Visheshana, Viśeṣaṇa, Visesana: 25 definitions
Introduction:
Visheshana means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Buddhism, Pali, 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.
The Sanskrit term Viśeṣaṇa can be transliterated into English as Visesana or Visheshana, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Alternative spellings of this word include Visheshan.
In Hinduism
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
Source: Wisdom Library: Nāṭya-śāstraViśeṣana (विशेषन, “recognition”) refers to one of the thirty-six “characteristic features” (lakṣaṇa) of perfect ‘poetic compositions’ (kāvyabandha) and ‘dramatic compositions’ (dṛśyakāvya, or simply kāvya). According to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 17, these thirty-six lakṣaṇas act as instructions for composing playwrights. The term is used throughout nāṭyaśāstra literature.
Source: archive.org: Natya ShastraViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण, “distinction”).—One of the thirty-six lakṣaṇa, or “excellent points of a dramatic composition”;—Description of viśeṣaṇa: When after mentioning many well-known great objects something is said to distinguish a thing from them, it is an instance of Distinction (viśeṣaṇa).
Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (shastra) of performing arts, (natya—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), construction and performance of Theater, and Poetic works (kavya).
Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar)
Source: Shodhganga: Vaiyākaraṇabhūṣaṇasāra: a critical studyViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण).—Adjective; a qualifying word which generally agrees with the substantive in number, gender and case-ending.
Source: Wikisource: A dictionary of Sanskrit grammarViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण).—Attribute; adjective; any word which qualifies another; hence, subordinate; cf. विशेषणानां चाजातेः । जातिर्यद्विशेषणम्, आहोस्वित् जातेर्यानि विशेषणानि । (viśeṣaṇānāṃ cājāteḥ | jātiryadviśeṣaṇam, āhosvit jāteryāni viśeṣaṇāni |) M.Bh. on P.I.2.52.
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.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Google Books: ManthanabhairavatantramViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) refers to “special (meditations)”, according to the Kularatnoddyota, one of the earliest Kubjikā Tantras.—Accordingly, “O beloved, one should recollect that you and I are present in the Six Wheels by means of special, individual meditations [i.e., pṛthak-dhyāna-viśeṣaṇa] beginning with the one without form. The supreme form is flawless, pervasive and facing everywhere. It can be perceived as the bliss of contemplation, the mark of which is supreme bliss. Free of the qualities of form and the rest and devoid of limiting adjuncts and meditation—this, O fair one, is the non-dual vision of you directly apparent. [...]”.
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.
Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (philosophy)Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) refers to an “exclusion” [?], according to the Utpaladeva’s Vivṛti on Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā 1.5.8-9.—Accordingly, “[...] And [one should rather consider that] within this [notion of causality that is present in the perception of the clay] as well as [in that of the seed], a [process of] particularization leads to an exclusion (viśeṣaṇa—viśeṣaṇaṃ prayujyate) [that takes the form]: “it is the clay that is the cause of the pot, not the seed”; [and this exclusion eliminates from the general notion of cause] that which [the particular cause] is not but which is intrinsically linked [with the notion of cause in general]”.
Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.
In Jainism
Jain philosophy
Source: archive.org: Anekanta Jaya Pataka of Haribhadra SuriViśeṣana (विशेषन) refers to the “predicate”, as explained in the Anekāntajayapatākā-prakaraṇa, a Śvetāmbara Jain philosophical work written by Haribhadra Sūri.—[Cf. Vol. I, P. 12, ll 4-5]—the Jainas hold that dharmas are not absolutely other than the dharmin, otherwise, there could be no such relation between them as predicate (viśeṣana) and subject (viśeṣya) For, no two absolutely distinct realities (say a camel and a donkey) can be ever related as subject and predicate Further, if dharmas are absolutely distinct from the dharmin i.e. the substratum m which they inhere, there will be as many distinct entities m a dharmin as there are dharmas, since every dharmin has infinite dharmas.
-
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: The University of Sydney: A study of the Twelve ReflectionsViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) refers to “attributes”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “There is nothing like the doctrine which is productive of all prosperity, the root of the tree of bliss, beneficial, venerable and grants liberation.—[com.—This trio of attributes (viśeṣaṇatrayaṃ) is easily understood]”.
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
Pali-English dictionary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionaryvisesana : (nt.) distinction; attribute; an adjective.
