Tapana, Tāpana: 25 definitions
Introduction
Introduction:
Tapana means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India, 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.
Alternative spellings of this word include Tapan.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: archive.org: Puranic EncyclopediaTapana (तपन).—A soldier of the country of Pāñcāla. He was killed by Karṇa in the Mahābhārata battle. (Śloka 15, Chapter 48, Karṇa Parva).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexTapana (तपन).—The Sun whose daughter is Yamunā.*
- * Matsya-purāṇa 108. 23; 110. 5.
Tapana (तपन) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. I.28.18) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Tapana) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.

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.
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
Source: Wisdom Library: Nāṭya-śāstraTāpana (तापन, “pessimism”) refers to ‘toleration’ of anguish with regard to the desired object. Tāpana represents one of the thirteen pratimukhasandhi, according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 21. Pratimukhasandhi refers to the “segments (sandhi) of the progressing part (pratimukha)” and represents one of the five segments of the plot (itivṛtta or vastu) of a dramatic composition (nāṭaka).
Source: archive.org: Natya ShastraTāpana (तापन).—One of the twelve elements of the ‘progression segment’ (pratimukhasandhi);—(Description:) Thinking about (lit. seeing) some danger in future is called Pessimism (tāpana).

Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (śāstra) of performing arts, (nāṭya, e.g., theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing dramatic plays (nataka) and poetic works (kavya).
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper NamesThe younger sister of Kapila and Sodhana, in the time of Kassapa Buddha. Her mother was Sadhani. They all entered the Order, but introduced dissension there.
Kapila was reborn as a fish in the Aciravati and Tapana was born in the Mahaniraya. SNA.i.305f, 309; DhA.iv.37, 39.
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A Niraya. Beings born there are pierced by heated stakes and they remain transfixed, motionless. J.v.266, 271, 275.
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See Tapana above.
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).
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita SastraTapana (तपन) 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 MaṇḍalaTapana (तपन) is the name of a Vīra (hero) who, together with the Ḍākinī named Tapanī 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., Tapana] 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-samgrahaTapana (तपन) refers to the “remorseful 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., tapana). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.
India history and geography
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Indian Epigraphical GlossaryTapana.—(IE 7-1-2), ‘three’ with reference to Agni; but ‘twelve’ with reference to ‘the sun’. Note: tapana 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 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
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionarytapana : (nt.) shining; brightness. || tāpana (nt.) scorching; self-mortification; tormenting.
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English DictionaryTāpana, (nt.) (from tāpeti) burning, scorching, roasting; fig. tormenting, torture, self-mortification VvA. 20 (aggimhi t. udake vā temanaṃ). Cp. ā°; upa°; pari°. (Page 299)
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Tapana, (adj. -n.) (to tapati & tapa) burning, heat; fig. torment, torture, austerity.—1. (as nt.) PvA. 98 (kāya °saṅkhāto tapo).—2. (as f.) tapanī J. V, 201 (in metaphorical play of word with aggi & brahmacārin; Com. visīvana-aggiṭṭha-saṅkhātā-tapanī). (Page 297)

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.
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarytapana (तपन).—n S Burning, blazing, glowing, radiating heat. 2 Solar fervor. v paḍa, hō.
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tāpana (तापन).—n S Heating, lit. fig.: inflaming, incensing, exciting.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishtapana (तपन).—n Burning, blazing. Solar fervour.
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tāpana (तापन).—n Heating. Inflaming, exciting.
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: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryTapana (तपन).—a. [tap-lyu]
1) Warming, heating, burning, shining &c.
2) Causing distress, paining; ब्रह्मद्विषस्तपनो मनुमीरसि (brahmadviṣastapano manumīrasi) Rv.2.23.4.
3) The sun; प्रतापात्तपनो यथा (pratāpāttapano yathā) R. 4.12; ललाटंतपस्तपति तपनः (lalāṭaṃtapastapati tapanaḥ) U.6; Māl.1.
4) The hot season.
5) The sun-stone.
6) Name of a hell; Ms.4.89.
7) An epithet of Śiva.
8) The Arka plant.
9) Name of Agastya.
-nam 1 Heat, burning.
2) Paining, grieving.
3) Mental agony, anguish.
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Tāpana (तापन).—a. [tap-ṇic bhāve-lyuṭ]
1) Heating, inflaming,
2) Distressing.
3) Illuminating; अतप्यत स्माखिललोक- तापनम् (atapyata smākhilaloka- tāpanam) Bhāg.2.9.8,
-naḥ 1 The sun.
2) The hot season.
3) The sun-stone.
4) Name of one of the arrows of Cupid.
-nam 1 Burning.
2) Distressing.
3) Chastising.
4) A division of hell.
5) Gold.
6) (in drama) Helplessness, perplexity.
-nā Austerity.
-nī Name of several Upaniṣads.
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Tāpana (तापन).—&c. See under तप् (tap).
