# धनु (dhanu)

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

धनु (dhanu) is a Sanskrit word meaning a bow, a measure of four cubits, the sign of the zodiac Sagittarius, buchanania Latifolia, semecarpus Anacardium, water or juice. Its 21 recorded definitions are grouped into 7 contexts, among them A Bow (weapon), A Sandbank or Shore, A Proper Name (Person).

- **Roots:** 2. धन् (2. dhan), धन्व् (dhanv)
- **Etymology:** E. धन here meaning to cast as an arrow, Uṇādi affix उ; also धनुस् — E. dhana here meaning to cast as an arrow, Uṇādi affix u; also dhanus
- **SLP1:** `Danu`  **IAST:** dhanu  **Devanagari:** धनु
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhanu_%28month%29
- **Declensions:** 72 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/dhanu/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** धनू (dhanū)

## Meanings by context

### A Bow (weapon) (10 definitions)
- a bow  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 509,1] धनु (dhanu) m. or ( Uṇādi-sūtra (Title) i, 82 ) 2. धनू (dhanū) f. ( fr. √ 2. धन् (dhan) ?) a bow, Hitopadeśa (Title); Śāntiśataka (Title) [ ID=99522 ]
- bow  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > धनु (dhanu) [Printed book page 129-a3 ] धनु (dhanu) 1. dhanu, m. bow. [ ID=9904 ]
- 1. A bow. 2. The zodiac sign Sagittarius. 3. A tree. 4. A measure of four cubits.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > धन (dhana) ु (dhanu) [Printed book page 437 ] धन (dhana) ु (dhanu) m. ( - नुः (-nuḥ) ) 1 A bow. 2 The sign Sagittarius. 3 A tree: see प्रियाल (priyāla). 4 A measure of four cubits. E. धन (dhana) here meaning to cast as an arrow, Uṇādi affix उ (u); also धन (dhana) ु (dhanu) स् (dhanus). [ ID=20342 ]
- 1. A bow. 2. Sagittarius. 3. A measure of four cubits. 4. A tree.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > धनु (dhanu) [Printed book page 390-a ] धनु (dhanu) ( नुः ) ((nuḥ)) 2. m. A bow; Sagittarius; measure of four cubits; a tree. [ ID=19830 ]
- A bow  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > धनु (dhanu) [Printed book page 353-08 ] धनु (dhanu) m. A bow (perhaps a wrong form of धनु (dhanu) स् (dhanus) ). [ ID=18153 ]
- 1. A bow. 2. The sign Sagittarius. 3. A tree. 4. A measure of four cubits.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > धन (dhana) ु (dhanu) [Printed book page 364-b ] धन (dhana) ु (dhanu) m. ( - नुः (-nuḥ) ) 1. A bow. 2. The sign Sagittarius. 3. A tree: see पियाल (piyāla). 4. A measure of four cubits. E. धन (dhana) here meaning to cast as an arrow, Unādi affix उन् (un) also धन (dhana) ु (dhanu) स् (dhanus). [ ID=20328 ]
- 1. A bow. 2. A measure of length.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > धनु (dhanu) [Printed book page 0430-a ] धनु (dhanu) dhanu (a curtailed form of Page0430-b+ 41 dhanus ), m. 1. A bow, Hit. pr. d. 22. 2. A measure of length, MBh. 8, 4224. — Comp. Sa-, adj. with a bow (in his hand). [ ID=6936 ]
- bow  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > धनु (dhanu) [Printed book page 247 ] 1 धनु (dhanu) m. bow. [ ID=15105 ]
- bow  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > धनु (dhanu) [Printed book page 175-a ] dhanu, m. bow. [ fr. dhanus, a transfer to the u -declension.] [ ID=2129 ]
- 1. A bow. 2. A measure of four cubits. 3. The zodiac sign Sagittarius. 4. A kind of tree. 5. A dry sandbank or sandy shore.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > धनु (dhanu) [Printed book page 0448-a ] धनु (dhanu) dhanu, us, m. or 2. dhanū, ūs, f. (fr. dhan = rt. han, to kill, or according to some fr. rt. tan, to stretch; the full form is dhanus below), a bow; a measure of four Hastas or cubits; the sign of the zodiac Sagittarius; a kind of tree, = piyāla, Semecarpus Anacardium; ( us ), f. a dry sandbank, a sandy shore; [cf. dhanus, dhanvan; Gr. θίς; θινός.] —Dhanu-ketakī, f. a kind of flower. —Dhanu-gupta, as, m., N. of a tree. —Dhanu- rāja, as, m., N. of one of the ancestors of Śākya- muni. —1. dhanv-antara, am, n. (for 2. see under dhanvan, col. 2), an extent or distance of a Dhanu or four Hastas. [ ID=23195 ]

