Nirarthaka, Nir-arthaka: 17 definitions
Introduction:
Nirarthaka 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 Nirarthak.
In Hinduism
Kavyashastra (science of poetry)
Source: Shodhganga: Bhismacaritam a critical studyNirarthaka (निरर्थक) refers to “uselessness” and represents a type of Padadoṣa (‘defects of words’) which is one of the five Kāvya-doṣas (‘poetic defects’), according to the Kāvyaprakāśa, VII.50-51 and employed in the Bhīṣmacarita (Bhishma Charitra) which is a mahākāvya (‘epic poem’) written by Hari Narayan Dikshit.—Some verses are found with ‘hi’ having no sense and use. An example is Bhīṣmacarita II.14. The other example is II.31. And still others are III.20, V.24, IX.29, XI.5 and XII.33.
Source: Shodhganga: Mālatīmādhava of Bhavabhūti (kavya-shastra)Nirarthaka (निरर्थक) (Cf. Nirarthakatva) refers to “(words that are) useless”, according to Mammaṭa-Bhaṭṭa’s Kāvyaprakāśa verse 7.50-51.—The doṣa called nirarthakatva is found when a word is used only to complete the metre of a poem and has no impact on the meaning. In the Mālatīmādhava some verses are found with hi having no sense and use. For example in the verse vyatiṣajati padārthānāntaraḥ……………..etc. wherein the letter hi does not express any sense as it has been used by Bhavabhūti in order to complete the metre.
Kavyashastra (काव्यशास्त्र, kāvyaśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian tradition of poetry (kavya). Canonical literature (shastra) of the includes encyclopedic manuals dealing with prosody, rhetoric and various other guidelines serving to teach the poet how to compose literature.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English TranslationNirarthaka (निरर्थक) refers to “meaningless”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.13 (“Śiva-Pārvatī dialogue”).—Accordingly, as Pārvatī said to Śiva: “[...] Know that speaking, doing etc. is a Prākṛta activity. What you hear, what you eat, what you see and what you do—all these are (essentially) the activities of Prakṛti. To say that it is unreal is meaningless [i.e., nirarthaka]. O lord, if you are greater than Prakṛti, wherefore do you perform penance, O Śiva, now, on this mountain Himavat. O Śiva, you have been swallowed by Prakṛti, you do not know your own situation. O lord, if you do not know your own situation why do you perform penance? [...]”.
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.
In Buddhism
Buddhist philosophy
Source: Google Books: A History of Indian Logic (Buddhist Philosophy)Nirarthaka (निरर्थक) refers to “the meaningless” and represents one of the various “points of defeat” (nigrahasthāna), according to Upāyakauśalyahṛdaya, an ancient work on the art of debate composed by Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna.
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Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarynirarthaka (निरर्थक).—a (S) sometimes nirartha a Devoid of meaning or sense--a word. 2 Wanting profit or advantage--labor. 3 Vain, empty, unavailing. 4 Uncalled for, unnecessary.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishnirarthaka (निरर्थक).—a nirartha a Devoid of sense-a word. Wanting profit or advantage- labour. Vain, empty. Uncalled for.
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 dictionaryNirarthaka (निरर्थक).—a.
1) useless, vain, unprofitable.
2) unmeaning, nonsensical, conveying no reasonable meaning; इत्थं जन्म निरर्थकं क्षितितलेऽरण्ये यथा मालती (itthaṃ janma nirarthakaṃ kṣititale'raṇye yathā mālatī) S. D.
3) (a consonant) not followed by a vowel.
-kam an expletive; निरर्थकं तु हीत्यादि पूरणैकप्रयोजनम् (nirarthakaṃ tu hītyādi pūraṇaikaprayojanam) Chandr.2.6.
Nirarthaka is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nir and arthaka (अर्थक).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryNirarthaka (निरर्थक).—adj. (read perhaps °thika? compare arthika, anarthika), not desirous (of, instr.): aśucībhi (sc. strībhiḥ) °thako 'haṃ Rāṣṭrapālaparipṛcchā 43.18 (verse).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryNirarthaka (निरर्थक).—mfn.
