Avajna, Avajñā: 17 definitions
Introduction:
Avajna means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, 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 Avgya.
In Hinduism
Kavyashastra (science of poetry)
Source: Shodhganga: The Kavyavilasa of Ciranjiva Bhattacarya (kavyashastra)Avajñā (अवज्ञा) refers to one of the 93 alaṃkāras (“figures of speech”) mentioned by Cirañjīva Bhaṭṭācārya (fl. 17th century) in his Kāvyavilāsa and is listed as one of the 89 arthālaṃkāras (figure of speech determined by the sense, as opposed to sound).—The figure avajñā has not been admitted by ancient ĀlaṃkārikaslikeBhāmahaetc. and also by modern. Ālaṃkārikas like Mammaṭa, Viśvanātha etc. Jagannātha, Jayadeva, Appayya and Cirañjīva have mentioned this figure. According to Jagannātha (R.G. II/P. 685) this figure is the reverse of ullāsa.
Cirañjīva defines avajñā as—“avajñā varṇyate vastu guṇadoṣākṣamaṃ yadi”.—This is exactly same with the definition of this figure given by Jayadeva in his Candrāloka (C.L.V/107). If any thing is not capable of producing merit or defect it is the figure avajñā. Actualy if one thing can not be able to bring merit or defect it is an object of despise. For this reason this figure has been named as avajñā.
Example of the avajñā-alaṃkāra:—
eṣa nūnamavanīndrakoṭibhirlālitaḥ surasamājapālitaḥ |
nādṛto’pi nṛpasūnunā’munā cedah! kṣatiritīha kā bhavet ||“This person is surely reared up by crores of rulers of earth (that is kings and protected by the community of gods). If he is not honoured by this son of the king what would be the harm then?”
Notes: In this verse it has been said that if a great person who is reared up by crores of king and who has attained the grace of assemblage of gods is not honoured by the son of a king that will not count for any merit or defect. So far despising the great person it is an example of avajñā.
Kavyashastra (काव्यशास्त्र, kāvyaśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian tradition of poetry (kavya). Canonical literature (shastra) of the includes encyclopedic manuals dealing with prosody, rhetoric and various other guidelines serving to teach the poet how to compose literature.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Source: gurumukhi.ru: Ayurveda glossary of termsAvajñā (अवज्ञा):—Contempt
Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita SastraAvajñā (अवज्ञा) refers to “scorn”, according to Padhāna-sutta.—Accordingly, “The Bodhisattva answered: ‘Today I will destroy your inner armies that are so powerful, to say nothing of your outer armies’. Māra asked: ‘What are my inner armies?’ The Bodhisattva replied: ‘[...] Cupidity (labha) and vainglory (mithyāyaśas) are the ninth, Glorification of the self (ātmotkāra) and scorn of others (para-avajñā) are the tenth. It is into those armies That monastics (pravajita) are plunged’”.
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.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: academia.edu: Tessitori Collection IAvajñā (अवज्ञा, “despise”) refers to one of the “thirteen difficulties”, according to the “Teraha kāṭhīyā-svādhyāya” by Jinaharṣa (dealing with the Ethics section of Jain Canonical literature), which is included in the collection of manuscripts at the ‘Vincenzo Joppi’ library, collected by Luigi Pio Tessitori during his visit to Rajasthan between 1914 and 1919.—The exposition of the ‘thirteen difficulties’ against which one should fight as they are hindrances to proper religious practice is a widespread topic in Jain literature in Gujarati. They are either listed in brief compositions or described with several verses for each of the components. The list of terms is always the same, with a few variations in designations: [e.g., despise (avajñā), ...].—See ch. Krause 1999, p. 277 for the list as found in a Ratnasañcaya-granth stanza 118.
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
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionaryavajñā (अवज्ञा).—f (S) Disrespect or slight; disregardful treatment or estimation. v kara g. of o.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishavajñā (अवज्ञा).—f Disrespect or slight, disregard- ful treatment.
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 dictionaryAvajñā (अवज्ञा).—9 P. To have a low opinion of, to despise, to treat with contempt, disregard; अवजानासि मां यस्मात् (avajānāsi māṃ yasmāt) R.1.77; अवजानन्ति मां मूढा मानुषीं तनुमाश्रितम् (avajānanti māṃ mūḍhā mānuṣīṃ tanumāśritam) Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 9.11; Bhaṭṭikāvya 3.8.
