# दोष (doṣa)

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

दोष (doṣa) is a Sanskrit word meaning evening, darkness, badness, wickedness, sinfulness, offence, transgression, guilt, or crime, damage, harm, or detrimental effect, accusation, reproach, a calf. Its 22 recorded definitions are grouped into 11 contexts, among them Multiple Meanings (Comprehensive Term), Evening or Darkness, General Negative States (Fault, Sin, Harm).

- **Roots:** दुष् (duṣ), ऋ (ṛ), कृ (kṛ), गम् (gam)
- **Etymology:** E. दुष to be defective, affix घञ् — E. duṣa to be defective, affix ghañ
- **SLP1:** `doza`  **IAST:** doṣa  **Devanagari:** दोष
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosha
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/dosha/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** दोषा (doṣā)

## Meanings by context

### Multiple Meanings (Comprehensive Term) (7 definitions)
- 1. Defect, blemish, or failing. 2. Bad quality, taint, or fault. 3. Transgression, crime, sin, guilt, or vice. 4. Harm, damage, injury, evil, or bad consequence. 5. A bodily humor, disorder, or disease.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दोष (doṣa) [Printed book page 126-1 ] दोष (doṣa) doṣ-a, m. ( n. ) defect, blemiṣ, failing; bad quality or condition, taint; fault; transgression, crime, sin, guilt, vice; harm, damage, injury; evil; bad consequence; morbid affection, disorder, disease; bodily Page126-2 humour ( there are three such, phlegm, bile, and wind, which when disordered cause disease ): in., ab. -tas, in consequence of a bad —, owing to the detrimental effect of ( —° ); -taḥ śaṅk, suspect of a transgression. [ ID=9639 ]
- 1. Fault, defect, or blemish. 2. Sin, offence, or transgression. 3. Disorder of the bodily humours. 4. A calf.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दोष (doṣa) [Printed book page 426 ] दोष (doṣa) m. ( - षः (-ṣaḥ) ) 1 Fault, defect, blemish. 2 Sin, offence, transgression. 3 Disorder of the humours of the body, or defect in the functions of bile, circulation, or wind. 4 A calf. E. दुष (duṣa) to be defective, affix घञ् (ghañ). [ ID=19824 ]
- 1. Fault, sin, or bodily defect. 2. A calf.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दोष (doṣa) [Printed book page 380-a ] दोष (doṣa) ( षः ) ((ṣaḥ)) 1. m. Fault, sin; defect in the functions of the body; a calf. [ ID=19304 ]
- 1. Fault or deficiency. 2. Badness or noxious quality. 3. Sin, guilt, or offence. 4. Evil or danger. 5. Bad consequence or detrimental effect. 6. Error or mistake. 7. A rhetorical fault in composition. 8. A fault of definition in science. 9. A bodily humour or disorder of the humours. 10. A calf. 11. Refutation.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दोष (doṣa) [Printed book page 345-27 ] दोष (doṣa) m. 1. Fault, deficiency, राजेम्द्रनेपथ्यविधानशोभा तस्योदितासीत् पुनरुक्तदोष (doṣa) ा (rājemdranepathyavidhānaśobhā tasyoditāsīt punaruktadoṣā) R. xiv.9, M. i.107, viii.205; 2. noxious quality, badness; 3. sin, guilt, offence, R. xiv.34, M. viii.351; 4. evil, danger, बहुदोष (doṣa) ा हि शर्वरी (bahudoṣā hi śarvarī) Mrich. i.; 5. bad consequence, detrimental effect, अकिमयमातपदोष (doṣa) ः स्यात् (akimayamātapadoṣaḥ syāt) Sak. iii.; 6. error, mistake; 7. a fault of composition (in rhetoric); they are classed under the five heads of पददोष (doṣa) (padadoṣa), पदांशदोष (doṣa) (padāṃśadoṣa), वाक्यदोष (doṣa) (vākyadoṣa), अर्थदोष (doṣa) (arthadoṣa) and रसदोष (doṣa) (rasadoṣa); the 7th Ullāsa of K.Pr. is devoted to their treatment; 8. fault of a definition (in science), (they are अव्याप्ति (avyāpti), अतिव्याप्ति (ativyāpti) and असंभव (asaṃbhava) ); 9. disorder of the three humours of the body, or the three humours (so translated ?) themselves (in medicine); 10. a calf; 11. refutation. [ ID=17686 ]
