# आरण्यक (āraṇyaka)

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

आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) is a Sanskrit word meaning a forester or inhabitant of the woods, forest, wild, or produced in a forest, relating to or produced in a forest, wild or produced in the woods, wild or living in the forest, a forester or hermit. Its 18 recorded definitions are grouped into 4 contexts, among them Relating to a forest, wild (adjective), A class of sacred texts (Āraṇyakas), Forester, forest dweller, hermit (noun).

- **Etymology:** E. आरण्य and कन् added — E. āraṇya and kan added
- **SLP1:** `AraRyaka`  **IAST:** āraṇyaka  **Devanagari:** आरण्यक
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aranyaka
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/aranyaka/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** आरण्यका (āraṇyakā), अरण्यक (araṇyaka)

## Meanings by context

### Relating to a forest, wild (adjective) (9 definitions)
- Forest, wild, forest-born, produced in or relating to a forest  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 149,3] आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) mfn. forest, wild, forest-born, produced in a forest, relating to a forest or a forest animal, (the आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) म् पर्व (āraṇyakam parva) of the Mahā-bhārata is either the whole third book or only the first section of it) [ ID=26086 ]
- Relating to or produced in a forest  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) [Printed book page 0253-b ] आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) a. [ अरण्ये भवः वुञ् (araṇye bhavaḥ vuñ) ] Relating to or produced in a forest, wild, forest-born (usually with the words अध्याय, मनुष्य, न्याय, पथिन्, विहार (adhyāya, manuṣya, nyāya, pathin, vihāra), and हस्तिन् (hastin) Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī IV. 2. 129 Vārt)
- 1. Forest, wild, or produced in a forest. 2. A forester or inhabitant of the woods.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > आरण्य (āraṇya) क (āraṇyaka) [Printed book page 118 ] आरण्य (āraṇya) क (āraṇyaka) mfn. ( - कः (-kaḥ)- का - कं (-kaḥ-kā-kaṃ) ) Forest, wild, forest-born or produced. m. ( - कः (-kaḥ) ) A forester, an inhabitant of the woods. E. आरण्य (āraṇya) and कन् (kan) added. [ ID=5712 ]
- 1. Wild or forest-born. 2. Relating to a forest.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) [Printed book page 106-13 ] आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) (I) a. (f. का (kā) ) 1. Wild, forest-born; 2. relating to a forest. [ ID=5333 ]
- 1. Forest-born or wild. 2. A dweller of the woods.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > आरण्य (āraṇya) क (āraṇyaka) [Printed book page 097-b ] आरण्य (āraṇya) क (āraṇyaka) mfn. ( - कः (-kaḥ)- का - कं (-kaḥ-kā-kaṃ) ) Forest, wild, forest-born or produced. m. ( - कः (-kaḥ) ) A forester, an inhabitant of the woods. E. आरण्य (āraṇya) and कन् (kan) added. [ ID=5710 ]
- 1. Relating to or produced in forests. 2. An anchorite. 3. A type of Vedic text.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) [Printed book page 0085-a ] आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) āraṇya + ka, I. adj. Refer- ring to forests, MBh. 15, 532; produced in forests, Rām. 2, 36, 6. II. m. An anchorite, Śāk. d. 46. III. n. The name of a book, Man. 4, 123. [ ID=1655 ]
- 1. Wild or living in the forest. 2. A forester or hermit. 3. A class of religious writings studied in the forest.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) [Printed book page 066 ] आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) a. = prec. a.; m. forester, hermit; n. a class of religious writings to be studied in the forest. [ ID=4499 ]
- 1. Pertaining to the wilderness. 2. A forest treatise.  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) [Printed book page 126-b ] āraṇyaka, a. pertaining to the wilderness; as n. forest-treatise (to be read in the solitude of the wilderness— Whitney, p. xvi.). [ áraṇya, 1222e.] [ ID=647 ]
- 1. Forest, wild, or produced in a forest. 2. A forester or inhabitant of the woods. 3. A class of religious and philosophical writings composed or studied in forests.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) [Printed book page 0127-c ] Āraṇyaka, as, ā, am, forest, wild, forest-born, produced in a forest, relating to a forest; the āra- ṇyakam parva of the Mahā-bhārata is either the whole third book or only the first section of it; ( as ), m. a forester, an inhabitant of the woods; ( am ), n. an āraṇyaka, i. e. one of a class of religious and phi- losophical writings (closely connected with the Brāh- maṇas) which are either composed in forests or must be studied there; the Upaniṣads are considered to be attached to them. —Āraṇyaka-kāṇḍa, am, n. title of the third book of the Rāmāyaṇa and of the fourteenth book of the Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa. [ ID=9063 ]

