Himsa, Hiṃsā: 20 definitions
Introduction:
Himsa 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 Hinsa.
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In Hinduism
Dharmashastra (religious law)
Hiṃsā (हिंसा) refers to “violence, hurting”. It is the opposite of non-violence, non-hurting (ahiṃsā). It is used throughout Dharmaśāstra literature such as the Manusmṛti and the Baudhāyana-dharmasūtra.
Dharmashastra (धर्मशास्त्र, dharmaśāstra) contains the instructions (shastra) regarding religious conduct of livelihood (dharma), ceremonies, jurisprudence (study of law) and more. It is categorized as smriti, an important and authoritative selection of books dealing with the Hindu lifestyle.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
1a) Hiṃsā (हिंसा).—Born of Lobha and Nikṛti;1 wife of Kali, of bad mind.2
1b) One of the five heinous sins—narrated to Indra by Bṛhaspati; it is a sin against men, women, animals, and creatures of all sorts. Exceptions are given. Any man of any caste or any animal attacking may be attacked and killed in self-defence; this applies to family members also; wild animals like lions and tigers may be killed by the King for the benefit of Gods and Brahmans, and not for self-enjoyment; Bhagavatī Māyā created men and Gods and 14 kinds of animals as also sacrifices and ordered the worship of Gods by sacrificing Paśu to get oneself blessed with health and wealth; Paśus may be killed for Gods, Pitṛs, and for feeding great and respectable persons; in times of danger no sin in the eating of flesh by Brahmans; animals could be sacrificed in honour of Śakti.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 6. 37-67.
1c) Gave birth to Nikṛti (daughter) and Anṛta (son) by Adharma.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 10. 39; Viṣṇu-purāṇa I. 7. 32.
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.
Yoga (school of philosophy)
Hiṃsā (हिंसा) refers to “violence (to living beings)”, according to the Bhojadeva’s Rājamārtaṇḍa (commentary on Yogasūtra of Patañjali) Sūtra 2.29.—Accordingly, while discussing Prāṇāyāma and Samādhi: “In this system, some [of the auxiliaries] such as concentration directly assist Samādhi; some [others] such as Yamas and the like, assist Samādhi [indirectly] by destroying hindrances such as violence to living beings (bhūta-hiṃsā) [which is] contrary [to the aim of Samādhi]. Among these, posture and the like help the higher [auxiliaries]. For example, when posture is mastered, steadiness [of the body is achieved] for Prāṇāyāma. Thus, it also applies to the higher [auxiliaries]”.
Yoga is originally considered a branch of Hindu philosophy (astika), but both ancient and modern Yoga combine the physical, mental and spiritual. Yoga teaches various physical techniques also known as āsanas (postures), used for various purposes (eg., meditation, contemplation, relaxation).
Vedanta (school of philosophy)
Hiṃsā (हिंसा) refers to “aggression”, according to the Aṣṭāvakragītā (5th century BC), an ancient text on spirituality dealing with Advaita-Vedānta topics.—Accordingly, [as Aṣṭavakra says to Janaka]: “[...] There is no distinction between pleasure and pain, man and woman, success and failure for the wise man who looks on everything as equal. There is no aggression (hiṃsā) or compassion, no pride or humility, [na hiṃsā naiva kāruṇyaṃ nauddhatyaṃ na ca dīnatā] no wonder or confusion for the man whose days of running about are over. [...]”.
Vedanta (वेदान्त, vedānta) refers to a school of orthodox Hindu philosophy (astika), drawing its subject-matter from the Upanishads. There are a number of sub-schools of Vedanta, however all of them expound on the basic teaching of the ultimate reality (brahman) and liberation (moksha) of the individual soul (atman).
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Hiṃsā (हिंसा) refers to “harm” (as opposed to Ahiṃsā—‘harmlessness’), according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “[...] Ratnapāṇi said: ‘Son of good family, what are those sixteen dharmas included in?’ Gaganagañja said: ‘Son of good family, the sixteen dharmas are included in thirty-two dharmas. What are those thirty-two? [...] (5) the great friendliness is included in the unhindered thought and the equal attitude to all living beings; (6) the great compassion is included in indefatigability and works to be done for all beings; (7) the purity of body is included in harmlessness (ahiṃsā) and contentment with one’s own possessions; (8) the purity of thought is included in self-control and calmness; [...]’”.
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)
Hiṃsā (हिंसा) refers to “injury”, desisting from which is part of the fivefold vow (vrata) according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 7.1. What is meant by violence (hiṃsā)? Severance of vitalities (prāṇas) of self or others is violence.
