Nimna: 22 definitions
Introduction:
Nimna 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 Nimn.
Images (photo gallery)
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Nimna (निम्न).—A Yādava. (Bhāgavata, 9th Skandha).
Nimna (निम्न).—The son of Anamitra and father of two sons, Satrājita and Prasena.*
- * Bhāgavata-purāṇa IX. 24. 13.
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.
Shilpashastra (iconography)
Nimna (निम्न) refers to members of the moulding of a pedestal (pīṭha), used in the construction of liṅgas. The word liṅga refers to a symbol used in the worship of Śiva and is used thoughout Śaiva literature, such as the sacred Āgamas.
Shilpashastra (शिल्पशास्त्र, śilpaśāstra) represents the ancient Indian science (shastra) of creative arts (shilpa) such as sculpture, iconography and painting. Closely related to Vastushastra (architecture), they often share the same literature.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Nimna (निम्न) refers to “deep-set” (e.g., one who has a deep-set navel), according to the Kularatnoddyota, one of the earliest Kubjikā Tantras.—Accordingly, “[...] (The gross form has) five faces, ten arms and, pure, it has a smiling face. [...] Her stomach is thin, navel, deep set [i.e., nimna-nābhi] and thighs large. (Her) hips and knees are very soft. She has beautiful thighs and red finger (nails) that are very beautiful. She (wears) beautiful cloths, a divine garland and an excellent shawl. (She wears) a necklace made of large gems, bangles on her limbs, anklets and a blazing diadem of rubies (māṇikya). O supreme mistress, adorned with divine rings (on her fingers), she sits on a svastika (as her) seat”.
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.
Ganitashastra (Mathematics and Algebra)
Nimna (निम्न) or Nimnavṛtta refers to a “concave surface” representing one of the eight divisions of a circle (vṛtta), as described in the Kṣetragaṇitaśāstra, as mentioned in A. Rahman’s Science and Technology in Medievel India: A bibliography of source materials in Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian.—Ancient and medieval India produced a wide range of scientific manuscripts and major contributions lie in the field of medicine, astronomy and mathematics, besides covering encyclopedic glossaries and technical dictionaries.—The Kṣetragaṇita-śāstra is a Sanskrit mathematical treatise dealing with the art of measuring lands, containing well-defined and established technical terms [e.g., Nimna-vṛtta] wanted for practical use in the Tamil language.
Ganita (गणित) or Ganitashastra refers to the ancient Indian science of mathematics, algebra, number theory, arithmetic, etc. Closely allied with astronomy, both were commonly taught and studied in universities, even since the 1st millennium BCE. Ganita-shastra also includes ritualistic math-books such as the Shulba-sutras.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Nimna (निम्न) refers to “sunk (into the ground)” (referring to certain elephant-traps), according to the 15th century Mātaṅgalīlā composed by Nīlakaṇṭha in 263 Sanskrit verses, dealing with elephantology in ancient India, focusing on the science of management and treatment of elephants.—[Cf. chapter 10, “on the catching of elephants”]: “12. Separate ropes with multiple ends, the ends of which are tied into nooses, are covered with kerī-bark and twigs, etc., (the ropes) as large as the girth of a betel nut tree, and approximately sixty karas (30 yards) long, and are well buried and covered on all sides with dust in a very broad hole in the ground sunk (nimna-dharaṇī) [nimnadharaṇīgarte'tivistārite] to the depth of a kara (a foot and a half)”.
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.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Nimna (निम्न) [=Nimnatā?] refers to “inclination (towards the dharma)”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “How then, son of good family, does the Bodhisattva who has attained memory never forget? Son of good family, the Bodhisattva attains memory (dhāraṇī) by purifying his memory. What then is the purification of memory? Son of good family, there are thirty-two purifications of memory. What are the thirty-two? To wit, (1) seeking the dharma; (2) delight in the dharma; (3) taking pleasure in the delights of the dharma; (4) inclination towards the dharma (dharma-nimnatā); [...]”
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
nimna (निम्न).—a S Deep.
nimna (निम्न).—a Deep.
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
Nimna (निम्न).—a.
1) Deep (lit. and fig.); चकितहरिणीप्रेक्षणा निम्ननाभिः (cakitahariṇīprekṣaṇā nimnanābhiḥ) Meghadūta 84; Ṛtusaṃhāra 5.12; Śiśupālavadha 1.58.
