# दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi)

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

दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) is a Sanskrit word meaning seeing, viewing, or beholding, sight, the faculty of seeing, wisdom, intelligence, or the mind's eye, regard, consideration, view, notion, a wrong view. Its 19 recorded definitions are grouped into 7 contexts, among them The Act of Seeing, Faculty of Sight, or a Look/Glance, The Physical Eye or its Parts, A View, Notion, Opinion, Theory, or Doctrine (General).

- **Root:** दृश् (dṛś)
- **Etymology:** E. दृश to see, affix क्तिन् — E. dṛśa to see, affix ktin
- **SLP1:** `dfzwi`  **IAST:** dṛṣṭi  **Devanagari:** दृष्टि
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drishti_%28yoga%29
- **Declensions:** 72 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/drishti/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### The Act of Seeing, Faculty of Sight, or a Look/Glance (8 definitions)
- seeing, viewing, or beholding  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 492,1] दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) f. seeing, viewing, beholding (also with the mental eye), Br.; Up. &c. [ ID=95417 ]
- sight, the faculty of seeing  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > sight, the faculty of seeing, ŚBr.; Mn.; Suśr. &c. [ ID=95418 ]
- 1. Seeing or beholding. 2. Vision or eyesight. 3. Intelligence. 4. The eye. 5. The pupil of the eye. 6. A glance, look, or regard. 7. An opinion.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) [Printed book page 124-2 ] दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) dṛ́ṣ-ṭi, f. seeing, looking at ( g. ), beholding; vision, eyesight; intelligence; eye; pupil of the eye; glance, look; regard; opinion: -ṃ dā, direct the gaze towards ( lc. ). [ ID=9546 ]
- 1. Seeing or viewing. 2. Knowledge. 3. The eye or sight. 4. Intellect or wisdom. 5. Consideration or regard. 6. View or notion.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) [Printed book page 341-10 ] दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) f. 1. Seeing, viewing; 2. knowing, knowledge; 3. the eye, the faculty of seeing, the sight, दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) स्तृणीकृतजगत्त्रयसत्वसारा (dṛṣṭistṛṇīkṛtajagattrayasatvasārā) Ut. i, सैव कुमुद्वती मे दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) ं न नंदयति संस्मरणीयशोभा (saiva kumudvatī me dṛṣṭiṃ na naṃdayati saṃsmaraṇīyaśobhā) Sak. iv., चलापांगं दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) म् (calāpāṃgaṃ dṛṣṭim) i., R. ii.28; 4. intellect, wisdom; 5. consideration, regard; 6. view, notion, एतां दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) मवष्टभ्य (etāṃ dṛṣṭimavaṣṭabhya) Bg. xvi.9. [ ID=17407 ]
- 1. Looking at. 2. Sight. 3. Intelligence. 4. The eye. 5. The pupil of the eye.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) [Printed book page 0414-b ] दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) dṛṣṭi, i. e. dṛś + a f. 1. Looking at, Rām. 5, 14, 57. 2. Sight, Pañc. iii. d. 195. 3. Intelligence, Bhāg. P. 1, 4, 5. 4. The eye, Mṛcch. 48, 23. 5. The pupil of the eye, Suśr. 1, 126, 8. — Comp. A-, f. a look of dis- pleasure. Adhas-, adj. with down- cast eyes, Man. 4, 196. Eka-, f. the. eye fixed on one point, Pañc. 252, 11. — Cf. ku-. [ ID=6671 ]
- 1. Seeing or looking at. 2. Sight or the power of sight. 3. A look, glance, or the eye.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) [Printed book page 236 ] दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) f. seeing, looking at ( gen. ); viewing, beholding ( lit. & fig. ); sense or power of sight; look, glance; eye. [ ID=14358 ]
- 1. Seeing. 2. Sense of sight. 3. Glance or look. 4. View.  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) [Printed book page 172-a ] dṛ́ṣṭi, f. —1. seeing; —2. sense of sight; —3. glance, look; —4. view. [ √dṛś: cf. δέρξις, ‘sense of sight.’] [ ID=2029 ]
- 1. Seeing, viewing, or perceiving. 2. Sight or the faculty of vision. 3. The eye, look, or pupil. 4. Aspect of the stars in astrology. 5. Intellect, wisdom, knowledge, or consideration. 6. A wrong view.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) [Printed book page 0429-b ] Dṛṣṭi, is, f. seeing, viewing; seeing with the mental eye; knowing; sight, the faculty of seeing; the eye, look, the sight of the eye, the pupil; (in astrol.) aspect of the stars (e. g. śubha-d°, q. v.); the mind's eye, intellect, wisdom, knowledge; con- sideration, regard; view, notion; (with Buddhists generally) ‘a wrong view.’ —Dṛṣṭi-kṛt, t, or dṛṣṭi-kṛta, am, n. ‘suitable to the faculty of seeing,’ the plant Hibiscus Mutabilis. —Dṛṣṭi- kṣepa, as, m. ‘throwing the sight,’ a glance, look. —Dṛṣṭi-guṇa, am, n. ‘an object for the sight,’ a mark for archers &c., a target, butt. —Dṛṣṭi- guru, us, m. ‘the lord or master of sight,’ an epi- thet of Śiva. —Dṛṣṭi-gocara, as, m. the range or compass of the sight; ( as, ā, am ), within the range of sight, in sight, visible. —Dṛṣṭi-nipāta, as, m. ‘falling of the sight,’ looking at or on, a look, a glance. —Dṛṣṭi-pa, as, ā, am, drinking with the eyes. —Dṛṣṭi-patha, as, or dṛṣṭi- pathin, -panthās, m. the path or range of sight. —Dṛṣṭi-pāta, as, m. ‘falling of the sight,’ a look, a glance. —Dṛṣṭi-pūta, as, ā, am, purified or kept pure by the sight, i. e. watched that no impropriety is committed or impurity contracted. —Dṛṣṭi-prasāda, as, m. the favour of a look. Page0429-c+ 77 —Dṛṣṭi-phala, am, n. ‘the results or conse- quences of the aspect of the planets,’ N. of the seventeenth or eighteenth Adhyāya in Varāha-mihi- ra's Bṛhat-saṃhitā. —Dṛṣṭi-bandhu, us, m. ‘the friend of sight,’ a fire-fly. —Dṛṣṭi-maṇḍala, am, n. the circle or circuit of the sight. —Dṛṣṭi-mat, ān, atī, at, having eyes or intellect, wise, a con- naisseur. —Dṛṣṭi-vāṇa, as, m. ‘eye-arrow,’ a glance, leer. —Dṛṣṭi-vāda, as, m., N. of the last of the twelve sacred writings of the Jainas. —Dṛṣṭi- vikṣepa, as, m. ‘casting the eye obliquely,’ an oblique look, a side glance, leer. —Dṛṣṭi-vidyā, f. the science of vision, optics. —Dṛṣṭi-vibhrama, as, m. ‘the wandering of the eye,’ a coquettish or amorous glance. —Dṛṣṭi-viṣa, as, ā, am, ‘hav- ing poison in the eyes,’ poisoning by the mere look; ( as ), m. a snake. [ ID=22665 ]

