Asamkhya, Asaṃkhya, Asankhya, Asaṅkhya: 24 definitions
Introduction:
Asamkhya 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 Asankhy.
Images (photo gallery)
In Hinduism
Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar)
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य).—Not possessing any notion of number; the word is used in connection with avyayas or indeclinables; यथैव हि अलिङ्गमव्ययमेवमसंख्यमपि (yathaiva hi aliṅgamavyayamevamasaṃkhyamapi) M. Bh. on II.4.82.
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.
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य) or Asaṃkhyāgama refers to one of upāgamas (supplementary scriptures) of the Dīptāgama which is one of the twenty-eight Siddhāntāgama: a classification of the Śaiva division of Śaivāgamas. The Śaivāgamas represent the wisdom that has come down from lord Śiva, received by Pārvatī and accepted by Viṣṇu. The purpose of revealing upāgamas (e.g., Asaṃkhya Āgama) is to explain more elaborately than that of mūlāgamas (e.g., Dīpta-āgama) and to include any new idea if not dealt in mūlāgamas.
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य) refers to “not counting (while reciting)”, as quoted by Hṛdayaśiva in his Prāyaścittasamuccaya (verse 10.27-35).—Accordingly, “Having recited [a particular mantra] along with [the practice of one of the] observances in accordance with the rules, and having bathed [at the end of the observance], one may recite that mantra for attaining supernatural powers. The skilled practitioner should do his recitation not too slowly, not indistinctly, not without taking [the meaning of what he recites] in, not too fast, not without counting (asaṃkhya), and not with his thoughts in confusion. [...]”.
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)
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य) refers to “innumerable (sufferings)”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.33 (“The appeasement of Himavat”).—Accordingly, as Vasiṣṭha said to Himavat (Himācala): “[...] This Pārvatī is the wife of Śiva in every birth. [...] Taking the firm decision on seeing her innumerable sufferings (asaṃkhyaka) He came to the place of your daughter’s penance in the guise of a brahmin. After consoling her and granting her the boon He returned to His abode. It was for complying with her request that Śiva requested you for the hand of Śivā, O mountain. Both of you had accepted the proposal as you were drawn by devotion to Śiva. O lord of mountains, how is it that your mind has taken a somersault now? Please tell me. [...]”
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.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य) refers to “absence of calculation”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “But further, son of good family, in the perspective of the essential character of the dharma (dharmasvabhāva), the Bodhisattva may grasp an essential character, thinking: ‘I have fully understood the dharmas’. But, how then has the Tathāgata understood the dharmas? [It is like this:] [...] their nature is wishless because it is not attached to thoughts; their nature has no desire because it is free from all desires; their nature is unconditioned because there is no any calculation (asaṃkhya); [...]”.
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)
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य) is the last of sixty digits (decimal place) in an special enumeration system mentioned by Vasubandhu in his Abhidharmakośa (“treasury of knowledge”). The explanations of the measure of years, eons, and so forth must be comprehended through calculation based on a numerical system. Enumeration begins from one and increases by a factor of ten for each shift in decimal place. The sixtieth number in this series is called “countless” (asaṃkhya).
Among these decimal positions (e.g., asaṃkhya), the first nine positions from one to one hundred million are called ‘single set enumeration’. From a billion up to, but not including countless is “the enumeration of the great companion” and is called the ‘recurring enumeration’.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Asaṅkhya (असङ्ख्य).—a (S) asaṅkhyēya a S Innumerable.
Asaṅkhya (असङ्ख्य).—n Innumerable.
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
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य).—a. Beyond calculation, numberless, countless, innumerable; मन्वन्तराण्यसंख्यानि सर्गः संहार एव च (manvantarāṇyasaṃkhyāni sargaḥ saṃhāra eva ca) Manusmṛti 1.8; 12.15; °tā, -tvam infinity. प्रसह्य तेजोभिरसंख्यतां गतैः (prasahya tejobhirasaṃkhyatāṃ gataiḥ) | Si.
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य).—nt., a high number: Mahāvyutpatti 8040.
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य).—mfn.
