Nishkama, Niṣkāma, Niṣkāmā, Nihkama: 21 definitions
Introduction:
Nishkama 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.
The Sanskrit terms Niṣkāma and Niṣkāmā can be transliterated into English as Niskama or Nishkama, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Alternative spellings of this word include Nishkam.
In Hinduism
Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
Source: Pure Bhakti: Bhagavad-gita (4th edition)Niṣkāma (निष्काम) refers to “without selfish desire”. (cf. Glossary page from Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā).
Source: Pure Bhakti: Brhad BhagavatamrtamNiṣkāma (निष्काम) refers to:—Free from desire. (cf. Glossary page from Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta).
Source: Pure Bhakti: Brahma-samhitaNiṣkāma (निष्काम) refers to—Freedom from desire.
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 TranslationNiṣkāma (निष्काम) refers to “(being) free from lust”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.24 (“Śiva consents to marry Pārvatī”).—Accordingly, as Śiva said to Viṣṇu and others: “[...] O lord of gods, O intelligent one, it is your duty not to be obdurate after considering the situation of what shall be done and what not. O Viṣṇu, a great favour to the gods has been done by me when Kāma was burnt. May ye all stay free from lust [i.e., niṣkāma] certainly along with me. Just as I, so also you, O gods, can without effort perform difficult tasks being endowed with the energy of great 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.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Google Books: ManthanabhairavatantramNiṣkāmā (निष्कामा) refers to “she who is devoid of desire”, according to the Lalitāsahasranāma.—Lalitā’s thousand names are eulogized in the Lalitāsahasranāma, describing the goddess’s spiritual beauty on the analogy of physical, sensuous beauty. [...] In short, the Kula rites—sexual yet chaste—share in the same ambiguity as the goddess who presides over them. One way that the apparent contradiction is resolved is to accommodate the two conditions into the two aspects of deity. Tripurā in her immanent, manifest form ‘with qualities’ (saguṇa) is passionate, while her unmanifest form `devoid of qualities’ (nirguṇa) is passionless. To indicate this ambiguity in her nature she is called ‘Devoid of Qualities’ (nirguṇā) (130), which is thus the same as calling her ‘Devoid of Desire’ (niṣkāmā) (142) and ‘Devoid of Passion’ (nīrāgā) (156). So even though from one point of view she is highly passionate, she remains free of desire. Although, she gives passion (kāmadā) and arouses attachment (rāga-mathanī) (157), she also frees from it.
Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.
Vedanta (school of philosophy)
Source: SOAS: Philosophy of Advaita Vedānta according to Madhusūdana Sarasvatī's GūḍhārthadīpikāNiṣkāma (निष्काम) or Niṣkāmakarma refers to “actions performed after renouncing its fruits”.—Each chapter of the Bhagavadgītā describes various aspects of the means to liberation (mukti/mokṣa), which is considered the highest good in Vedānta. Śaṃkara also holds the purpose of the Bhagavadgītā to be the attainment of liberation, quickly declaring knowledge of the self, preceded by renunciation of all actions to be its means. The performance of disinterested actions, i.e. actions performed after renouncing its fruits (niṣkāma-karma), is combined with the forsaking of both those Vedic rituals that are performed solely out of desire for some personal gain (kāmyakarma) and those that are forbidden in the Vedas (niṣiddhakarma).
Source: Wikisource: Ashtavakra GitaNiṣkāma (निष्काम) refers to “one who is free from desire” (i.e., the liberated man), according to the Aṣṭāvakragītā (5th century BC), an ancient text on spirituality dealing with Advaita-Vedānta topics.—Accordingly, [as Aṣṭavakra says to Janaka]: “[...] Those of weak intelligence think of themselves as pure non-duality, but because of their delusion do not know this, and remain unfulfilled all their lives. The mind of the man seeking liberation can find no resting place within, but the mind of the liberated man is always free from desire (niṣkāma) by the very fact of being without a resting place. [nirālambaiva niṣkāmā buddhirmuktasya sarvadā] [...]”.
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).
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English DictionaryNiḥkāma (निःकाम).—a (For niṣkāma S) Devoid of desire, disinterested.