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English DictionaryVisesana, (nt.) (fr. viseseti) distinguishing, distinction, qualification, attribute Vv 1610; J. III, 11; VI, 63; SnA 181, 365, 399; VvA. 13.—Instr. avisesena (adv.) without distinction, at all events, anyhow PvA. 116. (Page 641)
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 Dictionaryviśēṣaṇa (विशेषण).—n S In grammar. A word that distinguishes or marks; an attribute, an epithet, an adjective. 2 An affirmation or a declaration concerning any subject, a predicate.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishviśēṣaṇa (विशेषण).—n An adjective. A predicate.
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 dictionaryViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण).—a.
1) Attributive.
2) Distinctive; सूक्ष्मं विशेषणं तेषामवेक्षेच्छास्त्रचक्षुषा (sūkṣmaṃ viśeṣaṇaṃ teṣāmavekṣecchāstracakṣuṣā) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 12.217.28.
-ṇam 1 Distinguishing, discrimination, particularization; भावनं ब्रह्मणः स्थानं धारणं सद्विशेषणम् (bhāvanaṃ brahmaṇaḥ sthānaṃ dhāraṇaṃ sadviśeṣaṇam) Bhāgavata 3.26.46.
2) Distinction, difference; स्वानुभूत्या तिरोभूतमायागुणविशेषणम् (svānubhūtyā tirobhūtamāyāguṇaviśeṣaṇam) Bhāgavata 3.33.25.
3) A word which particularizes, qualifies, or defines another, an adjective, attribute, epithet (opp. viśeṣya); भक्षयतिश्च नञ्विशेषणम् (bhakṣayatiśca nañviśeṣaṇam) ŚB. on MS.6.2.19; उपपन्नमिदं विशेषणं वायोः (upapannamidaṃ viśeṣaṇaṃ vāyoḥ) V.3; विशेषणैर्यत् साकूतैरुक्तिः परिकरस्तु सः (viśeṣaṇairyat sākūtairuktiḥ parikarastu saḥ) K. P.1. (viśeṣaṇa is said to be of three kinds vyāvartaka, vidheya, and hetugarbha).
4) A distinguishing feature or mark.
5) Species, kind.
6) Surpassing, excelling; अस्य काव्यस्य कवयो न समर्था विशेषणे (asya kāvyasya kavayo na samarthā viśeṣaṇe) Mahābhārata (Bombay) 1.1.73; पराक्रमेऽन्योन्य- विशेषणेन (parākrame'nyonya- viśeṣaṇena) Kirātārjunīya 17.32.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण).—m. (recorded only as nt.), distinction, distinguishing trait: (yasmāc ca jāter na) viśeṣaṇo 'sti tasmān na vai varṇacatuṣka eva Divyāvadāna 630.11 (verse, printed as prose; °ṣaṇam asti would be unmetrical(ly)), and since there is no distinction of birth, therefore the four castes simply do not exist.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण).—mfn.
(-ṇaḥ-ṇā-ṇaṃ) Discriminative, attributive. 2. Distinctive, (as a property, &c.) n.
(-ṇaṃ) 1. Distinguishing, discriminating. 2. An epithet, an attributive, an adjective, (opposed to viśeṣya.) E. vi before śiṣ to distinguish by attributes, aff. lyuṭ or yuc .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण).—i. e. vi-śiṣ + ana, I. adj. 1. Discriminative. 2. Distinctive. Ii. n. 1. Distinguishing, discriminating. 2. An attribute, epithet, [Vikramorvaśī, (ed. Bollensen.)] 20, 3.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण).—[adjective] & [neuter] distinguishing, specializing; [neuter] also doing better, surpassing; kind, species; the specializing word i.e. attribute, adjective, adverb, or predicate.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण):—[=vi-śeṣaṇa] [from vi-śiṣ] mfn. distinguishing, discriminative, specifying, qualifying, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
2) [v.s. ...] distinctive (as a property), [Horace H. Wilson]
3) [v.s. ...] n. the act of distinguishing etc., distinction, discrimination, particularization, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa; Sarvadarśana-saṃgraha; Sāhitya-darpaṇa]
4) [v.s. ...] a distinguishing mark or attribute, [Mahābhārata]
5) [v.s. ...] (in gram.) ‘differencer’, a word which particularizes or defines (another word which is called vi-śeṣya q.v.), attribute, adjective, adverb, apposition, predicate, [Pāṇini; Tarkasaṃgraha; Sāhitya-darpaṇa] etc.
6) [v.s. ...] a species, kind, [Mahābhārata vii, 1124]
7) [v.s. ...] surpassing, excelling, [ib. i, 73]
8) [v.s. ...] (in [rhetoric]) = viśeṣokti, [Sāhitya-darpaṇa]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण):—[(ṇaḥ-ṇā-ṇaṃ)] 1. n. A defining or specifying; an epithet. a. Characteristic.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Visesaṇa.