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Avajñā (अवज्ञा).—[ava-jñā-aṅ] Disrespect, contempt; slighting, low opinion; नात्मन्यवज्ञा कर्तव्या (nātmanyavajñā kartavyā) H.1; disregard (with the obj. in loc. or gen.); आत्मन्यवज्ञां शिथिलीचकार (ātmanyavajñāṃ śithilīcakāra) R.2.41; ये नाम केचिदिह नः प्रथयन्त्यवज्ञाम् (ye nāma kecidiha naḥ prathayantyavajñām) Mālatīmādhava (Bombay) 1.6; Śānti.3.23; अविज्ञावज्ञेयं परितपति नोच्चैरपि बुधम् (avijñāvajñeyaṃ paritapati noccairapi budham) Udb.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryAvajñā (अवज्ञा).—f.
(-jñā) Disrespect. E. ava, jñā to know, aṅ affix, and ṭāp for the fem. also avajñatā.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryAvajñā (अवज्ञा).—[ava-jñā], f. Disrespect, [Rāmāyaṇa] 3, 33, 17; Contempt, [Rāmāyaṇa] 3, 49, 52; [Daśakumāracarita] in
Avajñā (अवज्ञा).—[feminine] na [neuter] contempt.
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Avajñā (अवज्ञा).—despise, surpass.
Avajñā is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms ava and jñā (ज्ञा).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Avajñā (अवज्ञा):—[=ava-jñā] 1. ava-√jñā -jānāti ([indeclinable participle] -jñaya; perf. [Passive voice] -jajñle, [Bhaṭṭi-kāvya])
—to disesteem, have a low opinion of, despise, treat with contempt, [Mahābhārata] etc.;
—to excel, [Kāvyādarśa]
2) [v.s. ...] 2. ava-jñā f. contempt, disesteem, disrespect (with [locative case] or [genitive case])
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryAvajñā (अवज्ञा):—[ava-jñā] (jñā) 1. f. Disrespect.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Avajñā (अवज्ञा) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Avajjā, Avaṇṇā.
[Sanskrit to German]
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
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionaryAvajñā (अवज्ञा) [Also spelled avgya]:—(nf) contempt, disregard; defiance; insubordination; hence [avajñeya] (a).
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Nepali dictionary
Source: unoes: Nepali-English DictionaryAvajñā (अवज्ञा):—n. 1. disobedience; disrespect; 2. contempt; low; opinion; neglect;
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)
Starts with: Avajnaduhkha, Avajnana, Avajnanagastotra, Avajnangastotra, Avajnata, Avajnate, Avajnavada, Avajnaya, Avajnopahata.
Full-text (+13): Avajnopahata, Paravajna, Avajnana, Savinaya-avajna, Savajna, Avanna, Avajnaduhkha, Avajnaya, Avajneya, Avajnata, Ujna, Savinay-avagya, Avagya, Avgya, Una, Vyamana, Savinaya, Avannatti, Unnatabba, Savinay.
Relevant text
Search found 11 books and stories containing Avajna, Ava-jna, Ava-jñā, Avajñā; (plurals include: Avajnas, jnas, jñās, Avajñās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Bhajana-Rahasya (by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura Mahasaya)
Text 23 < [Chapter 2 - Dvitīya-yāma-sādhana (Prātaḥ-kālīya-bhajana)]
Text 4 < [Chapter 4 - Caturtha-yāma-sādhana (Madhyāhna-kālīya-bhajana–ruci-bhajana)]
Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī)
Verse 1.2.82 < [Part 2 - Devotional Service in Practice (sādhana-bhakti)]
Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)
Verse 2.7.104-105 < [Chapter 7 - The Meeting of Gadādhara and Puṇḍarīka]
Verse 2.7.94-095 < [Chapter 7 - The Meeting of Gadādhara and Puṇḍarīka]
Verse 2.5.145 < [Chapter 5 - Lord Nityānanda’s Vyāsa-pūjā Ceremony and His Darśana of the Lord’s Six-armed Form]
Hastalaksanadipika a critical edition and study (by E. K. Sudha)
5. The role of Ragas in the exposition of Sentiments < [Chapter 7 - Vacikabhinaya according to Bharata’s Natyasastra]
Abhijnana Sakuntala (with Katayavema commentary) (by C. Sankara Rama Sastri)
Chapter 5 - Sanskrit text (pancama-anka) < [Abhijnana Sakuntalam, text and commentary]
Chapter 5 - Notes and Analysis of Fifth Act < [Abhijnana Sakuntalam, text and commentary]
Alamkaras mentioned by Vamana (by Pratim Bhattacharya)
1-2: The number of Alaṃkāras (poetic figures) mentioned < [Chapter 5 - A Comparative study of the different alaṃkāras mentioned by Vāmana]