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionaryniṣkāma (निष्काम).—a (S) Free from desire, disinterested.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-EnglishNiḥkāma (निःकाम).—a Devoid of desire, disinterested.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishniṣkāma (निष्काम).—a Free from desire, disinterested
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: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryNiṣkāma (निष्काम).—adj. disinterested, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 12, 89.
Niṣkāma is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nis and kāma (काम).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryNiṣkāma (निष्काम).—[adjective] desireless, disinterested.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English DictionaryNiṣkāma (निष्काम):—[=niṣ-kāma] [from niṣ > niḥ] mfn. (niṣ-) desireless, disinterested, unselfish, [Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa; Manu-smṛti] etc.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryNiṣkāma (निष्काम):—[ni-ṣkāma] (maḥ-mā-maṃ) a. Without wishing. n. Involuntarily.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Niṣkāma (निष्काम) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Ṇikkāma.
[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 dictionaryNiṣkāma (निष्काम) [Also spelled nishkam]:—(a) without attachment, disinterested, free from desires/wishes, desireless, unselfish; ~[tā] state of being without attachment, disinterestedness, unselfishness.
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Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusNiṣkāma (ನಿಷ್ಕಾಮ):—
1) [adjective] not desiring; not selfish; unselfish.
2) [adjective] not sensual; turned aside from lust.
--- OR ---
Niṣkāma (ನಿಷ್ಕಾಮ):—
1) [noun] absence of desires; unselfishness.
2) [noun] absence of lust.
3) [noun] an unselfish or lustless man.
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 DictionaryNiṣkāma (निष्काम):—adj. 1. having no desires; disinterested; 2. done without expecting anything in return;
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Nih, Nish, Kama.
Starts with: Nishkamacarin, Nishkamakarma, Nishkamakarmayoga, Nishkamashibhu, Nishkamayoga, Nitkamasha.
Full-text (+6): Nishkamakarma, Nishkamacarin, Nishkamayoga, Nikkama, Nishkam, Jnanapurva, Arthakama, Bhogayoga, Shivayoga, Samasta, Mayanta, Samastadhvan, Visodhana, Bhikshu, Nishkamakarmayoga, Sambhrama, Mathani, Ragamathani, Nirguna, Saguna.
Relevant text
Search found 52 books and stories containing Nishkama, Niḥ-kāma, Nih-kama, Niḥkāma, Nihkama, Niṣ-kāmā, Nis-kama, Nis-kāma, Niṣ-kāma, Nish-kama, Niṣkāma, Niskama, Niṣkāmā; (plurals include: Nishkamas, kāmas, kamas, Niḥkāmas, Nihkamas, kāmās, Niṣkāmas, Niskamas, Niṣkāmās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 2.1.14 < [Chapter 1 - Vairāgya (renunciation)]
Verse 2.1.10-11 < [Chapter 1 - Vairāgya (renunciation)]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 12.89 < [Section X - The Highest Good]
Selfless Service is Scriptural Injunction < [October – December, 1998]
Karma < [October – December, 2004]
Mother Teresa < [July – September, 1993]
The Gita’s Ethics (A Critical Study) (by Arpita Chakraborty)
6. Conclusion (Karma, Rebirth and Freedom of Will) < [Chapter 2 - Pre-suppositions of The Gita’s Ethics]
5. Unity of Paths < [Chapter 4 - Moral Action and Emancipation]
3. The Path of Action (karma-yoga) < [Chapter 4 - Moral Action and Emancipation]
Mahabharata (English) (by Kisari Mohan Ganguli)
Section CCXCVI < [Mokshadharma Parva]
Section CCLII < [Mokshadharma Parva]
Section CLXIV < [Anusasanika Parva]
Bhagavad-gita (with Vaishnava commentaries) (by Narayana Gosvami)
Verse 5.2 < [Chapter 5 - Karma-sannyāsa-yoga (Yoga through Renunciation of Action)]
Verse 6.3 < [Chapter 6 - Dhyāna-yoga (Yoga through the Path of Meditation)]
Verse 2.50 < [Chapter 2 - Sāṅkhya-yoga (Yoga through distinguishing the Soul from the Body)]