According to the Tattvārthasūtra 7.13, what is meant by injury /violence (hiṃsā)? To severe the vitalities (prāṇas) of self or others out of passions is injury /violence. How many types of violence are there? Violence is of four types namely defensive (virodhī), in-profession (udyogī), life style (ārambhī) and intentional (saṃkalpī).
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
Pali-English dictionary
hiṃsā : (f.) teasing; injury; hurting.
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
hiṃsā (हिंसा).—f (S) Slaying, killing, depriving of life (wrongly). 2 Injuring or hurting. Distinguished by the Shastras into three modes; viz. mental (malice, malignant purpose), verbal (abuse, execration), personal (killing, striking).
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hiṃsā (हिंसा).—a (hiṃva) Cold;--as water or bodies.
hiṃsā (हिंसा).—f Slaying, killing. Injuring. a Cold.
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
Hiṃsā (हिंसा).—[hiṃs-a]
1) Injury, mischief, wrong, harm, hurt (said to be of three kinds:-kāyika 'personal', vācika 'verbal' and mānasika 'mental'); अहिंसा परमो धर्मः (ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ).
2) Killing, slaying, destruction; गान्धर्वमादत्स्व यतः प्रयोक्तुर्न चारिहिंसा विजयश्च हस्ते (gāndharvamādatsva yataḥ prayokturna cārihiṃsā vijayaśca haste) R.5.57;3.313; Manusmṛti 1.63.
3) Robbery, plunder.
Hiṃsā (हिंसा).—f.
(-sā) 1. Injury, mischief, hurt, harm, &c.; it is usually distinguished as of three sorts,:—mental, (as malice,) verbal, (as abuse,) personal, (as striking, wounding, &c.) 2. Slaughter, killing, slaying. 3. Robbery. E. hisri to hurt or kill, affs. aṅ and ṭāp.
Hiṃsā (हिंसा).—[hiṃs + ā], f. 1. Injuring, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 8, 255; injury, mischief, [Rāmāyaṇa] 3, 51, 20. 2. Spoiling, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 11, 63. 3. Incantation; in hiṃsā-karman, Employment of mystical texts for malevolent purposes. 4. Killing, murder, [Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, (ed. Burnouf.)] 2, 6, 8; [Pañcatantra] 60, 6.
Hiṃsa (हिंस).—[adjective] harming, [feminine] hiṃsā [abstract]
1) Hiṃsa (हिंस):—[from hiṃs] mfn. injuring, injurious, mischievous, hostile, [Ṛg-veda]
2) Hiṃsā (हिंसा):—[from hiṃsa > hiṃs] a f. See below.
3) [from hiṃs] b f. injury, harm (to life or property), hurt, mischief, wrong (said to be of three kinds, 1. mental as ‘bearing malice’; 2. verbal, as ‘abusive language’; 3. personal, as ‘acts of violence’), [Manu-smṛti; Yājñavalkya; Mahābhārata] etc.
4) [v.s. ...] Injury or Mischief personified (as the wife of Adharma and daughter of Lobha and Niṣkṛti), [Purāṇa]
5) [v.s. ...] Asteracantha Longifolia, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
Hiṃsā (हिंसा):—(sā) 1. f. Injury, mischief; killing.