### A class of sacred texts (Āraṇyakas) (4 definitions)
- A class of religious and philosophical writings closely connected with the Brahmanas, composed or studied in forests.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) n. N. of a class of religious and philosophical writings closely connected with the Brāhmaṇas and called Āraṇyakas because either composed in forests or studied there, (the Upaniṣads are considered to be attached to them.) [ ID=26088 ]
- An Aranyaka, a class of religious and philosophical writings composed in or studied in forests.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — कं (kaṃ) An Āraṇyaka; it is one of a class of religious and philosophical writings (connected with the Brāhmaṇas) which are either composed in forests, or must be studied there; e. g. ऐतरेयारण्यकं (kaṃ) (aitareyāraṇyakaṃ), बृहदारण्यकं (kaṃ) (bṛhadāraṇyakaṃ) and तैत्तिरीयारण्यकं (kaṃ); अरण्ये ' (araṇye') (taittirīyāraṇyakaṃ; araṇye') नूच्यमानत्वात् आरण्यकं (kaṃ) (nūcyamānatvāt āraṇyakaṃ) Bṛ. Ār. Up.; ( अरण्ये ' (araṇye') ध्ययनादेव आरण्यकमुदाहृतं (dhyayanādeva āraṇyakamudāhṛtaṃ) )
- A class of religious and philosophical writings composed in or studied in a forest.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) (III) n. One of a class of religious and philosophical writings which are either composed in forest or must be studied there. ( अरण्येध्ययनादेव आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) मुदाहृतम् (araṇyedhyayanādeva āraṇyakamudāhṛtam).) [ ID=5335 ]
- An appendix to the Vedas containing rules for the forest mode of life.  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) [Printed book page 065-2 ] Āraṇyaka 1, the Āraṇyaka or Āraṇyakas, considered as appendices to the Vedas and as containing the rules for the forest mode of life; often called śāstra. § 7 (Anukram.): I, 1, 258 (“better than the Vedas”).—§ 18 (Paulomap.): I, 4, 856 ( śāstre cāraṇyake guruḥ, i.e. Śaunaka).—§ 573 (Ambopākh.): V, 175, 6014 (do., i.e. Śaikhāvatya).—§ 625 (Rājadh.): XII, 19, 591 ( vedavādān…śāstrāṇy Ā°ca ).—§ 641 (do.): XII, 61, 2328 ( °śāstrāṇi ).—§ 717 c (Uparicara): XII, 337, 12762 (no animals were slain in his Page066-a+ 63 sacrifice but °padodbhūtāḥ bhāgās tatropakalpitāḥ, i.e. pre- sumably that the portions of offerings were made according to the prescripts of the Āraṇyakas; differently PCR.).— § 717 b (Nārāyaṇīya): XII, 340, 12872 (Nārāyaṇa with his mouth uttered the syllable Om, Gāyatrī, the Āraṇyaka, and the four Vedas); 343 χ, 13257 ( sahasraśākhaṃ yat sāma ye vai vedavido janāḥ|gāyanty Āraṇyake viprāḥ, i.e. Nārāyaṇa); 344 ββ, 13316 (“as the Āraṇyaka from the Vedas…”); 349 (IV), 13577 (in that kalpa, when Brahmán took his birth in the ear of Nārāyaṇa; the Āraṇyakas, etc., sprang from Nārāyaṇa's mouth), 13629 (“the Sāṅkhya-yoga, the Veda and Āraṇyakas— Vedāraṇyakaṃ —and the Pañcarātra are parts of one whole— parasparāṅgāni ”); 350, 13637 (= do.). —§ 787 (Āśramavāsik.): XV, 19, 532 (Śatayūpa instructed Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the Āraṇyakaṃ vidhiṃ with the permission of Vyāsa).—§ 788 (do.): XV, 28, 744 (Vyāsa asked Dhṛtarāṣṭra if he followed the rules of the Āraṇyaka— carasy Āraṇyakaṃ vidhiṃ? ). [ ID=763 ]

### Forester, forest dweller, hermit (noun) (4 definitions)
- a forester or inhabitant of the woods  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) m. a forester, an inhabitant of the woods, Mahābhārata (Title); Raghuvaṃśa (Title) &c. [ ID=26087 ]
- A forester or inhabitant of the woods  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — कः (kaḥ) A forester, an inhabitant of the woods; तपःषड्भागमक्षय्यं (tapaḥṣaḍbhāgamakṣayyaṃ) ददत्यारण्यका हि नः (dadatyāraṇyakā hi naḥ) Śakuntalā (Bombay) 2. 13; Raghuvaṃśa (Bombay) 5. 15
- 1. A forester. 2. Wild or produced in the woods.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) [Printed book page 096-a ] आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) ( कः ) ((kaḥ)) 1. m. A forester. a. Wild, produced in the woods. [ ID=5094 ]
- A forester or inhabitant of the woods.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > आरण्यक (āraṇyaka) (II) m. A forester, an inhabitant of the wood. [ ID=5334 ]

### Title of a literary work/section (1 definition)
- the Vanaparvan of the Mahabharata  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > [Printed book page 066-1 ] Āraṇyaka 2 = Āraṇyakaparvan. § 10 (Parvas.): I, 2, 319 ( parva ).—§ 11 (do.): I, 2, 417 ( ataḥ paraṃ tṛtīyan tu jñeyam Āraṇyakaṃ mahat = Vanaparvan), 478 ( etadāraṇyakaṃ parva tṛtīyaṃ parikīrtitaṃ = Vanaparvan).—§ 596 (Pratijñāp.): VII, 81, 2905 ( varam Āraṇyake dattaṃ, all. to Kairātaparvan, Ā. therefore is = Vanaparvan).—§ 795 c (Mahābhārata): XVIII, 6 ρ, 268 (when one has arrived at the Ā. one should feed the foremost brahmans with roots and fruits). [ ID=764 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872); Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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