Pratapana, Pratāpana: 15 definitions
Introduction:
Pratapana means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. 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.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexPratapana (प्रतपन).—A hell.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 33. 61.

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 SastraPratāpana (प्रतापन) refers to one of the eight great hells according to the “world of transmigration” section in the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XXVII).—Accordingly, “The sixth and seventh great hells are the Tapana and Pratāpana. There are two great copper cauldrons there; the first is called Nan t’o (Nanda) and the second Po nan t’o (Upananda); in the language of Ts’in, “Joy” and “Great Joy”; they are filled with boiling brine. The Rākṣasa demons, guardians of hell, throw the damned into them, like head chefs cooking meat. The people in these cauldrons have their feet up and their heads down; they are boiled like beans; their bones and joints become detached; their skin and flesh dissolve”.
Also, “In their previous lives, these unfortunates had tormented their parents, their teacher, Śrāmaṇas and Brāhmaṇas; they had tormented honest people and fields of merit (puṇyakṣetra) to the point of arousing their anger; for these reasons they suffer the torments of the Tapana hell. Or else, in their previous lives, they had roasted live cocoons, roasted live pigs and sheep, spit-roasted living human beings. Or else they had set fire to the jungle, burned villages, stūpas, monasteries (vihāra), temples (devacaitya), etc., or else they had thrown beings into pits of fire. It is for all these reasons that they are reborn in this hell”.

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 MaṇḍalaPratāpana (प्रतापन) or Pratapana is the name of a Vīra (hero) who, together with the Ḍākinī named Pratāpanī [or Pratapanī] forms one of the 36 pairs situated in the Cittacakra, according to the 10th century Ḍākārṇava chapter 15. Accordingly, the cittacakra refers to one of the three divisions of the nirmāṇa-puṭa (‘emanation layer’), situated in the Herukamaṇḍala. The 36 pairs of Ḍākinīs and Vīras [viz., Pratāpana] are black in color; they each have one face and four arms; they hold a skull bowl, a skull staff, a small drum, and a knife.

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.
General definition (in Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Dharma-samgrahaPratāpana (प्रतापन) refers to the “scolding hell” and represents one of the “eight hot hells” (uṣṇa-naraka) as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 121). The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (e.g., pratāpana). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryPratapana (प्रतपन).—Warming, making warm.
Derivable forms: pratapanam (प्रतपनम्).
--- OR ---
Pratāpana (प्रतापन).—a.
1) Warming.
2) Distressing.
-nam 1 Burning, heating, warming.
2) Paining, tormenting, inflicting punishment.
-naḥ Name of a hell.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryPratāpana (प्रतापन).—m., name of a hot hell: Mahāvyutpatti 4926, so with v.l., Tibetan rab tu tsha ba, and Mironov without v.l., for text mahātāpanaḥ; Dharmasaṃgraha 121; in these and most other places occurs in lists of various hells (compare Pratāpa 2); Mahāvastu i.9.9; 15.7, 12; ii.350.8; 369.14; iii.274.10; Divyāvadāna 67.22; 138.6; 366.29; Avadāna-śataka i.4.8, etc.; Samādhirājasūtra 19.20; Kāraṇḍavvūha 18.13 (text pretāyane!); 66.16 (text pretāpane! some copyist thought of preta); (Ārya-)Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa 114.26.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryPratapana (प्रतपन).—n.
(-naṃ) Making warm.
--- OR ---
Pratāpana (प्रतापन).—m.
(-naḥ) Name of a hell. n.
(-naṃ) 1. Inflicting pain or punishment, burning, consuming. 2. Paining, distressing. E. pra before, tap to heat, aff. ṇic-lyu .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryPratapana (प्रतपन).—[pra-tap + ana], n. Warming, Mahābhārata 1, 3576.
--- OR ---
Pratāpana (प्रतापन).—i. e. pra-tap, [Causal.], + ana, I. adj. Distressing, inflicting pain, [Rāmāyaṇa] 3, 53, 29. Ii. m. A hell. Iii. n. Burning, Mahābhārata 13, 3302.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryPratāpana (प्रतापन).—[adjective] burning, paining. [masculine] a cert. hell; [neuter] burning, heating.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Pratapana (प्रतपन):—[=pra-tapana] [from pra-tap] n. warming, heating, [Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtra; Mahābhārata; Suśruta]
2) Pratāpana (प्रतापन):—[=pra-tāpana] [from pra-tap] mfn. making hot, paining, tormenting, [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa; Suśruta]
3) [v.s. ...] m. Name of Śiva, [Śivagītā, ascribed to the padma-purāṇa]
4) [v.s. ...] a [particular] hell, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
5) [v.s. ...] n. warming, heating, turning, paining, distressing, [Mahābhārata; Suśruta]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryPratāpana (प्रतापन):—[pra-tāpana] (naḥ) 1. m. A hell. m. Inflicting pain, burning.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Pratāpana (प्रतापन) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Payāvaṇa.
[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.
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusPratapana (ಪ್ರತಪನ):—
1) [noun] the act or process of heating to a very high degree.
2) [noun] inflicting intense emotional suffering, deep sadness, disaster, misfortune, etc.
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)
Starts with: Pratapanarasimha, Pratapanarasimhe kundaprakasha, Pratapanarasimhe purtaprakasha.
Full-text: Sampratapana, Pratapin, Pratapanekri, Mahatapana, Pratapani, Payavana, Sampratapanam, Cittacakra, Ushnanaraka, Eight Hot Hells, Tapana, Naraka.
Relevant text
Search found 16 books and stories containing Pratapana, Pra-tapana, Pra-tāpana, Pratāpana; (plurals include: Pratapanas, tapanas, tāpanas, Pratāpanas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 5.15.10 < [Chapter 15 - Seeing Sri Radha]
Ramayana of Valmiki (Shastri) (by Hari Prasad Shastri)
Chapter 43 - The Conflict between the Monkeys and Titans < [Book 6 - Yuddha-kanda]
Glimpses of History of Sanskrit Literature (by Satya Vrat Shastri)
Mahavastu (great story) (by J. J. Jones)
Chapter II-a - Sermon on the Hells (naraka) < [Volume I]
Chapter XXIV - After the enlightenment < [Volume III]
Chapter XXX - The second Avalokita-sūtra < [Volume II]
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
The eight great hells < [The world of transmigration]
Buddhist Sutra literature (study) (by Gopika G)
Part 3.2 - Hells and Heavens in different realms < [Chapter 3 - Mythology in Sūtra literature]