2) Low, depressed.
-mna 1 Depth, low ground, low land; (kaḥ) पयश्च निम्नाभिमुखं प्रतीपयेत् (payaśca nimnābhimukhaṃ pratīpayet) Kumārasambhava 5.5; न च निम्नादिव सलिलं निवर्तते मे ततो हृदयम् (na ca nimnādiva salilaṃ nivartate me tato hṛdayam) Ś.3.2. (v. l.); Y.2.151; Ṛtusaṃhāra 2.13.
2) A slope, declivity.
3) A gap, chasm in the ground; यो नेमिनिम्नैरकरोच्छायां घ्नन् सप्त वारिधीन् (yo neminimnairakarocchāyāṃ ghnan sapta vāridhīn) Bhāgavata 5.1.39.
4) A depression, low part; जलनिबिडितवस्त्रव्यक्तनिम्नोन्नताभिः (jalanibiḍitavastravyaktanimnonnatābhiḥ) Mālatīmādhava (Bombay) 4.1.
5) A mean act (hīnakarma); निम्नेष्वीहां करिष्यन्ति हेतुवादविमोहिताः (nimneṣvīhāṃ kariṣyanti hetuvādavimohitāḥ) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 3.19.26.
Nimna (निम्न).—adj. (= Pali ninna; compare abhi-nimna; in this sense once in Sanskrit, [Boehtlingk] 7 App.), inclined to, bent upon, headed for; often parallel with pravaṇa and prāgbhāra, as final in cpds.: Lalitavistara 180.16 viveka-ni°, -pravaṇa, -prāg- bhāra; Mahāvastu iii.62.13 nirvāṇa-ni°, pra°, prāg°; iii.61.8, same without °nimna; Mahāvyutpatti 808 (read sarvajñatā-ni°); 5163 (separate word, but associated with the other two); Divyāvadāna 50.12 buddha-ni° dharma-pravaṇā samgha-prāg- bhārā; same 80.4; Avadāna-śataka i.65.3—4 etc. (cliché); apāya-ni°, prav°, -prāg° headed for…, Divyāvadāna 95.28; Avadāna-śataka i.16.17; dharma-nimnatā °pravaṇatā °prāgbhāratā Śikṣāsamuccaya 191.8.
Nimna (निम्न).—mfn.
(-mnaḥ-mnā-mnaṃ) 1. Deep, profound, (literally or figuratively.) 2. Low. 3. Low land 4. A slope. 5. A gap, a chasm in the ground. 6. A depression. E. ni before, mnā to mind, affix ka.
Nimna (निम्न).—[ni + mna] (i. e. ni + man + a), I. adj., f. nā. 1. Deep, [Ṛtusaṃhāra] 5, 12; with na, high, grand, [Bhartṛhari, (ed. Bohlen.)] 2, 36. Ii. n. Low ground, Mahābhārata 2, 784.
Nimna (निम्न).—[neuter] depth, lowland; [adjective] deep, depressed, sunk, [instrumental] [plural] downwards.
1) Nimna (निम्न):—n. ([from] ni, or √nam ?) depth, low ground, cavity, depression, [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc. (nais ind. downwards, [x, 78, 5; 148, 5])
2) mf(ā)n. deep ([literally] and [figuratively]), low, depressed, sunk, [Varāha-mihira; Kāvya literature] etc.
3) (ifc.) inclined towards, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
4) m. Name of a prince, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
Nimna (निम्न):—[ni-mna] (mnaḥ-mnā-mnaṃ) a. Deep.
