Gaccha: 21 definitions
Introduction:
Gaccha means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Buddhism, Pali, the history of ancient India, Marathi. 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 Gachchha.
In Hinduism
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Gaccha (गच्छ).—In Jainism, a lineage of teachers and pupils. Note: Gaccha is a Sanskrit technical term used in ancient Indian sciences such as Astronomy, Mathematics and Geometry.
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.
Ganitashastra (Mathematics and Algebra)
Gaccha (गच्छ) refers to the “number of terms”, according to the article “the treatment of Series in the Gaṇitasāra-saṃgraha of Mahāvīrācārya and its Connections to Jaina Cosmology”.—Accordingly, [while describing Geometrical Progressions]: [...] Mahāvīrācārya then proposes a technique very similar to a prosody rule stated by Piṅgala.—[Gaṇitasāra-saṃgraha verse 2.94]: “The number of terms (gaccha) [is transformed by the rule] ‘even-half-odd-zero-one, multiplied by the multiplier multiplied as a square’; [The result] diminished by one, multiplied by the first term, divided by the multiplier lessened by one is the total”.
Ganita (गणित) or Ganitashastra refers to the ancient Indian science of mathematics, algebra, number theory, arithmetic, etc. Closely allied with astronomy, both were commonly taught and studied in universities, even since the 1st millennium BCE. Ganita-shastra also includes ritualistic math-books such as the Shulba-sutras.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Gaccha (गच्छ) refers to the words for making an elephant “go”, 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 12, “On the qualities of elephant drivers, etc.”]: “9. With words suggesting the undertaking of an action, in Sanskrit, Prakrit, or the dialect of any particular province, he shall teach an elephant to know what he is to do. [...] 10. ‘Stop, stop !’ means to stop; ‘Come, come !’ means to come; ‘Go, go!’ (gaccha) to go; with these and similar words he shall give instructions to him [gaccha gaccheti gamane bodhayedevamādibhiḥ]”.
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 Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Gaccha (गच्छ, “who travel together”), alternatively spelled as Gachchha, is a monastic order, along with lay followers, of the image worshipping Murtipujaka Svetambara sect of Jainism. The term is also used in the Digambara sect. During 1000 to 1300 CE, the Gaccha replaced the kula as basic divisions of community. Kula refers to the subdivisions within the Swetambara Murtipujaka Jain community, established by Vajrasensuri in the first century.
Although some 84 separate gacchas have appeared since the 7th–8th century, only a few have survived. While the gacchas do not differ from one another in matters of doctrine, they do differ on issues of practice, in particular those practices relating to the sacred calendar and to ritual. The various gacchas also trace their descent through different lineages.
Gaccha (गच्छ) or Gaṇa refers to “(moving in the air) with one’s company (gaccha or gaṇa)”, according to the 8th-century Kuvalayamālā written by Uddyotanasūri, a Prakrit Campū (similar to Kāvya poetry) narrating the love-story between Prince Candrāpīḍa and the Apsaras Kādambarī.—There is a reference to Cāraṇa Śramaṇa who moved alone in the air from place to place, whereas the other kind of teacher was gaccha-pariggahi who took his whole Gaccha or Gaṇa with him while on the move. In line 18 there is a reference to the holy mountain Śatruṃjaya which seems to have become a famous religious centre before 779 A.D. when Uddyotanasūri was writing.
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.
India history and geography
Gaccha.—(IA 11; BL), name of particular communities of Jain monks; cf. the eightyfour gacchas of the Jains. Note: gaccha is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
gaccha : (m.) a plant; a shrub.
Gaccha, (not=Sk. kaccha, grass-land, as Morris, J.P.T.S. 1893, 16. The passage J.III, 287 stands with gaccha, v. l. kaccha for gaccha at A.IV, 74; g° for k° at Sn.20) a shrub, a bush, usually together with latā, creeper & rukkha, tree, e.g. Nd2 235, Id; J.I, 73; Miln.268; Vism.182 (described on p. 183). With dāya, wood A.IV, 74. puppha° a flowering shrub J.I, 120; khuddaka°-vana a wood of small shrubs J.V, 37.—PvA.274; VvA.301 (-gumba, brushwood, underwood); DhA.I, 171 (-pothana-ṭṭhāna); IV, 78 (-mūla). (Page 239)
1) gaccha (ဂစ္ဆ) [(kri) (ကြိ)]—
[gamu+a+hi]
[ဂမု+အ+ဟိ]
2) gaccha (ဂစ္ဆ) [(pu,na) (ပု၊န)]—
[gamu+ṇa．,ṭī.54va.]
[ဂမု+ဏ။ ဓာန်၊ဋီ။၅၄ဝ။]
[Pali to Burmese]
1) gaccha—
(Burmese text): (၁) ချုံ၊ စေးပျစ်၊ ပိတ်ပေါင်း။ (၂) (က) သစ်ပင်။ (ခ) သစ်ပင်ငယ်၊ ပင်ပျပ်။ (၃) အစောင့်အရှောက်မရှိသောတော။ (တိ) (၄) ချုံမှ ဖြစ်သော။
(Auto-Translation): (1) Chon, Seipyit, Paingpaung. (2) (a) Tree. (b) Young tree, twigs. (3) Wilderness without guardianship. (4) Derived from Chon.
2) gaccha—
(Burmese text): သွားလော့။ ဂစ္ဆတိ-ကြည့်။
(Auto-Translation): Let's go. Look at the graffiti.
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
gaccha (गच्छ).—m S The number of terms of an A. or G. series.
