Maitra, Maitrā: 19 definitions
Introduction:
Maitra means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
1) Maitra (मैत्र).—A demon tribe. Once a sage named Lomaśa persuaded Dharmaputra to attack this tribe.
2) Maitra (मैत्र).—An auspicious time (Muhūrta). Śrī Kṛṣṇa started on his historic journey to Hastināpura at Maitramuhūrta. (Śloka 6, Chapter 83, Udyoga Parva).
3) Maitra (मैत्र).—A constellation. Kṛtavarmā joined the Kaurava side on the day of this constellation. (Śloka 14, Chapter 35, Śalya Parva).
Maitra (मैत्र).—One of the 8 muhūrtas of the afternoon.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 3. 39; Vāyu-purāṇa 66. 40.
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.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Maitra (मैत्र).—The nakṣatra, Anurādhā which is presided over by Mitra. Note: Maitra 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.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Maitrā (मैत्रा, “loving-kindness”) or Maitrī refers to one of the “four immeasurables” (apramāṇa), according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter 32.—Accordingly, “Maitrī is to think about beings with love and always to seek for the safety (yogakṣema) and happy things in order to bring them good. Maitrī is practiced to remove hostility (vyāpāda) toward beings”.
Maitra (मैत्र) refers to the “friendliness”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “[...] At that time, sixty koṭis of Bodhisattvas, having stood up from the congregation, joined their palms, paid homage to the Lord, and then uttered these verses in one voice: ‘[...] (215) Immediately after seeing the transgressor of the true dharma, even from afar, we will show friendliness (maitra) to him that he show not anger towards us. (216) Being restrained in word and deed, we will protect them as much as possible, and never reproach them for being established in a particular sinful activity. [...]’”.
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.
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Maitra (मैत्र) refers to one of the various Grahas and Mahāgrahas mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Maitra).
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
maitra (मैत्र).—m (Properly mitra) A friend.
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maitra (मैत्र).—a S Friendly, amicable, relating to friend.
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maitra (मैत्र).—n S A name for the seventeenth lunar asterism or anurādhā.
maitra (मैत्र).—m A friend. a Friendly.
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
Maitra (मैत्र).—a. (-trī f.) [मित्र-अण् (mitra-aṇ)]
1) Belonging to a friend.
2) Given by a friend.
3) Friendly, well-disposed, amicable, kind; कुर्यादन्यन्न वा कुर्यान्मैत्रो ब्राह्मण उच्यते (kuryādanyanna vā kuryānmaitro brāhmaṇa ucyate) Manusmṛti 2. 87; अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च (adveṣṭā sarvabhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca) Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 12.13.
4) Relating to the god Mitra (as a Muhūrta); Kumārasambhava 7.6 (com. 'ārdraḥ sārdrastathā maitraḥ śubho vāsava eva ca' iti bṛhaspati- smaraṇāt); मैत्रे मुहूर्ते प्रययौ प्रयागवनमुत्तमम् (maitre muhūrte prayayau prayāgavanamuttamam) Rām.2.89.21 (com. udayāt tṛtīyamuhūrte).
-traḥ 1 A high or perfect Brāhmaṇa; परिनिष्ठितकार्यस्तु स्वाध्यायेनैव ब्राह्मणः । कुर्यादन्यत्र वा कुर्यान्मैत्रो ब्राह्मण उच्यते (pariniṣṭhitakāryastu svādhyāyenaiva brāhmaṇaḥ | kuryādanyatra vā kuryānmaitro brāhmaṇa ucyate) || Mahābhārata (Bombay) 12.6.12.
2) Name of a particular mixed tribe; Manusmṛti 1.23.
3) The anus; Manusmṛti 12. 72 (com.).
4) A friend.
-trī 1 Friendship, good will.
2) Intimate connection or association, union, contact; प्रत्यूषेषु स्फुटितकमलामोदमैत्रीकषायः (pratyūṣeṣu sphuṭitakamalāmodamaitrīkaṣāyaḥ) Meghadūta 31.
3) The lunar mansion called अनुराधा (anurādhā); तार्थयात्रां हलधरः (tārthayātrāṃ haladharaḥ) ...... मैत्र- नक्षत्रयोगे स्म (maitra- nakṣatrayoge sma) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 9.35.14.
-tram 1 Friendship.
2) Voiding or evacuation of excrement; मैत्रं प्रसाधनं स्नानम् (maitraṃ prasādhanaṃ snānam) (pūrvāhṇa eva kurvīta) Manusmṛti 4.152.
3) A prayer addressed to Mitra; अजातशत्रुः कृतमैत्रो हुताग्निः (ajātaśatruḥ kṛtamaitro hutāgniḥ) Bhāgavata 1.13.3.
4) The lunar mansion अनुराधा (anurādhā) (maitrabham in the same sense).
