Nakha: 21 definitions
Introduction:
Nakha means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India, 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.
In Hinduism
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Google Books: ManthanabhairavatantramNakha (नख) refers to “nails”, according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—Accordingly, while describing the signs of one who is a Siddha: “His heart is uplifted and his nose and the rest (of his face) is well balanced. The sign of one who is well accomplished is that he is well behaved and he produces abundance. His foot is upraised and his thighs are broad, the forehead is well balanced. He is accomplished from a previous life and is Bhairava. His navel has three creases. His penis is small and auspicious. His body is straight and well proportioned. Such a one is accomplished from a previous life in the western (tradition). His nails [i.e., nakha] are well proportioned and red. His hands bear the marks of elevation and his eyes are red. Such is an accomplished one in the previous lineage. His face is like a lotus and his hair is (tied up in a knot in the) foreign style. One who is such and is equal in pleasure and pain is part of the Siddha lineage”.

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.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Source: gurumukhi.ru: Ayurveda glossary of terms1) Nakha (नख):—Nails.
2) Nail

Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by VarahamihiraNakha (नख) refers to the “nails”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 2), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “We shall now proceed to give a brief description of (the qualifications of) a jyotiṣaka. He must be of noble birth and of agreeable appearance; meek, truthful and without jealousy; of proportional limbs; of joints well built and of good growth; have no physical defects; be of fine hands, feet, nails [i.e., nakha], eyes, chin, teeth, ears, forehead, eye-brows and head; of fine physique and of high, sonorous voice”.

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.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: archive.org: Vedic index of Names and SubjectsNakha (नख) denotes either the ‘nail’ of a man, or the ‘claw’ of a wild beast, such as a tiger. The trimming (nikṛntana) of the nails was a regular part of the toilet of the Vedic Indian, especially on occasions of special sanctity, when it accompanied the cleansing of the teeth.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita SastraNakha (नख, “nails”) refers to one of the thirty-substances of the human body according to the Visuddhimagga, as mentioned in an appendix of the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter 32-34. The Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra mentions thirty-six substances [viz., nakha]; the Sanskrit sources of both the Lesser and the Greater Vehicles, physical substances are 26 in number while the Pāli suttas list thirty-once substances.

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.
India history and geography
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Indian Epigraphical GlossaryNakha.—(IE 7-1-2), ‘twenty’. Note: nakha is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.

The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as 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.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionarynakha : (m.; nt.) nail (of finger or toe); a claw.
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English DictionaryNakha, (Ved. nakha, cp. Sk. aṅghri foot; Gr. o)/nuc (claw, nail), Lat. unguis=Oir. inga; Ohg. nagal=E. nail) a nail of finger or toe, a claw Vin. II, 133; Sn. 610 (na aṅgulīhi nakhehi vā); J. V, 489 (pañcanakhā sattā five-nailed or —toed beings); Kh II. =Miln. 26, cp. taca (pañcatacakaṃ); KhA 43; VvA. 7 (dasa-nakhasamodhāna putting the 10 fingers together); PvA. 152, 192; Sdhp. 104. (Page 345)

