Samiti, Samīti: 22 definitions
Introduction:
Samiti means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, Hindi, Tamil. 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.
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In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
1a) Samiti (समिति).—One of the names in the fourth Marutgaṇa.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 67. 127.
1b) Bhūrloka.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 101. 40.
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.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Samiti (समिति) denotes an ‘assembly’ of the Vedic tribe. It is alreadv mentioned in the Rigveda, and often later, sometimes in connexion with Sabhā. Ludwig considers that the Samiti included all the people, primarily the viśaḥ, ‘subjects’, but also the Maghavans and Brahmins if they desired, though the Sabhā was their special assembly.
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
A waggon builder of Savatthi. In the Angana Sutta (q.v.), Moggallana tells Sariputta how he once saw Samiti shaping a felloe; by his side, Panduputta was watching, wishing that Samiti might shape the felloe without crook, twist, or blemish. When Samiti did this, Panduputta sang with joy, saying that Samiti had read his thoughts. M.i.31f.
Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Samiti (समिति) refers to the “five kinds of carefulness”, according to chapter 1.1 [ādīśvara-caritra] of Hemacandra’s 11th century Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra: an ancient Sanskrit epic poem narrating the history and legends of sixty-three illustrious persons in Jainism.—Accordingly, in the sermon of Sūri Dharmaghoṣa:—“[...] the gift of supporting dharma (dharmopagrahadāna) is five-fold: purity of giver, receiver, gift, time, and thought. [... ] That gift would have purity of receiver, whose receiver is such a man [who] observes the five kinds of carefulness (samiti), [...]”.
The five kinds of carefulness (samiti) are: (Cf. Uttarādhyayana 24.1-18.)
- īryā (care in walking not to injure any living thing);
- bhāṣā (care not to injure any one by speech);
- eṣaṇā (care to eat only pure food);
- ādānanikṣepana (care in regard to handling possessions);
- pratiṣṭhāpana or utsarga (care in regard to sanitation).
Samiti (समिति) refers to the “five carefulness’s” and is one of the topics treated in the Ācārāṅga (Ācārāṃga), one of the Dvādaśāṅgī (twelve Aṅgas) of Jainism.—In a sequential point of view, Ācārāṃgastands first in Aṃgas. It is called as Prathama Aṃga as it is the vital Ācāra (conduct) of Śruta puruṣa (Monk / Saints). It is said that Ācārāṃga has 2 divisions (Śruta skaṇdhas), 25 chapters (adhyayanas), 85 topics (uddeśanakāla) and 85 sub topics (samuddeśanakālas). Ācārāṃga consists of 18000 verses. Topics include five carefulness’s (samiti).
Samiti (समिति) refers to the “rule of life”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “Good conduct is said by one who is honourable [to be like a tree] whose roots are the five great vows, whose foliage is the [mendicant] rule of life (samiti-prasara) which is faultless in a high degree, bent with the weight of the fruit of restraint [of body, mind and speech]”.
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
Samiti.—(EI 4), five in number. Note: samiti is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.
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
Pali-English dictionary
samiti : (f.) an assembly; a society.
Samiti, (f.) (fr. saṃ+i) assembly D. II, 256; Dh. 321; J. IV, 351; Pv. II, 313 (=sannipāta PvA. 86); DhA. IV, 13. (Page 686)
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
Sanskrit dictionary
Samiti (समिति).—f.
1) Meeting, union, association; स्वधर्मे चानुतिष्ठेत गुणानां समितिहिं सा (svadharme cānutiṣṭheta guṇānāṃ samitihiṃ sā) Bhāgavata 11.25.8.
2) An assembly.
3) Flock, herd; द्युतिं समग्रां समितिर्गवामसौ (dyutiṃ samagrāṃ samitirgavāmasau) Kirātārjunīya 4.32.
4) War, battle; आशंसन्ते समितिषु सुराः (āśaṃsante samitiṣu surāḥ) Ś.2.15 (v. l.); Kirātārjunīya 3.15; समितौ रभसादुपागतः (samitau rabhasādupāgataḥ) Śiśupālavadha 16.13.
5) Likeness, equality.
6) Moderation.
7) (With Jainas) Rule of conduct.
Derivable forms: samitiḥ (समितिः).
Sāmītī (सामीती).—[, Divyāvadāna 624.21, see prec.]
Samiti (समिति).—f.
(-tiḥ) 1. War, battle. 2. Assembly, company. 3. Association, meeting, union. 4. Sameness, likeness, equality. E. sam with, iṇ to go, aff. ktin .