- 1. Fault or defect. 2. Sin or transgression. 3. A physical humor disorder. 4. A calf.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दोष (doṣa) [Printed book page 355-a ] दोष (doṣa) m. ( - षः (-ṣaḥ) ) 1. Fault, defect, blemish. 2. Sin, offence, transgression. 3. Disorder of the humours of the body, or defect in the functions of bile, circulation, or wind. 4. A calf. E. दुष् (duṣ) to be defective, affix घञ् । (ghañ.) [ ID=19810 ]
- 1. Defect, blemish. 2. Fault, vice. 3. Damage. 4. Sin. 5. Crime. 6. Reproach. 7. Detrimental operation. 8. Effect. 9. Disorder of the bodily humours. 10. The humours of the body. 11. Evening, darkness.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दोष (doṣa) [Printed book page 0418-b ] दोष (doṣa) doṣa, i. e. duṣ + a, m. 1. Defect, blemish, Hariv. 2108; Man. 8, 205. 2. Fault, vice, MBh. 5, 1048. 3. Damage, Yājñ. 2, 256. 4. Sin, Man. 5, 3. 5. Crime, Man. 9, 262. 6. Re- proach, Rām. 2, 101, 32 Gorr.; doṣeṇa Page0419-a+ 42 gam, To accuse, Chr. 16, 14. 7. De- trimental operation, Kathās. 13, 35. 8. Effect, Rām. 3, 79, 25. 9. Disorder of the humours of the body, or defect in the functions of bile, phlegm, and wind, Suśr. 2, 562, 4. 10. The humours of the body, Daśak. in Chr. 180, 4. 11. Evening, darkness, Bhāg. P. 6, 8, 19. — Comp. Anna-, m. an offence in diet, Man. 5, 4. Karmadoṣa, i. e. karman-, m. a sinful act, Man. 6, 101. Grahaṇī-, m. diarrhœa, Suśr. 1, 175, 6. Dṛṣṭa-, adj. 1. an object of which the defects have been perceived, Hariv. 2108. 2. a heinous offender, Man. 8, 64. Pāna-, m. the fault of intoxication, Daśak. in Chr. 196, 3. Vāgd°, i. e. vāc-, m. 1. defamation. 2. ungrammatical speech. 3. uttering a disagreeable sound. Svap- na-, m. Pollutio nocturna. — Cf. δειελός, δείλη. [ ID=6737 ]
- 1. Fault, vice, defect, or blemish. 2. Blame, accusation, or reproach. 3. Sin, guilt, crime, or offence. 4. Damage, harm, or detrimental effect. 5. Disease or disorder of the bodily humors. 6. Evening, dusk, or darkness.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > दोष (doṣa) [Printed book page 0436-b ] दोष (doṣa) doṣa, as, m. (fr. rt. 1. duṣ ), fault, vice, defect, deficiency, want, blemish, blame, accu- sation, reproach (with rt. gam, to accuse, e. g. do- ṣeṇa māṃ gacchati, he accuses me); a bad or noxious quality; badness, wickedness, sinfulness; offence, transgression, sin, guilt, crime; damage, harm, detriment; bad consequence, detrimental effect (e. g. mātṛ-doṣāt, q. v.); morbid affection, morbid element, disease; disorder of the three humors of the human body, defect in the functions of vāyu or wind, pitta or bile, and śleṣman or phlegm (e. g. tridoṣa-kṛt, causing disorder of the three humors); a N. applied to the three fluid elements or humors themselves (as causing diseases when in a state of