Daruna, Dāruṇa: 34 definitions
Introduction:
Daruna means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi, Hindi, biology. 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 Darun.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Dāruṇa (दारुण) (Cf. Sudāruṇa) refers to “severe (penance)”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.15 (“The penance and reign of Tārakāsura”).—Accordingly, as Brahmā narrated: “[...] Then the demon Tāraka, of great strength and exploit, endowed with a lofty mind, requested permission of his mother for performing penance. The permission having been secured, that demon possessing great power of illusion and capable of deluding even experts in the magical art, thought of performing penance in order to conquer all the gods. Strictly adhering to the directions of his elders and preceptors he went to the forest of Madhu and performed a severe [i.e., sudāruṇa] penance duly, having Brahmā as his objective. [...]”.
Dāruṇa (दारुण) refers to “poison”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.2 (“The Prayer of the gods).—Accordingly, as the Gods eulogized Śiva: “[...] Among the burning ones, you are the fire, among the devotees of Śiva, you are Viṣṇu, among Purāṇas you are Bharata; among the letters of the alphabet you are the letter Ma. Among the Bījamantras you are the Praṇava; among the terrible ones you are poison (viṣa); among the pervading ones you are the firmament; among the Ātmans you are the supreme Ātman. [...]”.
Dāruṇa (दारुण).—A Gandharva.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 7. 11.
Dāruṇa (दारुण) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. VI.10.64) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Dāruṇa) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.

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.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Dāruṇa (दारुण) refers to “violent elephants”, according to the 15th century Mātaṅgalīlā composed by Nīlakaṇṭha in 263 Sanskrit verses, dealing with elephantology in ancient India, focusing on the science of management and treatment of elephants.—[Cf. chapter 8, “on marks of character”]: “6. Who has the odor of a crow, ape, ass, camel, or cat, or of urine, dung, or putrefaction, who slays (other) elephants, and is violent (dāruṇa) at night [niśi dāruṇaśca], who likes (to eat) sour things, meat, and blood, is undisciplined, and shows no gratitude, of refractory behavior, such a one is an ogre in character”.
Dāruṇa (दारुण) (lit. “one who is dreadful”) is a synonym (another name) for Garuḍa, according to scientific texts such as the Mṛgapakṣiśāstra (Mriga-pakshi-shastra) or “the ancient Indian science of animals and birds” by Hamsadeva, containing the varieties and descriptions of the animals and birds seen in the Sanskrit Epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Nighantu (Synonyms and Characteristics of Drugs and technical terms)
Dāruṇa (दारुण) is another name for Citraka, a medicinal plant identified with (1) [white variety] Plumbago zeylanica Linn.; (2) [red variety] Plumbago rosea Linn. syn. or Plumbago indica Linn., both from the Plumbaginaceae or “leadwort” family of flowering plants, according to verse 6.43-45 of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rājanighaṇṭu.—The sixth chapter (pippalyādi-varga) of this book enumerates ninety-five varieties of plants obtained from the market (paṇyauṣadhi). Together with the names Dāruṇa and Citraka, there are a total of twenty Sanskrit synonyms identified for this plant.
Unclassified Ayurveda definitions
Dāruṇa (दारुण):—Hard

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.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
1) Dāruṇa (दारुण) refers to “(places that are) terrifying”, according to the Ṣaṭsāhasrasaṃhitā, an expansion of the Kubjikāmatatantra: the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—Accordingly, “One should institute a great sacrifice at times of great fear, [...]. One should make a level canopy measuring sixteen (hand-spans) in a frightening forest, [...], or (places) that are tranquil, terrifying [i.e., dāruṇa], or romantic as one pleases. Beautiful with flags and garlands, (it is erected) to (win) victory in battle with the enemy and for other purposes as they arise, each separately”.
2) Dāruṇa (दारुण) refers to one of the eight Guardians (kṣetrapāla-aṣṭaka) associated with Oṃkārapīṭha (also called Oḍḍiyāna, Ādipīṭha or Uḍapīṭha), according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—[...] The eight guardians (kṣetrapālāṣṭaka): Kāla, Ḍāmara, Laṃboṣṭa, Daṃṣṭrin, Dundhubhi, Dāruṇa, Durdhara, Raudra