(-kaḥ-kā-kaṃ) 1. Vain, fruitless, unprofitable. 2. Unmeaning. E. nir not, artha object, end, kan added.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryNirarthaka (निरर्थक).—i. e. nis-artha + ka, I. adj., f. thakā and thikā. 1. Without attaining one’s purpose, [Rāmāyaṇa] 5, 9, 26. 2. Useless, Mahābhārata 5, 1114. 3. Unmeaning, Mahābhārata 3, 12686. Ii. ºkam, adv. In vain, [Rāmāyaṇa] 3, 35, 21.
— Abstr. ºtva nirarthaka + tva, n. [Mṛcchakaṭikā, (ed. Stenzler.)] 90, 4.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryNirarthaka (निरर्थक).—[adjective] purposeless, useless, unmeaning, nonsensical.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Nirarthaka (निरर्थक):—[=nir-arthaka] [from nir > niḥ] mf(ikā)n. useless, vain, unsuccessful, [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature] etc. (am ind., [Rāmāyaṇa; Bhartṛhari]; -tva n., [Mṛcchakaṭikā])
2) [v.s. ...] unmeaning, nonsensical, [Mahābhārata]
3) [v.s. ...] (said of a consonant) = -artha, [Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā-prātiśākhya [Scholiast or Commentator]]
4) [v.s. ...] n. (in [philosophy]) a nonsensical objection
5) [v.s. ...] (in [rhetoric]) an expletive.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryNirarthaka (निरर्थक):—[nira+rthaka] (kaḥ-kā-kaṃ) a. Vain, fruitless, unmeaning.
[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 dictionaryNirarthaka (निरर्थक) [Also spelled nirarthak]:—(a) meaningless; vain; useless, fruitless, pointless; insignificant, worthless; empty; futile; ~[tā] meaninglessness; fruitlessness, uselessness, worthlessness; insignificance; futility; —[punarukti] palilogy.
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Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusNirarthaka (ನಿರರ್ಥಕ):—[adjective] = ನಿರರ್ಥ [nirartha]1.
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Nirarthaka (ನಿರರ್ಥಕ):—
1) [noun] = ನಿರರ್ಥ [nirartha]2.
2) [noun] a useless or worthless man.
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: Nir.
Starts with: Nirarthakam, Nirarthakatva.
Full-text: Nirarthakam, Nirarthakatva, Arthaka, Sarthaka, Nirarthak, Nigrahasthana, Ajagalastana, Sambhinnapralapa, Purushartha, Nirartha, Aparthaka, Shabdadosha, Moksha, Katth, Tu, Phalgu, Alam, Paurusha, Artha.
Relevant text
Search found 13 books and stories containing Nirarthaka, Nir-arthaka; (plurals include: Nirarthakas, arthakas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Malatimadhava (study) (by Jintu Moni Dutta)
Part 5.3a - Pada-doṣa (defects of word) < [Chapter 2 - Literary Study of the Mālatīmādhava]
Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)
Verse 1.16.237 < [Chapter 16 - The Glories of Śrī Haridāsa Ṭhākura]
Verse 1.17.50 < [Chapter 17 - The Lord’s Travel to Gayā]
Bhajana-Rahasya (by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura Mahasaya)
Text 13 < [Chapter 3 - Tṛtīya-yāma-sādhana (Pūrvāhna-kālīya-bhajana–niṣṭhā-bhajana)]
Dasarupaka (critical study) (by Anuru Ranjan Mishra)
Part 12 - Society in the Mattavilāsa < [Chapter 3 - Prahasana (critical study)]
Philosophy of Charaka-samhita (by Asokan. G)
Dialectical terms (20): Defective statement (vākyadoṣa) < [Chapter 7 - Logic and Dialectical Speculations]
Bhagavati-sutra (Viyaha-pannatti) (by K. C. Lalwani)
Part 1 - On self-created misery < [Chapter 2]