derangement); evening, dusk, darkness, Evening personified as one of the eight Vasus and husband of Night; refutation; a calf; (1. doṣā ), f. evening, darkness, night; Night personified (regarded with Prabhā as wife of Puṣpārṇa and mother of Pra- doṣa or Evening, Niśitha or Midnight, and Vyuṣṭa or Day-break); doṣām, ind. in the evening; doṣā, old inst. in the evening, at dusk, at night; [cf. anna-d°, tvag-d°, doṣas, pra-doṣa, prati- doṣam. ] —Doṣa-kara, as, ī, am, or doṣa-kārin, ī, iṇī, i, or doṣa-kṛt, t, t, t, causing evil or harm, hurtful. —Doṣa-kalpana, am, n. attributing blame, reprehending, condemning. —Doṣa-grasta, as, ā, am, involved in guilt, convicted, guilty. —Doṣa-grāhin, ī, iṇī, i, fault-finding, censorious, vituperative, malicious, malignant; [cf. guṇa-grāhin. ] —Doṣa-ghna, as, ī, am, removing vitiation or disease of the humors. —Doṣa-jña, as, ā, am, acquainted with what is noxious or dangerous, discerning sins, understanding diseases, knowing faults, &c. ( as ), m. a physician; a Pandit, teacher, discerning man. —Doṣa-tas, ind. from a fault or defect; doṣato brū, to accuse of a fault. —Doṣa-traya, am, n. vitiation of the three humors, or wind, bile, and phlegm; any com- bination of three defects. —Doṣatraya-hara, as, ā, am, removing vitiation of the three humors. —Doṣa-tva, am, n. faultiness, deficiency. —Doṣa- dṛṣṭi, is, f. looking at faults, fault-finding. —Doṣa- prasaṅga, as, m. attaching blame, attribution of blame, censure, condemnation. —Doṣa-bala-pra- vṛtta, as, ā, am, proceeding from the influence of bad humors (a disease). —Doṣa-bhāj, k, k, k, possessing faults, wrong, faulty, doing wrong, being defective or to blame. —Doṣa-bhīti, is, f. fear of offence. —Doṣa-bheda, as, m. a peculiar modifi- cation of disease of the three humors. —Doṣa-vat, ān, atī, at, having faults, faulty, defective, blemished, deficient; guilty of an offence; detrimental, con- Page0436-c+ 80 nected with crime or guilt, sinful, wicked; noxious, dangerous. —Doṣa-śamana, as, ā, am, allaying disorder of the humors. —Doṣa-sthāna, am, n. the seat of disorder of the humors. —Doṣa-hara, as, ā, am, removing disease of the humors. —Doṣākara (°ṣa-āk°), as, ā or ī, am, ‘a mine of faults,’ full of defects, faulty; (°ṣā-ka°), as, m. ‘the night-maker,’ epithet of the Moon. —Doṣā-kleśī, f. ‘fading in the evening,’ a kind of plant (= vana-varvarikā). —Doṣākṣara (°ṣa-ak°), as, m. ‘a word of blame,’ accusation, censure. —Doṣā-tana, as, ī, am (fr. doṣā, ind.), nocturnal, at evening, nightly. —Doṣā-tilaka, as, m. ‘the ornament of the night,’ a lamp. —Doṣānuvāda (°ṣa-an°), as, m. talking over faults, tale-bearing. —Doṣā-bhūta, as, ā, am, having become night, turned into night. —Doṣā-manya, as, ā, am, considering one's self as night, regarding as night; [cf. divā-manya. ] —Doṣāropa (°ṣa-ār°), as, m. imputing fault, accusation. —Doṣā-vastṛ, tā, m. (generally occur- ring in loc. doṣā-vastar ), Ved. ‘illuminating the darkness or shining in the evening,’ an epithet of Agni; (Sāy.) by night and day. —Doṣāsya (°ṣā- ās°), as, m. ‘the face of the night,’ a lamp. —Do- ṣaikadṛś (°ṣa-ek°), k, k, k, seeing only defects, fault-finding, censorious, malevolent. —Doṣocchrāya (°ṣa-uc°), or doṣopacaya (°ṣa-up°), as, m. the rise or undue accumulation of vitiated humors. [ ID=22798 ]