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.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Dāruṇa (दारुण) refers to “cruel”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 9), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “If Venus should enter the constellation of Āśleṣā there will be much suffering from serpents [i.e., bhujaṅgama-dāruṇa-pīḍā]; it Venus should pass through the constellation of Magha, elephant keepers or ministers will suffer and there will be abundance of rain. If Venus should pass through the constellation of Pūrvaphalgunī, hill men and the people of Pulinda will perish and there will be abundance of rain; if she should pass through the constellation of Uttaraphalgunī, the people of Kuru, of Jāṅgala and of Pāñcāla will perish, and there will also be rain”.

Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.
Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)
Dāruṇa (दारुण) refers to “dreadful”, according to the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā, belonging to the Pāñcarātra tradition which deals with theology, rituals, iconography, narrative mythology and others.—Accordingly, “An abnormal modification caused by a aggressive ritual against Kings, occurring at the improper time, dreadful (dāruṇa) and all-reaching, is characterized by the these signs: Suddenly horses, elephants and ministers perish, the king himself suffers from a serious illness which has seized [his] body; terrifying thunderbolts strike his dominion; [...] from such and other signs he should understand that the enemy is performing a aggressive ritual”.

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.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Dāruṇa (दारुण) refers to “dreadful (sin)”, according to the Guru Mandala Worship (maṇḍalārcana) ritual often performed in combination with the Cakrasaṃvara Samādhi, which refers to the primary pūjā and sādhanā practice of Newah Mahāyāna-Vajrayāna Buddhists in Nepal.—Accordingly, “Whatever injuries to the three jewels, or to father and mother by me, Abuses to the gurus or other teachers, done by body, speech and mind, Corrupted by much wickedness, by me and by my sins, heroes, Whatever dreadful (dāruṇa) sin was done [e.g., yat kṛtaṃ dāruṇaṃ pāpaṃ], all of that I confess”.

Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Dāruṇa (दारुण) refers to “severe (suffering)”, according to the Vajratuṇḍasamayakalparāja, an ancient Buddhist ritual manual on agriculture from the 5th-century (or earlier), containing various instructions for the Sangha to provide agriculture-related services to laypeople including rain-making, weather control and crop protection.—Accordingly, [after hostile Nāgas released winds, thunderbolts, etc.] “[...] Beings experience great and severe suffering (dāruṇa-duḥkha). Listen, O Nāgas, there is the evident empowerment of the Tathāgata’s miracles. Behold the deep knowledge of the Buddha, the power of the Tathāgata, the empowerment of special merit”.

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)
Dāruṇa (दारुण) participated in the war between Rāma and Rāvaṇa, on the side of the latter, as mentioned in Svayambhūdeva’s Paumacariu (Padmacarita, Paumacariya or Rāmāyaṇapurāṇa) chapter 57ff. Svayambhū or Svayambhūdeva (8th or 9th century) was a Jain householder who probably lived in Karnataka. His work recounts the popular Rāma story as known from the older work Rāmāyaṇa (written by Vālmīki). Various chapters [mentioning Dāruṇa] are dedicated to the humongous battle whose armies (known as akṣauhiṇīs) consisted of millions of soldiers, horses and elephants, etc.

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.
Biology (plants and animals)
Daruna in India is the name of a plant defined with Plumbago zeylanica in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Plumbago rosea L. (among others).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Species Plantarum (1753)
· Fieldiana, Botany (1966)
· Species Plantarum (1762)
· Prodr. Fl. SW. Afr. (1967)
· FBI (1882)
· Flora of Southern Africa (1963)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Daruna, for example pregnancy safety, extract dosage, side effects, chemical composition, diet and recipes, health benefits, have a look at these references.

