Kshanti, Kṣānti, Kshamti: 26 definitions

Introduction:

Kshanti means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, Marathi, Tamil. 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.

The Sanskrit term Kṣānti can be transliterated into English as Ksanti or Kshanti, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

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In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

Kṣāntī (क्षान्ती).—The main stream of Krauñcadvīpa.*

  • * Viṣṇu-purāṇa II. 4. 55.
Purana book cover
context information

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.

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Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram

1) Kṣānti (क्षान्ति) refers to “forbearance”, according to the Ṣaṭsāhasrasaṃhitā, an expansion of the Kubjikāmatatantra: the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—Accordingly, “(The true teacher is dedicated to) truthfulness, ritual purity and cleanliness, compassion, and forbearance (kṣānti); he unites with his wife when it is her season, not out of passion, but for a son for the benefit of (his) clan and lineage. [...] Moreover, he removes error, and he reveals the meaning of the Kula scripture. Previously consecrated, (such a one) should always be made (one’s) teacher”.

2) Kṣānti (क्षान्ति) refers to one of the eight Kaula consorts (dūtī-aṣṭaka) associated with Tisrapīṭha (located in the ‘end of sound’—nādānta), 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 Kaula consorts (dūtyaṣṭaka): Revatī, Bhagavatī, Rāmā, Rohiṇī, Kṛttikā, Khecarī, Khaṇḍinī, Kṣānti

Shaktism book cover
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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.

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In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra

1) Kṣānti (क्षान्ति) or Kṣāntiṛṣi is the name of a Bhikṣu according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter VII).—“When people come to insult him, strike him, beat him, slash him, tear off his skin, cut him to pieces and take his life, his mind feels no hatred (dveṣa). Thus, when king Kia li (Kali) cut off his hands (hasta), feet (pāda), ears (karṇa) and nose (nāsā), the Bhikṣu Tchan (Kṣānti) kept a strong mind (dṛḍha-citta) without emotion (acala)”.

Note: In the Mahāvastu his name is Kṣāntivādin or Kṣāntivāda. He was born under the name of Kuṇḍaka into a rich family from Kāsi or Benares or into a brahmin family in the city of Pūtana in southern India.

2) Kṣānti (क्षान्ति) refers to a set of “two patiences”, representing qualities acquired by the Bodhisattvas accompanying the Buddha at Rājagṛha on the Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata, according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter X. There are two kinds of patiences (kṣānti):

  1. patience towards beings (sattvakṣānti),
  2. patience towards dharmas (dharmakṣānti).

According to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter XIV, “There are two kinds of patience (kṣānti): i) the patience toward beings (sattvakṣānti); ii) the patience toward the Dharma (dharmakṣānti). The Bodhisattva who practices patience toward beings acquires immense merit (apramāṇa-puṇya); the Bodhisattva who practices patience toward the Dharma acquires immense wisdom (apramāṇa-prajñā). Endowed with these two benefits, merit and wisdom, he obtains the realization of all his wishes (yatheṣṭa-siddhi): he is like the person who, having eyes and feet, can go wherever he wishes”.

Source: academia.edu: A Study and Translation of the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति) refers to “tolerance”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “How then, son of good family, does the patience of the Bodhisattvas becomes like open space? Son of good family, the patience of the Bodhisattva becomes like the expanse of the sky when he is endowed with the four dharmas. [...] When he is endowed with those four dharmas, son of good family, the patience of the Bodhisattvas becomes like open space. [...]”.

There are eight patiences (kṣānti) reflecting on the dharma of the Bodhisatvas

  1. the patience of emptiness (śūnyatā) since there is no destruction of views;
  2. the patience of signlessness (animitta) since signs are not excluded;
  3. the patience of wishlessness (apraṇihita) since there is no wish in awakening;
  4. the patience of the unconditioned (anabhisaṃskāra) since there is no destruction of conditioned things;
  5. the patience without birth (ajāta) since characters are unconditioned;
  6. the patience without origination (anutpāda) since there is no arising and abiding;
  7. the patience without being (niḥsatva) since there is no destruction of things;
  8. patience truly as it is (yathābhūta) since there is no destruction by time.
Mahayana book cover
context information

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.

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Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: OSU Press: Cakrasamvara Samadhi

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति) refers to “patience”, 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, “Charity (is) cow dung and water united, moral conduct and cleansing, Patience (kṣānti), taking away tiny ants, heroism, bringing forth the religious rite. Meditation, single-minded in each moment, wisdom, splendidly clear lines, These perfections, six indeed are gained, having made the Muni’s maṇḍala”.

Tibetan Buddhism book cover
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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.

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General definition (in Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Dharma-samgraha

1) Kṣānti (क्षान्ति, “patience”) or kṣāntipāramitā represents the third of the “six perferctions” (ṣaṭpāramitā) as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 17). The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (e.g., ṣaṣ-pāramitā and kṣānti). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.

Kṣānti forms, besides a part of the “six perferctions” (ṣaṭpāramitā), also a part of the “ten perfections” (daśa-pāramitā).

