Nagna: 17 definitions
Introduction
Introduction:
Nagna means something in Buddhism, Pali, 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.
Alternative spellings of this word include Nagn.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexNagna (नग्न).—A heretic: conquering, the senses and controlling self;1 unlettered in Veda;2 Dialogue between Vasiṣṭha and Bhīṣma regarding Nagna;3 Asuras became so by the delusion of Māyāmoha Viṣṇu;4 caste men who neglect their svadharma become a Nagna.5
- 1) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 27. 105 and 119; III. 14. 35-40.
- 2) Viṣṇu-purāṇa III. 16. 12; 17. 5.
- 3) Ib. III. 17. 7.
- 4) Ib. III. 18-36.
- 5) Ib. III. 18. 48 and 52.

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.
Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)
Source: eScholarship: Chapters 1-14 of the Hayasirsa PancaratraNagna (नग्न) refers to “one who is naked”, representing an undesirable characteristic of an Ācārya, according to the 9th-century Hayaśīrṣa-pañcarātra Ādikāṇḍa chapter 3.—The Lord said:—“I will tell you about the Sthāpakas endowed with perverse qualities. He should not construct a temple with those who are avoided in this Tantra. [...] He with whom one constructs a temple should not be a Śaiva, or a Saura, nor a Naiṣṭhika, nor a naked one (nagna), nor born of mixed marriage, nor unclean, old, or one who is of a despicable form or marked by great sin. [...] A god enshrined by any of these named above (viz., nagna), is in no manner a giver of fruit. If a building for Viṣṇu is made anywhere by these excluded types (viz., nagna) then that temple will not give rise to enjoyment and liberation and will yield no reward, of this there is no doubt”.

Pancaratra (पाञ्चरात्र, pāñcarātra) represents a tradition of Hinduism where Narayana is revered and worshipped. Closeley related to Vaishnavism, the Pancaratra literature includes various Agamas and tantras incorporating many Vaishnava philosophies.
Kavya (poetry)
Source: archive.org: Naisadhacarita of Sriharsa1) Nagna (नग्न) bards are described by Māgha (18.16) as singing the exploits of heroes on the battlefield.
2) Nagna (नग्न) in “nagnācārya” refers to “ill-clad person”.—The derivation of the word [nagnācārya] is not clear. Hemacandra, relying on the literal meaning of the word, describes nagna as an ill-clad person wearing only a small piece of loin-cloth. But it is extremely doubtful whether shabby persons wearing rags were employed by kings to awaken them in the morning in melodious strains. [...] Kuṭṭanīmata (verse 550) seems to imply that a Nagnācārya is a well-to-do person. It is, however, probable that these Nagna bards were sometimes Jaina mendicants. The word Nagna means also a Jaina mendicant, and it is remarkable that there is another word Goraṅku which also means both “a bard” and “a Jaina mendicant”. [...] The double meaning of the two words Nagna (or Nagnācārya) and Goraṅku seems to suggest that Jaina mendicants sometimes served as bards or panegyrists.
Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita SastraNagna (नग्न, “naked”).—According to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XIV), “then, amongst the beings of the trisāhasramahāsāhasralokadāthu, those who were naked (nagna) received clothing”. Some poor people (daridra) go about without clothes or their clothes are in tatters. It is by the power of the Buddha that they acquire clothing.

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
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarynagna (नग्न).—a (S) pop. naggā a Naked. 2 fig. Destitute.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishnagna (नग्न).—a naggā a Naked. Destitute.
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
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryNagna (नग्न).—See under नज् (naj) below.
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Nagna (नग्न).—a. [naj-na-kartari kta tasya naḥ]
1) Naked, nude, bare; न नग्नः स्नानमाचरेत् (na nagnaḥ snānamācaret) Ms.4.45; नग्नक्षपणके देशे रजकः किं करिष्यति (nagnakṣapaṇake deśe rajakaḥ kiṃ kariṣyati) Chāṇ.11; अवश्यंभाविनो भावा भवन्ति महतामपि । नग्नत्वं नीलकण्ठस्य महाहिशयनं हरेः (avaśyaṃbhāvino bhāvā bhavanti mahatāmapi | nagnatvaṃ nīlakaṇṭhasya mahāhiśayanaṃ hareḥ) || H.
2) Uncultivated, uninhabited, desolate.
-gnaḥ 1 A naked mendicant.
