Tyaga, Tyāga: 23 definitions
Introduction
Introduction:
Tyaga means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, 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 Tyag.
In Hinduism
Dharmashastra (religious law)
Source: Wisdom Library: Dharma-śāstraTyāga (त्याग) refers to the “renunciation”. It is used throughout Dharmaśāstra literature such as the Manusmṛti and the Baudhāyana-dharmasūtra.

Dharmashastra (धर्मशास्त्र, dharmaśāstra) contains the instructions (shastra) regarding religious conduct of livelihood (dharma), ceremonies, jurisprudence (study of law) and more. It is categorized as smriti, an important and authoritative selection of books dealing with the Hindu lifestyle.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana IndexTyāga (त्याग).—Is to look on the useful and the useless equally; renunciation from affection, desire and difficulty; giving up of all Karmas and having an equal eye on good and evil;1 result of Jñāna or knowledge; gives the result of Karma, but difficult to achieve;2 leads to Vairāgya.3

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.
Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
Source: Pure Bhakti: Bhagavad-gita (4th edition)Tyāga (त्याग) refers to “renunciation of possessiveness”. (cf. Glossary page from Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā).

Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).
Ayurveda (science of life)
Source: archive.org: Vagbhata’s Ashtanga Hridaya Samhita (first 5 chapters)Tyāga (त्याग) refers to “avoidance”, as mentioned in verse 4.33-34 of the Aṣṭāṅgahṛdayasaṃhitā (Sūtrasthāna) by Vāgbhaṭa.—Accordingly, “[...] avoidance [viz., tyāga] of offences against wisdom, assuagement of the senses, awareness, knowledge of region, season, and constitution, (and) imitation of the conduct of sages: this method (has been) taught in brief for the non-arising of endogenous and accidental diseases and for the alleviation of (those which have) arisen”.

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.
Vedanta (school of philosophy)
Source: Google Books: Sankara’s Vedanta through His Upanisad CommentariesTyāga (त्याग) means “letting go” or “abandoning” and represents a term used for renunciation.—Śaṅkara often uses terms for renunciation drawn from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad: vyutthāna (“transcendence”—literally “intensely rising up or away from”), bhikṣācārya (“begging”) and parivrājin (“one who goes forth”—appearing mostly in its derivative form parivrājaka, which by the medieval period designated the most radical type of renunciation). But he also interjects the synonyms saṃnyāsa (“set down completely”) and tyāga (“letting go” or “abandoning”) or parityāga (“complete letting go” or complete abandoning) both widely used in epic sources such as the Bhagavadgītā and in more specialized medieval Vedānta sources focusing exclusively on renunciation.
Vedanta (वेदान्त, vedānta) refers to a school of orthodox Hindu philosophy (astika), drawing its subject-matter from the Upanishads. There are a number of sub-schools of Vedanta, however all of them expound on the basic teaching of the ultimate reality (brahman) and liberation (moksha) of the individual soul (atman).
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: Wisdom Library: HinduismTyāga (त्याग) is a Sanskrit word referring to renunciation of activities, performed with material consciousness.
Source: Hindupedia: The Hindu EncyclopediaTyāga is associated with offering. There are three kinds of offerings:
- yāga (sacrifice)
- dāna (giving)
- homa (offering)
Of these, the word yāga refers to principal rite and the other two are associated with subsidiary rites.
Dāna is transferring one’s right over what is given, to the one who is taking. This does not involve any expectation of result (though it has an invisible result, and it ensues only when the result is not desired for).
Homa is offering of havis in Agni. This involves tyāga of what is being offered, with the mention “na mama”, meaning what is being offered is no more mine, it belongs to the Devata (or the pitri as the case may be) to whom the offering is being made[8]. There is no expectation of result in the homa itself, but its result will become part of the result of the entire sacrifice.