This sections includes definitions from the five kingdoms of living things: Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists and Monera. It will include both the official binomial nomenclature (scientific names usually in Latin) as well as regional spellings and variants.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
dāruṇa : (adj.) severe; harsh; cruel.
Dāruṇa, (adj.) (Ved. dāruṇa, to dāru (“strong as a tree”), cp. Gr. droόn=i)sxurόn Hesych; Lat. dūrus; Oir. dron (firm), Mir. dūr (hard) Ags. trum) strong, firm, severe; harsh, cruel, pitiless S.I, 101; II, 226; Sn.244; Dh.139; J.III, 34; Pv IV.36 (=ghora PvA.251); Miln.117 (vāta); PvA.24, 52 (=ghora), 159 (sapatha a terrible oath= ghora), 181 (=kurūrin), 221 (°kāraṇa); Sdhp.5, 78, 286. (Page 320)
1) dāruṇa (ဒါရုဏ) [(ti) (တိ)]—
[dāruṇa+tara.kye.]
[ဒါရုဏ+တရ။ နောက်ပုဒ်ကျေ။]
2) dāruṇa (ဒါရုဏ) [(ti) (တိ)]—
[dara+uṇa.dara vidāraṇe,darīyatīti dāruṇaṃ,uṇo.,ṭī.167.(-ṇvādi.1va1)]
[ဒရ+ဥဏ။ ဒရ ဝိဒါရဏေ၊ ဒရီယတီတိ ဒါရုဏံ၊ ဥဏော။ ဓာန်၊ဋီ။၁၆၇။ (-ဏွာဒိ။၁ဝ၁)]
[Pali to Burmese]
1) dāruṇa—
(Burmese text): (၁) (ကိုယ်,စိတ် ချမ်းသာမှုကို)-ဖောက်ခွဲ-ဖျက်ဆီး-တတ်သော၊ (က) ကြောက်မက်ဖွယ်ကောင်းသော။ ဒါရုဏဇာတိက-(က)-လည်းကြည့်။ (ခ) ကြမ်းတမ်း-ခက်ထန်-သော။ (ဂ) ပြင်းထန်-ပြင်းပြ-သော။ (ဃ) ညှဉ်းဆဲ-နှိပ်စက်-တတ်သော။ (င) အနိုင်ကျင့်-နှိပ်စက်-တတ်သော။ ဒါရုဏကမ္မကိရိယာ-လည်းကြည့်။ (စ) ယုတ်မာ-ဆိုးဝါး-သော၊ အပြစ်ကြီးသော (ဆ) တာဝန်ကြီးသော၊ ဒုက္ခများသော။ (ဇ) အပြော-အဆို-ခက်သော၊ ဆုံးမခက်သော။ (န) (၂) ညှဉ်းဆဲ-နှိပ်စက်-ခြင်း။ ဒါရုဏကာရဏ-ကြည့်။ မူရင်းကြည့်ပါ။
(Auto-Translation): (1) (Self, mental prosperity) - capable of splitting - destroying - (a) frighteningly terrible. Also look at the qualities of the strength. (b) rough - harsh. (c) intense - severe. (d) capable of oppression - tyranny. (e) capable of winning - oppressing. Also look at the tools of strength. (s) wicked - malicious; sinful (ch) highly responsible; filled with suffering. (z) difficult to express, hard to determine. (n) (2) oppression - tyranny. Look at the causes of strength. Please refer to the original.
2) dāruṇa—
(Burmese text): အထူးသဖြင့်-အလွန်-ကြမ်းတမ်း-ကြမ်းကြုတ်-ရုန့်ရင်း-ခက်ထန်-သော။
(Auto-Translation): Especially very harsh and difficult.

