Nishphala, Niṣphala: 18 definitions
Introduction:
Nishphala 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 term Niṣphala can be transliterated into English as Nisphala or Nishphala, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Alternative spellings of this word include Nishfal.
In Hinduism
Ayurveda (science of life)
Nighantu (Synonyms and Characteristics of Drugs and technical terms)
Niṣphala (निष्फल) refers to “fruitless trees”, as mentioned in a list of four synonyms in the second chapter (dharaṇyādi-varga) of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rājanighaṇṭu (an Ayurvedic encyclopedia). The Dharaṇyādi-varga covers the lands, soil, mountains, jungles and vegetation’s relations between trees [viz., Niṣphala] and plants and substances, with their various kinds.
Agriculture (Krishi) and Vrikshayurveda (study of Plant life)
Niṣphala (निष्फल) refers to the “sterile” type of Puṣpa (“flower”); it is a technical term related to the morphology branch of “plant science”, which ultimately involves the study of life history of plants, including its origin and development, their external and internal structures and the relation of the members of the plant body with one another.—The word ‘puṣpa’ denotes the blossomed stage when the parts of the flower such as petals, stamens etc. are opened and manifested. Flowers by nature may be fertile or sterile. A flower is called saphala (fertile) when the ovary is present. When it is absent the flower is called niṣphala (sterile). As a consequence, the plants also may be fertile or sterile. Rarely both fertile and sterile flowers are borne on the same plant or on the same inflorescence
Unclassified Ayurveda definitions
Niṣphala (निष्फल):—[niṣphalam] 1. Without use / useless 2. without any effect
Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Niṣphala (निष्फल) refers to “(that weapon which is) ineffective”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.17 (“The dialogue between Indra and Kāmadeva”).—Accordingly, as Indra said to Kāma: “[...] O dear, for my conquest, the unparallelled thunderbolt has been made. Even that weapon may sometimes be ineffective [i.e., niṣphala] but you are never so. Who can be dearer than the person from whom one derives benefit? Hence you, my greatest friend, must carry out my task. Time being accursed, a great irremediable misery has befallen me. None other than you can dispel it”.
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.
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Niṣphala (निष्फल) refers to “fruitless (activities)”, according to the Pātravidhi—a manual of the Lakulīśa Pāśupata school of Śaivism dealing with purification of the initiate’s vessel (pātra) and other concerned issues.—Accordingly, “He should declare [the vow] with conviction; but [later] if he maintains his conviction badly, due to the influence of worldly attachment, that ascetic would go to hell because of the vice arising from sensual enjoyment. (18) Once fallen from the state of asceticism, even if he follows the specific disciplinary rules, all that would be fruitless (niṣphala); even having done so, he would go to hell. (19)”.
Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
niṣphala (निष्फल).—a (S) pop. niṣphaḷa a Devoid of fruit, lit. fig.
niṣphala (निष्फल).—a niṣphaḷa a Devoid of fruit.
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
Niṣphala (निष्फल).—mfn.
(-laḥ-lā-laṃ) 1. Barren, unfruitful. 2. Seedless, impotent. f. (-lā or -lī) A woman past child-bearing: one in whom menstruation has ceased: see niṣkala. E. nir priv. and phala fruit.
Niṣphala (निष्फल).—adj., f. lā. 1. without fruit, [Rāmāyaṇa] 4, 48, 6. 2. fruitless, useless, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 3, 144. 3. unproductive, [Pañcatantra] 174, 19. 4. irrelevant.
Niṣphala is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms nis and phala (फल).
Niṣphala (निष्फल).—[adjective] bearing no fruit, fruitless, useless, unsuccessful; [abstract] tva [neuter]
1) Niṣphala (निष्फल):—[=niṣ-phala] [from niṣ > niḥ] mf(ā)n. bearing no fruit, fruitless, barren, resultless, successless, useless, vain, [Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata; Varāha-mihira; Kāvya literature] etc.
2) [v.s. ...] seedless, impotent, [Horace H. Wilson]
3) Niṣphalā (निष्फला):—[=niṣ-phalā] [from niṣ-phala > niṣ > niḥ] f. a woman past childbearing or menstruation (also ī, [varia lectio] niṣ-kalā), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
4) [v.s. ...] a species of Momordica, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
Niṣphala (निष्फल):—[ni-ṣphala] (laḥ-lā-laṃ) a. Barren; impotent. f. Woman past child-bearing.