Kṣānti or Kṣāntibala refers to the “the strength of patience” and represents one of the “ten strengths of the Bodhisattvas” (bala) as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 75).

2) Kṣānti also refers to “manifold receptivities” as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 107):

  1. dharmanidhyāna-kṣānti receptivity from seeing the dharma),
  2. duḥkhādhivāsanā-kṣānti (receptivity from forbearance with suffering),
  3. paropakāradharma-kṣānti (receptivity from the state of helping others).
Source: IEP: Śāntideva (fl. 8th c.)

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति, “patient endurance”).—Śāntideva divides patient endurance (kṣānti) into three major varieties: first, enduring suffering (duṣkhādhivāsanakṣānti); second, dharmic patience, the patient endurance that comes from reflecting on the Buddha’s teaching, the dharma (dharmanidhyānakṣānti); and third, patience toward others’ wrongdoing (parāpakāramarṣanakṣānti, Śikṣāsamuccaya 179).

Śāntideva does not link these phenomena under the rubric of patient endurance (kṣānti) merely for the sake of convenience or etymology; rather, patient endurance has common elements that pervade them all. In all three cases, one remains calm and even happy in the face of various undesired events — pains, frustrations, wrongs — that one might face.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Jainism

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति, “equanimity”) refers to “renunciation of anger and other passions and maintaining an attitude of forgiveness” and is one of the causes leading to the influx (āsrana) of karmas extending pleasant feelings (sātāvedanīya).

Kṣānti is a Sanskrit technical term defined in the Tattvārthasūtra (ancient authorative Jain scripture) from the 2nd century, which contains aphorisms dealing with philosophy and the nature of reality.

Source: archive.org: Trisastisalakapurusacaritra

1) Kṣānti (क्षान्ति, “forbearance”) refers to one of the ten-fold dharma (i.e., Yatidharma) capable of leading across saṃsāra, according to chapter 3.3 [sumatinātha-caritra] of Hemacandra’s 11th century Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra: an ancient Sanskrit epic poem narrating the history and legends of sixty-three illustrious persons in Jainism.

Accordingly, as Sumatinātha said:—“The sources of pride—youth, power, beauty, etc.—have become subdued from penance, like evil spirits of a sorceror reduced to servitude from the power to summon them. Yatidharma, handed down orally by the Blessed Ones, is the best boat without impediments for crossing the ocean of saṃsāra. [...] Forbearance (kṣānti) is endurance by restraint of anger in strength or weakness. [...] So the ten-fold dharma, like a spotless wishing-jewel, capable of leading across saṃsāra, is attained in the world by merit”.

2) Kṣānti (क्षान्ति, “forbearance”) is the direct counterpart of Krodha (‘anger’) which refers to one of the four passions (kaṣāyas) of creatures, according to chapter 4.5 [dharmanātha-caritra].

Accordingly, as Dharma-nātha said in his sermon on the kaṣāyas:—“[...] Creatures’ passions are four-fold: anger (krodha), conceit (māna), deceit (māyā), and greed (lobha); and each of them is divided into sañjvalana, etc. [...] The future Arhat Mahāvīra will go to the Mlecchas for forbearance (kṣānti), as he does not wish at all to bear forbearance that has come without effort. [...] If you do not feel anger (krodha) at anger, which is the thief of all the objects of existence, shame on your feeling anger at another guilty of a little crime. Then a wise man should overcome the great serpent of anger which fatigues all the senses, creeping along, by the snake-charm of forbearance (kṣānti)”.

Source: The University of Sydney: A study of the Twelve Reflections

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति) refers to “tranquillity”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “Then if the mind is devoid of any sense object [and] influenced by restraint and tranquillity [com.—endowed with restraint and tranquillity (vratakṣāntiyuktaṃ)] by means of virtue still there is no ascertainment of reality. Also sometimes when these (i.e. good duration of life, etc.), which are exceedingly difficult to obtain, are obtained because of divine [action], some here [in the world] who are absorbed in objects of desire fall down because of carelessness”.

Synonyms: Praśama.

General definition book cover
context information

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.

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India history and geography

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Indian Epigraphical Glossary

Kṣānti.—(CII 1), forgiveness. Note: kṣānti is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.

India history book cover
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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.

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Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

kṣānti (क्षांति).—f S Forbearing, forgiving; forbearance, forgiveness. 2 Patience, sufferance, endurance.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

kṣānti (क्षांति).—f Forbearance, patience, forgiveness.

context information

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.

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Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति).—f. [kṣam-bhāve ktin]

1) Patience, forbearance, forgiveness; क्षान्तिश्चेद्वचनेन किम् (kṣāntiścedvacanena kim) Bhartṛhari 2.21; अहिंसा क्षान्ति- रार्जवम् (ahiṃsā kṣānti- rārjavam) Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 13.7;18.42.

2) The state of saintly abstraction.

Derivable forms: kṣāntiḥ (क्षान्तिः).

