Mahattva: 11 definitions
Introduction:
Mahattva means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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.
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In Hinduism
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Mahattva (महत्त्व) refers to “eminent (men)”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 5), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “If the sun and moon should begin to be eclipsed when only half risen, deceitful men will suffer as well as sacrificial rites. [...] If the sun and moon should be eclipsed when in the sign of Aries (Meṣa), the Pāñcālas, the Kaliṅgas, the Sūrasenas, the people of Kāmboja, of Odra, of Kirāta, soldiers and persons who live by fire will be afflicted with miseries. If the sun or moon should be eclipsed when in the sign of Taurus (Vṛṣabha), shepherds, cows, their owners and eminent men [i.e., mahattva—manujā ye ca mahattvam] will suffer miseries”.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
mahattva (महत्त्व).—n Greatness.
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
Mahattva (महत्त्व).—
1) Greatness, largeness, magnitude, great extent.
2) Mightiness, majesty.
3) Importance.
4) Exalted position, height, elevation.
5) Intensity, violence, high degree.
Derivable forms: mahattvam (महत्त्वम्).
Mahattva (महत्त्व).—n.
(-ttvaṃ) Greatness, either in bulk or rank. E. mahat great, tva aff. of the abstract.
Mahattva (महत्त्व).—i. e. mahant + tva, n. Greatness, [Pañcatantra] iii. [distich] 254; finite magnitude (as found in the trasareṇu), Bhāṣāp. 57.
1) Mahattva (महत्त्व):—[=mahat-tva] [from mahat > mah] n. idem, [Kāvya literature; Varāha-mihira]
2) [v.s. ...] great size or extent, magnitude, [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature] etc.
3) [v.s. ...] violence, intensity, [Suśruta]
4) [v.s. ...] moral greatness, [Kathāsaritsāgara]
Mahattva (महत्त्व):—(wie eben) n. Grösse, = mahan [Yāska’s Nirukta 11, 37.] [Bhāṣāpariccheda 57.] taraṃgasya [Halāyudha 3, 31.] randhrasya [KĀM. NĪTIS. 15, 15.] mahābhāratasya grosser Umfang [Mahābhārata 1, 266.] balasya Grösse, Stärke [Yāska’s Nirukta 10, 10.] snehasya [Mālavikāgnimitra 32, 10.] rogasya Heftigkeit [Suśruta 1, 268, 8. 291, 20.] Grösse so v. a. hohe Stellung, hohes Ansehen: śūdro pi mahattvamīyāt [Rāmāyaṇa 1, 1, 96. 63, 19.] ṣaḍvyāghātā mahattvasya [Spr. 388. 862. 1030. 2141. 4870.] [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 5, 36.] [Rājataraṅgiṇī 2, 46.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 1, 16, 30. 9, 5, 14.]
Mahattva (महत्त्व):—n. —
1) Grösse , grosser Umfang. —
2) Grösse , Stärke , Heftigkeit. —
3) hohe Stellung , hohes Ansehen. —
4) sittliche Grösse [137,14.] [Indische sprüche 7718.]
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
Mahattva (महत्त्व):—(nm) importance; significance; greatness; magnitude.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Mahattva (ಮಹತ್ತ್ವ):—
1) [noun] greatness; superiority; excellence.
2) [noun] the quality of being able to perform; ability.
3) [noun] the quality or fact of being important; importance.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Mahattva (महत्त्व):—n. 1. importance; significance; 2. greatness; grandeur; nobleness; nobility; excellence; 3. necessity; need;
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: Mahattvabhaas, Mahattvabhasa, Mahattvahina, Mahattvakamksha, Mahattvakangkshi, Mahattvakanksha, Mahattvakankshi, Mahattvapurna, Mahattvarahita.
Full-text (+3): Mahattvarahita, Mahatva, Gunamahattva, Durgamahattva, Mahatvate, Makattuvam, Samarika, Samrik, Parushakshara, Mahatta, Kalapurna, Mattuvam, Kaladhara, Kalanidhi, Tiraskri, Yacana, Samudagama, Yadavacala, Narayanadri, Pula.
Relevant text
Search found 41 books and stories containing Mahattva, Mahat-tva; (plurals include: Mahattvas, tvas). 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 2.7.33 < [Chapter 7 - Kidnapping of the Calves and Cowherd Boys]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 557 < [Hindi-Gujarati-English Volume 1]
Page 611 < [English-Gujarati-Hindi (1 volume)]
Page 715 < [English-Gujarati-Hindi (1 volume)]
Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana (by Gaurapada Dāsa)
Text 7.38 < [Chapter 7 - Literary Faults]
Text 10.210 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)
Verse 1.13.93 < [Chapter 13 - Defeating Digvijayī]
Verse 2.13.261 < [Chapter 13 - The Deliverance of Jagāi and Mādhāi]
Verse 1.16.271 < [Chapter 16 - The Glories of Śrī Haridāsa Ṭhākura]
Tattvasangraha [with commentary] (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 648-649 < [Chapter 11 - On ‘Quality’ as a Category]
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 1.7.159 < [Chapter 7 - Pūrṇa (pinnacle of excellent devotees)]
Verse 1.4.24-25 < [Chapter 4 - Bhakta (the devotee)]
Verse 2.3.159 < [Chapter 3 - Bhajana (loving service)]