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gaccha (गच्छ).—n gacchantī f gacchantīcēṃ n (A loose formation from the Sanskrit root gama To go.) Running away; making off; giving leg-bail. v kara & mhaṇa.
gaccha (गच्छ).—n gacchantī f Running away, making off, giving leg-bail. v kara and mhaṇa.
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
Gaccha (गच्छ).—
1) A tree.
2) The period (i. e. number of terms) of a progression (in math.).
Derivable forms: gacchaḥ (गच्छः).
Gaccha (गच्छ).—m.
(-cchaḥ) A tree. E. gam to go, and sa Unadi affix, what goes or grows; also agaccha.
1) Gaccha (गच्छ):—m. (√gam) a tree, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
2) the period (number of terms) of a progression, [Āryabhaṭa ii, 20 and [Scholiast or Commentator]] on 19
3) family, race, [Jaina literature]
4) m. [plural] Name of a people ([varia lectio] for kakṣa).
Gaccha (गच्छ):—(cchaḥ) 1. m. A tree.
Gaccha (गच्छ):—m.
1) Baum [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 2, 4, 2.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1114.] Der Baum, der nicht gehen kann und daher aga, naga, agaccha heisst, kann insofern auch als gehend (von gam) gedacht werden, als die Wurzeln nach der Vorstellung der Inder seine Füsse (pāda) sind. —
2) the period (number of terms) of a progression [Algebra 52. 251.] —
3) pl. Nomen proprium eines Volkes (v. l. für kaccha und kakṣa) [Viṣṇupurāṇa 192,] [Nalopākhyāna 95.]
--- OR ---
Gaccha (गच्छ):—
4) bei den Jaina so v. a. vaṃśa, gotra Geschlecht [WILSON, Sel. Works 1,338. 345. fg.] [Oxforder Handschriften 152,a, Nalopākhyāna 3.]; vgl. den folgenden Artikel.
Gaccha (गच्छ):—m. —
1) *Baum. —
2) the period (number of terms) of a progression [Āryabhaṭa 2,20.] Comm. zu 19. —
3) Familie , Geschlecht bei den Jaina. —
4) Pl. Nomen proprium eines Volkes.
Gaccha (गच्छ) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Gaccha.
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.
Prakrit-English dictionary
1) Gaccha (गच्छ) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Gam.
2) Gaccha (गच्छ) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Gaccha.
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
Gaccha (ಗಚ್ಛ):—
1) [noun] the act of going or running (away from).
2) [noun] a group of (Jaina) mendicants moving from one place to another.
3) [noun] the act or fact of dying; permanent ending of all life in a person, animal; death.
4) [noun] ಗಚ್ಛಮಾಡು [gacchamadu] gaccha māḍu to run away; to escape; ಗಚ್ಛಹೊಡೆ [gacchahode] gaccha hoḍe = ಗಚ್ಛಮಾಡು [gacchamadu].
5) [noun] (fig.) to die.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches (+0): Hi, Gamu, A, Na.
Starts with (+13): Gaccha-gaccha, Gacchacaraprakirnakasutra, Gacchahi, Gacchajati, Gacchaka, Gacchalata, Gacchama, Gacchamali, Gacchamana, Gacchamanaka, Gacchamandapaka, Gacchamase, Gacchamula, Gacchana, Gacchanaka, Gacchanayaka, Gacchanta, Gacchantaka, Gacchantara, Gacchanti.
Full-text (+668): Guna, Chagala, Vigama, Chakalaka, Agaccha, Uppala, Adhippaga, Abbhagama, Viniggama, Paccagaccha, Apattinirodhagami, Abbhuggama, Tapogaccha, Malagaccha, Gacchahi, Gama, Patigaccha, Maricagaccha, Citrabalagaccha, Tapagaccha.
Relevant text
Search found 92 books and stories containing Gaccha, Gacchas, Gamu-a-hi, Gamu-na, Gamu-ṇa; (plurals include: Gacchas, Gacchases, his, nas, ṇas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Ganita-sara-sangraha by Mahavira-Acharya (by M. Rangacharya)
Chapter 2 - Prathamah parikarmavyavaharah < [Part 2 - Sanskrit text]
Chapter 6 - Pascamah misraka vyavaharah < [Part 2 - Sanskrit text]
Chapter 3 - Dvitiyah kalasavarnavyavaharah < [Part 2 - Sanskrit text]
Studies in Indian Literary History (by P. K. Gode)
1. References to the Caitragaccha in Inscriptions and Literature < [Volume 1 (1945)]
Index (of first volume) < [Volume 1 (1945)]
13. A Commentary on the Vagbhatalamkara < [Volume 1 (1945)]
Majjhima Nikaya (Middle Discourses)
Discourse 63: The Shorter Discourse With Māluṅkya < [Bhikkhu-vagga: The Chapter on Mendicants]
Discourse 86: With Aṅgulimāla < [Rāja-vagga: The Chapter on Kings]
Discourse 107: With Moggallāna the Accountant < [Devadaha-vagga: The Chapter Beginning With Devadaha]
A History of Indian Philosophy Volume 1 (by Surendranath Dasgupta)
Part 2 - Two Sects of Jainism < [Chapter VI - The Jaina Philosophy]
‘Examining Religion’ through Generations of Jain Audiences < [Volume 10, Issue 5 (2019)]
Healing by Spiritual Possession in Medieval Japan, with a Translation of the... < [Volume 13, Issue 6 (2022)]
Jain Narrative Literature in Brajbhāṣā: Discussions from an Understudied Field < [Volume 10, Issue 4 (2019)]
Brahmasphutasiddhanta by Brahmagupta (Introduction) (by Acharyavara Ram Swarup Sharma)
Part 11 - Quadratic Equations (in ancient Indian Algebra) < [Chapter 10 - Brahmagupta as an Algebraist]