In Buddhism

General definition (in Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Buddhism

Bimbara (बिम्बर) is the eighteenth 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”.

Among these decimal positions (e.g., bimbara), 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

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Bimbara (बिम्बर).—m. or nt., also written viṃvara, vimbara (viṃb°), once erroneously vivara in mss., a moderately large number; when defined, either 100 kaṅkara, or vice versa, a hundredth of a k° (for the latter's variants see s.v.); regularly = Tibetan dkrigs (pa), which is given varying values, see Jäschke (Tibetan-English Dictionary), but seems prevailingly = 100 gtams (= kaṅkara, 1000 billion); according to Suzuki, Index, on Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra 31.6 = Tibetan śu rdog: Lalitavistara 147.22 (all mss. and both edd. vivaraṃ, no v.l., but Tibetan dkrigs pa, as for 151.3), cited Mahāvyutpatti 7958 as viṃvaram; Lalitavistara 151.3 (verse), bimbarāś ca (m. pl.); bimbara, m. or nt., Gaṇḍavyūha 105.20; 206.17; nt., 132.26; cited from Gaṇḍavyūha as viṃvaraḥ Mahāvyutpatti 7829; bimbara, nt., Sukhāvatīvyūha 30.15; m. Mahāvyutpatti 8006; viṃvara, nt., Mahāvyutpatti 7703; m. Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra 31.6; ambiguous, m. or nt., vimbara- (Ārya-)Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa 380.7; 383.13 (read vimbara-koṭīni); bimbara Śikṣāsamuccaya 157.11; 318.1; 346.16.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Bimbara (बिम्बर):—[from bimbaka > bimba] m. n. a [particular] high number, [Buddhist literature]

[Sanskrit to German]

Bimbara in German

context information

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.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Ends with: Mahabimbara.

Full-text: Mahabimbara, Vimvara, Vivara.

Relevant text

Search found 1 books and stories containing Bimbara; (plurals include: Bimbaras). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)

2. Actions producing the thirty-two marks (dvātriṃśallakṣaṇa) < [Part 4 - The Bodhisattva in the Abhidharma system]

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