Nirvishesha, Nirviśeṣa, Nir-vishesha: 19 definitions
Introduction:
Nirvishesha means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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.
The Sanskrit term Nirviśeṣa can be transliterated into English as Nirvisesa or Nirvishesha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Alternative spellings of this word include Nirvishesh.
In Hinduism
Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष) refers to “devoid of variety, featureless, without distinction”. (cf. Glossary page from Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā).
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष) refers to:—Devoid of variety; featureless impersonal aspect of the Absolute. (cf. Glossary page from Bhajana-Rahasya).
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)
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष) refers to “that which has no special traits” and is used to describe Sadāśiva (i.e., the Supreme Brahman), according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.8.—Accordingly, Himavat said to Nārada:—“[...] The supreme Brahman is great and imperishable. It is like the streak of a lamp. It is termed Sadāśiva. It is without aberration. It is beyond Brahmā. It is both full and devoid of qualities. It has no special traits [i.e., nirviśeṣa], no desires. It sees within and not without. O sage, from the Kinnaras who come here, such are the things heard about Him. Can it be untrue?”.
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.
Vedanta (school of philosophy)
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष) refers to “(Brahman) without attributes”, according to the commentary on the Kuṇḍika-upaniṣad verse 28.—The worshippers of the pure, resplendent Brahman (śabala-brahma) enter the world of Brahma (brahmaloka), that is, the sphere of Hiraṇyagarbha, along the path of the Sun (sūryamārga, or uttarāyaṇa-mārga) by exiting from the crown of the head (brahma-randhra) through the suṣumṇā canal; and there they are engaged in their quest for the attributeless Brahman till the end of the kalpa (till pralaya, or great dissolution, takes place). Having lived there till such time, they ultimately merge with Brahman on the attenuation of their subtle desires and attractions (vāsanā-kṣaya). Thereafter they never return to the plane of relative existence. This is the gradual liberation (krama-mukti) attained by the knowers of Brahman with attributes (saviśeṣa brahmajñānī). On the other hand, the knowers of the attributeless, absolute Brahman (nirviśeṣa brahmajñānī) will attain direct, instant liberation (sadyo-mukti), here and now (ihaiva).
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष) refers to “one who is free from individual characteristics”, according to the Aṣṭāvakragītā (5th century BC), an ancient text on spirituality dealing with Advaita-Vedānta topics.—Accordingly, [as Janaka says to Aṣṭavakra]: “In my unblemished nature there are no elements, no body, no faculties, no mind. There is no void and no anguish. [...] For him who is always free from individual characteristics (nirviśeṣa) there is no antecedent causal action, no liberation during life, and no fulfilment at death. [kva tadvidehakaivalyaṃ nirviśeṣasya sarvadā] For me, free from individuality, there is no doer and no reaper of the consequences, no cessation of action, no arising of thought, no immediate object, and no idea of results. [...]”.
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).
General definition (in Hinduism)
Nirviśeṣa means without any varieties or impersonalist.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष) refers to “indiscriminately (making it rain)”, according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter 38.—[While describing the thirty-seven auxiliaries (pākṣika)]: [...] The Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva must practice the paths of all the good dharmas. [...] According to his previous vows and the sharpness or dullness of his faculties, the person has great compassion or does not have great compassion. Similarly, when the Nāga king makes rain to fall, it rains on the earth everywhere indiscriminately (nirviśeṣa); the big trees and the large plants receive a lot of rain because of their big roots; the small trees and the small plants receive but little because of their small roots. [...]”.
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष) [=Nirviśeṣatā?] refers to the “(one who is) without distinction”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “Then the Bodhisattva Gaganagañja, having praised the Lord with these verses, addressed himself to the Lord: ‘[...] The Lord, who is without distinction (nirviśeṣa), practices (prayoga) sameness (samatā) of all living beings since he is purified just like open space. Since the Lord has no desire, he is satisfied with insight (prajñatṛpta) and free from gain, honor and fame. Since the Lord is omniscient (sarvajña), his mode of five eyes is purified and sees everything’. [...]’”.