[Sanskrit to German]
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 dictionaryViśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) [Also spelled visheshan]:—(nm) an adjective; attribute, epithet; —[pada] attributive; -[viparyaya] transferred epithet.
...
Prakrit-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionaryVisesaṇa (विसेसण) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Viśeṣaṇa.
Prakrit is an ancient language closely associated with both Pali and Sanskrit. Jain literature is often composed in this language or sub-dialects, such as the Agamas and their commentaries which are written in Ardhamagadhi and Maharashtri Prakrit. The earliest extant texts can be dated to as early as the 4th century BCE although core portions might be older.
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusViśēṣaṇa (ವಿಶೇಷಣ):—
1) [noun] something that is peculiar, as a trait or habit; peculiarity; speciality.
2) [noun] (gram.) any of a class of words used to modify a noun or other substantive; an adjective.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Sheshana, Vi.
Starts with (+4): Visheshana-padavali, Visheshanadvayavaiyarthya, Visheshanajnanavadartha, Visheshanakhandana, Visheshanam, Visheshanama, Visheshanamatraprayoga, Visheshanapada, Visheshanarupa, Visheshanasamasa, Visheshanasheshaniya, Visheshanasiddha, Visheshanata, Visheshanatasambandha, Visheshanati, Visheshanatraya, Visheshanatrayavaiyarthya, Visheshanatva, Visheshanavant, Visheshanavarga.
Ends with (+10): Arthavisheshana, Avisheshana, Bhedaka-visheshana, Evamvisheshana, Gunavisheshana, Gurushishyavisheshana, Kimvisheshana, Kramasankhyavacakavisheshana, Kridamtavisheshana, Kriyabodhaka-visheshana, Kriyavisheshana, Lingavisheshana, Namavisheshana, Nirvisheshana, Prativisheshana, Sakriyavisheshana, Samasabhuta-kriyavisheshana, Samketavaci-visheshana, Samyojaka-kriyavisheshana, Sankhyavisheshana.
Full-text (+42): Savisheshana, Visheshya, Nirvisheshana, Visheshanapada, Visheshanatasambandha, Visheshanata, Visheshanavisheshyabhava, Visheshanatrayavaiyarthya, Visheshanakhandana, Visheshanajnanavadartha, Shabdavisheshana, Visheshanadvayavaiyarthya, Visheshanavarga, Arthavisheshana, Visheshanatva, Kriyavisheshana, Visheshanavisheshyata, Visheshanavat, Karmadharaya, Visheshanasheshaniya.
Relevant text
Search found 41 books and stories containing Visheshana, Vi-sesana, Vi-śeṣaṇa, Vi-sheshana, Viśeṣana, Viśeṣaṇa, Viśēṣaṇa, Visesaṇa, Visesana, Visēsaṇa; (plurals include: Visheshanas, sesanas, śeṣaṇas, sheshanas, Viśeṣanas, Viśeṣaṇas, Viśēṣaṇas, Visesaṇas, Visesanas, Visēsaṇas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
The Tattvasangraha [with commentary] (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 1238 < [Chapter 17 - Examination of the Definition of Sense-perception]
Verse 949 < [Chapter 16 - Examination of the Import of Words]
Verse 950 < [Chapter 16 - Examination of the Import of Words]
Vakyapadiya of Bhartrihari (by K. A. Subramania Iyer)
Verse 3.14.7 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (14): Vṛtti-samuddeśa (On Ccomplex Formation)]
Verse 3.14.27 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (14): Vṛtti-samuddeśa (On Ccomplex Formation)]
Verse 3.9.99 < [Book 3 - Pada-kāṇḍa (9): Kāla-samuddeśa (On Time)]
Taittiriya Upanishad Bhashya Vartika (by R. Balasubramanian)
Verse 2.51 < [Book 2 - Brahmavallī]
Verse 2.145 < [Book 2 - Brahmavallī]
Verse 2.78-79 < [Book 2 - Brahmavallī]
Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana (by Gaurapada Dāsa)
Text 7.114 < [Chapter 7 - Literary Faults]
Text 10.178 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Text 4.13 < [Chapter 4 - First-rate Poetry]
Nirvikalpaka Pratyaksha (study) (by Sujit Roy)
Chapter 3 - Nirvikalpaka pratyakṣa in Navya Nyāya
Siddhanta Sangraha of Sri Sailacharya (by E. Sowmya Narayanan)