Samiti (समिति).—[sam-i + ti]i. e. I., f. 1. Meeting, union. 2. Assembly, [Nala] 5, 7; company, 3. Likeness, equality. 4. War, battle. Ii. sam-iti, indecl. A holy verse beginning with sam, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 11, 119.
Samiti (समिति).—[feminine] meeting, assembly, union, league; encounter, battle.
1) Samiti (समिति):—[=sam-iti] [from sam-i] 1. sam-iti f. (for 2. See below) coming together, meeting, assembling, an assembly, council, [Ṛg-veda; Atharva-veda; Mahābhārata; Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
2) [v.s. ...] a flock, herd, [Kirātārjunīya]
3) [v.s. ...] association, society (personified as daughter of Prajā-pati), [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
4) [v.s. ...] a league, plot, [Ṛg-veda; Atharva-veda]
5) [v.s. ...] encounter, hostile meeting, war, battle, [Brāhmaṇa; Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa]
6) [v.s. ...] sameness, likeness (cf. 2. sama), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
7) [v.s. ...] (with Jainas) rule of life or conduct (five are enumerated, viz. īryā-, bhāṣā-, eṣaṇā-, ādāna-, and utsarga-s), [Sarvadarśana-saṃgraha]
8) [=sam-iti] 2. sam-iti ind. (for 1. See above) a sacred verse beginning with sam, [Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary]
Samiti (समिति):—(tiḥ) 2. f. War; assembly; association; likeness.
Samiti (समिति):—
--- OR ---
Samiti (समिति):—
5) [Hemacandra] [Yogaśāstra 1, 26. 33. fgg.]
Samiti (समिति) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Samii.
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
Samiti (समिति):—(nf) a committee; -[kakṣa] committee room; -[kārya] committee work.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Samiti (ಸಮಿತಿ):—
1) [noun] an organisation of persons having common interests, purposes, etc.; society; a league; an association.
2) [noun] a number of persons or things gathered closely together; a group; a cluster; an agregation.
3) [noun] a group of experts appointed to study a problem and suggest remedial measures.
4) [noun] (jain.) a religious vow that a monk has to observe.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Tamil dictionary
Samiti (ஸமிதி) noun < sam-iti. See சமிதி. [samithi.]
Tamil is an ancient language of India from the Dravidian family spoken by roughly 250 million people mainly in southern India and Sri Lanka.
Nepali dictionary
Samiti (समिति):—n. council; committee; society; association; assembly;
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: The, The, Sam, Cam, Iti, Te, Samiti.
Starts with: Samitigutta, Samitima, Samitimardana, Samitimgama, Samitimjaya, Samitimula, Samitinjaya, Samitishalin, Samitishobhana.
Full-text (+104): Samitimjaya, Bhashasamiti, Samitishobhana, Utsargasamiti, Adanasamiti, Samitishalin, Samitimgama, Eshanasamiti, Surasamiti, Samitimardana, Iryasamiti, Upasamiti, Pancacamiti, Devatasamiti, Pratishthapanasamiti, Samitya, Esana, Nyayika-samiti, Pancayata-samiti, Yatayata-samiti.
Relevant text
Search found 115 books and stories containing Samiti, Sam-iti, Samidhi, Samidi, Samithi, Samīti, Sāmītī, The samitis; (plurals include: Samitis, itis, Samidhis, Samidis, Samithis, Samītis, Sāmītīs, The samitises). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Uttaradhyayana Sutra (by Hermann Jacobi)
The tenth Mandala of the Rigveda (study) (by Rupsmita Buzarbaruah)
Part 9 - Different machineries of the State < [Chapter 3 - A Socio-Cultural study of the tenth Maṇḍala]
Part 4 - Significance of the Tenth Maṇḍala of the Ṛgveda < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
Sutrakritanga (English translation) (by Hermann Jacobi)
Jainism and Patanjali Yoga (Comparative Study) (by Deepak bagadia)
Five types of Samitis (carefulness, circumspection) < [Chapter 3 - Jain Philosophy and Practice]
Part 3.4 - Nine Elements (7): Samvara (Stoppage of influx of karma) < [Chapter 3 - Jain Philosophy and Practice]
Three guptis (restraints or preservation) < [Chapter 3 - Jain Philosophy and Practice]
The Buddhist Path to Enlightenment (study) (by Dr Kala Acharya)
The five Samitis (voluntary movements of the Jīva) < [Chapter 4 - Comparative Study of Liberation in Jainism and Buddhism]
5.2. Bondage of Soul in Jainism < [Chapter 4 - Comparative Study of Liberation in Jainism and Buddhism]
5.3. Three Stages (1): Saṃvara (Self-restraint) < [Chapter 4 - Comparative Study of Liberation in Jainism and Buddhism]
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