Source: WikiPedia: HinduismTyāga (त्याग, “abandonment”) refers to giving up of all anxieties for enjoying the fruits of actions; through practice of this kind of tyāga infusing discipline in daily activities the momentary anxiety to enjoy fruits of actions is overcome. It is a subjective renunciation of selfishness and desire. The Tejobindu Upanishad belonging to Krishna- yajurveda explains that in Tyāga (renunciation) one abandons the manifestations or objects of the universe through the cognition of Atman that is Sat and Cit and this is practiced by the wise as the giver of immediate salvation.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita SastraTyāga (त्याग):—Generosity (tyāga) is of two kinds:
- Making a gift by giving up a material object (āmiṣa);
- obtaining bodhi by giving up the fetters (saṃyojana).
The former is ‘abandoning’ insofar as it rejects avarice (mātsarya); by contrast, the latter, the ‘abandoning’ of the fetters, plays the role of cause and condition (hetupratyaya). It is necessary to reach the seventh ground in order to abandon the fetters.
According to chapter 36, there are two kinds of abandonment (tyāga):
- abandonment consisting of generosity (dāna-tyāga);
- abandonment of all the disturbing emotions (sarvakleśa-tyāga).
Abandonment consisting of generosity is of two kinds: i) material gifts (āmiṣadāna); ii) gift of the Dharma (dharmadāna) or preaching. Altogether these three kinds of abandonment make up abandonment (tyāga).

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-samgrahaTyāga (त्याग, “generosity”) or Tyāgānusmṛti refers to one of the “six recollections” (anusmṛti) as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 54). The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (e.g., tyāga). The work is attributed to Nagarguna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: WikiPedia: JainismTyāga (त्याग, “renunciation”).—Ahiṃsa-vrata practiced by the Śvetāmbras refers to the renunciation of killing. Basically, there are five kinds of tyāgas included in the eleven pratimās viz.
- sacitta-tyāga pratimā, the stage of renouncing uncooked food;
- ārambha-tyāga pratimā, the stage of abandonment of all professional activity;
- parigraha-tyāga pratimā, the stage of transferring publicly one’s property to a son or relative;
- anumati-tyāga pratimā, the stage of leaving the household and refraining from counselling in household matters,
- uddiṣṭa-tyāga pratimā, the stage of not eating food especially prepared for oneself.

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.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarytyāga (त्याग).—m (S) Leaving, abandoning, forsaking, quitting. 2 The remuneration made to the gōndhaḷī, bharāḍī, ḍaurakarū &c. for their services.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishtyāga (त्याग).—m Leaving, quitting, abandoning.
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 dictionaryTyāga (त्याग).—[tyaj-bhāve ghañ]
1) Leaving, forsaking, abandoning, deserting, separation; न माता न पिता न स्त्री न पुत्रस्त्यागमर्हति (na mātā na pitā na strī na putrastyāgamarhati) Ms.8.389;9.79.
2) Giving up, resigning, renouncing; Ms.1.112; सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं ततः कुरु यतात्मवान् (sarvakarmaphalatyāgaṃ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān) Bg.12.11.
3) Gift, donation, giving away as charity; करे श्लाघ्यस्त्याग (kare ślāghyastyāga) Bh.2.65; वित्तं त्यागनियुक्तम् (vittaṃ tyāganiyuktam) (durlabham) H. 1.139; त्यागाय संभृतार्थानाम् (tyāgāya saṃbhṛtārthānām) R.1.7; Pt.1.169.
4) Liberality, generosity; Ms.2.97; R.1.22.
5) Secretion, excretion.
6) Dismissing, discharging.
7) Sacrificing oneself; मिथो यत् त्यागमुभयासो अग्मन् (mitho yat tyāgamubhayāso agman) Rv.4.24.3.
8) A sage.
Derivable forms: tyāgaḥ (त्यागः).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryTyāga (त्याग).—m.
(-gaḥ) 1. Gift, donation. 2. Abandoning, leaving, parting from, separation, deserting, &c. 3. A sage, one who separates himself from worldly thoughts. E. tyaj to abandon, bhāve ghañ aff.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryTyāga (त्याग).—i. e. tyaj + a, m. 1. Abandoning, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 10, 111; [Pañcatantra] 261, 6; forsaking, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 8, 389; resigning, [Rāmāyaṇa] 4, 7, 9. 2. Giving away, Böhtl. Ind. Spr. 499; liberality, [Daśakumāracarita] in
Tyāga (त्याग).—[masculine] leaving, abandoning, rejecting, avoiding, giving up; donation, sacrifice (also [figuratively] of one’s life); also = seq.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Tyāga (त्याग):—[from tyaj] m. ([Pāṇini 6-1, 216]) leaving, abandoning, forsaking, [Manu-smṛti] etc.
