradhanavarjita, Aradhanavidhana, Aradhanavidhi, Aradhanavishesha, Aradhanopakarana, Aratanai, Aratanakaram, Aratanam, Aratanamalai.
Full-text (+85): Samaradhana, Mantraradhana, Ganapatyaradhana, Aradhanaprakara, Nityaradhana, Annaradhana, Aradhanavidhi, Devataradhana, Bhagavadaradhana, Aradhanasamattha, Cittaradhana, Diparadhana, Kamyaradhana, Devaradhana, Camaratanai, Aradhanasukhata, Aradhanastotra, Aradhanaratnamala, Arahana, Aradhanaprayoga.
Relevant text
Search found 56 books and stories containing Aradhana, Ārādhanā, Ārādhana, A-radhana, Ā-rādhana, Ā-rādhanā, A-radha-ne-yu, Ā-rādha-ṇe-yu, A-radha-yu, Ā-rādha-yu; (plurals include: Aradhanas, Ārādhanās, Ārādhanas, radhanas, rādhanas, rādhanās, yus). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 281 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 2]
Page 54 < [Hindi-English-Nepali (1 volume)]
Page 263 < [Marathi-Hindi-English, Volume 1]
Agni Purana (by N. Gangadharan)
South-Indian Horizons (by Jean-Luc Chevillard)
Chapter 8 - New Jaina inscriptions from Kūvaṉūr, Tamilnadu, India < [Section 3 - Studies in History, Epigraphy and Archaeology]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Isanasivagurudeva Paddhati (study) (by J. P. Prajith)
47. Description of Navanaivedya-adhikara (rites and rituals) < [Chapter 4 - Worship of Gods and Goddesses]
4. Comparing the Sarada Tilaka and Isanasivagurudeva-paddhati < [Chapter 5 - Isanasivagurudeva-paddhati and Saradatilaka]
4. Versatility of the Author (Isanasivaguru) < [Chapter 2 - A Textual analysis]
Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra (by Helen M. Johnson)
Appendix 5.2: new and rare words < [Appendices]
Part 17: Incarnation as Nandana < [Chapter I - Previous births of Mahāvīra]
Part 15: Story of Harimitra < [Chapter III - Vasudeva’s Marriage with Kanakavatī and her Former Incarnations]