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
dāruṇa (दारुण).—a (S) Ferocious, truculent, savage: horrible, fearful, dreadful: harsh, violent, furious;--used of men, battles, speech, diseases, measures, treatment. Ex. ālēṃ tujajavaḷi maraṇa || yama gāñjitila dā0 ॥.
--- OR ---
dāruṇā (दारुणा).—m Scaldhead.
dāruṇa (दारुण).—n Ferocious, savage, horrible, harsh, furious-used of men, battles, diseases, measures.
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
Dāruṇa (दारुण).—a [dṝ-ṇic-unan Uṇādi-sūtra 3.53]
1) Hard, rough; शोकदारुणाः (śokadāruṇāḥ) (vācaḥ) Uttararāmacarita 3.34.
2) Harsh, cruel, ruthless, pitiless; मय्येव विस्मरणदारुणचित्तवृत्तौ (mayyeva vismaraṇadāruṇacittavṛttau) Ś.5.23; पशुमारणकर्मदारुणः (paśumāraṇakarmadāruṇaḥ) 6. 1; दारुणरसः (dāruṇarasaḥ) 'of cruel resolve or nature;' Uttararāmacarita 5.19; Ms. 8.27.
3) Fierce, terrible, frightful; प्रसादसौम्यानि सतां सुहृज्जने पतन्ति चक्षूंषि न दारुणाः शराः (prasādasaumyāni satāṃ suhṛjjane patanti cakṣūṃṣi na dāruṇāḥ śarāḥ) Ś.6.28.
4) Heavy, violent, intense, poignant, agonizing (grief, pain &c.); हृदयकुसुमशोषी दारुणो दीर्घशोकः (hṛdayakusumaśoṣī dāruṇo dīrghaśokaḥ) Uttararāmacarita 3.5.
5) Sharp, severe (as words).
6) Atrocious, shocking.
-ṇaḥ 1 The sentiment of horror (bhayānaka).
2) Name of Viṣṇu.
-ṇam 1 Severity, cruelty, horror, &c.
2) The harsh, unfavourable constellations मृग, पुष्य, ज्येष्ठा (mṛga, puṣya, jyeṣṭhā) and मूल (mūla); Mahābhārata (Bombay) 13.14. 28.
Dāruṇa (दारुण).—mfn.
(-ṇaḥ-ṇā-ṇaṃ) Horrible, terrific, frightful. fearful. 2. Dreadful, shocking. mn.
(-ṇaḥ-ṇaṃ) Horror, horribleness. m.
(-ṇaḥ) Lead- wort, (Plumbago zeylanica.) E. dṝ to tear to pieces, Unadi affix unan .
Dāruṇa (दारुण).—i. e. dāru + na (or rather darvan + a), I. adj., f. ṇā. 1. Hard, [Suśruta] 1, 295, 10. 2. Sharp, 1, 130, 14. 3. Harsh, severe, [Pañcatantra] 58, 11. 4. Violent, Mahābhārata 14, 442. 5. Painful, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 12, 78. 6. Terrible, [Rāmāyaṇa] 1, 56, 8. Ii. n. Severity, Mahābhārata 13, 2144.
Dāruṇa (दारुण).—(ī) hard, rough, harsh, cruel, severe; [neuter] & t↠[feminine] [abstract]
--- OR ---
Dāruṇa (दारुण).—, [feminine] (ī) hard, rough, harsh, cruel, severe; [neuter] & t↠[feminine] [abstract]
--- OR ---
Dāruṇā (दारुणा).—(ī) hard, rough, harsh, cruel, severe; [neuter] & tdāruṇ↠[feminine] [abstract]
1) Dāruṇa (दारुण):—[from dāru] dāruṇa and ([Uṇādi-sūtra iii, 53]) dāruṇa, mf(ā, once ī)n. hard, harsh (opp. mṛdu), [Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa; Mahābhārata; Suśruta]
2) [v.s. ...] rough, sharp, severe, cruel, pitiless
3) [v.s. ...] dreadful, frightful
4) [v.s. ...] intense, violent, [Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa; Śakuntalā; Pañcatantra] etc.
5) [v.s. ...] (in [compound] or am before a [verb] to express excellence or superiority cf. [gana] kāṣṭhādi)
6) [v.s. ...] m. Plumbago Zeylanica, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
7) [v.s. ...] n. harshness, severity, horror, [Mahābhārata]