2) [v.s. ...] quitting (a place, deśa-), [Pañcatantra]
3) [v.s. ...] discharging, secretion, [Mahābhārata xiv, 630; Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā] giving up, resigning, gift, donation, distribution, [Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtra; Manu-smṛti] etc.
4) [v.s. ...] sacrificing one’s life, [Ṛg-veda iv, 24, 3]
5) [v.s. ...] liberality, [Manu-smṛti ii, 97; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.
6) [v.s. ...] a sage, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
7) [v.s. ...] cf. ātma-, tanu-, deha-, prāṇa-, śarīra-.
[Sanskrit to German] (Deutsch Wörterbuch)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Böhtlingk and Roth Grosses Petersburger WörterbuchTyāga (त्याग):—und tyāga (von tyaj) [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 6, 1, 216] (vgl. [159]). tyāga [Ṛgveda] m. = varjana [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha 2, 32.] [Medinīkoṣa g. 6.]
1) das Verlassen, im-Stich-Lassen, das Verstossen (einer Person): na mātā na pitā na strī na putrastyāgamarhati [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 8, 389. 9, 79. 10, 113.] [Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch 1, 72.] [Mahābhārata 1, 3909.] [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 52, 45.] gurumātṛpitṛ [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 11, 59. 62.] [Brāhmaṇavilāpa 1, 33.] [Nalopākhyāna 10, 9.] [Rāmāyaṇa 4, 7, 9.] [Kathāsaritsāgara 13, 71.] aṅganā das Meiden der Weiber [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 2, 7, 29.] —
2) das Verlassen (eines Ortes): deśa [Pañcatantra 261, 6.] —
3) das Entlassen, von-sich-Geben: retomūtrapurīṣāṇām [Mahābhārata 14, 630.] śleṣma [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 50, 33. 45, 58.] —
4) das Aufgeben, Verzichten, Entsagung, Hingabe [Kapila 3, 75.] tyāgaviyogau freiwilliges Aufgeben und gezwungene Trennung [4, 5.] [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 10, 111.] svakarmaṇām 24. sarvakarmaphala [Bhagavadgītā 12, 11. 18, 1. 2. 4.] sukha [Rāmāyaṇa 4, 7, 9.] vaira [Yogasūtra 2, 35.] upārjitānāmarthānām [Pañcatantra II, 157.] dhanānāṃ jīvitasya ca [Hitopadeśa I, 38.] dhana [Rāmāyaṇa 4, 7, 9.] jīva [Prabodhacandrodaja 89, 5.] [Sāhityadarpana 182.] atyāge pi tanoḥ [Bhartṛhari 3, 91.] Hingabe eines Gutes (im Opfer): dravyaṃ devatā tyāgaḥ [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 1, 2, 2. 7, 21.] [Scholiast Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 208, 2. 394, 3 v. u. 423, 1 v. u.] —
5) Aufopferung, Hingabe des Lebens: mi.ho yattyā.amu.hayāso.agman [Ṛgveda 4, 24, 3.] —
6) Freigebigkeit, = dāna [Amarakoṣa 2, 7, 28.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 386.] [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha] [Medinīkoṣa] [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 2, 97.] dhanadena samastyāge [Rāmāyaṇa 1, 1, 9.] [Suśruta 1, 122, 19.] [Bhartṛhari 2, 34. 55.] [Raghuvaṃśa 1, 7. 22.] [Pañcatantra 201, 19.] [Dhūrtasamāgama 68, 3.] yuta freigebig [VARĀH.] [LAGHUJ. 9, 15.] śīlatā ad [Hitopadeśa I, 100.] —
7) ein Weiser (vivekipuruṣa) [Śabdaratnāvalī im Śabdakalpadruma] — Vgl. ātma (Verlust des Bewusstseins [Suśruta 1, 192, 6]), tanu, deha, prāṇa, śarīra .