Hiṃsa (हिंस):—(von 1. hiṃs)
1) adj. verletzend, schädigend: ā.e hiṃsānā.apa di.yumā kṛdhi [Ṛgveda 10, 142, 1.] —
2) f. ā a) Leidzufügung am Leibe oder Gute, Schädigung [Amarakoṣa 3, 4, 18, 113. 30, 231.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 371. 830.] [Anekārthasaṃgraha 2, 596.] [Medinīkoṣa s. 13.] [Halāyudha 2, 323. 5, 24.] im Gegensatz zu vidyā [Yāska’s Nirukta 14, 8. 9.] — [MAITRYUP. 3, 5.] akṛtvā prāṇināṃ hiṃsām [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 4, 48.] samā-car [5, 43. fg. 8, 285. 293. 297.] prāyā kṛṣiḥ [?10, 63. 83. 11, 63. 141. 145. 12, 7. Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch 3, 240. Bhagavadgītā 18, 25. KAṆ. 6, 1, 7. Nīlakaṇṭha 23 (pl.). Rāmāyaṇa 3, 1, 22.] vihāra [51, 20.] [Suśruta 1, 71, 1.] śīla [323, 8.] rucitva [Rāmāyaṇa 5, 29, 25.] rata [Spr. (II) 225. 5437. v. l. 6943] [?(= Mahābhārata 13,1664). 7391. Rājataraṅgiṇī.2,53.3,27. Oxforder Handschriften 80,b,6. fgg. 103,b,16. Bhāgavatapurāṇa.2,6,8.3,29,8.5,9,18. Pañcatantra 60,6. SARVADARŚANAS. 43,10. 115,14.] hiṃsopakārin [Hemacandra] [Yogaśāstra 3, 72.] loka [Rāmāyaṇa 3, 28, 19.] bhūta [Oxforder Handschriften 103,b,16.] paśu [17.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 7, 15, 7.] prāṇi [Rājataraṅgiṇī 1, 325. 3, 79.] sattvahiṃsā (so mit der ed. Calc. zu lesen) [1, 133.] ari vom Feinde kommend [Raghuvaṃśa 5, 57.] a [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 5, 44. 10, 63. 11, 222.] [Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch 3, 313.] [Mahābhārata 3, 13835.] ruci [Rāmāyaṇa.5,30,3.] [Spr. (II) 819. fgg. 1426. 6638. 6715.] [Oxforder Handschriften 80,b,9. 12. 103,b,16.] Personificirt ist die Hiṃsā die Gattin Adharma's [Mārkāṇḍeyapurāṇa 50, 29.] eine Tochter Lobha's von der Niṣkṛti [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 4, 8, 3.] — b) Asteracantha longifolia [Ratnamālā 54] wohl fehlerhaft für hiṃsrā .
Hiṃsā (हिंसा) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Hiṃsā.
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
Hiṃsā (हिंसा) [Also spelled hinsa]:—(nf) violence; ~[tmaka] violent (act, etc.); hence ~[tmakatā] (nf); ~[rata] violent, committing violence; ~[lu/śīla] violent, fierce; ~[lutā/śīlatā] violence, fierceness.
...
Prakrit-English dictionary
1) Hiṃsa (हिंस) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Hiṃs.
2) Hiṃsa (हिंस) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Hiṃsra.
3) Hiṃsā (हिंसा) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Hiṃsā.
4) Hiṃsā (हिंसा) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Heṣā.
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.
Nepali dictionary
Hiṃsā (हिंसा):—n. 1. violence; killing; slaughter; 2. ill-will; grudge;
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 (+18): Himsabhaya, Himsacara, Himsada, Himsadana, Himsadanem, Himsadharma, Himsadi, Himsaga, Himsagar, Himsagara, Himsai, Himsaka, Himsakarma, Himsakarman, Himsakarmana, Himsakarmman, Himsaksha, Himsalakshana, Himsalanem, Himsalu.
Full-text (+115): Ahimsa, Pratihimsa, Himsatmaka, Vihimsa, Himsaru, Pranihimsa, Himsapraya, Himsavada, Himsaruci, Himsarata, Himsakarman, Abhihimsana, Jivahimsa, Himsalakshana, Manussahimsa, Himsapranin, Himsasamudbhava, Parihimsa, Himsavihara, Himsalu.
Relevant text
Search found 105 books and stories containing Himsa, Hiṃsā, Hiṃsa; (plurals include: Himsas, Hiṃsās, Hiṃsas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 4.8.28 < [Chapter 8 - In the Story of the Yajña-sītās, the Glories of Ekādaśī]
Verse 6.13.23 < [Chapter 13 - The Glories of Prabhāsa-tīrtha, the Sarasvatī River, etc.]
Tattvartha Sutra (with commentary) (by Vijay K. Jain)
Verse 7.13 - Definition of hiṃsā (injury) < [Chapter 7 - The Five Vows]
Verse 9.35 - Definition of cruel meditation (raudra-dhyāna) < [Chapter 9 - Stoppage and Shedding of Karmas]
Verse 7.1 - Classification of the (fivefold) vow (vrata) < [Chapter 7 - The Five Vows]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 397 < [Hindi-English-Nepali (1 volume)]
Page 133 < [Hindi-English-Nepali (1 volume)]
Page 708 < [English-Gujarati-Hindi (1 volume)]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 4.162 < [Section XIV - Other Duties]
Verse 5.48 < [Section VI - Lawful and Forbidden Meat]
Verse 12.7 < [Section II - The Philosophy of Action and its Retribution (karmayoga)]
The concept of Yoga in Yoga Upanishads (by Philomina T.L)
2.1. The Yamas (according to the Major Upaniṣads) < [Chapter 3 - The Reflections on Yoga in the Major Upaniṣads]
6.1. The concept of Yama (restraint) < [Chapter 2 - Principal Tenets of Yoga]
Rig Veda (translation and commentary) (by H. H. Wilson)
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