In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: De Gruyter: A Buddhist Ritual Manual on Agriculture

Niḥphala (निःफल) refers to “becoming fruitless”, according to the Vajratuṇḍasamayakalparāja, an ancient Buddhist ritual manual on agriculture from the 5th-century (or earlier), containing various instructions for the Sangha to provide agriculture-related services to laypeople including rain-making, weather control and crop protection.—Accordingly, [as the Bhagavān was residing in the abode of Brahmā] “Then those beginning with Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara having seen that ray of the Tathāgata beheld Jambudvīpa. Hostile Nāgas have released cold spells, winds, clouds and thunderbolts. All flowers, fruits and crops, trees, grass, bush, herbs and large trees were burnt and destroyed and became fruitless (niḥphala)—this is what happened in Jambudvīpa”.

context information

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

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Niḥphala (निःफल).—mfn.

(-laḥ-lā-laṃ) Fruitless, barren. E. nir neg. phala fruit, more commonly niṣphala.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Niḥphala (निःफल):—[niḥ-phala] (laḥ-lā-laṃ) a. Fruitless.

context information

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

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Niḥphala (ನಿಃಫಲ):—

1) [adjective] not yielding, not capable of yielding, fruits.

2) [adjective] not being useful; useless.

3) [adjective] lacking normal function of the testes.

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Niḥphala (ನಿಃಫಲ):—[noun] that which is useless or the quality of being so.

context information

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)

Partial matches: Nih, Phala.

Relevant text

No search results for Nihphala, Niḥphala, Nih-phala, Niḥ-phala; (plurals include: Nihphalas, Niḥphalas, phalas) in any book or story.