### Evening or Darkness (3 definitions)
- evening, darkness  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 498,2] 1. दोष (doṣa) m. evening, darkness (only Bhāgavata-purāṇa (Title), where personified as one of the 8 Vasus and husband of Night, vi, 6, 11; 14 ) [ ID=97011 ]
- evening, darkness, or dusk  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दो (do) ष (doṣa) [Printed book page 240 ] 1 दो (do) ष (doṣa) m. mostly दो (do) ष (doṣa) ा (doṣā) f. evening, dark; दो (do) ष (doṣa) ा (doṣā) म् (doṣām) & दो (do) ° षा (°ṣā) ( instr. ) in the evening, at dusk. [ ID=14635 ]
- evening or dark  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > 2doṣa, m. evening, dark; f. dosā́, evening, dark. [ ID=2069 ]

### General Negative States (Fault, Sin, Harm) (2 definitions)
- 1. Fault, defect, or shortcoming. 2. Sin or transgression. 3. Harm or evil consequence. 4. Disadvantage, damage, or bad condition.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > 2 दोष (doṣa) m. ( n. ) fault, defect, want; sin, transgression; harm, evil consequence; disadvantage, damage, bad condition. [ ID=14637 ]
- 1. A fault, defect, or bad condition. 2. A sin, transgression, or fault. 3. Harm or evil consequence.  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > दोष (doṣa) [Printed book page 173-a ] 1doṣa, m. —1. fault, defect; bad condition, 55 5; —2. sin, transgression, fault, 11 8, 18 17, 65 21; doṣam avāp, incur a transgression, 68 4; —3. harm; evil consequence; doṣeṇa, doṣāt, by or as a bad consequence of, by, faute de, 23 21, 35 2. [ √duṣ. ] [ ID=2068 ]

### Linguistic Pointer or Reference (2 definitions)
- See next.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1B) [Printed book page 498,2] दोषा (doṣā) a f. See next. [ ID=97012 ]
- See under dush.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दोष (doṣa) [Printed book page 0582-b ] दोष (doṣa), दोष (doṣa) िक, दोष (doṣa) िन् (doṣa, doṣika, doṣin) See under दुष् (duṣ). [ ID=15700 ]

### Sin, Crime, or Moral Transgression (2 definitions)
- badness, wickedness, sinfulness  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > [Printed book page 498,3] badness, wickedness, sinfulness, Manu-smṛti (Title); Rāmāyaṇa (Title) [ ID=97027 ]
- offence, transgression, guilt, or crime  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > offence, transgression, guilt, crime ( acc. with √ ऋ (ṛ) or लभ् (labh), to incur guilt), Śrauta-sūtra (Literary category); Manu-smṛti (Title); Mahābhārata (Title) &c. [ ID=97028 ]

### A Calf (1 definition)
- a calf  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (also ° षक (°ṣaka) ) a calf, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=97032 ]

### Accusation or Reproach (1 definition)
- Accusation, reproach  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > accusation, reproach ( ° षं √ कृ (°ṣaṃ√kṛ) or ° षेण -√ गम् (°ṣeṇa-√gam) with acc., to accuse), Rāmāyaṇa (Title) [ ID=97030 ]

### General Fault or Defect (1 definition)
- fault, vice, deficiency, want, inconvenience, or disadvantage  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 498,2] 2. दोष (doṣa) m. rarely n. (√ दुष् (duṣ) ) fault, vice, deficiency, want, inconvenience, disadvantage, Upaniṣad (Literary category); Manu-smṛti (Title); Mahābhārata (Title); Kāvya literature (Literary category) &c. [ ID=97026 ]

### Harm or Negative Consequence (1 definition)
- damage, harm, or detrimental effect  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > damage, harm, bad consequence, detrimental effect ( नै (nai) ष दोषः (ṣa doṣaḥ), there is no harm; कोऽत्र द् (ko'tra d) ° (°), what does it matter?), Manu-smṛti (Title); Mahābhārata (Title); Kāvya literature (Literary category) &c. [ ID=97029 ]

### Medical Disorder or Bodily Humor (1 definition)
- disease or morbid element, especially of the three humours of the body  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > alteration, affection, morbid element, disease ( esp. of the 3 humours of the body, viz. पित्त (pitta), वायु (vāyu), and श्लेष्मन् (śleṣman), [ cf. त्रिदोष (tridoṣa) and धातु (dhātu) ], applied also to the humours themselves), Suśruta (Title) [ ID=97031 ]

### Mythological Figure (Doṣa the Vasu) (1 definition)
- 1. A Vasu who is the husband of Sharvari and father of Shimshumara. 2. A kalā of Vishnu.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > दोष (doṣa) [Printed book page 2-136 ] Doṣa — a Vasu; husband of Śarvarī and father of Śim- śumāra; a kalā of Viṣṇu. Bhā. VI. 6. 11-14. [ ID=6353 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; 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; 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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