Maitrā (मैत्रा).—(rarely maitryā, q.v.; = Pali mettā; the Sanskrit equivalent maitrī is also extensively used, notably instead of this as one of the apramāṇa; Sanskrit also maitra, maitrya), love, benevolence; sometimes as one (the first) of the four apramāṇa or brahmavihāra, qq.v.: maitrāya, oblique case, Mahāvastu i.175.3 (verse; same line maitryāya iii.346.15, see maitryā); maitrāya (instr.; v.l. °tryāya) sphuṭā Mahāvastu ii.350.15; (compare maitryā, stem maitrī, sphāritvā Mahāvastu i.313.17, and see maitryā;) maitrā-vihārī Mahāvastu iii.421.18; Udānavarga xxxii.20 (22); (compare mahāmaitra-vihārī Lalitavistara 426.3, prose, with Sanskrit maitra;) maitrā-pariśuddho Mahāvastu ii.362.5; with the other three apramāṇa, maitrāyāṃ (loc.) Lalitavistara 164.15 (verse); maitrāya (gen.) 183.3 (verse); other cases, maitrā vijitya…mārapak- ṣāṃ Lalitavistara 343.6 (verse), by love (instr.); maitrām anusarati Kalpanāmaṇḍitikā, Lüders, Kl. Sanskrit Texte 2, 44; according to Kern, Preface viii, used in Kashgar recension of Saddharmapuṇḍarīka for text maitrī; maitrātmaka Divyāvadāna 319.20, 26, could contain this or Sanskrit maitra; see also next.
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Maitrā (मैत्रा) or Maitryā.—(Sanskrit maitrī, and maitrya, nt.; our stem seems to be a rare blend of more than one of these), love, benevolence: maitryāya (instr.) sphāritvā Mahāvastu i.314.1 (prose; compare maitryā sphāritvā 313.17); tasmāt te sadṛśo nāsti maitryāya (obl.; loc., or instr.?) Mahāvastu iii.346.15 (verse; same line with maitrāya i.175.3).
Maitra (मैत्र).—mfn.
(-traḥ-trī-traṃ) Of or belongining to a friend, friendly, amicable. m.
(-traḥ) 1. A Brahmana. 2. A mixed caste. 3. The anus. nf. (-traṃ-trī) 1. Friendship. 2. Evacuation of excrement. 3. Union. 4. A name of the seventeenth lunar asterism, (see the next.) E. mitra a friend, or the sun and aṇ aff.
Maitra (मैत्र).—properly maittra, i. e. mittra + a (see mittra), I. adj. 1. Relating to a friend, friendly, [Bhagavadgītā, (ed. Schlegel.)] 12, 13. 2. Given by a friend, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 9, 206. 3. m. (viz. saṃdhi), Proceeding from friendship, the name of a kind of alliance, [Hitopadeśa] iv. [distich] 123. Ii. m. 1. A friend to all creatures, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 2, 87. 2. A Brāhmaṇa. 3. The son of an outcaste Vaiśya, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 10, 23. 4. The anus. 5. Discharging of excrement, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 4, 152. Iii. n. 1. Friendship, [Pañcatantra] ii. [distich] 47. 2. The seventeenth lunar asterism. Cf. maitrya.
Maitra (मैत्र).—[feminine] ī belonging to or coming from a friend, friendly, kind, benevolent, affectionate; also relating to Mitra. —[masculine] [Name] of a cert. mixed caste & of a cert. alliance (scil. saṃdhi), a man’s name; [feminine] maitrī friendship, benevolence, likeness with (—°); [neuter] friendship, [Name] of a lunar mansion, the evacuation of excrement (presided over by Mitra).
1) Maitra (मैत्र):—mf(ī)n. ([from] mitra, of, which it is also the Vṛddhi form in [compound]) coming from or given by or belonging to a friend, friendly, amicable, benevolent, affectionate, kind, [Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata] etc.
2) belonging or relating to Mitra, [Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā] etc. etc.
3) m. ‘friend of all creatures’, a Brāhman who has arrived at the highest state of human perfection, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
4) a [particular] mixed caste or degraded tribe (the offspring of an out-caste Vaiśya; cf. maitreyaka), [Manu-smṛti x, 23]
5) ([scilicet] saṃdhi) an alliance based on good-will, [Kāmandakīya-nītisāra]
6) a friend (= mitra), [Pāṇini 5-4, 36], [vArttika] 4, [Patañjali]
7) Name of the 12th [astrology] Yoga, [Colebrooke]
8) the anus, [Manvarthamuktāvalī, kullūka bhaṭṭa’s Commentary on manu-smṛti on Manu-smṛti xii, 72]
9) a man’s Name much used as the Name of an imaginary person in giving examples in gram. and philos. (cf. caitra and [Latin] Caius)
10) Name of an Āditya (= mitra), [Viṣṇu-purāṇa]
11) of a preceptor, [Catalogue(s)]
12) n. (ifc. ā) friendship, [Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa] etc. etc.
13) a multitude of friends, [Mahābhārata] ([Nīlakaṇṭha])
14) = -nakṣatra, [Sūryasiddhānta]
15) an early morning prayer addressed to Mitra, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
16) evacuation of excrement (presided over by Mitra; maitraṃ √1. kṛ, to void excr°), [Manu-smṛti iv, 152]
17) = -sūtra.