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

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति).—f. (= Pali khanti, used in this sense but not properly defined in Dictt., see Abhidharmakośa La V—P. vi.165, n. 2, et alibi, see Index; good statement Lévi, Asaṅga (Mahāyāna-sūtrālaṃkāra) Transl. p. 123, compare text xi.52 and commentary; Suzuki, Studies in Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra., 125—7 et alibi), intellectual receptivity; the being ready in advance to accept knowledge; a preliminary stage leading to jñāna but distinguished from jñāna by the fact that it is still characterized by doubt, Abhidharmakośa vii.1—2; the 8 kṣānti there referred to are paired with 8 corresponding jñāna to make up the 16 citta-kṣaṇāḥ Mahāvyutpatti 1217 ff., = caturāryasatyeṣu ṣoḍaśa kṣānti-jñāna- lakṣaṇāḥ Dharmasaṃgraha 96; in this list are 8 pairs of jñāna- kṣānt and jñāna, e.g., first, duḥkhe dharma-jñāna- kṣānti, receptivity to knowledge of the truth in respect to misery, then duḥkhe dharmajñāna, du° 'nvayajñāna- kṣānti, du° 'nvayajñāna; and so with samudaye, nirodhe, and mārge instead of duḥkhe. So anutpattika-dharma- kṣānti, q.v., receptivity to the fact that states-of-being have no origination; dharmanidhyāna-kṣānti, receptivity to reflection on the states of being, Sutrāl. xiv.26 commentary, see translation(s) n.3; similarly, sarvadharmasvabhāvanidhyāna- kṣāntiḥ Gaṇḍavyūha 248.4; dharmanidhyānādhimukti-kṣāntiḥ Bodhisattvabhūmi 195.10; samyaksaṃtīraṇā-kṣāntiḥ Bodhisattvabhūmi 81.22; avaivartika- kṣānti-pratilabdhāś ca bhaviṣyanti Saddharmapuṇḍarīka 259.13, and will become possessed of the intellectual receptivity of non-re- turners (see avaivartika); ānulomikī kṣāntiḥ Mahāvyutpatti 6571; Daśabhūmikasūtra 53.24; ānulomika-dharma-kṣānti-dharmālokamukham Lalitavistara 35.20; nāhaṃ…teṣāṃ…ānulomikām api kṣāntiṃ vadāmi, kutaḥ punar buddhajñānam Rāṣṭrapālaparipṛcchā 34.13—14, I do not attribute to them even the intellectual receptivity that conforms (to continued religious development), still less Buddha-knowledge!; ghoṣānugā kṣānti, see ghoṣānuga; this with ānulomikī (or equivalent) and anutpattika- dharma- (or equivalent) form a triad of kṣānti, Samādhirājasūtra p. 22 1.4 ff.; Sukhāvatīvyūha 55.13 (see Régamey, cited s.v. gho- ṣānuga); anutpāda- (and °de) kṣāntiḥ, q.v., and anupa- lambhadharma-kṣ° Rāṣṭrapālaparipṛcchā 12.2, both = anutpattika- dharma-kṣ°; a different triad of kṣānti, Dharmasaṃgraha 107 (dharmanidhyāna-, duḥkhādhivāsanā-, paropakāradha(r)- ma-); kṣānti is the 3d of the nirvedha-bhaga, q.v., Mahāvyutpatti 1214 (Asaṅga (Mahāyāna-sūtrālaṃkāra) xiv.26, commentary).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति).—f.

(-ntiḥ) Patience, forbearance, endurance. E. kṣam to be patient, affix ktin.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति).—i. e. kṣam + ti, f. Patience, forbearance, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 5, 107.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति).—[feminine] = [preceding] [neuter]; poss. mant.

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

1) Kṣānti (क्षान्ति):—[from kṣam] f. patient waiting for anything, [Vopadeva xxiii, 3]

2) [v.s. ...] patience, forbearance, endurance, indulgence, [Manu-smṛti v, 107; Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.

3) [v.s. ...] the state of saintly abstraction, [Divyāvadāna vi, xii, xviii]

4) [v.s. ...] (in music) Name of a Śruti

5) [v.s. ...] Name of a river, [Viṣṇu-purāṇa]

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति):—(nti) 2. f. Patience.

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Khaṃti.

[Sanskrit to German]

Kshanti 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.

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Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Kṣāṃti (ಕ್ಷಾಂತಿ):—[noun] the quality of being forbearing; patient restraint; forbearance; tolerance.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

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Tamil dictionary

[«previous next»] — Kshanti in Tamil glossary
Source: DDSA: University of Madras: Tamil Lexicon

Kṣānti (க்ஷாந்தி) noun < kṣānti. Patience, forbearance. See க்ஷமை [kshamai], 1.

context information

Tamil is an ancient language of India from the Dravidian family spoken by roughly 250 million people mainly in southern India and Sri Lanka.

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Nepali dictionary

Source: unoes: Nepali-English Dictionary

Kṣānti (क्षान्ति):—n. patience/forbearance; one of the Six Paramitas (परमिता [paramitā] );

context information

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.

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