Nirguna, Nirguṇa, Nirguṇā, Nir-guna: 16 definitions
Introduction
Introduction:
Nirguna means something in 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 Nirgun.
In Hinduism
Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
Source: humindian: 108 names of Lord KrishnaOne of the 108 names of Krishna; Meaning: "Without Any Properties"
Source: Pure Bhakti: Bhagavad-gita (4th edition)Nirguṇa (निर्गुण) refers to “devoid of material qualities; transcendental to the modes of nature”. (cf. Glossary page from Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā).
Source: Pure Bhakti: Brhad BhagavatamrtamNirguṇa (निर्गुण) refers to:—Devoid (nir) of material qualities (guṇa), transcendental; free from the influence of the material qualities of goodness, passion, and ignorance. In relation to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, this implies that He is endowed with transcendental qualities. (cf. Glossary page from Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta).
Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation1 Nirguṇa (निर्गुण) refers to “attributeless”, and represents an epithet of Śiva used in Sandhyā’s eulogy of Śiva, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.2.6. Accordingly:—“[...] Directly perceiving the lord of Durgā she [viz., Sandhyā] eulogised the lord of the worlds: [...] O lord, Thou art attributeless (nirguṇa). How can Thy attributes be known to me, a mere woman? Even the Gods including Indra and Asuras do not know it”.
Nirguṇa (one who is “attributeless”) according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.2.41, as Viṣṇu and others eulogized Śiva:
“[...] obeisance to Śiva who is calm, the supreme and the highest soul, of matted hair, great lord and the bright one. You are the creator of the creators of the universe. You are the sustainer and the forefather, possessed of three attributes (triguṇātma) and attributeless (nirguṇa). You are greater than primordial nature and the supreme Being”.
2) Nirguṇā (निर्गुणा) refers to “one devoid of the three qualities” and is used to describe the Goddess (e.g., Umā/Durgā/Satī), according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.4.—Accordingly, as the Gods eulogized Umā with devotion:—“[...] thus eulogised by the Gods, the Goddess Durgā, the mother of the universe, the destroyer of impassable distress, appeared in front of them. [...] She was the unequalled supreme illusion, the beautiful wife of Sadāśiva. She had all the three qualities and was devoid of attributes (i.e., Nirguṇā) also, she had been staying in the region of Śiva”.
Note: As the personified energy of the gods Viṣṇu, Brahmā and Rudra, representing the three qualities Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, the Goddess is called ‘Triguṇā’ i.e. possessed of three qualities. But as the personified energy of Śiva, who is the Supreme Being, devoid of attributes she is called Nirguṇā.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexNirguṇā (निर्गुणा).—A third mātra of o.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 20. 2.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarynirguṇa (निर्गुण).—a (S) pop. nirguṇī a That is without attributes or properties;--used of the Deity. 2 That is without good qualities or properties.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishnirguṇa (निर्गुण).—a nirguṇī a That is without attri- butes. That is without good qualities.
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 dictionaryNirguṇa (निर्गुण).—a.
1) stringless (as a bow).
2) devoid of all properties.
3) devoid of good qualities, bad, worthless; निर्गुणः शोभते नैव विपुलाड- म्बरोऽपि ना (nirguṇaḥ śobhate naiva vipulāḍa- mbaro'pi nā) Bv.1.115.
4) without attributes; साकारं च निराकारं सगुणं निर्गुणं विभुम् (sākāraṃ ca nirākāraṃ saguṇaṃ nirguṇaṃ vibhum) Brahmavai. P.
5) having no epithet.
-ṇaḥ the Supreme Spirit. °आत्मक (ātmaka) a. having no qualities.
Nirguṇa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nir and guṇa (गुण).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryNirguṇa (निर्गुण).—mfn.
(-ṇaḥ-ṇā-ṇaṃ) 1. Void, of all properties. 2. Bad, worthless, having no good qualities. 3. Stringless. m.
(-ṇaḥ) The Supreme Being, or any deity so considered. E. nir privative, and guṇa a property, an excellence.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryNirguṇa (निर्गुण).—adj., f. ṇā, 1. without a string, [Mṛcchakaṭikā, (ed. Stenzler.)] 131 17. 2. without qualities, Mahābhārata 1, 2432. 3. devoid of virtue, [Rāmāyaṇa] 2, 33, 11.
Nirguṇa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nis and guṇa (गुण).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryNirguṇa (निर्गुण).—[adjective] having no thread or string; devoid of attributes, qualities, or virtues, [abstract] tā [feminine], tva [neuter]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Nirguṇa (निर्गुण):—[=nir-guṇa] [from nir > niḥ] a mf(ā)n. having no cord or string, [Kāvya literature]
2) [v.s. ...] having no good qualities or virtues, bad, worthless, vicious, [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.
3) [v.s. ...] devoid of all qualities or properties, [Upaniṣad; Mahābhārata] etc.
