Niradhara, Ni-adhara, Nir-adhara, Nira-dhara, Nirādhāra, Nīradhara: 15 definitions
Introduction:
Niradhara means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Pali, 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 Niradhar.
In Hinduism
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Nirādhāra (निराधार) refers to “(being) without foundation” and is used to describe Kaula, 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 expounding Kaula and the Nine Kaulas]—“I praise Kaula that is completely without stain. Devoid of beginning, middle and end, it is pure, consists of consciousness, is unmanifest and without foundation (nirādhāra)”.
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.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Nirādhāra (निराधार) refers to “unsupported (in any of the four quarters)”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.1 (“Description of Tripura—the three cities”).—Accordingly, as Sanatkumāra narrated to Vyāsa: “O great sage, when the Asura Tāraka was killed by Skanda, the son of Śiva, his three sons performed austerities. [...] In the autumn they controlled their hunger and thirst. All good foodstuffs, steady, wholesome, and viscid, fruits, roots and beverages they distributed among the hungry. They themselves remained like stones. In the early winter they remained on top of the mountain with fortitude, unsupported (nirādhāra) in any of the four quarters. [...]”.
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.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Nīradhara (नीरधर) refers to the “cloud-shaped (shadow)” (of certain elephants), 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 8, “on marks of character”]: “16. Their ‘sheen’ (or ‘shadow,’ chāyā) is five-fold. As a thick bank of clouds may cover the sun, so it may obliterate the (significance of the) bodily characteristics of an elephant. It is (five-fold) according to the difference of (the five) elements. The first cloud-shaped (‘shadow’) (nīradhara-ākṛti) is produced by earth; two (‘not-one,’ ‘more-than-one’) are produced by water and fire. These three are most valuable. The two other than these (produced by air and ether) are displeasing and highly undesirable”.
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.
Vedanta (school of philosophy)
Nirādhāra (निराधार) refers to “living without any support”, according to the Aṣṭāvakragītā (5th century BC), an ancient text on spirituality dealing with Advaita-Vedānta topics.—Accordingly, [as Aṣṭavakra says to Janaka]: “[...] Even when living without any support (nirādhāra) and eager for achievement, the stupid are still nourishing Saṃsāra [nirādhārā grahavyagrā mūḍhāḥ saṃsārapoṣakāḥ], while the wise have cut at the very root of its unhappiness. The stupid does not find peace because he is wanting it, while the wise discriminating the truth is always peaceful minded. [...]”.
Vedanta (वेदान्त, vedānta) refers to a school of orthodox Hindu philosophy (astika), drawing its subject-matter from the Upanishads. There are a number of sub-schools of Vedanta, however all of them expound on the basic teaching of the ultimate reality (brahman) and liberation (moksha) of the individual soul (atman).
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
nirādhāra (निराधार).—a (S) Void of foundation or support;--used both of things destitute of it and of God as exempt from the need of it.
nirādhāra (निराधार).—a Void of foundation or support.
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
Nirādhāra (निराधार).—a.
1) without a receptacle.
2) without support, supportless (fig. also); निराधारो हा रोदिमि कथय केषामिह पुरः (nirādhāro hā rodimi kathaya keṣāmiha puraḥ) G. L.4.39.
Nirādhāra is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nir and ādhāra (आधार).
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Nīradhara (नीरधर).—a. cloud; नवनीलनीर- धरधीरगर्जितक्षणे (navanīlanīra- dharadhīragarjitakṣaṇe) Uttararāmacarita 6.17.
Derivable forms: nīradharaḥ (नीरधरः).
Nīradhara is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nīra and dhara (धर).
Nirādhāra (निराधार):—[=nir-ādhāra] [from nir > niḥ] mfn. without a receptacle or a support, [Mahābhārata]
Nirādhāra (निराधार):—(nis + ā) adj. keine Stütze habend, auf sich selbst sich stützend: jñāna [Mahābhārata 14, 1322]; dafür nirābādha [950.]
Nirādhāra (निराधार):—Adj. keine Stütze habend , auf sich selbst sich stützend , hülflos [Indische studien von Weber 15,408.] Nom.abstr. tva n.
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
Nirādhāra (निराधार) [Also spelled niradhar]:—(a) baseless; groundless, unfounded; without prop or support; false; hollow.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Nirādhāra (ನಿರಾಧಾರ):—
1) [adjective] having no base or support; not depending on anything for support.
2) [adjective] having no basis in fact; baseless; unfounded.
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Nirādhāra (ನಿರಾಧಾರ):—
1) [noun] absence of a base, support, etc.
2) [noun] he who is not depending on any outside agency for his support; the Supreme Being.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Nirādhāra (निराधार):—adj. 1. groundless; baseless; 2. proofless; lacking evidence; 3. helpless; miserable; wretched;
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.
Pali-English dictionary
nirādhāra (နိရာဓာရ) [(ti) (တိ)]—
[ni+ādhāra]
[နိ+အာဓာရ]
[Pali to Burmese]
nirādhāra—
(Burmese text): ကင်းသော တည်ရာရှိသော၊ တည်ရာ-မရှိ-ကကင်း-သော။
(Auto-Translation): A place that is vacant, a place that is not vacant, and a vacant place.
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches (+0): Nir, Nira, Mi, Adhara, Dhara, Ni, Tara.
Starts with (+0): Niradharakriti, Niradharatva, Nirataram, Nirataran, Niratarayokam.
Full-text (+0): Niradharatva, Nirataram, Niradhar, Niradharakriti, Diksa, Niratarayokam, Nirabadha.
Relevant text
Search found 16 books and stories containing Niradhara, Ni-adhara, Ni-ādhāra, Nir-adhara, Nir-ādhāra, Nira-dhara, Nīra-dhara, Nirādhāra, Nīradhara; (plurals include: Niradharas, adharas, ādhāras, dharas, Nirādhāras, Nīradharas). 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 2.13.28 < [Chapter 13 - The Story of Śeṣa]
Tirumantiram by Tirumular (English translation)
Verse 708: Gods in Successive Adharas and Niradharas < [Tantra Three (munran tantiram) (verses 549-883)]
Verse 2532: Centers Beyond Seventh are Formless States (Niradhara) < [Tantra Eight (ettam tantiram) (verses 2122-2648)]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 179 < [Hindi-English-Nepali (1 volume)]
Page 202 < [Gujarati-Hindi-English, Volume 2]
Page 111 < [Hindi-Marathi-English Volume 2]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (by Rajendralala Mitra)
The concept of Yoga in Yoga Upanishads (by Philomina T.L)
4.2. The Concept of Jīva (according to the Yoga-Upaniṣads) < [Chapter 5 - Textual Analysis]