# दनु (danu)

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

दनु (danu) is a Sanskrit word meaning name of a daughter of Daksha and mother of the Danavas, name of a son of Shri, a daughter of Daksha and mother of demons, name of a daughter of Daksha, the mother of the Danavas, proper name, a son of Kashyapa and Diti appointed as family priest. Its 16 recorded definitions are grouped into 8 contexts, among them Mother of the Dānavas, Known for Māyā, Mother of Dānavas & Son of Śrī.

- **SLP1:** `danu`  **IAST:** danu  **Devanagari:** दनु
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danu_%28Hinduism%29
- **Declensions:** 72 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/danu/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** दानु (dānu)

## Meanings by context

### Mother of the Dānavas (9 definitions)
- Name of a daughter of Daksha and mother of the Danavas  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 468,2] दनु (danu) f. N. of a daughter of Dakṣa (by Kaśyapa [or दनायू (danāyū), Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa (Title) i, 6, 3, 9 ], mother of the Dānavas), Mahābhārata (Title) i, 2520 ff.; Hariv.; Rāmāyaṇa (Title) iii, 20; VP. &c., VarBṛS. [ ID=90015 ]
- Name of a daughter of Daksha and mother of the Danavas.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दनु (danu) [Printed book page 116-2 ] दनु (danu) dánu, f. N. of a daughter of Dakṣa and the mother of the Dānavas. [ ID=9044 ]
- A daughter of Daksha, wife of Kashyapa, and mother of the Daitya demons.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दनु (danu) [Printed book page 398 ] दनु (danu) f. ( - नुः (-nuḥ) ) A daughter of DAKṢA, wife of KAŚYAPA, and mother of the demons of Daityas, the Titans of Hindu mythology. [ ID=18491 ]
- A daughter of Daksha and mother of demons  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दनु (danu) [Printed book page 353-b ] दनु (danu) ( नुः ) ((nuḥ)) 2. f. A daughter of Daksha, mother of demons. [ ID=17963 ]
- Name of a daughter of Daksha, wife of Kasyapa, and mother of the Danavas.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दनु (danu) [Printed book page 324-14 ] दनु (danu) f. Name of a daughter of Daksha, who was wife of Kaśyapa and mother of the Danavas. [ ID=16426 ]
- A daughter of Daksha, wife of Kasyapa, and mother of the demons or Daityas  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दनु (danu) [Printed book page 332-a ] दनु (danu) f. ( - नुः (-nuḥ) ) A daughter of DAKSHA, wife of KASYAPA, and mother of the demons or Daityas, the Titans of Hindu mythology. [ ID=18476 ]
- Name of a daughter of Daksha, the mother of the Danavas.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दनु (danu) [Printed book page 218 ] दनु (danu) f. N. of a daughter of Dakṣa, the mother of the Dānavas. [ ID=13273 ]
- Daughter of Daksha, wife of Kashyapa, and mother of the Danavas.  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > दनु (danu) [Printed book page 234-1 ] Danu, daughter of Dakṣa and wife of Kaśyapa, mother of the Dānavas. § 84 (Ādivaṃśāvatāraṇap.): I, 64, 2486 ( °oḥ putrāḥ, i.e. the Dānavas, became incarnate on earth).— § 87 (Aṃśāvat.): I, 65, 2520 (daughter of Dakṣa and wife of Kaśyapa).—§ 92 (do.): I, 65, 2529 (mother of 40 sons, of whom 32(?) are enumerated), 2534.—[§ 93 (do.): I, 65, 2536 (v. Danuputra, pl.).]—§ 270 (Brahmasabhāv.): II, 11, 456 (in the palace of Brahmán).—§ 331 (Kairātap.): III, 39, 1557 ( Mūkaṃ nāma D°oḥ putraṃ ).—§ 349 (Indra- lokābhig.): III, 47, 1895 ( Pātālavāsinaḥ…D°oḥ putrāḥ ).—§ 641 (Rājadh.): XII, 98 ξ, 3661 ( °oḥ putrān ).— § 664 (Mokṣadh.): XII, 207, 7545 (mother of the Dānavas). [ ID=3138 ]
- 1. A wife of Kashyapa and daughter of Daksha. 2. The mother of the Danavas. 3. A mother goddess.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Danu (V) — one of Kaśyapa's wives and a daughter of Dakṣa. Had Dvimūrdhā and sixty other sons; 1 Māyāśitā; 2 also mother of 100 sons of whom Vipracitti was the chief; mother of the Dānavas; a mother-goddess. 3 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. VI. 6. 25; 29-31; Vā. 66. 55; Vi. I. 5. 124.] [ Footnote: 2) Br. III. 3. 56; 6. 1-2; 7. 466.] [ Footnote: 3) M. 6. 1 and 16; 146. 18; 171. 29 and 58; 179. 19.] [ ID=5818 ]

### Known for Māyā (1 definition)
- known for Maya  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Danu (IV) — known for Māyā. Vā. 69. 93. [ ID=5817 ]

### Mother of Dānavas & Son of Śrī (1 definition)
- 1. Name of a daughter of Daksha, wife of Kashyapa, and mother of the Danavas. 2. Name of a son of Shri.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > दनु (danu) [Printed book page 0401-a ] दनु (danu) danu, us, f., N. of one of the daughters of Dakṣa, wife of Kaśyapa, and mother of the demons called Dānavas, the Titans of Hindū mytho- logy; the number of these Dānavas is stated to be 40 in Mahā-bh. 1. 252, but 100 &c. are reckoned in other places; ( us ), m., N. of a son of Śrī, also called Dānava; (he was originally very handsome, but having offended Indra, was changed by him into a deformed monster; see kabandha. ) —Danu-ja, as, or danu-sambhava, as, or danu-sūnu, us, m. a son of Danu, a Dānava. —Danuja-dviṣ, ṭ, or danujāri (°ja-ari), is, m. an enemy of the Dānavas, a god, a deity. [ ID=21868 ]

### Proper name (male/female) (1 definition)
- Proper name  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दनु (danu) [Printed book page 0385-b ] दनु (danu) danu, m. and f. Proper names, Rām. 3, 75, 24; 2, 30, 12. [ ID=6274 ]

### Son of Aṅgirasa (1 definition)
- a son of Angirasa  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Danu (III) — a son of Aṅgirasa. Vā. 65. 105. [ ID=5816 ]

### Son of Kāśyapa and Diti (1 definition)
- a son of Kashyapa and Diti appointed as family priest  
  *The Purana Index*
  > दनु (danu) [Printed book page 2-070 ] Danu (I) — a son of Kāśyapa and Diti; appointed Purohita. Br. IV. 9. 3. [ ID=5814 ]

### Son of Śrī (Kabandha) (1 definition)
- The name of a son of Shri who was turned into a monster by Indra.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > दनु (danu) m. N. of a son of Śrī (also called Dānava; originally very handsome, but changed into a monster [ कबन्ध (kabandha) ] by Indra for having offended him), Rāmāyaṇa (Title) iii f. [ ID=90016 ]

### Unit of time (1 definition)
- 61 days and nights  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Danu (II) — 61 days and nights. Vā. 50. 186. [ ID=5815 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; 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, University of Cologne.

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