See also (synonyms): tāpa.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryTapana (तपन).—(1) m. or nt., and °nā, box or basket, in which infants are enclosed and thrown into a river: (tāhi dāni) antaḥpurikāhi te dārakā tapanasmiṃ cailakaṃ upastaritvā tatra prakṣiptāḥ, taṃ tapanaṃ sv-apihitaṃ subaddhaṃ kṛtvā rājakyena tāpanīyena tāpayitvā mu- drayitvā nadīye gaṅgāye prakṣiptā Mahāvastu iii.163.9, by the harem-women those infants in a tapana, putting a cloth on, were laid in there, and making that tapana carefully closed and tied, soldering it with the royal solder (?gold) and (so) sealing it, they were thrown into the River Ganges; referring to the same incident, (te) cāsmābhiḥ tapanāye (loc. f.) prakṣipitvā etc. 166.6; the same receptacle is called mañjūṣā, basket, in 166.10 ff., which makes the meaning clear. Senart's note compares tapu, in Divyāvadāna, q.v., but this is a false reading. It seems unlikely that Sanskrit tapanī, Koch- topf, Schmidṭ, Nachträge, or Deśīnāmamālā 2.59 commentary tavaṇī, frying-pan, are directly connected; (2) m., less often nt. (= Pali id.), name of a hot hell (see also Tāpana): Dharmasaṃgraha 121 (°naḥ); Mahāvastu i.6.3; 9.9 (m.); 14.15; ii.350.8 = iii.274.10; ii.369.14; iii.454.8 (nt.); Divyāvadāna 67.22; 138.6; 366.29; Avadāna-śataka i.4.8 etc.; Samādhirājasūtra 19.20; Kāraṇḍavvūha 18.13; (Ārya-)Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa 114.26; Mironov tapanaḥ for Mahāvyutpatti 4925 tāp°.
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Tāpana (तापन).—(1) m. (according to Malalasekara (Dictionary of Pali Proper Names) Pali id. = Tapana; but no reference is given; this v.l. recorded in some mss. for Tapana), name of a hot hell, = Tapana: Mahāvyutpatti 4925 (but Index lists Ta° as well as Tā°, and Mironov Tapanaḥ with- out v.l.); (2) name of a mountain: Mahā-Māyūrī 254.6.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryTapana (तपन).—m.
(-naḥ) 1. The sun. 2. A division of hell. 3. Heat, burning. 4. Mental distress, pining, grieving. 5. The hot season. 6. the marking nut plant. f. (-nī) The Godavari river. E. tap to inflame, affixes bhāve lyu and ṅīṣ.
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Tāpana (तापन).—mfn.
(-naḥ-nī-naṃ) What heats or inflames. m.
(-naḥ) 1. The sun. 2. Of Kama'S arrows, the inflamer. 3. Sun-shine. 4. Heating, inflaming. E. tap to heat, in the causal form, and ṇic and bhāve lyuṭ affs. or tāpi-karttari lyu . sūrye .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryTapana (तपन).—[tap + ana], I. adj. 1. Warming, shining, [Rāmāyaṇa] 6, 79, 57. 2. Tormenting, Mahābhārata 12, 10381. Ii. m. 1. The sun, [Rāmāyaṇa] 1, 16, 11. 2. The name of a hell, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 4, 89.
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Tāpana (तापन).—i. e. tap, [Causal.], + ana, I. adj., f. nī, Tormenting, Mahābhārata 1, 1178. Ii. m. The sun, Mahābhārata 5, 1739. Iii. n. 1. Heating, [Suśruta] 1, 151, 13. 2. Mortifying, Mahābhārata 13, 1098. 3. The name of a hell, [Yājñavalkya, (ed. Stenzler.)] 3, 224.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryTapana (तपन).—[adjective] warming, burning, shining (of the sun); vexing, tormenting. [masculine] the sun, a cert. hot hell. [feminine] tapanī heat, ardour. [neuter] tapana the same + pain, penance, religious austerity.
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Tāpana (तापन).—[feminine] ī heating, burning, distressing, illumining (—°). [masculine] the sun; [neuter] burning, distressing, chastisement, penance; a cert. hell.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus CatalogorumTapana (तपन) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—Quoted by Hemādri in Pariśeṣakhaṇḍa 2, 824.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Tapana (तपन):—[from tap] mfn. warming, burning, shining (the sun), [Mahābhārata i, v; Rāmāyaṇa vi, 79, 57]
2) [v.s. ...] causing pain or distress, [Ṛg-veda ii, 23, 4; x, 34, 6; Atharva-veda iv, xix]
3) [v.s. ...] m. ([gana] nandy-ādi) the sun, [Mahābhārata i, vi, xiii; Rāmāyaṇa i, 16, 11; Raghuvaṃśa] etc.
