Upavana, Upavāna, Upavāṇa: 21 definitions

Introduction:

Upavana means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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.

In Hinduism

Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram

Upavana (उपवन) refers to “small forests”, according to the Ṣaṭsāhasrasaṃhitā, an expansion of the Kubjikāmatatantra: the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—Accordingly, “The venerable great lord of Oḍra resides in the cavity in the Middle Land. It is (Oḍḍiyāna) the first (sacred seat) and, yellow in colour, it has mountains, forests, and groves, large and small [i.e., vana-upavana-saṃbhūta], and is adorned with golden walls. It has rivers and rivulets and many (other) things. It is full of all the seeds and is square all around. It has thunderbolts as door chains and Mālinī (who resides there) holds a thunderbolt (vajra) in her hand. Endowed with the sovereignty of the Wheels, it is the sacred seat (Udyāna) attended by the mistress of the sacred seat”.

Shaktism book cover
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Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.

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Kavya (poetry)

[«previous next»] — Upavana in Kavya glossary
Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (kavya)

Upavana (उपवन) refers to a “garden”, according to Kālidāsa’s Raghuvaṃśa verse 19.54.—Accordingly: “The ministers joined by the chaplain who knew the last rites placed him on the pyre in secret in the palace garden (gṛha-upavana), under the pretext of a ceremony that averts disease”.

Kavya book cover
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Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.

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Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Upavana (उपवन) refers to a “garden (at the outskirts of the city)”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.4 (“The Tripuras are initiated).—Accordingly, after Viṣṇu instructed his his self-created Puruṣa and the four disciples: “Then, bowing to Viṣṇu who carried out the wishes of Śiva, the deceptive sage went joyously to the three cities accompanied by his disciples. Urged by Viṣṇu of great magic, that sage of great self-control entered the three cities and created illusion. Stationing himself in a garden at the outskirts of the city (nagara-upavana), accompanied by his disciples he set his magic in motion. That was powerful enough to fascinate even the expert magicians. [...]”.

Purana book cover
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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.

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In Buddhism

Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper Names

1. Upavana - A thera. He belonged to a very rich brahmin family of Savatthi, and having seen the Buddhas majesty at the dedication of Jetavana, he entered the Order and became an arahant with sixfold anna. For some time, before Ananda was appointed upatthaka, Upavana waited on the Buddha. Once when the Buddha was attacked by cramp, Upavana, with the help of his lay friend Devahita, obtained hot water and suitable medicines, with which the ailment was healed; the Buddha, thereupon, expressed his gratitude. ThagA.i.308ff; this ailment does not seem to be mentioned in Milinda 134f. where several others are given. This incident is given at greater length in S.i.174f; see also DhA.iv.232f.

When the Buddha lay on his death bed at Kusinara, Upavana was by his side fanning him; the Buddha, seeing that he obstructed the vision of the devas who had come to pay their last homage to the Teacher, asked Upavana to move away (D.ii.138f).

Two occasions are mentioned on which Upavana consulted the Buddha on matters of doctrine, once regarding the arising of suffering (S.ii.41-2) and once on the immediate and practical use of the Dhamma (sanditthikadhamma) (S.iv.41). There is also recorded a visit of Upavana to Sariputta when they were both staying in the Ghositarama at Kosambi. Sariputta asks him about the bojjhangas as being conducive to a happy life and Upavana explains (S.v.76). On another occasion Upavana is the enquirer, and he asks Sariputta about the end maker (antakara); Sariputta explains that the end maker is the one who knows and sees things as they really are (A.ii.163).

When an unpleasant interview took place between Sariputta and Laludayi (q.v.) and no one was found to support Sariputta, the matter is reported to the Buddha, who declares that Ananda should have taken Sariputtas side. Soon afterwards Ananda seeks Upavana and tells him that he was too timid to interfere, and if the Buddha referred to the matter again, would Upavana undertake to answer? In the evening the Buddha engages Upavana in conversation and asks him to explain the five qualities which make a monk esteemed and loved by his colleagues. At the end of the discourse the Buddha applauds Upavana (A.iii.195f).

