Pravacana, Prāvacana, Pravācana: 18 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
1. Vyakarana
2. General definition
In Buddhism
1. Mahayana
2. General definition
In Jainism
1. General definition
India history
Languages
1. Sanskrit
2. Hindi
3. Kannada
See also
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Introduction:

Pravacana means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, 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 Pravachana.

In Hinduism

Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar)

Source: Wikisource: A dictionary of Sanskrit grammar

1) Pravacana (प्रवचन).—Recital of Vedic texts; cf. अथैके प्राहुरनुसंहितं तत् पारायणे प्रवचनं प्रशस्तम् (athaike prāhuranusaṃhitaṃ tat pārāyaṇe pravacanaṃ praśastam) R. Pr. XV. 16; cf also इति प्र बाभ्रव्य उवाच च क्रमं क्रमप्रवक्ता (iti pra bābhravya uvāca ca kramaṃ kramapravaktā) (बाभ्रव्यः (bābhravyaḥ)) प्रथमं शशंस च (prathamaṃ śaśaṃsa ca), R. Pr. XI 33;

2) Pravacana.—The reading of the Samhita text प्रावचनो वा यजुषि । प्रवचने भवः स्वरः प्रावचनः (prāvacano vā yajuṣi | pravacane bhavaḥ svaraḥ prāvacanaḥ) ; प्रवचनशब्देनार्षपाठ उच्यते (pravacanaśabdenārṣapāṭha ucyate) 1 V. Pr. I. 132.

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Prāvacana (प्रावचन).—Accentuation, as noticed in the original Samhitapatha; cf. प्रावचनो वा यजुषि (prāvacano vā yajuṣi) | प्रवचनशब्देन आर्षपाठ उच्यते । तत्र भवः स्वरः प्रावचनः स च यजुबि भवति । तान्ते वा यज्ञकर्मणि । (pravacanaśabdena ārṣapāṭha ucyate | tatra bhavaḥ svaraḥ prāvacanaḥ sa ca yajubi bhavati | tānte vā yajñakarmaṇi |) V. Pr. I. 132.

context information

Vyakarana (व्याकरण, vyākaraṇa) refers to Sanskrit grammar and represents one of the six additional sciences (vedanga) to be studied along with the Vedas. Vyakarana concerns itself with the rules of Sanskrit grammar and linguistic analysis in order to establish the correct context of words and sentences.

General definition (in Hinduism)

Source: archive.org: Vedic index of Names and Subjects

Pravacana (प्रवचन) means ‘oral instruction’, ‘teaching’, in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (xi.5.7.1) and later.

In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

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

Pravacana (प्रवचन) refers to “(delightful and purifying) words”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly: as Lord said to the Bodhisattva Ratnaśrī: “[...] For incalculable and immeasurable hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of aeons, the rain of jewels has poured down from open space since his supernormal knowledge is imperishable. I was, son of good family, at that time the Bodhisattva Siṃha, and the Bodhisattva Maitreya was at that time the prince Jayamati who succeeded to the crown by the king Puṇyālaṃkāra. Whoever is delighted and purified in this words (pravacana), son of good family, he will be the basis of living beings who generate the root of good. [...]”.

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.

General definition (in Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Dharma-samgraha

Pravacana (प्रवचन) refers to “nine (types of) teachings” as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 62):

sūtra (Discourses),
geya (prosimetrum),
vyākaraṇa (explanation),
gāthodāna ( verse, exalted utterance),
jātaka (birth-story),
vaipulya (elaboration),
adbhutadharma (wonderful thing),
upadeśa (instruction).

The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (e.g., pravacana). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Jainism

Pravacana (प्रवचन) refers to a class of piśāca deities according to the Digambara tradition of Jainism, while Śvetāmbara does not recognize this class. The piśācas refer to a category of vyantaras gods which represents one of the four classes of celestial beings (devas).

The deities such as the Pravacanas are defined in ancient Jain cosmological texts such as the Saṃgrahaṇīratna in the Śvetāmbara tradition or the Tiloyapaṇṇati by Yativṛṣabha (5th century) in the Digambara tradition.

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.

India history and geography

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Indian Epigraphical Glossary

Pravacana.—exposition of texts (Ep. Ind., Vol. XXXV, p. 150). Note: pravacana is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.

context information

The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Pravacana (प्रवचन).—

1) Speaking, declaration, announcement; प्रवचने मान्द्यम् (pravacane māndyam) Pañcatantra (Bombay) 1.19.

2) Teaching, expounding.

3) Exposition, explanation, interpretation; नायमात्मा प्रवचनेन लभ्यो न मेधया न बहुना श्रुतेन (nāyamātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena) Kaṭh.1.2.22; लब्ध्वा ज्ञानमनेकधा प्रवचनैर्मन्वादयः प्राणयन् (labdhvā jñānamanekadhā pravacanairmanvādayaḥ prāṇayan) Mv.4.25; Bhāgavata 7.15.1.

4) Eloquence.

5) A sacred treatise or writing; Ms. 3.184.

6) An expression, a term.

