# अनवस्था (anavasthā)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/anavastha

अनवस्था (anavasthā) is a Sanskrit word meaning unsettled, unstable, unsettled condition or character, instability or loose conduct, non-finality of a proposition, an endless series of statements, endlessness. Its 7 recorded definitions are grouped into 2 contexts, among them Instability or Unsettledness, Philosophical Infinite Regress.

- **SLP1:** `anavasTA`  **IAST:** anavasthā  **Devanagari:** अनवस्था
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anavastha
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/anavastha/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** अनवस्थ (anavastha)

## Meanings by context

### Instability or Unsettledness (5 definitions)
- unsettled, unstable  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 27,1] अन् - अवस्थ (an-avastha) mfn. unsettled, unstable [ ID=5344 ]
- unsettled condition or character  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1B) [Printed book page 27,1] अन् - अवस्था (an-avasthā) f. unsettled condition or character [ ID=5345 ]
- instability or loose conduct  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > instability, unsteady or loose conduct [ ID=5346 ]
- 1. An unsettled state. 2. Incontinence. 3. An endless series of causes and effects.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अनवस्था (anavasthā) [Printed book page 019-27 ] अनवस्था (anavasthā) f. 1. An unsettled state; 2. incontinence; 3. an endless series of causes and effects, the regressus in infinitum (in phil.), एवमप्यनवरथा स्याद्या मूलक्षतिकारिणी (evamapyanavarathā syādyā mūlakṣatikāriṇī) K.Pr. ii. [ ID=1141 ]
- instability, boundlessness, an infinite regress  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अनवस्था (anavasthā) [Printed book page 017 ] अनवस्था (anavasthā) f. instability, unboundedness, regressus in infinitum (ph.). [ ID=1154 ]

### Philosophical Infinite Regress (2 definitions)
- 1. Non-finality of a proposition. 2. An endless series of statements.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (in phil. ) non-finality (of a proposition), endless series of statements. [ ID=5347 ]
- endlessness  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अनवस्था (anavasthā) [Printed book page 013-2 ] अनवस्था (anavasthā) an-avasthā, f. endlessness, going on ad infinitum; -na, n. inconstancy; -yin, a. inconstant, wavering. [ ID=1367 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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