Yana, aka: Yāna; 13 Definition(s)
Introduction
Yana means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi. 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
Dharmashastra (religious law)
Yāna (यान) refers to “marching” (towards a king). Yāna is considered to be one of the six constituents of state-craft that the King shall constantly ponder over. The word is used throughout Dharmaśāstra literature such as the Manusmṛti. (See the Nītiprakāśikā 8.82 and the Manubhāṣya 7.160)
Yāna (यान) refers to the “chariot” and the rest. (See the Manubhāṣya, verse 8.290)
Source: Wisdom Library: Dharma-śāstraYāna is marching for the furtherance of one’s own interests and the destruction of the enemy’s. (See the Manubhāṣya verse 7.160 et. seq.)
Marching is of two kinds—
- singly,
- and conjointly with an ally.

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)
Yāna (यान).—One of the royal qualities like Sandhi, Vigraha etc. (For more details see under Ṣaḍguṇas).
Source: archive.org: Puranic EncyclopaediaYāna (यान).—A Sādhya god.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 66. 15.

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.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Yāna (यान) refers to “vehicles” and is mentioned among the “material benefits” granted by the Bodhisattva, according to the Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter XLVI.—Accordingly, “vehicles (yāna), i.e., elephants (hastin), horses (aśva), chariots (ratha), carriages (śakaṭa), etc.”
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra
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)
a Sanskrit word means vehicle. A term applied to Buddhism as a means by which a practitioner cultivates on the path to enlightenment. The different vehicles correspond to views of spiritual path, that differ as to the basic attitude of the practitioner and the means of making progress on the way. There are categories of one, two, three and five vehicles.Source: Buddhist Door: GlossaryLanguages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
yāna : (nt.) a carriage; vehicle; going.
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English DictionaryYāna, (nt.) (fr. yā, as in yāti. Cp. Vedic yāna and Lat. Janus) 1. going, proceeding J. VI, 415 (+ayāna, opposed to ṭhāna).—2. means of motion, carriage, vehicle. Different kinds of carriages are enumd at Nd1 145 (on Sn. 816) with hatthi° (elephant-), go° (cow-), aja° (goat-), meṇḍaka° (ram-), oṭṭha° (camel-?), khara° (donkey-). Cp. Miln. 276.—yāna is one of the requisites (carriage or other means of locomotion) of the bhikkhu & as such included in the deyya-dhamma or 14 gifts (see yañña & deyya-dh.). Thus mentioned with anna pāna vattha etc. at S. I, 94; A. II, 85; Pug. 51.—Cp. the defn & application of the term yāna as given below under yāna-sannidhi.—See e.g. the foll. passages: Vin. I, 191 (bhikkhū yānena yāyanti ... na bhikkhave yānena yāyitabbaṃ; yo yāyeyya etc. : here a “carriage” is expressly forbidden to the bhikkhu!), 231 (Ambapālī bhadrāni-bhadrāni yānāni yojāpetvā bhadraṃ yānaṃ abhirūhitvā ... ), 242 (same phrase with Meṇḍaka gahapati); D. I, 7, 89, 106; M. I, 366 (yānaṃ poroseyyaṃ pavara-maṇi-kuṇḍalaṃ, where vv. ll. on p. 561 read voropeyya and oropeyya, which Neumann (unwarrantedly) adopts in his trsln: Mittl. Sammlung2 1921, II. 666; the C. accepts reading poroseyya with expln “puris-anucchavikaṃ yānaṃ”); Dh. 323 (=hatthiyānādīni DhA. IV, 6); J. III, 525 sq.; V, 59; VI, 223 (=ratha); Kvu 599 (Erāvaṇo hatthināgo sahassa-yuttaṃ dibbaṃ yānaṃ; trsld as “the wondrous elephant E. the thousand-wise yoked celestial mount. ” trsl. p. 347 (lit. vehicle) Pv III, 228 (=ratha or vayha etc. PvA. 186); PvA. 113.—iddhi-yāna carriage of magic power Miln. 276; deva° godly carriage Miln. 276; applied to the 8 fold Aryan Path at Sn. 139 (=devalokaṃ yāpetuṃ samatthatā ... aṭṭha-samāpatti-yānaṃ SnA 184). Similarly of the Path: magg’aṭṭhaṅgika-yāna (—yāyinī) Th. 2, 389 (=aṭṭhaṅgika-magga-saṅkhāta ariya-yāna ThA. 257); and brahma-yāna dhamma-yāna “the very best & excellent carriage” as Ep. of magga S. V, 5, cp. J. IV, 100. Cp. the later terms mahā and hīna-yāna. See also yānikata.
—ugghata shaking or jolting of the carriage Vin. II, 276; DhA. III, 283.—gata having ascended the carriage D. I, 126.—puṭosā (°puṭoḷī) provision bag on a carriage (provision for the journey?) Vism. 328 (so read for paṭṭoli).—bhūmi carriage-ground, i.e. the road as far as accessible to a carriage D. I, 89; Sn. 418.—sannidhi storing up of carriages or means of locomotion D. I, 6 (with expln at DA. I, 82 as follows: yānaṃ nāma vayhaṃ ratho sakaṭaṃ sandamānikā pataṅkī ti. Na pan’etaṃ pabbajitassa yānaṃ, upāhanā yānaṃ pana); Sn. 924 (=anna-pāna-vattha-yāna-sannidhi Nd1 372).—sukha pleasures of riding and driving Kvu 209; cp. Kvu trsl. 127. (Page 553)