2) A Buddhist mendicant (kṣapaṇaka); धर्म इत्युपधर्मेषु नग्नरक्तपटादिषु । प्रायेण सज्जते भ्रान्त्या पेशलेषु च वाग्मिषु (dharma ityupadharmeṣu nagnaraktapaṭādiṣu | prāyeṇa sajjate bhrāntyā peśaleṣu ca vāgmiṣu) || Bhāg.4.19.25.
3) A hypocrite.
4) A bard accompanying an army, or a wandering bard.
5) Name of Śiva.
-gnā 1 A naked, shameless (or wanton) woman.
2) A girl before menstruation, or less than 12 or 1 (and therefore may go about naked).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryNagna (नग्न).—m. (compare on the [etymology] and exact meaning the com-moner mahā-nagna, of which this is essentially a syno- nym), great man, mighty man, champion: sarvi bala-upeta nagnāḥ samā duṣpradharṣāḥ paraiḥ Lalitavistara 94.11 (verse); nagnabalānupradāna- 429.22 (prose), the granting of the might of champions; (ekasmin dvāre eko) nagnaḥ sthā- pitaḥ, dvitīye dvitīyaḥ, tṛtīye Rādhaguptaḥ (an agrāmā- tyaḥ), pūrvadvāre svayam eva rājāśoko 'vasthitaḥ Divyāvadāna 373.13.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryNagna (नग्न).—mfn.
(-gnaḥ-gnā-gnaṃ) Naked. m.
(-gnaḥ) 1. A naked mendicant. 2. A Baud'dha. 3. A bard. f.
(-gnā) A naked woman. E. naj to be ashamed, affix karttari kta.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryNagna (नग्न).—I. adj., f. nā, Naked, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 4, 45. Ii. f. nā, A girl before menstruation, [Pañcatantra] iii. [distich] 217.
— Cf. [Gothic.] naqvadei; [Anglo-Saxon.] nacud, nacod. genacian; [Latin] nudus.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryNagna (नग्न).—[adjective] naked, bare; [masculine] a naked mendicant, [feminine] ā a naked i.e. wanton woman, also = seq. [feminine]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus CatalogorumNagna (नग्न) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—poet. [Sūktikarṇāmṛta by Śrīdharadāsa]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Nagna (नग्न):—a See under √naj below.
2) [from naj] b mf(ā)n. naked, new, bare, desolate, desert, [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc.
3) [v.s. ...] m. a naked mendicant ([especially] a Bauddha, but also a mere hypocrite), [Varāha-mihira; Viṣṇu-purāṇa]
4) [v.s. ...] a bard accompanying an army, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
5) [v.s. ...] Name of Śiva, [Śivagītā, ascribed to the padma-purāṇa]
6) [v.s. ...] of a poet, [Catalogue(s)]
7) Nagnā (नग्ना):—[from nagna > naj] f. a naked (wanton) woman, [Atharva-veda v, 7, 8]
8) [v.s. ...] a girl before menstruation (allowed to go naked), [Pañcatantra iii, 217]
9) [v.s. ...] Cardiospermum Halicacabum, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.] (cf. nagaṇā); = vāc ([varia lectio] for nanā), [Naighaṇṭuka, commented on by Yāska i, 11 [Scholiast or Commentator]; ]
10) Nagna (नग्न):—[from naj] cf. [Zend] maghna for naghna; [Lithuanian] nugas; [Slavonic or Slavonian] nagŭ; [Gothic] nagaths; [Anglo-Saxon] nacod; [English] naked; [German] nackt.