4) [v.s. ...] heat, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
5) [v.s. ...] the hot season, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
6) [v.s. ...] Name of a hell (cf. mahā-), [Manu-smṛti iv, 89; Buddhist literature]
7) [v.s. ...] Name of an Agni, [Harivaṃśa 10465]
8) [v.s. ...] Agastya (cf. āgneya), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
9) [v.s. ...] Semecarpus Anacardium, [Nighaṇṭuprakāśa]
10) [v.s. ...] = -cchada (or ‘a white kind of it’ [Nighaṇṭuprakāśa]), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
11) [v.s. ...] Premna spinosa, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
12) [v.s. ...] Cassia Senna, [Nighaṇṭuprakāśa]
13) [v.s. ...] the civet cat, [Demetrius Galanos’s Lexiko: sanskritikes, anglikes, hellenikes]
14) [v.s. ...] = -maṇi, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
15) [v.s. ...] Name of a Yakṣa, [Mahābhārata i, 32, 18]
16) [v.s. ...] of a Rakṣas, [Rāmāyaṇa vi]
17) [v.s. ...] n. (na) the being hot, burning, heat, [Taittirīya-brāhmaṇa ii, 2, 9, 1 f.]
18) [v.s. ...] pining, grieving, mental distress, [Kāṭhaka xxviii, 4; Sāhitya-darpaṇa iii]
19) [from tap] cf. gopāla-, tripura, rāma-.
20) Tāpana (तापन):—[from tāpa] mf(ī)n. ifc. illuminating, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa ii, 9, 8]
21) [v.s. ...] burning, causing pain, distressing, [Mahābhārata; Harivaṃśa 9427; Rāmāyaṇa] (cf. indra-, candra-)
22) [v.s. ...] m. the sun, [Mahābhārata v, 1739]
23) [v.s. ...] the hot season, [Nighaṇṭuprakāśa]
24) [v.s. ...] the sun-stone, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
25) [v.s. ...] one of Kāma’s arrows, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
26) [v.s. ...] n. burning, [Suśruta i, 41, 3]
27) [v.s. ...] pain, torment, [Mahābhārata xiii, 1098]
28) [v.s. ...] (in [dramatic language]) helplessness, perplexity, [Sāhitya-darpaṇa v, 91]
29) [v.s. ...] Name of a hell, [Yājñavalkya iii, 224]
30) [v.s. ...] gold, [Nighaṇṭuprakāśa]
31) Tāpanā (तापना):—[from tāpana > tāpa] f. austerity, [Hemacandra’s Pariśiṣṭaparvan i, 68]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Tapana (तपन):—(naḥ) 1. m. The sun; heat, burning; distress, a grief; division of hell; the hot season; marking nut plant. f. River Godāverī.
2) Tāpana (तापन):—(naḥ) 1. m. The sun; one of Kāma’s arrows; heat. a. Heating.
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Tapanacchada, Tapanachchhada, Tapanadidhiti, Tapanadyuti, Tapanakara, Tapanamani, Tapanamshu, Tapanashman, Tapanasuta, Tapanatanaya, Tapanatanayeshta, Tapanatmaja, Tapaneshta, Tapanopala.
Ends with (+51): Abhitapana, Alokitapana, Amitratapana, Amittatapana, Amritapana, Anutapana, Asmatapana, Atapana, Atisantapana, Attaparitapana, Balantapana, Balatapana, Bamlatapana, Bhaktapana, Bhaumatapana, Bhutasamtapana, Bhutasantapana, Candramshutapana, Candratapana, Cetapana.
Full-text (+41): Tapanakara, Tapanamani, Tapanatanaya, Sarvatapana, Tapaneshta, Upatapana, Tapanatmaja, Tapanopala, Tapanacchada, Indratapana, Tapanadyuti, Ramatapana, Atapana, Mahatapana, Tapanamshu, Uttapana, Pratapana, Tapani, Tapaniya, Tapanasuta.
Relevant text
Search found 25 books and stories containing Tapana, Tāpana, Tāpanā, Ṭāpanā, Tapanā; (plurals include: Tapanas, Tāpanas, Tāpanās, Ṭāpanās, Tapanās). 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 4.88-90 < [Section X - Gifts not to be Accepted]
Verse 4.87 < [Section X - Gifts not to be Accepted]
The Skanda Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Seventy names of the Sun God < [Section 1 - Pūrvārdha]
Chapter 146 - Greatness of Amareśvara Kuṇḍa < [Section 1 - Tīrtha-māhātmya]
Chapter 33 - The Greatness of Keśavāditya (108 names of Sun-God, Bhāskara) < [Section 1 - Avantīkṣetra-māhātmya]
The Padma Purana (by N.A. Deshpande)
Chapter 78 - The pacification of the Sun (Bradhna, Sūra, Ravi, Āditya, etc.) < [Section 1 - Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa (section on creation)]
Chapter 6 - Bhāratavarṣa: Its Rivers and Regions < [Section 3 - Svarga-khaṇḍa (section on the heavens)]
Chapter 48 - Importance of Bull (and Cow) < [Section 1 - Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa (section on creation)]
The Brahma Purana (by G. P. Bhatt)
The Mahavastu (great story) (by J. J. Jones)
Chapter II-g - The hell named Tapana < [Volume I]
Chapter II-a - Sermon on the Hells (naraka) < [Volume I]
Chapter II - Maudgalyāyana’s visits to hell < [Volume I]
Abhidhamma in Daily Life (by Ashin Janakabhivamsa) (by Ashin Janakabhivamsa)
Part 1 - The nature of hells (niraya) < [Chapter 11 - Planes Of Existence]