Questions tagged [sanskrit]
Sanskrit an ancient Indo-European language of India, in which the Hindu scriptures and classical Indian epic poems are written and from which many northern Indian (Indic) languages are derived.
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Which is the earliest scripture to use the word "varna" to denote caste?
The Rig Vedic Purusha Sukta mentions Rajanya, Brahmin, Vaishya and Sudra, but doesn't call them Varnas. Which scripture first uses the word varna for the classification-scheme?
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Where are drona and shiva used as meters, what other meters are there similarly?
I learned recently about Koorathaazhvar and Kulothunga Chola's apparent argument, although I'm not interested in the context it was used, I'm curious about the question, as what and when are these ...
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Why does Bhagavan Krishna use the phrase "other deities" in Gita (7.20)?
We all know that Srimad Bhagavad Gita is coming from the mouth of Sri Bhagavan. There is a well known difference between Bhagavan or The God and devatas or the deities. Sri Krishna is the God and not ...
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What is the meaning of the "...........vidmahe....Dhimahi....prachodayat" formula?
Here is an example I took from another post here:
bhaskaraya vidmahe mahaddyutikaraya dhimahi | tanno adityyah pracodayat
There are lots of variants of this formula. What is the context in which ...
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Metre(s) in Mahabharata
Are different poetic metres used in the Mahabharata? In particular, are the Bhagavad Gita and Vishnu Sahasranama in the same metre as the rest of the Mahabharata?
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What's the source of this verse (yuktiyuktaṃ vaco grāhyaṃ bālād api śukād api)?
yuktiyuktaṃ vaco grāhyaṃ bālād api śukād api
yukti hīnam, vacas tyājyaṃ vṛddhād api śukād api
Whatever is based on sound reasoning ought to be accepted, even if it proceeds from a ...
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What does the first stanza of the Aswhamedha sacrifice mean?
This is the first stanza of the Ashwamedha yajna in the Taittiriya Brahmana. What does it mean in English? Thanks.
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What is the significance or reason behind repeating a word in a row multiple times in a stotram?
This is about Mahisasura mardini stotram.
Some words are used more than once for example, in 11th sloka it is
अयि सुमनःसुमनःसुमनः सुमनःसुमनोहरकान्तियुते
Ayi Sumanah-Sumanah-Sumanah Sumanah-Sumanohara-...
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Sanskrit Names of Naivedyams [closed]
I was searching for Sanskrit names of various naivedyams offered in our rituals (in all regions and traditions) like pulihora, chakra pongali, and various fruits and juices etc. Is there any book that ...
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English translation/interpretation of text given in photo.
Yesterday I visited Maa Mahakali's temple in my city where I found this text written in Sanskrit and Urdu. Can anyone please help me translate this given text in English?
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Is Padma Purāṇa the source of this verse on Ṛṇānubandha (relationship due to one's past deeds)?
The following verse has been used in a couple of answers here and this blog post claims the verse is from the Padma Purāṇa although it doesn't mention the chapter # or the context.
Definition [of ...
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gender neutral sanskrit word for "Putra" [closed]
What would be a gender-neutral Sanskrit word for "Putra"?
Moreover something that can replace putra in one of the Prayers to Lord Ganesh "Banjhan ko Putra det"
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SB 5.25.12 - Does bhūgolam mean earth or the universe?
Prabhupāda translates the Sanskrit word bhūgolam in verse 5.25.12 of Bhāgavata Purāṇa as the universe. Should it be earth instead? Or does the word (bhūgolam) in this context suggest a universe with ...
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What is the source of "Vriyate iti Varnaha?"
The author of the blog post What's your Varna quotient? uses a certain definition of varṇa:
The generic definition of the term 'Varna' comes from 'Vriyate Iti Varnaha' implying that one can choose ...
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What is the etymology reason for the swarupa order in the construction of the word "Sat-chit-ananda"?
Why are the swarupas of the word Satcitananda constructed in this way in relationship wit Brahman and not Ananda-chit-sat? Are the order of these swarupas like stepping stones of realization?
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Does hindu scripture discuss south india, dravida desa and languages?
Sanskrit shows no affinity to dravidian, unlike european languges even though dravidian being in its vicinity, is there any purana which discusses the differences between north-south india, or its ...
