Nirmana, Nirmāṇa, Nirmāna: 20 definitions

Introduction
Image gallery
In Hinduism
1. Purana
In Buddhism
1. Mahayana
2. Tibetan Buddhism
In Jainism
1. General definition
Languages
1. Marathi
2. Sanskrit
3. Hindi
4. Kannada
5. Nepali
See also
Buy products

Introduction:

Nirmana means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, 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 Nirman.

Images (photo gallery)

(+12 more images available)

In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण) refers to the “creation (of a sacred text—Śāstra)”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.4 (“The Tripuras are initiated).—Accordingly, as Viṣṇu said to his self-created Puruṣa: “[...] O you who wield Māyā, create a deceptive sacred text of sixteen hundred thousand verses, contrary to Śrutis and Smṛtis wherein Varṇas and Āśramas shall be eschewed. Let that holy text be in Apabhraṃśa lauguage. Let there be emphasis on actions. You shall strain yourself to extend it further. I shall bestow on you the ability to create (nirmāṇa) it. Different kinds of magic arts shall be subservient to you”.

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.

In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण, “metamorphosis”) refers to one of the ten comparisons (upamāna) according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter 11 (also see chapter 28 part 4.9). These upamānas represent a quality of the Bodhisattvas, accompanying the Buddha at Rājagṛha on the Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata. The accepted that dharmas are like a metamorphosis (nirmāṇa).

The fourteen minds of metamorphosis (nirmāṇacitta) accomplish eight kinds of nirmāṇa:

reducing to the size of an atom (paramāṇu),
enlarging to the point of filling up space (ākāśa).
becoming as light as the feather of a crane (sārasaloman),
exercising sovereignty (vaśitvakaraṇa) by growing bigger, shrinking, lengthening, narrowing, etc.,
possessing the Indrabala, the power that surpasses that of humans,
being far distant and coming close,
making the earth shake (kampana),
obtaining whatever one desires.

There are four other kinds of nirmāṇa: (1) In the realm of desire (kāmadhātu), substances (dravya) can be transformed by means of herbs (oṣadhi), precious objects (ratnadravya) and magical means; (2) beings endowed with the superknowledges (abhijñā) can transform substances by their magical power (ṛddhibala); (3) the devas, nāgas, asuras, etc., can transform substances by means of the power of retribution (vipākabala) of their previous lifetimes; (4) beings rewarded in a lifetime in the form realm (rūpadhātu) can transform substances by the power of concentration (samādhibala).

Source: academia.edu: A Study and Translation of the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā

Nirmāna (निर्मान) refers to the “absence of pride”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “[...] Ratnapāṇi said: ‘Son of good family, what are those eight dharmas included in?’ Gaganagañja said: ‘Son of good family, these eight dharmas are included in sixteen dharmas. What are these sixteen? To wit, (1) honest is included in calmness and gentleness; (2) clarity is included in the absence of pride (nirmāna) and the absence of guile; (3) the absence of fabrication is included in the great friendliness and the great compassion; (4) the pure intention is included in the purity of body and thought; [...]’”.

context information

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.

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: academia.edu: The Structure and Meanings of the Heruka Maṇḍala

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण, “emanation”) or Nirmāṇapuṭa refers to the fourth layer of the Herukamaṇḍala: a large-scale and elaborate maṇḍala of Heruka, consisting of 986 deities, as found in the Ḍākārṇava chapter 15.—The Herukamaṇḍala consists of four layers (puṭa) consisting of concentric circles (cakra, totally one lotus at the center and 12 concentric circles, that is, 13 circles in total).

The Fourth layer (nirmāṇa-puṭa, ‘emanation’) consists of:

The mind circle (cittacakra),
The word circle (vākcakra),
The body circle (kāyacakra).

context information

Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Source: Encyclopedia of Jainism: Tattvartha Sutra 8: Bondage of karmas

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण) refers to “formation karma” and represents one of the various kinds of Nāma, or “physique-making (karmas)”, which represents one of the eight types of Prakṛti-bandha (species bondage): one of the four kinds of bondage (bandha) according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra chapter 8. What is meant by formation (nirmāṇa) body-making (nāma) karma? The karma rise of which causes development of pride for family, caste, wealth, power, knowledge, physical beauty, austerities and influence as well as lack of humility towards others is called formation body-making karma.

context information

Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.

Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

nirmāṇa (निर्माण).—p S Created: also made, produced, effected gen.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

nirmāṇa (निर्माण).—p Created; made, produced.

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

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण).—1 Measuring, meting out; यतश्चाध्वकालनिर्माणम् (yataścādhvakālanirmāṇam) P.I.4.31 Vārt.

2) Measure, reach, extent; अयमप्राप्त- निर्माणः (ayamaprāpta- nirmāṇaḥ) (bālaḥ) Rām. 'not having reached the full measure of growth'.

3) Producing, forming, making, creation, formation, manufacture; त्रैलोक्यनिर्माणकरं जनित्रम् (trailokyanirmāṇakaraṃ janitram) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 5.71.7; ईदृशो निर्माणभागः परिणतः (īdṛśo nirmāṇabhāgaḥ pariṇataḥ) Uttararāmacarita 4.

4) A creation, created thing or object, form; निर्माणमेव हि तदादर- लालनीयम् (nirmāṇameva hi tadādara- lālanīyam) Mālatīmādhava (Bombay) 9.49.

5) A shape, make, figure; शरीर- निर्माणसदृशो नन्वस्यानुभावः (śarīra- nirmāṇasadṛśo nanvasyānubhāvaḥ) Mv.1.

6) Composition, work.