7) A system of doctrines (in the form of a treatise).

8) The fundamental doctrine of the Budhists.

-naḥ One who exposes, propounds; Bhāgavata 1.87.11.

Derivable forms: pravacanam (प्रवचनम्).

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Pravācana (प्रवाचन).—

1) Proclamation, promulgation, declaration.

2) A designation.

Derivable forms: pravācanam (प्रवाचनम्).

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

Pravacana (प्रवचन).—nt. (Sanskrit id., in closely corresponding mgs.; Pali only pāvacana), (1) °ne, with prec. gen., under the preaching (of…, a Buddha or Bodhisattva): mama Saddharmapuṇḍarīka 64.12; tasyaiva Divyāvadāna 505.2; Kāśyapasya Avadāna-śataka ii.97.6; samyaksaṃbuddhasya Sukhāvatīvyūha 7.3; tathāgatasya Gaṇḍavyūha 280.12; once instr. °nena in same meaning, following the temporal tena kālena, tena samayena, tasya bhagavato…prava- canena Samādhirājasūtra 8.12; (2) designation of the groups or types of sacred texts of Buddhism, which are listed as nine Dharmasaṃgraha 62, as twelve (the same with three added after the fifth) Mahāvyutpatti 1266-78.

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Prāvacana (प्रावचन).—(nt.; = Pali pāv°, AMg. pāvayaṇa; in Sanskrit only as adj. and rare), words, teaching, gospel (of the Buddha): ahaṃ…pravrajito tava svayaṃbhu prāvacane Mahāvastu i.247.11 (verse); mss. pravacane, the regular Sanskrit form, but meter seems to demand Senart's em.

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

Pravacana (प्रवचन).—n.

(-naṃ) 1. A Veda, scripture. 2. Excellent speech or language, eloquence. 3. Teaching, expounding, exposition. 4. Declaration. E. pra principal, vacana speech.

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Pravācana (प्रवाचन).—n.

(-naṃ) Proclamation, promulgation.

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

Pravacana (प्रवचन).—[pra-vac + ana], n. 1. Eloquence, [Hitopadeśa] ii. [distich] 26. 2. Teaching. 3. A holy treatise, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 3, 184.

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

Pravacana (प्रवचन).—[masculine] = pravaktṛ; [neuter] speaking, announcing, recitation, exposition, sacred writings, [especially] the Brahmanas.

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Pravācana (प्रवाचन).—[neuter] proclamation, praise.

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

1) Pravacana (प्रवचन):—[=pra-vacana] [from pra-vac] m. one who exposes, propounds, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]

2) [v.s. ...] n. speaking, talking, [Pañcatantra]

3) [v.s. ...] recitation, oral instruction, teaching, expounding, exposition, interpretation (cf. sāṃkhya-pravacana-bhāṣya), [Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa; Upaniṣad; Pāraskara-gṛhya-sūtra; Ṛgveda-prātiśākhya] etc.

4) [v.s. ...] announcement, proclamation, [Lāṭyāyana]

5) [v.s. ...] excellent speech or language, eloquence, [Horace H. Wilson]

6) [v.s. ...] an expression, term, [Nirukta, by Yāska]

7) [v.s. ...] a system of doctrines propounded in a treatise or dissertation

8) [v.s. ...] sacred writings ([especially] the Brāhmaṇas or the Vedāṅgas), [Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata; Harivaṃśa] etc. (cf. [Indian Wisdom, by Sir M. Monier-Williams 145])

9) [v.s. ...] the s° w° of Buddhists (ninefold), [Dharmasaṃgraha 62]

10) [v.s. ...] the s° w° of the Jainas, [Hemacandra [Scholiast or Commentator]]

11) [v.s. ...] (am, enclitic after a finite verb [gana] gotrādi)

12) Pravācana (प्रवाचन):—[=pra-vācana] [from pra-vāka > pra-vac] n. a proclamation, promulgation, [Ṛg-veda x, 35, 8]

13) [v.s. ...] fame, renown, [Ṛg-veda iv, 36, 1]

14) [v.s. ...] a designation, name (See dvi-p).

15) Prāvacana (प्रावचन):—[=prā-vacana] [from prā] a ([Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā-prātiśākhya]) ([Taittirīya-saṃhitā [Scholiast or Commentator]]), usual while reciting Vedic texts.

16) b nika etc. See under 3. prā, p. 702, col. 3.

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

Pravacana (प्रवचन):—[pra-vacana] (naṃ) 1. n. A veda, scripture; excellent speech; teaching.

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

Pravacana (प्रवचन) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Pavayaṇa, Pavāyaṇa, Pavāyaṇā.

[Sanskrit to German]

Pravacana 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

Pravacana (प्रवचन) [Also spelled pravachan]:—(nm) a (religious) discourse; sermon.

context information

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Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Pravacana (ಪ್ರವಚನ):—

1) [noun] the act or speaking.

2) [noun] explanation with commentary (as on a original text).

3) [noun] pleasing and good speech.

4) [noun] the spiritual talk delivered by a jina, the spiritual teacher.

context information

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

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