Dāruṇa (दारुण):—[(ṇaḥ-ṇaṃ)] 1. m. n. Horror. m. Lead-wort. a. Horrible.
[Sanskrit to German]
Dāruṇa (दारुण) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Dāruṇa.
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
Dāruṇa (दारुण) [Also spelled darun]:—(a) awful; horrible; severe; heart-rending; hence ~[tā] (nf).
...
Prakrit-English dictionary
Dāruṇa (दारुण) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Dāruṇa.
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
Dāruṇa (ದಾರುಣ):—[adjective] causing distress; dreadful; terrible; fierce.
--- OR ---
Dāruṇa (ದಾರುಣ):—
1) [noun] the quality or tendency of being fierce or the state of being distressed; fierceness; terribleness.
2) [noun] a dreadful man; a ruthless fellow.
3) [noun] that which causes dread (as a condition).
4) [noun] (myth.) name of a hell.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Dāruṇa (दारुण):—adj. 1. severe; dreadful (of disease); 2. rough; hard; harsh; 3. cruel; stone-hearted; brutal; 4. terrible; dreadful;
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: Tara, Una, Daruna, Taruna, Dara.
Starts with (+10): Daruna Sutta, Darunabhava, Darunabhaya, Darunadhyapaka, Darunaduhkha, Darunajatika, Darunaka, Darunakamma, Darunakammakari, Darunakammakiriya, Darunakammanta, Darunakarana, Darunakarman, Darunakriti, Darunam, Darunapayoga, Darunaphula, Darunappavatti, Darunasahasika, Darunasaptakaprayoga.
Full-text (+70): Dharana, Atidaruna, Sudaruna, Darunata, Darunakarman, Darunam, Paramadaruna, Ramyadaruna, Darunapayoga, Darunakarana, Vipakadaruna, Darunadhyapaka, Darunappavatti, Daruna Sutta, Darunakammanta, Darunajatika, Bhrishadaruna, Darunavapus, Darviya, Darunatman.
Relevant text
Search found 83 books and stories containing Daruna, Dara-una, Dara-uṇa, Dāruṇa, Dāruṇā, Daruna-tara, Dāruṇa-tara; (plurals include: Darunas, unas, uṇas, Dāruṇas, Dāruṇās, taras). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Journal of the European Ayurvedic Society (by Inge Wezler)
The Svastika antidote < [Volume 2 (1992)]
World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research
Conceptual study of paapa karma as an etiological factor of shvitra < [2018: Volume 7, February special issue 4]
Emergency care - an ayurvedic cerebration < [2019: Volume 8, November issue 12]
Role of ayurvedic principles for emergency treatment < [2023: Volume 12, July special issue 12]
Atharvaveda and Charaka Samhita (by Laxmi Maji)
4b. Leprosy (Kuṣṭha) in the Caraka-saṃhitā < [Chapter 5 - Diseases and Remedies in Atharvaveda and Caraka-Saṃhitā]
4a. Kuṣṭha-roga (leprosy) in the Atharvaveda < [Chapter 5 - Diseases and Remedies in Atharvaveda and Caraka-Saṃhitā]
Ulcers (vraṇa) according to Caraka < [Chapter 4 - Diseases and Remedial measures (described in Caraka-saṃhitā)]
List of Mahabharata people and places (by Laxman Burdak)
Agni Purana (by N. Gangadharan)
Padma Purana (by N.A. Deshpande)
Chapter 47 - The Birth of Garuḍa < [Section 1 - Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa (section on creation)]