Nimna (निम्न):—
1) n. [Siddhāntakaumudī.249,a,9.] Tiefe, Niederung, Vertiefung [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1364.] [Halāyudha 3, 2.] dhanvātiṣṭha.noṣadhīrni.namāpaḥ [Ṛgveda 4, 33, 7. 47, 2. 1, 30, 1.] ni.neva (st. nimnamiva) [57, 2. 7, 51, 7. 9, 17, 1.] yenāpo yanti nimnaṃ kurvanti Vertiefung [The Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 1, 1, 1, 17.] [Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch 2, 151.] yato hi nimnaṃ bhavati nayanti hi tato jalam [Mahābhārata 2, 784. 3, 8647. 10984. 12341. 13035. 7, 3389. 12, 4632. 5480. 14, 880.] [Harivaṃśa 3566. 11144. 11246.] [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 113, 16. 4, 26, 6. 6, 89, 18] (wo sthalanimnāni zu lesen ist). [Suśruta 1, 23, 5. 62, 4. 130, 10. 315, 12. 2, 17, 13.] [Kumārasaṃbhava 5, 5.] [Śākuntala 53, v. l.] [Ṛtusaṃhāra 2, 13.] [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 94, 5. 59.] [Rājataraṅgiṇī 6, 316.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 4, 9, 47. 5, 1, 40.] —
2) adj. f. ā tief liegend, vertieft, eingedrückt [Amarakoṣa 1, 2, 3, 15.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1071.] prapā [Rāmāyaṇa Gorresio 2, 125, 12.] pronnatanimnasaṃsthāḥ (sirāḥ) [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 53, 1.] (liṅgasya) maṇibhiśca madhyanimnaiḥ [67, 13. 30.] vaktra 56. lalāṭa 72. śiras [80 (81).] nābhi [21.] [Ṛtusaṃhāra 5, 12.] [Meghadūta 80.] nāsāgra [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 4, 14, 44.] jānu [24, 51.] heruntergekommen, verarmt [Bhartṛhari 2, 36.] —
3) m. Nomen proprium eines Fürsten [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 9, 24, 12.] — Das Wort kann auf 1. ni, vielleicht aber noch besser auf nam zurückgeführt werden.
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Nimna (निम्न):—
2) [Sp. 166, Z. 1. fg.] streiche heruntergekommen, verarmt [Bhartṛhari 2, 36] und vgl. [Spr. 2087.] — Vgl. pari .
Nimna (निम्न):——
1) n. Tiefe , Niederung , Vertiefung. nimnais. der Tiefe zu , abwärts. —
2) Adj. (f. ā) tief liegend , vertieft , eingedrückt. —
3) m. Nomen proprium eines Fürsten.
Nimna (निम्न) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Ṇiṇṇa.
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
Nimna (निम्न) [Also spelled nimn]:—(a) low; mean; depressed; sunken; following, given below; ~[tama] lowest, lowermost; minimum; ~[tara] lower; ~[tā] lowness; ~[likhita] undermentioned, the following, mentioned below; ~[stha] low-lying, situated/located below.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Nimna (ನಿಮ್ನ):—
1) [adjective] hollow and curved like the inside of a bowl; concave.
2) [adjective] of inferior quality, status, rank, etc.
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Nimna (ನಿಮ್ನ):—
1) [noun] a hole (in the ground).
2) [noun] a deep place.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Nimna (निम्न):—adj. 1. low; junior; 2. following;
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 (+12): Nimna-bindu, Nimna-saamaajik-aarthik-samooh, Nimna-samajika-arthika-samuha, Nimna-varg, Nimnabhaga, Nimnabhimukha, Nimnadesha, Nimnadharani, Nimnaga, Nimnagama, Nimnagapati, Nimnagasuta, Nimnagata, Nimnage, Nimnais, Nimnakanthiya-dhvani, Nimnakanthiya-dhwani, Nimnalalata, Nimnalikhita, Nimnamadhyaamik.
Full-text (+38): Nimnaga, Nimnonnata, Nimnata, Nimnabhaga, Mahanimna, Nimnagata, Nimnadesha, Nimnatala, Nimnanabhi, Parinimna, Nimnapravana, Nimnavarga, Nimnabhimukha, Prasena, Nimnita, Nimnais, Avakhata, Nimna-samajika-arthika-samuha, Nimnalalata, Nimnatva.
Relevant text
Search found 34 books and stories containing Nimna, Ni-mna; (plurals include: Nimnas, mnas). 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 5.8.33 < [Chapter 8 - The Killing of Kaṃsa]
Rig Veda (translation and commentary) (by H. H. Wilson)
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 66 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 1]
Page 178 < [Hindi-English-Nepali (1 volume)]
Page 184 < [Hindi-English-Nepali (1 volume)]
Prayogamanjari and Saivagamanibandhana (Study) (by R. Suthashi)
Yoga-sutras (with Vyasa and Vachaspati Mishra) (by Rama Prasada)
Sūtra 4.26 < [Book 4 - Absolute Independence (Kaivalya)]
Sūtra 1.12 < [Book 1 - Trance (Samādhi)]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Page 266 < [Volume 4, Part 1 (1907)]