7) A building.

8) A part, portion.

9) Essence, pith, marrow.

1) (With Buddhists) Transformation.

11) Happening, birth; पूर्वनिर्माणबद्धा हि कालस्य गतिरीदृशी (pūrvanirmāṇabaddhā hi kālasya gatirīdṛśī) Rām. 7.16.2.

-ṇā Fitness, propriety, decorum.

Derivable forms: nirmāṇam (निर्माणम्).

--- OR ---

Nirmāna (निर्मान).—a.

1) without self-confidence.

2) free from pride.

Nirmāna is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nir and māna (मान).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण).—nt. (compare Pali nimmāna, in [compound] issara-ni° hetu, supernatural creation), a magical creation, usually concrete, and used as symbol of unreality: (samāsato nirvastukaṃ) nirmāṇaṃ Bodhisattvabhūmi 63.24 (definition of the word), in brief, a magic-creation is what has no material basis; (sarvadharma-māyā-svapna-) pratibhāsa-pratiśrutko- dakacandra-pratibimba-nirmāṇa-samatayā Daśabhūmikasūtra 47.14; sarvatathāgata-nirmāṇāny Gaṇḍavyūha 469.1; dharmasya nirmā- ṇam ivopaviṣṭam Buddhacarita x.19, (the Bodhisattva) sitting like a magic-image of dharma, i.e. a ‘picture’ of Dh. (otherwise Johnston,…magically projected by Dh.; Weller, wie eine übernatürliche Schöpfung des Gesetzes; Tibetan chos kyi (gen.) sprul pa, which seems to support my interpretation).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण) or Nirmmāṇa.—n.

(-ṇaṃ) 1. Manufacture, production, making. 2. Pith, marrow, essence. 3. Propriety, fitness. E. nir before, mi to measure, affix bhāve lyuṭ.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण).—i. e. nis-mā + ana, n. 1. Measure, [Rāmāyaṇa] 3, 42, 24 (in a-vyakta-, vb. añj, adj., Not fullgrown). 2. A part, 4, 44, 44. 3. Forming, creating, [Lassen, Anthologia Sanskritica.] 91, 13. 4. Work, [Rāmāyaṇa] 4, 40, 54.

--- OR ---

Nirmāna (निर्मान).—adj. free from pride, [Bhartṛhari, (ed. Bohlen.)] 3, 95.

Nirmāna is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nis and māna (मान).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण).—[neuter] measuring, measure; making, production, creation, work.

--- OR ---

Nirmāna (निर्मान).—[adjective] free from pride or egoism.

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

1) Nirmāna (निर्मान):—[=nir-māna] [from nir > niḥ] mfn. without self-confidence, free from pride, [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature]

2) Nirmāṇa (निर्माण):—[=nir-māṇa] [from nir-mā] n. measuring, measure, reach, extent (often, mfn. ifc.), [Harivaṃśa; Rāmāyaṇa]

3) [v.s. ...] forming, making, creating, creation, building, composition, work (ifc. ‘made of’ [Suśruta]), [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature] etc.

4) [v.s. ...] (with, [Buddhist literature]) transformation

5) [v.s. ...] pith, the best of anything (= sāra), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

6) [v.s. ...] = asamañjasa, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण):—[nir-māṇa] (ṇaṃ) 1. n. Manufacture, making; pith, essence; fitness.

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Ṇimmavaṇa, Ṇimmāṇa.

[Sanskrit to German]

Nirmana 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

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण) [Also spelled nirman]:—(nm) construction; creation; manufacture; ~[ṇa-kārya] construction work; ~[ṇa-vidyā] architecture; ~[ṇaśālā] a workshop, factory; ~[ṇātmaka] formative;constructive; manufacturing; ~[ṇāvasthā] formative/constructive stage.

context information

...

Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Nirmana (ನಿರ್ಮನ):—[noun] absence of interest or concern in, curiosity about, etc.; apathy; indifference.

--- OR ---

Nirmāṇa (ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ):—

1) [noun] the act of measuring; measurement.

2) [noun] extent, quality or size as determined by measuring; dimension.

3) [noun] the act or process of constructing; construction.

4) [noun] a creating or being created; creation.

5) [noun] (jain.) formation of different organs of the body as eyes, nose, etc. in the foetus stage.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

Nepali dictionary

Source: unoes: Nepali-English Dictionary

Nirmāṇa (निर्माण):—n. 1. building; construction; formation; manufacture; 2. a created thing/object;

context information

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.

Relevant text

Search found 38 books and stories containing Nirmana, Nir-mana, Nir-māna, Nir-māṇa, Nirmāṇa, Nirmāna, Nis-mana, Nis-māna; (plurals include: Nirmanas, manas, mānas, māṇas, Nirmāṇas, Nirmānas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Tenth comparison or upamāna: A metamorphosis (nirmāṇa) < [Bodhisattva quality 19: the ten upamānas]

Introduction: the ten comparisons (upamāna) < [Bodhisattva quality 19: the ten upamānas]

Appendix 1 - The canonical definition of ṛddhividhi-jñāna < [Chapter XLIII - The Pursuit of the Six superknowledges]

+ 23 more chapters / show preview

Verse 15.5 < [Chapter 15 - Puruṣottama-toga (Yoga through understanding the Supreme Person)]

show preview

Seventh Adhyaya, Third Khanda (2 mantras)

show preview

Chapter LXXXVII - Enumeration of the names of fourteen Manus and of the Devas and Saptarsis < [Agastya Samhita]

show preview

Jambukhanda Nirmana Parva < [Book 6 - Bhishma Parva]

show preview