4) [v.s. ...] having no epithet, [Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtra] [Scholiast or Commentator]
5) [v.s. ...] (said of the Supreme Being), [Horace H. Wilson]
6) [=nir-guṇa] b etc. See p. 541, col. 1.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryNirguṇa (निर्गुण):—[nir-guṇa] (ṇaḥ-ṇā-ṇaṃ) a. Void of all properties; bad. m. God.
[Sanskrit to German] (Deutsch Wörterbuch)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Böhtlingk and Roth Grosses Petersburger WörterbuchNirguṇa (निर्गुण):—(nis + guṇa) adj. f. ā
1) ohne Sehne: dhanus [Mṛcchakaṭikā 131, 17.] [Prooemium im Hitopadeśa 22.] Zugleich mit der Nebenbed. keine Vorzüge habend. —
2) qualitätslos [ŚVETĀŚV. Upakośā 6, 11.] [Mahābhārata 1, 2432.] [Suśruta 1, 150, 12.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 1, 10, 19. 2, 5, 18.] [Madhusūdanasarasvatī’s Prasthānabheda] in [Weber’s Indische Studien 1, 20, 7. 8.] —
3) mit keinem Beiwort versehen [Scholiast] zu [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 5, 11, 23. 6, 7, 23. 24. 9, 9, 9. 10.] —
4) keine Vorzüge besitzend, lasterhaft [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 33, 11. 62, 8.] [Rāmāyaṇa] [Gorresio 2, 93, 4.] [Suśruta 1, 325, 14.] [Pañcatantra 59, 7.] [Prooemium im Hitopadeśa 44. 47. I, 55.] [Sāhityadarpana 45, 18.]
--- OR ---
Nirguṇa (निर्गुण):—
2) vāda [SARVADARŚANAS. 52, 15.] —
4) mānasa [Spr. 3028.]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Sanskrit-Wörterbuch in kürzerer FassungNirguṇa (निर्गुण):—Adj. (f. ā) —
1) ohne Strick [Indische sprüche 7858.] —
2) ohne Sehne (Bogen). —
3) ohne Beiwort , — Attribut Comm. zu [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtra 5,1,3.] —
4) Qualitätslos. —
5) keine Vorzüge besitzen , gemein , schlecht (vom Personen) [Indische sprüche 7858.]
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 dictionaryNirguṇa (निर्गुण) [Also spelled nirgun]:—(a) without attributes or qualities, without [sata, raja] and [tama guṇa]s; an epithet of God who is beyond the three [guṇa]s (see); —[brahma] the Supreme Soul unlimited by the three [guṇa]s.
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See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Nir, Guna, Nish.
Starts with: Nirguna-brahman, Nirgunabhakti, Nirgunabrahma, Nirgunaka, Nirgunamamasa, Nirgunapa, Nirgunasakshatkara, Nirgunashraddha, Nirgunata, Nirgunatattva, Nirgunatmaka, Nirgunatva.
Full-text (+25): Nirgunata, Nairgunya, Nirguna Brahman, Nigguna, Nirgunatva, Nirgunatattva, Nirgunaka, Nirgunamamasa, Vidharma, Nurguniya, Nirgunatmaka, Niraguna, Niraguniya, Saguna Brahman, Nijabodha, Agana, Agan, Sadgunanirgunavada, Niguna, Avaguna.
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Search found 40 books and stories containing Nirguna, Nirguṇa, Nirguṇā, Nir-guna, Nir-guṇa, Nis-guna, Nis-guṇa; (plurals include: Nirgunas, Nirguṇas, Nirguṇās, gunas, guṇas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Śrī Hari-bhakti-kalpa-latikā (by Sarasvati Thkura)
Text 13 < [Second Stabaka]
Shrimad Bhagavad-gita (by Narayana Gosvami)
Verse 2.41 < [Chapter 2 - Sāṅkhya-yoga (Yoga through distinguishing the Soul from the Body)]
Verse 14.15 < [Chapter 14 - Guṇa-traya-vibhāga-yoga]
Verse 12.2 < [Chapter 12 - Bhakti-yoga (Yoga through Pure Devotional Service)]
Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya (by Śrī Gunaraja Khan)
Brahma Sutras (Shankara Bhashya) (by Swami Vireshwarananda)
Chapter III, Section III, Adhikarana XVII < [Section III]
Chapter III, Section III, Adhikarana XXV < [Section III]
Chapter I, Section I, Adhikarana V < [Section I]
The Devi Bhagavata Purana (by Swami Vijñanananda)
Chapter 7 - On the creation and the Tattvas and their presiding deities < [Book 3]
Chapter 24 - On the installation of Durgā Devī in the city of Benares < [Book 3]
Chapter 6 - On the one thousand and eight names of the Gāyatrī < [Book 12]
The Shiva Purana (by J. L. Shastri)
Chapter 42 - The difference between Saguṇa and Nirguṇa < [Section 4 - Koṭirudra-Saṃhitā]
Chapter 41 - Review of salvation < [Section 4 - Koṭirudra-Saṃhitā]
Chapter 9 - Description of Śivatattva < [Section 2.1 - Rudra-saṃhitā (1): Sṛśṭi-khaṇḍa]