Niṣphala (निष्फल):—(nis + phala)
1) adj. f. ā keine Früchte tragend [Amarakoṣa 2, 9,19.] [Rāmāyaṇa 4, 48, 8.] in übertr. Bed. so v. a. fruchtlos, nutzlos, vergeblich [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 3, 144. 4, 70. 173. 10, 123. 12, 95. 96.] [Daśaratha’s Tod 1, 28.] [Rāmāyaṇa 3, 79, 18. 6, 91, 21] (verdruckt nisphala .) [?26. Bhartṛhari 3, 4. 47. Kumārasaṃbhava 4, 13. Meghadūta 55. Pañcatantra 53, 21. 174, 9. Bhāgavatapurāṇa 4, 8, 32. Kullūka zu Manu’s Gesetzbuch 2, 158. 3, 241.] für das Augurium nutzlos, bedeutungslos [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 85, 26. 28. 87, 27. 94, 50. 62.] Davon nom. abstr. tva n. [Mṛcchakaṭikā 62, 14.] niṣphalīkar unbelohnt lassen: na kadācitpriyavacanaṃ niḥphalīkṛtaṃ mayā tadgṛhyatāṃ pāritopikam [Mṛcchakaṭikā 82, 8. 89, 23.] niṣphalīkṛtya ausgekernt habend (vījāni!) v.l. für niṣkulīkṛtya [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 54, 29.] —
2) lā adj. f. die Menses nicht mehr habend [Amarakoṣa 2, 6, 1, 21] nach der Lesart im [Śabdakalpadruma][?; COLEBR. und Loiseleur Deslongchamps] haben st. dessen niṣkalā . Auch niṣphalī nach [Śabdaratnāvalī im Śabdakalpadruma] —
3) f. ā eine Species von Momordica [NIGH. PR.]
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Niṣphala (निष्फल):—
1) [Spr. 5100 ] (v. l. niṣkala). tva [Sāhityadarpana 741.]
Niṣphala (निष्फल):——
1) Adj. (f. ā) — a) keine Früchte tragend. — b) keinen Nutzen bringend , fruchtlos , nutzlos , vergeblich Nom.abstr. tva n. — c) für das Augurium nutzlos , — bedeutungslos. — d) der keine Früchte zieht , dem Alles misslingt [Indische sprüche 6622.] — e) *f. ( ā u. ī) die Menses nicht mehr habend. —
2) *f. ā eine Species von Momordica.
Niṣphala (निष्फल) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Ṇipphala.
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
Niṣphala (निष्फल) [Also spelled nishfal]:—(a) unavailing; ineffective, infructuous, inefficacious; vain; hence ~[tā] (nf).
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Niṣphala (ನಿಷ್ಫಲ):—
1) [adjective] not yielding, not capable of yielding, fruits.
2) [adjective] not being useful; useless.
3) [adjective] lacking normal function of the testes.
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Niṣphala (ನಿಷ್ಫಲ):—[noun] that which is useless or the quality of being so.
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Niṣphaḷa (ನಿಷ್ಫಳ):—[adjective] = ನಿಷ್ಫಲ [nishphala]1.
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Niṣphaḷa (ನಿಷ್ಫಳ):—[noun] = ನಿಷ್ಫಲ [nishphala]2.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Niṣphala (निष्फल):—adj. 1. not bearing fruit; 2. unsuccessful; fruitless; useless; 3. barren; unproductive; 4. seedless;
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 (+0): Nish, Phala, Nikaya.
Starts with (+0): Nishphaladayaka, Nishphalata, Nishphalate, Nishphalatva, Nishphalay, Nitphalaya.
Full-text (+11): Nishphalatva, Sunishphala, Nipphala, Nirphala, Naishphalya, Nishpalam, Nishpula, Abhiradh, Asukhodaya, Nitphalaya, Nishphalikri, Nirbhedya, Nishphalay, Syandana, Nihphala, Nishphal, Nishfal, Syanda, Nishkala, Nirgranthaka.
Relevant text
Search found 47 books and stories containing Nishphala, Niṣ-phala, Niṣ-phalā, Nis-phala, Nish-phala, Niṣphala, Nisphala, Niṣphaḷa, Niṣphalā, Niṭphala, Niṭphalā; (plurals include: Nishphalas, phalas, phalās, Niṣphalas, Nisphalas, Niṣphaḷas, Niṣphalās, Niṭphalas, Niṭphalās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 4.70 < [Section IX - Personal Cleanliness]
Verse 4.173 < [Section XIV - Other Duties]
Verse 10.123 < [Section XIV - Sources of Income (vittāgama)]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 32 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 2]
Page 65 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 3]
Page 183 < [Hindi-English-Nepali (1 volume)]
Vivekachudamani (by Shankara)
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 1.5.6 < [Chapter 5 - The Lord’s Appearance]
Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana (by Gaurapada Dāsa)
Text 10.262 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Text 10.145 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Tattvasangraha [with commentary] (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 1390 < [Chapter 18 - Inference]
Verse 422-424 < [Chapter 8 - Examination of the Doctrine of the Permanence of Things]
Verse 3139 < [Chapter 26 - Examination of the ‘Person of Super-normal Vision’]