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Is Hong-Sau an ancient Sanskrit mantra?
Read an article on meditation here it says:
Hong-Sau is an ancient Sanskrit mantra (a mantra is a word, syllable,
or group of syllables, which can convey spiritual power when
pronounced ...
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Is Sanskrit a normal Language or It is a must to know language to reach god? [duplicate]
Can Sanskrit be simply treated as a language the one which is used for communication or It is a must to know language to reach god.
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Source of Sanskrit shloka - Yadetaddhṛdayaṃ Tava Tadastu Hṛdayaṃ Mama
यदेतद्धृदयं तव तदस्तु हृदयं मम ।
यदिदं हृदयं मम तदस्तु हृदयं तव ॥
Transliteration:
yadetaddhṛdayaṃ tava tadastu hṛdayaṃ mama
yadidaṃ hṛdayaṃ mama tadastu hṛdayaṃ tava
Translation by Max ...
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Linguistic connection between Rudra and Marudgaṇa
I'm wondering if the rud portion of Rudra is etymologically connected to the rut portion of Marut. My understanding is that rudra literally means "howl" or "roar" and marút means "wind," "air," or "...
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Can we tell meaning of mantras in other languages instead of Sanskrit in Homam,Sandhyavandhanam,etc? [duplicate]
Why I am asking this is because ,Sanskrit is a language ,why cant we tell the meaning of mantra in other language in ritiuals like Sandhyavandhanam,homam etc because I think god knows also other ...
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Source of the Sanskrit shloka- Om Sarva Mangala Mangalye
The sanskrit shloka given below is a prayer to Goddess Durga.
Om Sarva Mmangala Mangalye Shive Sarvaartha Saadhike
Sharanye Tryambake Gauri Naaraayani Namostute"
Sarva Mangala Mangalye - To ...
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What is Ahalyā's birth name?
Is 'Ahalyā' the real name of Gautama's wife or is it an acquired name?
At least, the Monier-Williams dictionary seems to think it's an acquired one. The word is listed as a + halyā:
अ-हल्या (A-...
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What is the meaning of "san/sam" in Sanskrit? [closed]
I'm aware of traditional translations as "refined", "well-done", "perfected", "accomplished" etc. The point is that these adjectives make sense only in comparison to something else and so to fully ...
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Guidance to read and understand Hinduism [duplicate]
I have keen interest in Hinduism and I want to read all the vedas and upnishads. So I have some questions to start :
Best resource to teach myself sanskrit so that I can understand vedas and ...
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Are Shiva & Vishnu etymologically connected?
It has always struck me as interesting, or perhaps odd, that the root phonemes of Shiva, [sh]+[v], are the reverse of the root phonemes of Vishnu, [v]+[sh]. Is there any accounting for this?
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What is the meaning of Narayana?
So far I have been breaking the word into nara (नर) + Ayana (आयन) = home of nara (jiva). But lately I have realized I couldn't break it this way because to make it nArAyaNa (नारायण), nAra (नार) is ...
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What is the meaning of Ramayana?
Ramayana is a sacred epic about the life of Lord Rama.
Can anyone explain the meaning/etymology of the word "Ramayana?"
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A question about kāla [closed]
kāla is a sanskrit Homonym word with two completely different meanings, one being time (concept of time) another one being anything related to black color, black, dark, darkness.
I was recently ...
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What is meaning of the word Mimamsa etymologically?
I am aware that Mimamsa is about philosophy and means critical reflection.But I am interested in the actual etymology of the word so please stick to that point.
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What is the difference: Tapas (तपस्) vs Yajna (यज्ञ)? [duplicate]
What's the terminology difference between Tapas-austerities and Yajna-sacrifice/perseverance?
Also when to choose one over the other?
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does any scripture say worship must be in Sanskrit?
The most prominent non-Sanskrit scripture is the Tamil Divya prabandham of Southern Vaishnavites. Non-brahmin Tamils don't have a great love of Sanskrit and one can increasingly see them conduct Puja ...
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Is the language of all the four Vedas similar or is there difference in language of the four Vedas too?
I know that in sama Veda many mantras of rigveda and yajur veda are repeated so that must mean that language is similar throughout Vedas, but does the vedic Sanskrit change between rig, yajur and ...