(-khyaḥ-khyā-khyaṃ) Innumerable, exceedingly numerous. E. a neg. and saṃkhya to be numbered.
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य).—adj., f. yā, innumerable, [Pañcatantra] 122, 7.
Asaṃkhya is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms a and saṃkhya (संख्य).
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य).—[adjective] innumerable.
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य):—[=a-saṃkhya] mf(ā)n. innumerable, exceedingly numerous, [Manu-smṛti; Suśruta etc.]
Asaṅkhya (असङ्ख्य):—[a-saṅkhya] (ṅkhyaḥ-ṅkhyā-ṅkhyaṃ) a. Innumerable.
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य):—(von 3. a + saṃkhyā) adj. f. ā ohne Zahl, unzählbar [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 875. 1074.] [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 1, 80. 12, 15.] [Suśruta 2, 262, 10.] [Pañcatantra 122, 7. 148, 8. 159, 25.] [Kathāsaritsāgara 22, 208.]
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Asaṃkhya (असंख्य):—n. eine best. hohe Zahl [WASSILJEW 145]; vgl. asaṃkhyeya [3]).
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य):——
1) Adj. (f. ā) ohne Zahl , unzählbar. —
2) n. eine best. hohe Zahl (buddh.).
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Asaṃkha, Assaṃkha.
Asaṃkhyā (in Sanskrit) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 非擇 [fēi zé]: “not analyzing”.
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
Asaṃkhya (असंख्य) [Also spelled asankhy]:—(a) innumerable, countless; also ~[ka] (a).
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Asaṃkhya (ಅಸಂಖ್ಯ):—[adjective] too many to count; innumerable; myriad; countless.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
1) Asaṃkhya (असंख्य):—adj. → असङ्ख्य [asaṅkhya]
2) Asaṅkhya (असङ्ख्य):—adj. countless; numberless; innumerable;
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: Samkhya, A, Na.
Starts with: Asamkhyaka, Asamkhyashas, Asamkhyataka, Asamkhyatraya, Asamkhyaya, Asankhyata.
Full-text (+16): Asamkhyaka, Asamkhyatraya, A seng qi, Asamkhyeya, Asankhyata, Asamkha, Asamkhyataka, Wu yang shu, Assamkha, Acukasandhana, Asankhy, Fei ze, Asamkhyeyata, Asamkhyeyaguna, Asamkhyashas, Dutthu, Samkhya, Acankiyam, Antah-kalpa, San qi jie.
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Search found 30 books and stories containing Asamkhya, A-sankhya, Asaṃkhya, A-saṅkhya, A-saṃkhya, Asankhya, Asaṅkhya, A-samkhya, Na-sankhya, Na-saṅkhyā, Asaṃkhyā; (plurals include: Asamkhyas, sankhyas, Asaṃkhyas, saṅkhyas, saṃkhyas, Asankhyas, Asaṅkhyas, samkhyas, saṅkhyās, Asaṃkhyās). 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 148 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 1]
Page 40 < [Malayalam-English (1 volume)]
Page 65 < [Kannada-English-Malayalam (1 volume)]
Gommatsara by Acharya Nemichandra (by Bai Bahadur J. L. Jaini)
Chapter 15.11 - The concept of Kshetra (Place) < [Volume 1 - Jiva-kanda (the soul)]
Part 5 - The Jaina Theory of Numbers < [Introduction (volume 1)]
Chapter 9 - Duration and mode of existence of Karmas < [Volume 3 - Karma-kanda, part 2]
Uttaradhyayana Sutra (by Hermann Jacobi)
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 8.13.82 < [Chapter 13 - A Thousand Names of Lord Balarāma]
Verse 1.2.15 < [Chapter 2 - Description of the Abode of Śrī Goloka]
Verse 5.5.6 < [Chapter 5 - Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Entrance Into Mathurā]
Vakyapadiya of Bhartrihari (by K. A. Subramania Iyer)
Verse 3.1.66 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (1): Jāti-samuddeśa (On the Universal)]
Tattvasangraha [with commentary] (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 638 < [Chapter 11 - On ‘Quality’ as a Category]
Verse 1138 < [Chapter 16 - Examination of the Import of Words]