[Sanskrit to German] (Deutsch Wörterbuch)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Böhtlingk and Roth Grosses Petersburger WörterbuchNagna (नग्न):—
1) adj. f. ā nackt, bloss [Amarakoṣa 3, 1, 39.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 534] (nagnā). [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha 2, 272.] [Medinīkoṣa Nalopākhyāna 13.] a.hyūrṇoti.yanna.nam [Ṛgveda 8, 68, 2.] a.niṃ na na.na upa sīda.ūdhaḥ [10, 61, 9. 4, 25, 7. 8, 2, 12.] [The Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 1, 2, 2, 16. 3, 1, 2, 17. 11, 5, 1, 1.] [ĀŚV. GṚHY. 3, 9.] [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 4, 45. 53. 75. 7, 92. 8, 93.] [Nalopākhyāna 13, 35.] [Suśruta 1, 106, 2.] [Cāṇakya 110.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 1, 4, 5.] Beiw. Śiva’s [Śivanāmasahasra] Uneig. von einer Gegend nackt, wüst [Geschichte des Vidūṣaka 246.] anagna ([Stenzler] nicht entblösst) von einer Speise [Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch 1, 106.] —
2) m. a) ein nackt einhergehender Bettelmönch und in schlimmem Sinne ein Heuchler; ein Mann, der durch seine Nacktheit seine Häresie zu verstecken sucht; = kṣapaṇa, kṣapaṇaka [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 3, 3, 245.] [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha] [Medinīkoṣa] [Hārāvalī 115.] [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 50, 5. 59, 19.] [Viṣṇupurāṇa 333] und [Nalopākhyāna 3. 334, Nalopākhyāna 1. 339. 345.] — b) ein das Heer begleitender Barde [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 795.] [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha] [Medinīkoṣa] [Burnouf 363, Nalopākhyāna 1.] nagnācārya zur Erkl. von vaitālika [BHAṬṬOTP.] zu [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 86, 12 (93).] —
3) f. nagnā a) ein nacktes (unzüchtiges) Weib: u.a na.nā bobhuvatī svapna.ā sacase.janam [Atharvavedasaṃhitā 5, 7, 8.] — b) ein noch nicht menstruirendes (noch unbekleidet gehendes) Mädchen (vgl. nagnikā u. nagnaka): tasmādudvāhayennagnām [Pañcatantra III, 217.] — c) bei [DEVAR.] zu [das 1, 11] unter den Synonymen von vāc . — d) Name einer Pflanze, Cardiospermum Halicacabum Lin., [Ratnamālā 22]; vgl. nagaṇā . — Vgl. anagna, mahā .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Sanskrit-Wörterbuch in kürzerer FassungNagna (नग्न):——
1) Adj. (f. ā) — a) nackt , entblösst , bloss. — b) wüst (Gegend) [Kathāsaritsāgara 18,314.] —
2) m. — a) ein nackt einhergehender Bettelmönch. — b) ein das Heer begleitender Barde. —
3) f. ā — a) ein nacktes (unzüchtiges) Weib. — b) ein noch nicht menstruirendes Mädchen. — c) *Cardiospermum Halicacabum. — d) *Rede.
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with (+6): Nagnabhupatigraha, Nagnacarya, Nagnacharya, Nagnadaya, Nagnadhara, Nagnadigambara, Nagnadiksha, Nagnahu, Nagnajit, Nagnajita, Nagnajiti, Nagnaka, Nagnakshapanaka, Nagnambhavishnu, Nagnambhavuka, Nagnamkarana, Nagnamushita, Nagnamushitaprakhya, Nagnanilapatadika, Nagnashramana.
Ends with: Dvirnagna, Mahanagna, Vinagna.
Full-text (+34): Nagnajit, Mahanagna, Nagnacarya, Nagnata, Nagnamkarana, Nagnatva, Nana, Nagnataka, Goranku, Vinagna, Nagnanilapatadika, Anagnata, Nagnamushita, Nagnabhupatigraha, Nagnashravana, Nagnadhara, Nagnavritti, Nagana, Nagnakshapanaka, Nagnashramana.
Relevant text
Search found 12 books and stories containing Nagna, Nagnā; (plurals include: Nagnas, Nagnās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
The Brahmanda Purana (by G.V. Tagare)
Chapter 14 - Purification rites and the Śrāddha ritual < [Section 3 - Upodghāta-pāda]
The Vishnu Purana (by Horace Hayman Wilson)
Chapter XVII - Of heretics, or those who reject the authority of the Vedas < [Book III]
Chapter XVI - Things proper to be offered as food to deceased ancestors < [Book III]
Chapter XVIII - Buddha goes to the earth, and teaches the Daityas to contemn the Vedas < [Book III]
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
Story of the joy of the merchants saved from shipwreck < [Section I.1 - Abstaining from murder]
Part 2 - Disadvantages of liquor < [Section I.5 - Abstention from liquor]
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 1.2.81-83 < [Chapter 2 - Divya (the celestial plane)]
The Religion and Philosophy of Tevaram (Thevaram) (by M. A. Dorai Rangaswamy)
Chapter 4.6 - (j) Symbology of the dress < [Volume 2 - Nampi Arurar and Mythology]
Brihat Samhita (by N. Chidambaram Iyer)