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Is the proto-indo-european hypothesis consistent with the apaurusheyatva of vedas?
There is overwhelming evidence that sanskrit, greek, latin etc. are cognate languages and that they had all descended from a common ancestral language called proto-indo-european or PIE. It is quite ...
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Why are graves called samadhi?
Wikipedia describes samadhi as
Samadhi (Sanskrit: समाधि, Hindi pronunciation: [səˈmaːd̪ʱi]), also called samāpatti, in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools refers to a state of ...
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What is the meaning/definition of the word Shudra?
I would like to know the meaning/definition of the word Shudra?
Some 3-4 years back, in a commentary of an Upanishad I found someone explaining the word Shudra to mean the one who is always in grief (...
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Is Hanuman really 'Hanumat' in Sanskrit Ramayana?
Bibek Debroy says in his Ramayana translation, 'Hanumat is a case in point, where Hanuman seemed to be too contrary to grammatical principles'.
What grammatical principle is that? Is it really ...
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Discrepancy in Valmiki Ramayana
I was browsing two sites of translation of Valmiki Ramayana, while engaging in a debate with a western-colonized feminist on Ahalya. Nevertheless, she was defeated because she didn't even have the ...
user9072
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What's the source and rest of the verse "dhanam mūlam idaṃ jagat" ("money forms root of this world?")
I was watching a Telugu movie recently and the tagline of the movie was:
dhanam mūlam idaṃ jagat
(money forms root of this world)
After some [digging around][2], it seems this line is only part of a ...
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What's the meaning & relevance of LIC logo "yogakshemam vahamyaham"? [closed]
What's the philosophy of "yogakshemam vahamyaham" & how is it relevant to LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India)?
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जना: पर्युपासते | तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां यो...
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Why some sentences written in Sanskrita are called Mantra (Powerful)? [duplicate]
Can a normal sentence be powerful ?
Why/how a Mantra have power ? Is there any proof ?
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What are the etymologies and literal meanings of the words (kṣatriya, śūdra, etc.) used to indicate one's varṇa?
For brāhmaṇa, there is already a question here: What is the etymology of brahman/brahmin?
For śūdra, Monier Williams says "of doubtful derivation". Apte says:
शूद्रः [शुच्-रक् पृषो˚ चस्य दः दी...
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Is the etymology of the name Yudhishthira correct?
As we know, the eldest of the Pandavas is Yudhishthira (IAST : Yudhiṣṭhira and Devanagari: युधिष्ठिर). It is said that he got his name due to his steadiness in war. This is also a famous one. From ...
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Why did BORI excise the Vyāsa-Gaṇeśa conversation from its critical edition of the Mahābhārata?
The following extract is from the introduction to The Mahabharata: Volume 1 by Bibek Debroy.
There are many different versions or recensions of the Mahabharata. However,
between 1919 and 1966, ...
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Is Hinduism anti-foreigner?
The Sanskrit word ''mleccha'' is used to describe foreigners. In various Puranas we find verses anti-mleccha verses. One such example is from the Kalki Purana where Lord Kalki is predicted to kill ''...
user9969
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Is it "Bhagavad (भगवद्)" -- "GitA/Gitā (गीता)" or "Gita (गीत)"? [duplicate]
As already discussed here: Why we put 'A' after each Hindu name?, the subsequent "a" in an English transliteration word, is to interpret the Sanskrit word for full pronunciation.
Example:
...
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Anecdote about KalidAsA [closed]
I'm reading this famous anecdote about KalidAsa, the great Indian poet. However it is written in Sanskrit and so, I have certains gaps in my interpretation.
Here's how I've interpreted the story in ...
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Which one is grammatically accurate krishna saranagati mantra?
||श्री कृष्णः शरणं मम||
||श्री कृष्णं शरणं मम||
||श्री कृष्णाय शरणं मम||
||श्री कृष्ण शरणं मम||
I see all these various forms online. Which one is correct grammatically?
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What is the meaning of Indra?
Like there is a meaning of the word Shiva which is explained here, what is the meaning of Indra?
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Is Sanskrit considered divine language to those of the Hindu faith?
Is Sanskrit considered divine language to those of the hindu faith? If so why?
I am not Hindu, but I am interested in this topic.
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