Maitra (मैत्र):—[(traḥ-trī-traṃ) a.] Friendly, amicable. m. A brāhman; the anus. f. 9th lunar asterism; friendship.
Maitra (मैत्र):—
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Maitra (मैत्र):—
1) b) [Z. 7] lies (ye) te st. ye .
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Maitra (मैत्र):—
1) b) mati [Hemacandra] [Yogaśāstra 4, 117.] —
2) a) [Hemacandra] [Yogaśāstra 4, 116] (maitrī zu lesen).
Maitra (मैत्र):——
1) Adj. (f. ī) — a) vom Freunde kommend. — b) die Gefühle eines Freundes habend , — verrathend , wohlwollend , liebevoll. — c) dem Mitra gehörig u.s.w. —
2) m. — a) *ein Brahmane. — b) eine best. Mischlingskaste. — c) ein best. auf Zuneigung gegründetes Bündniss. — d) der 12te astrol. Yoga. — e) *After. — f) ein gangbarer Mannsname , der wie caitra dem lateinischen Cajus entspricht. — g) Nomen proprium — α) eines Āditya , = mitra [Wilson's Uebersetzung des Viṣṇupurāṇa 2,289.] — β) eines Lehrers. —
3) f. maitrī — a) Wohlwollen , freundschaftliche Gesinnung , ein freundschaftliches Verhältniss , Freundschaft. Auch Pl. — b) nahe Berührung , innige Verbindung (mit Unbelebtem). śrotramaitrīṃ gā so v.a. zu Ohren kommen [Vikramāṅkadevacarita 8,1.] — c) Gleichheit — , Aehnlichkeit mit (im Comp. vorangehend) [Vikramāṅkadevacarita 8,4.12,74.] [Jayadeva's Prasannarāghava 43,4.] — d) das personificirte Wohlwollen erscheint auch als Tochter Dakṣa’s und Gattin Dharma's. — e) *das Mondhaus Anurādhā. —
4) n. — a) Freundschaft. Am Ende eines adj. Comp. f. ā. — b) Freundesschaar. (nach [Nīlakaṇṭha]) [Mahābhārata 5,143,9.] — c) das unter Mitra stehende Mondhaus Anurādhā. Auch nakṣatra n. und bha n. — d) das am frühen Morgen an Mitra gerichtete Gebet. — e) das unter Mitra stehende Geschäft der Ausleerung. maitraṃ kar seine Nothdurft verrichten. — f) = maitrasutra. — g) *Freund.
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.
Kannada-English dictionary
Maitra (ಮೈತ್ರ):—[adjective] relating to, caused by, suitable for a friend.
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Maitra (ಮೈತ್ರ):—
1) [noun] the state of being friends; friendship.
2) [noun] attachment between friends; friendship.
3) [noun] (masc.) a friend.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Maitra (मैत्र):—adj. of/relating to a friend or friendship;
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 (+8): Maitrabala, Maitrabarhaspatya, Maitrabha, Maitracitta, Maitraka, Maitrakanya, Maitrakanyaka, Maitraki, Maitrakshajyotika, Maitranakshatra, Maitranama, Maitranatha, Maitrani, Maitrasata, Maitrashakha, Maitrashri, Maitrasutra, Maitrata, Maitravant, Maitravara.
Full-text (+105): Durmaitra, Mahamaitra, Maitrata, Maitracitta, Maitrakanyaka, Maitrashakha, Maitrasutra, Maitrabha, Maitravardhaka, Maitraka, Kritamaitra, Kritabhutamaitra, Maitranakshatra, Maitrakshajyotika, Sapaushnamaitra, Maitravardhraka, Maitrayana, Mitravaruniya, Maitrabala, Malamaitra.
Relevant text
Search found 86 books and stories containing Maitra, Maitrā; (plurals include: Maitras, Maitrās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 4.152 < [Section XIV - Other Duties]
Verse 9.206 < [Section XXVII - Property of Brothers, and their Mutual Relationship]
Verse 12.72 < [Section IX - Details of Transmigration]
Atharvaveda and Charaka Samhita (by Laxmi Maji)
Vanaspati (Plants) used in Veda < [Chapter 2 - The nature of treatment for diseases in the Ancient era]
Treatment of Rakta-vikāra (Haemoptysis) < [Chapter 3 - Diseases and Remedial measures (described in Atharvaveda)]
Treatments of Viṣūcikā disease (cholera) < [Chapter 3 - Diseases and Remedial measures (described in Atharvaveda)]
Wise Sayings from the Visnu-Purana < [Purana, Volume 8, Part 1 (1966)]
Elements of Astrology in the Vamana Purana < [Purana, Volume 12, Part 1 (1970)]
Svalpa Matsya-purana (part 5) < [Purana, Volume 10, Part 2 (1968)]
Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)
Verse 3.4.320 < [Chapter 4 - Descriptions of Śrī Acyutānanda’s Pastimes and the Worship of Śrī Mādhavendra]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Rig Veda (translation and commentary) (by H. H. Wilson)