In Padumuttaras time Upavana had been a poor man. Seeing people making great offerings at the Buddhas Thupa, he was much touched, and having washed his upper garment, he hung it as a flag over the Thupa. A yakkha named Abhisammataka, who was the guardian of the cetiya, took the flag three times round the cetiya, he himself remaining invisible.

A monk whom the man consulted after this miracle foretold that for thirty thousand kappas he would be in the deva worlds and that he would be deva king eighty times. One thousand times he was Cakkavatti. In his last life his wealth was eighty crores.

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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).

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Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra

Upavāna (उपवान) is the name of a disciple of the Buddha, as mentioned in an appendix of the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter XLI. Ānanda fulfilled his mission with the greatest devotion for the last twenty-five years of the Teacher’s life. Before Ānanda took charge, other disciples functioned temporarily. The commtary of the Theragāthā and that of the Udāna record seven of them and the old canonical sources confirm this. Viz., Upavāna (Dīgha, II, p. 139, l. 1; Saṃyutta, I, p. 174, l. 25).

Source: De Gruyter: A Buddhist Ritual Manual on Agriculture

Upavana (उपवन) refers to a “grove”, according to the Vajratuṇḍasamayakalparāja, an ancient Buddhist ritual manual on agriculture from the 5th-century (or earlier), containing various instructions for the Sangha to provide agriculture-related services to laypeople including rain-making, weather control and crop protection.—Accordingly, “Then the Bhagavān reached the vicinity of the residence of Vaiśravaṇa. In that region there was a choicest forest called Viṣavaka. There was a lotus lake in the middle of an opening of the forest. By the power of that lotus lake the fields, gardens, forests (vana), groves (upavana), flowers and fruits in the capital of Aḍakavatī became refreshed [...]”.

Mahayana book cover
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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.

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Languages of India and abroad

Pali-English dictionary

[«previous next»] — Upavana in Pali glossary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary

upavana : (nt.) a forest which is near by.

Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary

Upavana, (nt.) (upa + vana, see upa 5) a kind of wood, miniature wood, park J. IV, 431; V, 249; Miln. 1; VvA. 170 (= vana), 344; ThA. 201; PvA. 102 (ārām°), 177 (mahā°). (Page 146)

Pali book cover
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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.

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Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

upavana (उपवन).—n (S A minor or diminutive wood.) A garden; a plantation; an orchard; a grove.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

upavana (उपवन).—n A garden, a plantation, an or- chard.

context information

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.

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Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Upavana (उपवन).—[upamitaṃ vanena] A garden, grave, a planted forest; पाण्डुच्छायोपवनवृतयः केतकैः सूचिभिन्नैः (pāṇḍucchāyopavanavṛtayaḥ ketakaiḥ sūcibhinnaiḥ) Meghadūta 23; R.8.73. 13.79; °लता (latā) a garden creeper.

Derivable forms: upavanam (उपवनम्).

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

Upavana (उपवन).—n.

(-naṃ) A garden, a grove. E. upa like, and vana a wood.

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

Upavana (उपवन).—[upa-vana], n. A grove, [Rāmāyaṇa] 3, 52, 38.

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

Upavana (उपवन).—[neuter] a small wood, grove.

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

1) Upavana (उपवन):—[=upa-vana] n. a small forest or wood, grove, garden, [Mahābhārata; Manu-smṛti; Meghadūta] etc.

2) [v.s. ...] a planted forest, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

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

Upavana (उपवन):—[upa-vana] (naṃ) 1. n. A grove or garden.

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

Upavana (उपवन) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Uvavaṇa, Ovaṇa.

[Sanskrit to German]

Upavana 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.

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Hindi dictionary

[«previous next»] — Upavana in Hindi glossary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary

Upavana (उपवन) [Also spelled upavan]:—(nm) a garden, park, parkland.

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Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Upavana (ಉಪವನ):—[noun] an orchard, garden, etc. in the outskirts of a town.

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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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