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.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष).—a. showing or making no difference, indiscriminating, without distinction; निर्विशेषा वयं त्वयि (nirviśeṣā vayaṃ tvayi) Mb.; निर्विशेषो विशेषः (nirviśeṣo viśeṣaḥ) Bhartṛhari 3.5. 'a difference without distinction'.
2) having no difference, same, like, not differing from (oft. in comp.); निर्विशेषाकृति (nirviśeṣākṛti) 'having the same form'; प्रवातनीलो- त्पलनिर्विशेषम् (pravātanīlo- tpalanirviśeṣam) Kumārasambhava 1.46; स निर्विशेषप्रतिपत्तिरासीत् (sa nirviśeṣapratipattirāsīt) R.14.22.
3) indiscriminate, promiscuous.
-ṣaḥ absence of difference. (nirviśeṣam and nirviśeṣeṇa are used adverbially in the sense of 'without difference', 'equally', indiscriminately'; kruddhena vipramukto'yaṃ nirviśeṣaṃ priyāpriye Rām.7.22.41. svagṛhanirviśeṣamatra sthīyatām H.1; R.5.6.).
Nirviśeṣa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nir and viśeṣa (विशेष).
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष).—mfn.
(-ṣaḥ-ṣā-ṣaṃ) 1. Undiscriminating, making no difference. 2. Same, like, indiscriminate. E. nir neg. viśeṣa difference.
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष).—I. m. want of difference, [Hitopadeśa] 113, 11. Ii. adj. 1. having no discrimination, [Hitopadeśa] ii. [distich] 68. 2. not different. 3. equal. 4. acc. ṣam, adv. a. without difference, [Hitopadeśa] 84, 5, M.M. b. alike, [Hitopadeśa] 128, 10. c. exceedingly, [Uttara Rāmacarita, 2. ed. Calc., 1862.] 99, 6.
Nirviśeṣa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nis and viśeṣa (विशेष).
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष).—[adjective] making or showing no difference, not differing from (—°); equal, similar; [neuter] as [adverb] or as [abstract] = tā [feminine], tva [neuter]
1) Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष):—[=nir-viśeṣa] [from nir > niḥ] mf(ā)n. showing or making no difference, undiscriminating, without distinction, [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.
2) [v.s. ...] not different from, same, like ([compound]), [Kālidāsa]
3) [v.s. ...] (with viśeṣa m. not the least difference, [Bhartṛhari iii, 54])
4) [v.s. ...] unqualified, absolute, [Sarvadarśana-saṃgraha]
5) [=nir-viśeṣa] [from nir > niḥ] n. absence of difference, indiscriminateness, likeness, [Mahābhārata vi, 5519]
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष):—[nir-viśeṣa] (ṣaḥ-ṣā-ṣaṃ) a. Same, not different, indiscriminate.