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
yāna (यान).—n (S) Any vehicle or form of conveyance, a carriage, litter, beast, ship. 2 Going, proceeding, traveling.
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionaryyāna (यान).—n A vehicle, carriage, ship. Going.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-EnglishMarathi 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-English dictionary
Yāna (यान).—[yā bhāve-lyuṭ]
1) Going, moving, walking, riding; as गजयानम्, उष्ट्र°, रथ° (gajayānam, uṣṭra°, ratha°) &c.
2) A voyage, journey; समुद्र- यानकुशलाः (samudra- yānakuśalāḥ) Ms.8.157; Y.1.84.
3) Marching against, attacking (one of the six Guṇas or expedients in politics); अहितान् प्रत्यभीतस्य रणे यानम् (ahitān pratyabhītasya raṇe yānam) Ak.; Ms.7.16.
4) A procession, train.
5) A conveyance, vehicle, carriage, chariot; यानं सस्मार कौबेरम् (yānaṃ sasmāra kauberam) R.15.45;13.69; Ku.6.76; Ms.4.12.
6) A litter, palanquin.
7) A ship, vessel.
8) (With Buddhists) The method of arriving at knowledge; the means of release from repeated births; cf. महायान, हीनयान (mahāyāna, hīnayāna).
9) An aeroplane (vimāna); Bhāg.4.3.6.
-naḥ Ved. A road, way.
Derivable forms: yānam (यानम्).
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryYāna (यान).—n.
(-naṃ) 1. Any vehicle or form of conveyance, as a carriage, a litter, a horse, an elephant, &c. 2. Going, marching, proceeding. 3. Invading, marching against an enemy. E. yā to go, aff. lyuṭ .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionarySanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family. 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.
Relevant definitions
Search found 156 related definition(s) that might help you understand this better. Below you will find the 15 most relevant articles:
Narayana | Narāyaṇa (नरायण).—m. (-ṇaḥ) A name of Vishnu. E. nara man, and ayaṇa going; see nārāyaṇa .--- O... | |
Mahayana | Mahāyāna (महायान).—nt., the ‘Great Vehicle’ (also called bud- dha-, bodhisattva-yāna, qq.v., an... | |
Agrayana | Agrayāna (अग्रयान).—(1) best vehicle, = mahāyāna: Vaj 30.6; also °nin, see -yānin; (2) n. of a... | |
Devayana | Devayāna (देवयान).—n. (-naṃ) The car or vehicle of god. f. (-nī) The daughter of Sukra. E. deva... | |
Hinayana | Hīnayāna (हीनयान).—Name of the earliest systems of Buddhist doctrine. Derivable forms: hīnayāna... | |
Pitriyana | Pitṛyāṇa (पितृयाण).—n. (ṇaṃ) The carriage of the manes, a car to convey holy persons after thei... | |
Akashayana | Ākāśayāna (आकाशयान).—n. (-naṃ) A heavenly car, one moving through the air. E. ākāśa and yāna ve... | |
Shavayana | Śavayāna (शवयान).—n. (-naṃ) The litter or bed on which a dead body is carried to be burnt. E. ś... | |
Jalayana | Jalayāna (जलयान).—a ship. Derivable forms: jalayānam (जलयानम्).Jalayāna is a Sanskrit compound ... | |
Ekayana | Ekāyana (एकायन).—a. 1) passable for only one (as a foot-path) Mb.3. 2) fixing one's thoughts on... | |
Shravakayana | Śrāvakayāna (श्रावकयान).—the vehicle of the disciples, = Hīna- yāna (compare yāna): Mvy 1252; S... | |
Vyomayana | Vyomayāna (व्योमयान).—n. (-naṃ) A carriage of the gods. E. vyoma the sky, yāna a vehicle. | |
Tiryagyana | Tiryagyāna (तिर्यग्यान) or Tiryyagyāna.—m. (-naḥ) A crab. E. tiryak crookedly, and yāna motion,... | |
Goyana | Goyāna (गोयान).—n. (-naṃ) 1. A cart. 2. A carriage drawn by oxen. E. go, and yāna a vechicle. | |
Arnavayana | Arṇavayāna (अर्णवयान).—n. (-naṃ) A boat or ship. E. arṇava, and yāna vehicle. |
Relevant text
Search found 32 books and stories containing Yana or Yāna. You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Vinaya Pitaka (1): The Analysis of Monks’ Rules (Bhikkhu-vibhanga) (by I. B. Horner)
Monks’ Expulsion (Pārājika) 2: Permutations < [Monks’ Expulsion (Pārājika) 2]
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (by Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī)
Verse 2.6.277 < [Chapter 6 - Abhīṣṭa-lābha: The Attainment of All Desires]
Verse 2.7.76 < [Chapter 7 - Jagad-ānanda: The Bliss of the Worlds]
Verse 2.6.276 < [Chapter 6 - Abhīṣṭa-lābha: The Attainment of All Desires]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 7.160 < [Section XII - Daily Routine of Work]
Verse 2.151 < [Section XXV - Meaning of the Title ‘Ācārya’]
Verse 11.201 < [Section XXVI - Expiation for riding a Camel and other similar Offences]
The Mahabharata - First Book (by Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa)
The Great Chariot (by Longchenpa)
Part 1b.3d - How to eliminate the bad < [B. The extensive explanation of the nature of karma]
Part 3e.2b - The nirmanakayas who are tamers of beings < [B. The explanation of the kayas and wisdoms]
The Great Chronicle of Buddhas (by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw)
Supplement (d): The Eight Differences (vematta) < [Chapter 9 - The chronicle of twenty-four Buddhas]