आकाशākāśa

आकाश (ākāśa) is a Sanskrit word meaning an open space, ether, sky, or atmosphere, brahma as identical with ether, words spoken in the air, light or clearness, free space or vacuity. Its 18 recorded definitions are grouped into 5 contexts, among them Ether as a Fundamental Element or Philosophical Substance, Proper Name or Deity, Open Space, Sky, or Atmosphere.

Root: काश् (kāś)
Etymology: E. आङ् and काशृ to shine, घञ् affix; every where shining; Ākāśa is the subtle and ethereal fluid, supposed to fill and pervade the universe, and to be the peculiar vehicle of life and sound
Definitions: 18

View Declension Tables , 48 forms

Meanings by context

Ether as a Fundamental Element or Philosophical Substance

10 definitions

ether, sky, or atmosphere

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

the subtle and ethereal fluid pervading the universe and serving as the vehicle of sound

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Clear space, sky, ether

— Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. The fifth element, aether, sky, or atmosphere. 2. Brahma as identical with aether. 3. Space or vacuity.

— Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. Sky, atmosphere, or ether. 2. Space.

— Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. Light or clearness. 2. Vacuity. 3. Sky or atmosphere. 4. Ether as the fifth element. 5. Atmosphere as one of the nine substances. 6. Brahman as identical with ether. 7. Space or place.

आकाश (ākāśa) [Printed book page 092-05]
आकाश (ākāśa) m.n. 1. Light, clearness; 2. vacuity; 3. sky, atmosphere; 4. æther or atmosphere considered as the fifth element (See under अप् (ap)); 5. atmosphere considered as one of the nine substances (द्रव्य (dravya)) by the Vaiśeshikas. As such, it is the substratum of the quality ‘sound’ (शब्द (śabda); hence we have अथात्मनः शब्द (śabda)गुणं गुणज्ञः पदम् (athātmanaḥ śabdaguṇaṃ guṇajñaḥ padam) (i.e. आकाश (ākāśa)म् (ākāśam)) विमानेन विगाहमानः (vimānena vigāhamānaḥ) R. xiii.1 and श्रुतिविषय गुणा या स्थिता व्याप्य विश्वम् (śrutiviṣaya guṇā yā sthitā vyāpya viśvam) Sak. i.; 6. Brahman (n.) as identical with æther, एतस्मिन्नु खल्वक्षरे हार्ग्याकाश ओतश्च प्रोतश्च (etasminnu khalvakṣare hārgyākāśa otaśca protaśca) Br.A. ; 7. place, भवनाकाशमजायताम्बुराशिः (bhavanākāśamajāyatāmburāśiḥ) Bh.V. i.165.
(आकाश (ākāśa)े (ākāśe) (loc. sing.) ‘in the air,’ often occurs as a stage-direction in plays when a character on the stage asks some question to a character not on the stage and listens to a supposed speech in answer to it. The term is thus explained by Bharata- दूरस्थाभाषणं यत्स्यादशरीरनिवेदनम् । परोक्षान्तरितं वाक्यं तदाकाशे निगद्यते ॥ (dūrasthābhāṣaṇaṃ yatsyādaśarīranivedanam . parokṣāntaritaṃ vākyaṃ tadākāśe nigadyate ..) e.g. (परिक्रम्यावलोक्य च (parikramyāvalokya ca)) (आकाश (ākāśa)े (ākāśe)) प्रियंवदं कस्येदमुशीरानुलेपनं मृणालवन्ति च नलिनीपत्राणि नीयन्ते (priyaṃvadaṃ kasyedamuśīrānulepanaṃ mṛṇālavanti ca nalinīpatrāṇi nīyante) (श्रुतिमभिनीय (śrutimabhinīya)) किं ब्रवीषि (kiṃ bravīṣi) &c. Sak. iii. or (आकाश (ākāśa)े (ākāśe)) युधिष्ठिर युधिष्ठिर (yudhiṣṭhira yudhiṣṭhira) … … सर्वं तदेकपद एव कथं निरस्तम् (sarvaṃ tadekapada eva kathaṃ nirastam) Ve. iii. or (दृष्ट्वा आकाश (ākāśa)े (ākāśe) (dṛṣṭvā ākāśe)) विहंगिके अपि श्वश्रूजनपादवन्दनं कृत्वा प्रतिनिवृत्ता भानुमती (vihaṃgike api śvaśrūjanapādavandanaṃ kṛtvā pratinivṛttā bhānumatī) (कर्णं दत्वा (karṇaṃ datvā)) किं कथयसि (kiṃ kathayasi) &c. Ve. ii.) [ID=4662]

— Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. The sky, atmosphere, or ether. 2. Brahma. 3. Space or emptiness.

— Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. Ether. 2. The sky. 3. The open air.

— Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

open space or the sky, especially the atmosphere as the fifth element

— Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. Light or clearness. 2. Free space or vacuity. 3. The ether, sky, or atmosphere considered as the fifth element. 4. Brahma as identical with ether.

आकाश (ākāśa) [Printed book page 0111-a]
Ā-kāśa, as, am, m. n. (in Ved. m.) light, clear-

ness; a free space, vacuity; the ether, the sky or

atmosphere considered as the fifth element; Brahma

as identical with ether. Ākāśa is the subtle and

ethereal fluid, supposed to fill and pervade the uni-

verse and to be the peculiar vehicle of life and of

sound. Ākāśe, ind. in the air; a stage direction

implying something said by or to a person out of

sight. —Ākāśa-kakṣā, f. the horizon, ‘girdle of the

sky.’ —Ākāśa-ga, as, ā, am, going through the

atmosphere. —Ākāśa-garbha, as, m., N. of a Bodhi-

sattva. —Ākāśa-camasa, as, m. the moon, (‘a cup
Page0111-b+ 75

or vessel with ether.’) —Ākāśa-ja, as, ā, am, pro-

duced in the sky. —Ākāśa-jananin, ī, m. a loop-

hole, a casement, an embrasure. —Ākāśa-dīpa or

ākāśa-pradīpa, as, m. a lamp or torch lighted in

honour of Lakṣmī or Viṣṇu and elevated on a pole

in the air at the Dīvāli (Dīpāli) festival, in the month

Kārttika; a beacon, a lantern on a pole. —Ākāśa-

pratiṣṭhita, as, m., N. of a Buddha. —Ākāśa-

buddha-lakṣa, as, m. (in theatrical language) fixing

the gaze on some object out of sight of the audience.

—Ākāśa-bhāṣita, am, n. (in dramatic language)

speaking outside or off the stage; a supposed speech,

which is replied to as if it had been spoken; a voice

or sound in the air. —Ākāśa-maṇḍala, am, n. the

celestial sphere; the atmosphere. —Ākāśa-maya, as,

ī, am, consisting of ether. —Ākāśa-māṃsī, f. the

plant Nardostachys Jaṭāmāṃsī. —Ākāśa-mūlī, f. the

aquatic plant Pistia Stratiotes. —Ākāśa-yāna, am, n.

a heavenly car, one moving through the air. —Ākāśa-

rakṣin, ī, m. a warder, a watchman on the outer

battlements. —Ākāśa-vat, ān, atī, at, filling a cer-

tain place, spacious, extensive. —Ākāśa-vartman, a,

n. the atmosphere, the firmament, the air. —Ākāśa-

vallī, f. a sort of creeper, a parasite, Cassyta Filiformis.

—Ākāśa-vāṇī, f. a voice from heaven; m., N.

of the author of a Hanumat-stotra. —Ākāśa-salila,

am, n. rain. —Ākāśa-stha, as, ā, am, abiding in

the sky, aerial. —Ākāśa-sphaṭika, as, m. a kind of

crystal supposed to be formed in the atmosphere. It is

of two kinds, Sūrya-kānta and Candra-kānta, q. v.

—Ākāśānantyāyatana (°śa-anantya-āy°), am, n.

abode of infinity or of infinite space; N. of a world

with Buddhists. —Ākāśeśa (°śa-īś°), as, m. epithet

of Indra, as ruler of the firmament; (in law) any

helpless person, as a child, a woman, a pauper or in-

valid (who has no other possession than the air). [ID=7880]

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)

Proper Name or Deity

3 definitions

space

— Index to the Names in the Mahabharata

a god to be worshipped in housebuilding

— The Purana Index

A space or region belonging to Rudra

— The Purana Index

Open Space, Sky, or Atmosphere

2 definitions

an open space

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

open space, sky

— Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary

Theatrical Term for Off-Stage Speech

2 definitions

words spoken in the air

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

in the air

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Brahman Identified with Ether

1 definition

Brahma as identical with ether

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Read आकाश in the app

All the contexts on this page, offline — and the word becomes yours to keep, annotate and come back to.

Favorite आकाश to save it
Add your own notes
Search by Context
Declension tables offline
Syncs through iCloud

Definitions on this page come from 12 works: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Index to the Names in the Mahabharata, Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary, Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872), Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary, The Purana Index, Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon.