Mahakaruna, Mahākaruṇā: 11 definitions
Introduction:
Mahakaruna means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. 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.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Mahākaruṇā (महाकरुणा) refers to “great compassion”, according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter 2).—Accordingly, “People of sensitive and upright mind can easily obtain salvation. If these people do not hear the doctrine preached, they fall into grave difficulties. It is like the lotus (utpala) in the water: some are born, some ripen, some remain within the water without emerging. If they do not have sunlight (sūryaprabhā), they do not expand (vikasanti). The Buddha is like [the sunlight]: sent forth by his great loving kindness and great compassion (mahāmaitrī-karuṇā), that he might have pity for beings and preach the doctrine”.
Mahākaruṇa (महाकरुण) refers to “great compassion”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly as The Lord said: “O Śāriputra, from innumerable aeons ago (asaṃkhyeya-kalpa), the Bodhisatvas in the Mahāvyūha universe have been in accordance with the [perfection of] giving as adorned with generosity, [...] have practiced the protection of all living beings as adorned with great friendliness (mahāmaitrī), have practiced never giving up any being as adorned with great compassion (mahākaruṇa), have never ceased to make joy, happiness, and great delight of all living beings as adorned with great happiness (mahāmudita), and have been punctilious in the practice without interruption, which has made all living beings not to be conceited or depressed as adorned with great equanimity (mahopekṣa) [...]”.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
mahākaruṇā : (f.) great compassion.
mahākaruṇā (မဟာကရုဏာ) [(thī) (ထီ)]—
[mahantī+karuṇā]
[မဟန္တီ+ကရုဏာ]
[Pali to Burmese]
mahākaruṇā—
(Burmese text): ကြီးကျယ်-မြင့်မြတ်-သော-ကရုဏာ-သနားမှု၊ မဟာကရုဏာ။ မဟာကာရုဏိက-ကြည့်။
(Auto-Translation): Great and exalted compassion, supreme compassion. Look at the supreme mercy.
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.
Sanskrit dictionary
Mahākaruṇā (महाकरुणा).—(compare Sanskrit karuṇā; = Pali id.), great compassion: Lalitavistara 181.5; Mahāvastu ii.2.7, et alibi; 32 mahāk° of a Tathāgata, Mahāvyutpatti 154, listed 155—186.
--- OR ---
Mahākaruṇā (महाकरुणा).—(°-) (m.c. °ṇa-) -meghaś(i)rī, name of a Buddha: Gaṇḍavyūha 285.8 (verse).
1) Mahākaruṇa (महाकरुण):—[=mahā-karuṇa] [from mahā > mah] mfn. very compassionate (-tā f.), [Buddhist literature]
2) Mahākaruṇā (महाकरुणा):—[=mahā-karuṇā] [from mahā-karuṇa > mahā > mah] f. general compassionateness, [Lalita-vistara]
Mahākaruṇa (महाकरुण):—[(ma + karuṇā)] adj. überaus mitleidig; davon nom. abstr. tā f. [AŚOKĀVAD. 31.]
Mahākaruṇa (महाकरुण):——
1) Adj. überaus mitleidig. Nom.abstr. tā f. —
2) f. ā allgemeines Mitleidsgefühl [Lalitavistarapurāṇa 217,13.]
Mahākaruṇā (in Sanskrit) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 大悲 [dà bēi]: “great compassion”.
2) 大悲心 [dà bēi xīn]: “mind filled with great compassion”.
3) 大慈悲 [dà cí bēi]: “great compassion”.
4) 大慈悲心 [dà cí bēi xīn]: “mental state of great compassion”.
5) 慈愍 [cí mǐn]: “Cimin” [Chinese personal name]; Alternatively: “compassion”.
6) 大哀 [dà āi]: “man of great pity”.
Note: mahākaruṇā can be alternatively written as: mahā-karuṇā.
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.
Nepali dictionary
Mahākaruṇā (महाकरुणा):—n. great compassion;
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 (+0): Mahanti, Maha, Karuna.
Starts with (+13): Mahakarunacandri, Mahakarunacandrin, Mahakarunacintin, Mahakarunaciti, Mahakarunacitta, Mahakarunadhikara, Mahakarunadhivasa, Mahakarunadhivasanapesalajjhasaya, Mahakarunadhivasapesalajjhasaya, Mahakarunaguna, Mahakarunameghadhvaja, Mahakarunameghashiri, Mahakarunameghashri, Mahakarunamukha, Mahakarunanana, Mahakarunanananiddesa, Mahakarunanayameghanigarjitaghosha, Mahakarunapadatthana, Mahakarunapubbangama, Mahakarunapundarika.
Full-text (+77): Mahakarunasamapatti, Mahakarunapundarika, Mahakarunika, Mahakarunacandri, Mahakarunamukha, Mahakarunasamayoga, Mahakarunayoga, Mahakarunasancodita, Mahakarunaguna, Mahakarunadhivasa, Mahakarunupanissaya, Mahakarunapubbangama, Mahakarunasamussahita, Mahakarunokkamana, Mahakarunanana, Mahakarunadhikara, Mahakarunata, Da bei jing, Mahakarunapuraskritatva, Da bei.
Relevant text
Search found 21 books and stories containing Mahakaruna, Maha-karuna, Mahā-karuṇā, Mahā-karuṇa, Mahākaruṇā, Mahākaruṇa, Mahakarunaa, Mahanti-karuna, Mahantī-karuṇā; (plurals include: Mahakarunas, karunas, karuṇās, karuṇas, Mahākaruṇās, Mahākaruṇas, Mahakarunaas). 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)
II. Great Loving-kindness and Great Compassion according to the Mahāyāna < [Preliminary note on Loving-kindness and Compassion]
Chapter XLII - The Great Loving-kindness and the Great Compassion of the Buddhas
I. Great Loving-kindness and Great Compassion according to the Śrāvakayāna < [Preliminary note on Loving-kindness and Compassion]
Maha Buddhavamsa—The Great Chronicle of Buddhas (by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw)
Part 5 - What are the Characteristics, Functions, Manifestations and Proximate Causes of The Pāramīs? < [Chapter 7 - On Miscellany]
Part 1 - What are the Pāramīs? < [Chapter 7 - On Miscellany]
Part 1 - Reflections on the profundity of the Dhamma < [Chapter 9 - The Buddha Reflecting Deeply on the Profundity of the Dhamma]
The Buddha and His Teachings (by Narada Thera)
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 1.7.141 < [Chapter 7 - Pūrṇa (pinnacle of excellent devotees)]
Buddhist iconography in and outside India (Study) (by Purabi Gangopadhyay)
Images of Taishaku-Nyo (Shakrani or Indrani) in Japan < [Chapter 4: Japanese Buddhist Iconography (a Comparative Study)]
Mahayana Buddhism and Early Advaita Vedanta (Study) (by Asokan N.)