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष):—(nis + vi) adj. f. ā keinen Unterschied zeigend, ununterschieden, nicht verschieden [Vyutpatti oder Mahāvyutpatti 155.] [Nalopākhyāna 5, 10.] nirviśeṣā vayaṃ tvayi [Mahābhārata 1, 5806. 3, 13081. 6, 56. 8, 3895.] kālo hi kāryaṃ prati nirviśeṣaḥ [12, 737. 15, 111.] ambaraṃ sāgaraṃ cobhau nirviśeṣamapaśyata [Rāmāyaṇa 5, 74, 34.] [Viṣṇupurāṇa] bei [MUIR, Sanskrit Texts I, 29, Nalopākhyāna 49, 1.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 3, 10, 11] (ohne unterscheidende Merkmale). [?26, 17. GAUḌAP. zu SĀṂKHYAK. 34.] sama iha paritoṣo nirviśeṣo viśepaḥ so v. a. nicht der geringste Unterschied [Bhartṛhari 3, 54.] kṣaye tasminmahāraudre nirviśeṣamajāyata gewann Alles ein gleiches Aussehen [Mahābhārata 6, 5519.] nicht verschieden von. am Ende eines comp.: nīlotpala [Kumārasaṃbhava 1, 47.] [Raghuvaṃśa 13, 12.] [Śihlana’s Śāntiśataka 4, 10.] ṣam adv. ohne Unterschied [Mahābhārata 1, 4892. 6, 2166.] [Pañcatantra I, 90.] [Rājataraṅgiṇī 1, 357.] am Ende eines comp.: sutanirviśeṣam nicht verschieden vom Sohne [Raghuvaṃśa 5, 6.] [Rājataraṅgiṇī 3, 95.] peṇa = ṣam [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 3, 3, 87,] [Scholiast] tadatra svagṛhanirviśeṣeṇa sthīyatām so v. a. als wenn es dein eigenes Haus wäre [Hitopadeśa 38, 21.]
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Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष):—nicht verschieden, gleich [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 10, 72, 39.] svapurānnirviśeṣaṃ ca priyaṃ prāptaḥ [Rāmāyaṇa 7, 23, 15.] atha vyāghramapi taṃ munirmūṣikanirviśeṣeṇa (viśeṣaṃ v. l.) paśyati nicht anders als auf die Maus [Hitopadeśa 113, 11.] putranirviśeṣam adv. [128, 10.] nirviśeṣam ohne Unterschied, ganz gleich [UTTARARĀMAC. 77, 8 (99, 6.] = sarvaprakāreṇa [Scholiast]). adj. unqualificirt, absolut [SARVADARŚANAS. 46, 11. 50, 2. 51, 20.]
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष):——
1) Adj. (f. ā) — a) keinen Unterschied machend , — zeigend , ununterschieden , gleich , nicht verschieden von (im Comp. vorangehend). viśeṣa m. so v.a. nicht der geringste Unterschied. m Adv. ohne Unterschied , ganz gleich [Indische sprüche 7746.] Am Ende eines Comp. nicht verschieden von. — b) unqualificirt , absolut. —
2) n. Ununterschiedenheit , gleiches Aussehen. svagṛhanirviśeṣeṇa so v.a. als wenn es des eigene Haus wäre.
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Ṇivvisesa.
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
Nirviśeṣa (निर्विशेष) [Also spelled nirvishesh]:—(a) without distinction, having no attributes; invariable; (nm) the Transcendental Reality.
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Kannada-English dictionary
Nirviśēṣa (ನಿರ್ವಿಶೇಷ):—[adjective] = ನಿರ್ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟ [nirvishishta].
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Nirviśēṣa (ನಿರ್ವಿಶೇಷ):—
1) [noun] the quality of being exactly same as another; perfect similarity which can be termed as oneness.
2) [noun] he who is not different from another.
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 (+0): Vishesha, Nir, Nish, Nikaya.
Starts with (+0): Nirvisheshabrahma, Nirvisheshajnana, Nirvisheshakriti, Nirvishesham, Nirvisheshana, Nirvisheshanirasa, Nirvisheshasvarupa, Nirvisheshata, Nirvisheshatva, Nirvisheshavada, Nirvisheshavant, Nirvisheshavat.
Full-text (+27): Nirvisheshatva, Sutanirvishesham, Nirvishesham, Nirvisheshata, Sanirvishesha, Nirvisheshabrahma, Nirvisheshajnana, Nirvisheshavat, Nirvisheshavant, Mushikanirvishesha, Kaivalyanirvishesha, Nirvisheshavada, Nirvisheshasvarupa, Nibbisesa, Nirvisheshena, Nirvisheshakriti, Nirvisheshana, Nivvisesa, Nirvishesh, Devoid of attribute.
Relevant text
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