Asanka, Āsaṅkā, Ashanka, Aśaṅka, A-shamka, Asamka, Ashamka: 23 definitions
Introduction:
Asanka means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi, Jainism, Prakrit, 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 Aśaṅka can be transliterated into English as Asanka or Ashanka, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
In Hinduism
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Āśaṅka (आशङ्क) refers to “doubt”, according to Appaya’s Śivārkamaṇidīpikā on the Brahmasūtra 2.2.38.—Appaya does not seem willing to ascribe full ‘vedicness’ to Śaivāgamas, as is clear from the following passage in his subcommentary on the same sūtra: “So it is concluded that the Śaivāgamas follow śruti with regard to the various ways of performing [Śiva’s] worship [i.e., śiva-pūjana] and Śiva’s greatness—both [features] not being taught in directly perceivable śruti [i.e. the Vedic saṃhitās]—just like Kalpasūtras (whose purpose is to expand upon different parts required by the performance of rituals, of which just a few procedures are taught in directly perceivable śruti) follow śruti with regard to various parts not taught in directly perceivable śruti. Therefore, all things taught in the Veda and Śaivāgamas are exactly the same. But the following is the difference: while in [the case of] Kalpasūtras, it is possible to doubt, with regard to those parts that are contradicted by directly perceivable śruti, that the [human] author may have committed an error, such doubt [i.e., āśaṅka] is not possible in the case of āgamas insofar as they have Śiva as their author”.

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.
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
The adopted daughter of the Bodhisatta in the Asanka Jataka. She was so called because she came to him when he crossed the water owing to his doubt (asanka) as to what was in the lotus. J.iii.250.
Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
āsaṅkā : (f.) doubt; suspicion; fear.
Āsaṅkā, (f.) (Sk. āśaṅkā fr. ā + śaṅk) fear, apprehension, doubt, suspicion J. I, 338; II, 383; III, 533; VI, 350, 370; DhA. III, 485; VvA. 110.—Cp. sāsaṅka & nirāsaṅka. (Page 113)
āsaṅkā (အာသင်္ကာ) [(thī) (ထီ)]—
[ā+saki+a+ā]
[အာ+သကိ+အ+အာ]
[Pali to Burmese]
āsaṅkā—
(Burmese text): (၁) (က) ယုံမှား-တွေးတော-ခြင်း။ (ခ) စိုးရိမ်ခြင်း။ (၂) အာသင်္ကာမည်သော မိန်းမ။
(Auto-Translation): (1) (a) Belief - Thinking - Reflection. (b) Worrying. (2) The woman named Astinka.

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
āśaṅkā (आशंका).—f (S) Fear or apprehension: diffidence or doubt: a misgiving or scruple: want or absence of assurance, conviction, or satisfaction. Ex. aikōni ā0 vāṭēla manīṃ || tariṃ sādara aikāvēṃ prīti karuni || 2 In logic. An objection or a difficulty (to a thesis or position). v ghē, kara, yē, uṭha.
āśaṅkā (आशंका).—f Fear. Doubt. An objection.
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
Aśaṅka (अशङ्क).—a.
1) Fearless, undaunted; प्रविशत्यशङ्कः (praviśatyaśaṅkaḥ) H.1.78.
2) Secure, certain, having no doubt. यं शिष्टा ब्राह्मणा ब्रूयुः स धर्मः स्यादशङ्कितः (yaṃ śiṣṭā brāhmaṇā brūyuḥ sa dharmaḥ syādaśaṅkitaḥ) Manusmṛti 12.18.
See also (synonyms): aśaṅkita.
--- OR ---
Āśaṅkā (आशङ्का).—
1) Fear, apprehension; नष्टाशङ्का हरिणशिशवो मन्दमन्दं चरन्ति (naṣṭāśaṅkā hariṇaśiśavo mandamandaṃ caranti) Ś.1.15; आशङ्कया भुक्तम् (āśaṅkayā bhuktam) Bhartṛhari 3.5.
2) Doubt, uncertainty; इत्याशङ्कायामाह (ityāśaṅkāyāmāha) Gadādhara.
3) Distrust, suspicion; °अन्वित (anvita) a. apprehensive, afraid.
Aśaṅka (अशङ्क).—mfn.
(-ṅkaḥ-ṅkā-ṅkaṃ) 1. Fearless, undaunted. 2. Secure, centain. E. a neg. śaṅkā fear.
--- OR ---
Āśaṅkā (आशङ्का).—f.
(-ṅkā) 1. Fear, apprehension. 2. Doubt, uncertainty. E. āṅ before śaki to doubt, ac and ṭāp affs.
Āśaṅkā (आशङ्का).—[ā-śaṅk + ā], f. 1. Fear, [Bhartṛhari, (ed. Bohlen.)] 3, 4. 2. Suspicion, [Kathāsaritsāgara, (ed. Brockhaus.)] 14, 56.
Aśaṅka (अशङ्क).—[adjective] without fear or doubt; [neuter] [adverb]; [feminine] aśaṅkā no fear or hesitation.
--- OR ---
Āśaṅkā (आशङ्का).—[feminine] fear, apprehension of ([ablative]); distrust.