--- OR ---
Tyāga (त्याग):—
2) sthāna [Spr. 3348.]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Sanskrit-Wörterbuch in kürzerer FassungTyāga (त्याग):—m. —
1) das Verlassen , im Stich Lassen , Verstossen (einer Person). —
2) das meiden. —
3) das Verlassen (eines Ortes). —
4) das Entlassen , Vonsichgeben. —
5) das Aufgeben , Verzichten , Entsagung , Hingabe. vāsasām das Ablegen — , Wechseln der Kleider. —
6) Hingabe des Lebens , Aufopferung. —
7) Hingabe eines Gutes (im Opfer). —
8) Freigebigkeit. yuta Adj. freigebig.
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: Tyagabhoga, Tyagagata, Tyagamaya, Tyaganem, Tyaganusmriti, Tyagapatra, Tyagaraja, Tyagarajakavaca, Tyagarajasahasranamavali, Tyagarajashtaka, Tyagarajastotra, Tyagashila, Tyagashilata, Tyagasvamimahatmya, Tyagavant, Tyagayuta.
Ends with (+39): Adhikaratyaga, Ambuvacityaga, Antartyaga, Anumatityaga, Aparityaga, Arambhatyaga, Asamtyaga, Asutyaga, Atmaparityaga, Atmatyaga, Bhojanatyaga, Dehatyaga, Deshatyaga, Deyadharma-parityaga, Dharmatyaga, Jivatyaga, Karmatyaga, Karmmatyaga, Kleshatyaga, Mahatyaga.
Full-text (+91): Dehatyaga, Tanutyaga, Tyagashila, Shastratyaga, Parityaga, Atmatyaga, Mahatyagamaya, Tyagayuta, Shariratyaga, Svadharmatyaga, Stanatyaga, Dharmatyaga, Bhojanatyaga, Karmatyaga, Uttyaga, Sthanatyaga, Stanyatyaga, Mahatyaga, Tyagashilata, Mahatyagacitta.
Relevant text
Search found 29 books and stories containing Tyaga, Tyāga; (plurals include: Tyagas, Tyāgas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
V.3 Abandonment of the afflicting emotions (kleśa-tyaga) < [V. Recollection of abandonment (tyāgānusmṛti)]
I. Lists of recollections (anusmṛti or anussati) < [Preliminary note on the Eight Recollections]
Part 1 - Generosity of the Dharma < [Chapter XX - The Virtue of Generosity and Generosity of the Dharma]
Lalitopakhyana (Lalita Mahatmya) (by G.V. Tagare)
Shrimad Bhagavad-gita (by Narayana Gosvami)
Verse 18.2 < [Chapter 18 - Mokṣa-yoga (the Yoga of Liberation)]
Verse 18.1 < [Chapter 18 - Mokṣa-yoga (the Yoga of Liberation)]
Verse 18.8 < [Chapter 18 - Mokṣa-yoga (the Yoga of Liberation)]
Bhajana-Rahasya (by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura Mahasaya)
Text 24 < [Chapter 2 - Dvitīya-yāma-sādhana (Prātaḥ-kālīya-bhajana)]
Text 35 < [Chapter 2 - Dvitīya-yāma-sādhana (Prātaḥ-kālīya-bhajana)]
Text 4 < [Chapter 1 - Prathama-yāma-sādhana (Niśānta-bhajana–śraddhā)]
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 2.2.208 < [Chapter 2 - Jñāna (knowledge)]
Verse 2.3.112 < [Chapter 3 - Bhajana (loving service)]
The Religion and Philosophy of Tevaram (Thevaram) (by M. A. Dorai Rangaswamy)
Chapter 7 - Tiruttontattokai (Hymn 39) < [Volume 3.1 - Pilgrim’s progress: to Arur]
Chapter 22 - Thiruchotruthurai or Tiru-Corrutturai (Hymn 94) < [Volume 3.2 - Pilgrim’s progress: to Chola]
Chapter 21 - Thirukalayanallur or Tirukkalaya Nallur (Hymn 16) < [Volume 3.2 - Pilgrim’s progress: to Chola]