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.
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarynakha (नख).—n m (S) A nail of a finger or toe. Pr. jēthēṃ nakhānēṃ kāma hōtēṃ tēthēṃ kuṛhāḍa kaśālā Why use a sledge-hammer to drive in a tack? 2 A claw or talon (of birds or beasts). 3 n A fragrant drug, Unguis odoratus or Black Byzantino. 4 A scale (as of the khavalyā mārjara or Pangolin). 5 (For nakha- vikha) Poison of the nails. v bādha, lāga, dhāva. āpalīñca nakhēṃ āpaṇāsa vikhēṃ Expresses suffering from one's own malice or evil. Ps. xxxiv. 21. jēthēṃ nakha nakō tēthēṃ kuṛhāḍa lāvaṇēṃ See the proverb at the head. To apply hard measures where the very slightest severity is unnecessary. nakha dṛṣṭīsa na paḍaṇēṃ To be utterly covered or concealed. nakha nakha bōlaṇēṃ To speak loftily or floutingly, with a hoity toity air and toss. nakhabhara A very small bit or quantity, a nailful. nakha śiraṇēṃ g. of s. To obtain entrance; to get a finger in. nakhā ēvaḍhā Very small, little, scanty, petty, insignificant--a thing, a business, a debt, fault, person. nakhāṃ bōṭāṃ- vara-kāma karaṇēṃ To do or act generally with delicate or dainty airs;--khēḷaviṇēṃ or cāḷaviṇēṃ To amuse, beguile, bamboozle; to wind over one's thumb;--cālaṇēṃ To walk mincingly or delicately;--jēvaṇēṃ To eat daintily, with picking and tossing about;--divasa mōjaṇēṃ To anticipate with impatient eagerness; to count the days. nakhāṃlā āga lāgalī (Fire has caught at the toe-nails.) Disaster or adversity is but begun (ajhūna sārēṃ aṅga jaḷāyācēṃ āhē). nakhīṃ dōṣa nāhīṃ or nakhāṃlā mātī lāgalī nāhīṃ Castus ad unguem. nakhēṃ cāvīta-kuḍatuḍīta-vājavīta basaṇēṃ (To sit biting or striking together one's nails.) To be out of employ: also to be baffled, foiled, posed.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishnakha (नख).—n A nail of a finger or toe. jēthēṃ nakhānēṃ kāma hōtēṃ tēthēṃ kuṛhāḍa kaśālā? Why use a sledge-hammer to drive in a tack? A claw or taion (of birds or beasts). āpalīñca nakhēṃ āpaṇāsa vikhēṃ Expresses suffer- ing from one's own malice or evil. jēthēṃ nakha nakō tēthēṃ kunhāḍa lāvaṇēṃ (See the pro- verb at the head.) To apply hard measures where the very slightest severity is unnecessary. nakha dṛṣṭīsa na paḍaṇēṃ To be utterly covered or conceal- ed. nakha nakha bōlaṇēṃ To speak loftily or floutingly, with a hoity toity air and toss. nakhabhara A very small bit or quan- tity, a nailful. nakha śiraṇēṃ To obtain en- trance; to get a finger in. nakhāēvaḍhā Very small. nakhābōṭāvara kāma karaṇēṃ To do or act generally with delicate or dainty airs;-khēḷaviṇēṃ or cāḷaviṇēṃ To amuse beguile, bamboozle;-cālaṇēṃ To walk mincingly or delicately;-jēvaṇēṃ To eat daintily, with picking and tossing about;-divasa mōjaṇēṃ To anticipate with impatient eagerness. nakhāṃlā āga lāgalī (ajūna sārēṃ aṅga jaḷāvayācēṃ āhē (Fire has caught at the toe-nails.) Disaster or adversity is but begun. nakhīṃ dōṣa nāhīṃ or nakhāṃlā mātī lāgalī nāhīṃ Castus ad unguen. nakhēṃ cāvīta-kuḍatuḍīta-vājavīta basaṇēṃ. To be out of employ: also to be baffl- ed, foiled.
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 dictionaryNakha (नख).—
1) A nail of a finger or of a toe, claw, talon; नखानां पाण्डित्यं प्रकटयतु कस्मिन् मृगपतिः (nakhānāṃ pāṇḍityaṃ prakaṭayatu kasmin mṛgapatiḥ) Bv.1.2; R.2.31;12.22.
-kham A kind of perfume; Nm.
2) The number 'twenty'.
3) A eunuch; L. D. B.
-khaḥ A part, portion.
Derivable forms: nakhaḥ (नखः), nakham (नखम्).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryNakha (नख).—mf. (-khaḥ-khī) A finger nail. m.
(-khaḥ) A part, a portion. nf. (-khaṃ-khī) A perfume, a dried substance, of a brown colour, and of the shape of a nail; apparently, a dried shell-fish, used as a perfume. f. (-khī) A vegetable perfume, different from the one above, though known by the same name, Nak'Hi. E. na privative, kha sense; or nah to bind kha Unadi affix, the radical ha rejected. nakham chidram atra .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryNakha (नख).—I. m. and n. A nail of a finger or of a toe, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 4, 35. Ii. n. and f. khī, A certain perfume.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryNakha (नख).—[masculine] [neuter] (adj. —° [feminine] ī) nail (of finger or toe), claw.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Nakha (नख):—mn. ([from] √nagh [?] cf. naghamāra; [probably] not [from] na + kha in spite of [Pāṇini 6-3, 75]; ifc. f(ī). ) a finger-nail, toe-nail, claw, talon, the spur of a cock, [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc. (khāni-√kṛ, or √kḷp, to cut the nails, [Kauśika-sūtra; Manu-smṛti])
