Alternative spellings of this word include Nirarthak.

In Hinduism

Kavyashastra (science of poetry)

Source: Shodhganga: Bhismacaritam a critical study

Nirarthaka (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.

context information

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 Translation

Nirarthaka (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? [...]”.

context information

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.

Sports, Arts and Entertainment (wordly enjoyments)

Source: archive.org: Syainika Sastra of Rudradeva with English Translation (art)

Nirarthaka (निरर्थक) refers to a “meaningless term”, according to the Śyainika-śāstra: a Sanskrit treatise dealing with the divisions and benefits of Hunting and Hawking, written by Rājā Rudradeva (or Candradeva) in possibly the 13th century.—Accordingly, “[...] Why hawking (śyenapātā) is hunting? Is it following the hent of the birds’ inclination or that of others? If you say it is according to the inclination of the wild birds themselves, in that case the term mṛgayā or hunting would be meaningless (nirarthaka). If you say the term is applicable, as the hare-hawk captures animals, then why not apply it in the case of lions and others catching their prey? [...]”.

context information

This section covers the skills and profiencies of the Kalas (“performing arts”) and Shastras (“sciences”) involving ancient Indian traditions of sports, games, arts, entertainment, love-making and other means of wordly enjoyments. Traditionally these topics were dealt with in Sanskrit treatises explaing the philosophy and the justification of enjoying the pleasures of the senses.

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.

context information

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Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

nirarthaka (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-English

nirarthaka (निरर्थक).—a nirartha a Devoid of sense-a word. Wanting profit or advantage- labour. Vain, empty. Uncalled for.

context information

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 dictionary

Nirarthaka (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 Dictionary

Nirarthaka (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 Dictionary

Nirarthaka (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 Dictionary

Nirarthaka (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 Dictionary

Nirarthaka (निरर्थक).—[adjective] purposeless, useless, unmeaning, nonsensical.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) 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 Dictionary

Nirarthaka (निरर्थक):—[nira+rthaka] (kaḥ-kā-kaṃ) a. Vain, fruitless, unmeaning.

[Sanskrit to German]

Nirarthaka in German

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.

Hindi dictionary

Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary

Nirarthaka (निरर्थक) [Also spelled nirarthak]:—(a) meaningless; vain; useless, fruitless, pointless; insignificant, worthless; empty; futile; ~[tā] meaninglessness; fruitlessness, uselessness, worthlessness; insignificance; futility; —[punarukti] palilogy.

context information

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Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Nirarthaka (ನಿರರ್ಥಕ):—[adjective] = ನಿರರ್ಥ [nirartha]1.

--- OR ---

Nirarthaka (ನಿರರ್ಥಕ):—

1) [noun] = ನಿರರ್ಥ [nirartha]2.

2) [noun] a useless or worthless man.

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: Nir.

Starts with: Nirarthaka-kavita, Nirarthakam, Nirarthakata, Nirarthakatva, Nirarttakam.

Full-text (+3): Nirarthakam, Nirarthakatva, Nirarttakam, Nirattakam, Nirarthak-kavita, Arthaka, Sarthaka, Nirarthak, Nigrahasthana, Ajagalastana, Sambhinnapralapa, Aranyaka, Purushartha, Nirartha, Aparthaka, Shabdadosha, Moksha, Katth, Tu, Phalgu.

Relevant text

Search found 17 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:

Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana (by Gaurapada Dāsa)

Text 7.48 < [Chapter 7 - Literary Faults]

Text 7.23 < [Chapter 7 - Literary Faults]

Text 7.2 < [Chapter 7 - Literary Faults]

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Malatimadhava (study) (by Jintu Moni Dutta)

Part 5.3a - Pada-doṣa (defects of word) < [Chapter 2 - Literary Study of the Mālatīmādhava]

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Vakyapadiya of Bhartrihari (by K. A. Subramania Iyer)

Verse 3.14.318 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (14): Vṛtti-samuddeśa (On Ccomplex Formation)]

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Bhajana-Rahasya (by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura Mahasaya)

Text 13 < [Chapter 3 - Tṛtīya-yāma-sādhana (Pūrvāhna-kālīya-bhajana–niṣṭhā-bhajana)]

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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]

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Dasarupaka (critical study) (by Anuru Ranjan Mishra)

Part 12 - Society in the Mattavilāsa < [Chapter 3 - Prahasana (critical study)]

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Click here for all 17 books