### The Physical Eye or its Parts (5 definitions)
- eye, look, glance  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > eye, look, glance, Mn.; MBh.; Kāv. &c. ( ° टिं दा (°ṭiṃ dā) with loc. turn the eye to, look at, Śṛṅgār. 15) [ ID=95424 ]
- the pupil of the eye  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the pupil of the eye, Suśr. [ ID=95425 ]
- 1. The eye. 2. Sight or seeing. 3. Knowledge or wisdom. 4. The pupil of the eye. 5. The aspect of the stars.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) [Printed book page 421 ] दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) f. ( - ष्टिः (-ṣṭiḥ) ) 1 The eye. 2 Sight, seeing. 3 Knowledge, wisdom. 4 The sight of the eye, the pupil. 5 Aspect, (of the stars.) E. दृश (dṛśa) to see, affix क्तिन् (ktin). [ ID=19562 ]
- The eye, sight, wisdom, the pupil of the eye, or aspect of the stars.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) [Printed book page 375-a ] दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) ( ष्टिः ) ((ṣṭiḥ)) 2. f. The eye, sight, wisdom, the pupil of the eye; aspect of the stars. [ ID=19040 ]
- 1. The eye. 2. Sight or seeing. 3. Knowledge or wisdom. 4. The pupil of the eye. 5. The aspect of the stars.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) [Printed book page 350-b ] दृष्टि (dṛṣṭi) f. ( - ष्टिः (-ṣṭiḥ) ) 1. The eye. 2. Sight, seeing. 3. Knowledge, wisdom. 4. The sight of the eye, the pupil. 5. Aspect, (of the stars.) E. दृश् (dṛś) to see, affix भावे क्तिन् (bhāve ktin). [ ID=19548 ]

### A View, Notion, Opinion, Theory, or Doctrine (General) (2 definitions)
- view, notion  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > view, notion, Bhag.; Kap. [ ID=95421 ]
- theory, doctrine, system  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > theory, doctrine, system, Jātakam. [ ID=95423 ]

### A Wrong View, Heretical, or Specific Philosophical Doctrine (1 definition)
- a wrong view  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (with Buddhists) a wrong view [ ID=95422 ]

### Astrological Aspect of Stars (1 definition)
- aspect of the stars  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > aspect of the stars ( e.g. शुभ - (śubha-) ), Var. [ ID=95426 ]

### Mental Perception, Wisdom, or Intelligence (1 definition)
- Wisdom, intelligence, or the mind's eye  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the mind's eye, wisdom, intelligence, BhP.; L. [ ID=95419 ]

### Regard or Consideration (1 definition)
- regard, consideration  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > regard, consideration, L. [ ID=95420 ]

## 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; 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