— śalya [neuter] the dart or thorn of fear.*
1) Aśaṅka (अशङ्क):—[=a-śaṅka] mfn. fearless, [Hitopadeśa]
2) [v.s. ...] secure, certain, to be relied on [Mahābhārata xii, 4169]
3) Āśaṅkā (आशङ्का):—[=ā-śaṅkā] [from ā-śaṅk] f. fear, apprehension
4) [v.s. ...] doubt, uncertainty
5) [v.s. ...] distrust, suspicion
6) [v.s. ...] danger
7) [v.s. ...] objection, [Kathāsaritsāgara; Rāmāyaṇa; Śiśupāla-vadha] etc. (often ifc. e.g. vigatāśaṅka mfn. ‘fearless; doubtless’; baddhāśaṅka mfn. ‘filled with anxiety’)
8) Āśaṅka (आशङ्क):—[=ā-śaṅka] [from ā-śaṅkā > ā-śaṅk] n. (as the last word of a Tatpuruṣa compound, [Pāṇini 6-2, 21] e.g. vacanāśaṅkam, ‘fear of speaking’, etc.)
Aśaṃka (अशंक):—[a-śaṃka] (kaḥ-kā-kaṃ) a. Fearless.
Āśaṅkā (आशङ्का):—[ā-śaṅkā] (ṅkā) 1. f. Fear.
[Sanskrit to German]
Aśaṅka (अशङ्क) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Asaṃka, Āsaṃkā.
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
Āśaṃkā (आशंका) [Also spelled ashanka]:—(nf) apprehension; scruple; ~[kita] apprehensive; full of or filled with apprehension.
Ashanka in Hindi refers in English to:—(nf) apprehension; scruple; ~[kita] apprehensive; full of or filled with apprehension..—ashanka (आशंका) is alternatively transliterated as Āśaṃkā.
...
Prakrit-English dictionary
1) Asaṃka (असंक) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Aśaṅka.
2) Āsaṃka (आसंक) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Āśaṅk.
3) Āsaṃkā (आसंका) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Āśaṅkā.
Prakrit is an ancient language closely associated with both Pali and Sanskrit. Jain literature is often composed in this language or sub-dialects, such as the Agamas and their commentaries which are written in Ardhamagadhi and Maharashtri Prakrit. The earliest extant texts can be dated to as early as the 4th century BCE although core portions might be older.
Kannada-English dictionary
Aśaṃka (ಅಶಂಕ):—[noun] the quality or fact of being definite; definiteness.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Āśaṅkā (आशङ्का):—n. 1. apprehension; doubt; 2. fear; 3. awe; 4. danger;
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: Shanka, A, Caki.
Starts with (+20): Acankai, Acankaiyan, Acankamam, Acankan, Asamkala, Asamkalita, Asamkalpita, Asanka Jataka, Asankabahula, Asankabhava, Asankalpa, Asankamaniya, Asankamitva, Asankamuka, Asankanivattanattha, Asankaniyapadesa, Asankaniyasamacara, Asankanta, Asankapariharanattha, Asankara.
Full-text (+30): Shashanka, Nirasanka, Nashtashanka, Ashankam, Baddhashanka, Ashankamana, Nirashankam, Byabhicarasanka, Asankatthana, Asankuppadana, Ajinnasanka, Asankabhava, Asankavirahita, Tadasanka, Asankavahanta, Asankanivattanattha, Takkiriyasanka, Paccayabhavasanka, Vacikammasanka, Upacikasanka.
Relevant text
Search found 23 books and stories containing Asanka, A-saki-a-a, Ā-saki-a-ā, A-śaṃka, A-samka, A-śaṅka, A-sanka, Ā-śaṅkā, Ā-śaṅka, A-shamka, A-shanka, Āśaṃkā, Asamka, Asaṃka, Āsaṃka, Āsaṃkā, Aśaṃka, Āsaṅkā, Āśaṅkā, Aśaṅka, Āśaṅka, Aśaṅkā, Asaṅka, Āsaṅka, Ashamka, Ashanka; (plurals include: Asankas, as, ās, śaṃkas, samkas, śaṅkas, sankas, śaṅkās, shamkas, shankas, Āśaṃkās, Asamkas, Asaṃkas, Āsaṃkas, Āsaṃkās, Aśaṃkas, Āsaṅkās, Āśaṅkās, Aśaṅkas, Āśaṅkas, Aśaṅkās, Asaṅkas, Āsaṅkas, Ashamkas, Ashankas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana (by Gaurapada Dāsa)
Text 10.115 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Jataka tales [English], Volume 1-6 (by Robert Chalmers)
Jataka 380: Āsaṅka-jātaka < [Volume 3]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 456 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 1]
Page 23 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 1]
Page 816 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 1]
Abhijnana Sakuntalam (with translation and notes) (by Bidhubhusan Goswami)
Chapter 5 - Pancama-anka (pancamo'nkah) < [Abhijnana Sakuntalam, text and notes]
Chapter 5: Translation and notes < [Abhijnana Sakuntalam, text and notes]
Chapter 3: Translation and notes < [Abhijnana Sakuntalam, text and notes]
Brahma Sutras (Nimbarka commentary) (by Roma Bose)
Brahma-Sūtra 1.1.6 < [Adhikaraṇa 5 - Sūtras 5-12]
World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research
A critical review of arsha < [2018: Volume 7, June issue 11]
A critical review of arsha < [2018: Volume 7, May special issue 10]
A conceptual study of nidan panchak with special reference to arsha vyadhi < [2020: Volume 9, August issue 8]