### A Sandbank or Shore (4 definitions)
- a dry sandbank  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > [Printed book page 509,1] ( धनु (dhanu), or धनू (dhanū) ) f. a dry sandbank, a sandy shore [ cf. Eng. bight, Germ. Bucht ], Ṛg-veda (Title); Atharva-veda (Title) i, 17 ( nom. ° नूस् (°nūs) ). [ ID=99527 ]
- 1. Sandbank or shore. 2. Island.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > धनु (dhanu) 2. dhánu, f. sandbank; shore; island ( also of clouds ). [ ID=9905 ]
- 1. Sandbank or sandy shore. 2. Island.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > 2 धनु (dhanu) & धनू (dhanū) f. sandbank, sandy shore, island ( fig. of a cloud). [ ID=15106 ]
- 1. A sandbank, used metaphorically of clouds in the atmosphere. 2. A sandbag used to prevent bleeding.  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > धनु (dhanu) [Printed book page 1-388 ] Dhanu (fem.), ‘sandbank,’ occurs several times in the Rig- veda, 1 but only metaphorically of the clouds in the atmosphere. Dhanū is found in the Atharvaveda, 2 where it seems to denote a sandbag used to prevent bleeding. 3 Cf. Dhanvan. [ Footnote: 1) i. 33, 4; 144, 5; viii. 3, 19; x. 4, 3; 27, 17.] [ Footnote: 2) i. 17, 4.] [ Footnote: 3) Weber, Indische Studien, 4, 411; Whitney, Translation of the Atharva- veda, 18; Bloomfield, Hymns of the Atharvaveda, 259, 260.] [ ID=1426 ]

### A Proper Name (Person) (2 definitions)
- a son of Sranjaya and brother of Vasudeva  
  *The Purana Index*
  > धनु (dhanu) [Printed book page 2-154 ] Dhanu (I) — a son of Sṛnjaya, brother of Vasudeva. Br. III. 71. 193. [ ID=6485 ]
- a son of Shamika  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Dhanu (II) — a son of Śamīka. M. 46. 27. [ ID=6486 ]

### A Tree or Plant (2 definitions)
- Buchanania Latifolia  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > Buchanania Latifolia, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=99525 ]
- Semecarpus Anacardium  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > Semecarpus Anacardium, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=99526 ]

### A Measure of Length (1 definition)
- a measure of four cubits  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a measure of 4 Hastas or cubits, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) ( cf. धन्व् - अन्तर (dhanv-antara) below) [ ID=99523 ]

### The Zodiac Sign Sagittarius (1 definition)
- the sign of the zodiac Sagittarius  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the sign of the zodiac Sagittarius, Priyadarśikā (Title) i, 5 [ ID=99524 ]

### Water or Juice (1 definition)
- water or juice  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > [Printed book page 1329,2] accord. to some also, ‘water, juice &c.’; cf. √ धन्व् (dhanv), धनुतृ (dhanutṛ). [ ID=99526.1 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; 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; The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

The Sanskrit Lexicon app for iPhone, iPad and Mac: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sanskrit-lexicon-dictionary/id6746787546