2) = 20 [Sūryasiddhānta]
3) nf (ī). Unguis Odoratus, [Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā; Hemādri’s Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi]
4) m. part, portion.
5) cf. [Greek] ὄνυξ, stem ὀ-νυχ; [Latin] unguis; Lit. nágas; [Slavonic or Slavonian] nogŭtĭ; [Anglo-Saxon] naegel; [English] nail; [German] Nagel.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Nakha (नख):—nakhati 1. a. To move.
2) [(khaḥ-khī)] 1. m. 3. f. A finger nail. m. A part. f. n. A perfume.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Nakha (नख) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Ṇakkha.
[Sanskrit to German]
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
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary1) Nakha (नख) [Also spelled nakh]:—(nm) nail; (nf) a fruit akin to the pear in shape, size and taste; ~[kṣata] bruises caused by the nails (in amorous sport); ~[śikha] top to bottom, the entire physical frame; ~[śikha-varṇana] elaborate description of physical charms; —[se śikha taka] from top to bottom, from head to heel.
2) Nākha (नाख):—(nf) a fruit akin to the pear in shape, size and taste.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusNakha (ನಖ):—
1) [noun] a thin, horny plate, consisting of modified epidermis, growing on the upper side of the end of a finger or toe; a nail.
2) [noun] a sharp, usu. curved, nail on the foot of an animal, as on a cat, dog or bird; a claw.
3) [noun] the horny covering protecting the ends of the digits or encasing the foot in certain animals, as the ox and horse; a hoof.
4) [noun] a kind of perfume.
5) [noun] a kind of plant (Unguis odoratus ?).
6) [noun] (arith.) a symbol for the number twenty.
7) [noun] ನಖ ಬಣ್ಣವ ಕಾಣು [nakha bannava kanu] nakha baṇṇava kāṇu (a girl) to have menstrual period; to undergo menstruation; ನಖಮಾಂಸ ಪ್ರೀತಿ [nakhamamsa priti] nakha māṃsa prīti a very close, intimate association; ನಖಮಾಂಸ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ [nakhamamsa sthiti] nakha māṃsa sthiti = ನಖಮಾಂಸ ಪ್ರೀತಿ [nakhamamsa priti].
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with (+91): Nakha Cetiya, Nakhabheda, Nakhabhinna, Nakhacchedana, Nakhacchedya, Nakhacchotanika, Nakhaci Jibha, Nakhaci-jibha, Nakhacyuti, Nakhadarana, Nakhaddarccarika, Nakhaddarccarikakshetra, Nakhadyuti, Nakhagamdhe, Nakhaghata, Nakhagra, Nakhagrim, Nakhagucchaphala, Nakhaharani, Nakhajaha.
Ends with (+59): Agganakha, Agranakha, Anakha, Angulyagranakha, Antarnakha, Asinakha, Atthanakha, Ayamitanakha, Bakanakha, Bhagnadantanakha, Byala-nakha, Cakranakha, Candranakha, Chandranakha, Dashanakha, Dighanakha, Dirghanakha, Drumanakha, Drunakha, Dvipinakha.
Full-text (+193): Nakhavishkira, Drumanakha, Nakhashankha, Nakhalekha, Pancanakha, Nakhamuca, Nakhavrana, Drunakha, Nakhapada, Nakhakutta, Nakhampaca, Nakharanjani, Nakhin, Nakhabhinna, Nakhakhadin, Tarunakha, Nakhadarana, Nakhajaha, Nakhavisha, Nakhara.
Relevant text
Search found 29 books and stories containing Nakha, Nākha, Ṇakha; (plurals include: Nakhas, Nākhas, Ṇakhas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)
Verse 2.9.74 < [Chapter 9 - The Lord’s Twenty-One Hour Ecstasy and Descriptions of Śrīdhara and Other Devotees’ Characteristics]
Verse 2.6.80 < [Chapter 6 - The Lord’s Meeting with Advaita Ācārya]
Verse 2.206 < [Chapter 2 - The Lord’s Manifestation at the House of Śrīvāsa and the Inauguration of Saṅkīrtana]
Brihat Samhita (by N. Chidambaram Iyer)
Chapter 77 - Preparation of Perfumes (gandhayukti)
Sushruta Samhita, volume 1: Sutrasthana (by Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna)
The Agni Purana (by N. Gangadharan)
Chapter 224 - Duties of a King in the Harem (antaḥpura)
Chapter 364 - Words denoting men and the four classes of men
Chapter 323 - The mantra of the weapons of Aghora and the six constituents
Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī)
Verse 3.4.24 < [Part 4 - Parenthood (vātsalya-rasa)]
Verse 4.8.71 < [Part 8 - Compatible & Incompatible Mellows (maitrī-vaira-sthiti)]
Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya (by Śrī Gunaraja Khan)