# दुःख (duḥkha)

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

दुःख (duḥkha) is a Sanskrit word meaning uneasy, uncomfortable, unpleasant, or difficult, uneasiness, pain, sorrow, trouble, or difficulty, with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, it is difficult, to be sad or uneasy, to pain. Its 29 recorded definitions are grouped into 6 contexts, among them Adjective: Painful, Unpleasant, Difficult, Miserable, Noun: Pain, Sorrow, Unhappiness, Distress, Verbal: To Cause/Feel Pain, To Be Sad.

- **Roots:** अस् (as), कृ (kṛ)
- **Etymology:** E. दुःख to give pain, affix अच्; or दु bad, and ख्या to call; or खन to dig, ड aff — E. duḥkha to give pain, affix ac; or du bad, and khyā to call; or khana to dig, ḍa aff
- **SLP1:** `duHKa`  **IAST:** duḥkha  **Devanagari:** दुःख
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du%E1%B8%A5kha
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/duhkha/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** दुःखा (duḥkhā), दुःखाकर (duḥkhākara), दुःखाकुल (duḥkhākula), दुःखशील (duḥkhaśīla), दुःखशीलत्व (duḥkhaśīlatva), दुःखाय् (duḥkhāy)

## Meanings by context

### Adjective: Painful, Unpleasant, Difficult, Miserable (10 definitions)
- uneasy, uncomfortable, unpleasant, or difficult  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 483,2] 1. दुःख (kha) (duḥkha) mfn. (according to grammarians properly written दुष् - ख (kha) (duṣ-kha) and said to be from दुस् (dus) and ख (kha) [ cf. सु - ख (kha) (su-kha) ]; but more probably a Prākritized form for दुः - स्थ (duḥ-stha), q.v. ) uneasy, uncomfortable, unpleasant, difficult, Rāmāyaṇa (Title); Harivaṃśa (Title) ( compar. - तर (-tara), Mahābhārata (Title); Rāmāyaṇa (Title) ) [ ID=93403 ]
- Painful, disagreeable, unpleasant  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) [Printed book page 0569-a ] दुःख (duḥkha) a. [ दुष्टानि खानि यास्मिन्, दुष्टं (duṣṭāni khāni yāsmin, duṣṭaṃ) खनति खन् - ड, दुःख (duḥkha) ् अच् वा (khanati khan-ḍa, duḥkh ac vā) Tv. ] 1 Painful, disagreeable, unpleasant; सिंहानां (siṃhānāṃ) निनदा दुःख (duḥkha) ाः श्रोतुं दुःख (duḥkha) मतो वनं (ninadā duḥkhāḥ śrotuṃ duḥkhamato vanaṃ) Rām
- difficult, uneasy  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) [Printed book page 0569-a ] दुःख (duḥkha) a. [ दुष्टानि खानि यास्मिन्, दुष्टं (duṣṭāni khāni yāsmin, duṣṭaṃ) खनति खन् - ड, दुःख (duḥkha) ् अच् वा (khanati khan-ḍa, duḥkh ac vā) Tv. ] 2 Difficult, uneasy
- pained, afflicted, distressed  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — आर्त (ārta), अन्वित (anvita) a. pained, afflicted, distressed
- full of trouble or grief  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — प्राय, बहुल (prāya, bahula) a. full of trouble or grief
- unhappy  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — भाज् (bhāj) a. unhappy
- 1. Unpleasant, wretched, or fraught with hardship. 2. Pain, misery, or suffering.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) [Printed book page 121-1 ] दुःख (duḥkha) duḥ-khá, a. unpleasant, fraught with hardship, wretched; n. pain, hardship, misery, suffering: -m, in., ab., °—, with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, reluctantly; -m ās, stand sorrowfully. [ ID=9377 ]
- 1. Painful or unpleasant. 2. Uneasy or difficult.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) [Printed book page 335-07 ] दुःख (duḥkha) (I) a. (f. खा (khā) ) 1. Painful, unpleasant, e.g. ततो दुःख (duḥkha) तरं नु किम् (tato duḥkhataraṃ nu kim); 2. uneasy, difficult. [ ID=17034 ]
- 1. Uneasy or unpleasant. 2. Uneasiness, pain, or sorrow.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) [Printed book page 228 ] दुःख (duḥkha) a. uneasy, unpleasant; n. uneasiness, pain, sorrow ( comp. दुःख (duḥkha)++ (duḥkha++) ° तर (°tara) † n. ), as adv. = instr., abl., & °— with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, unwillingly. [ ID=13859 ]
- 1. Miserable. 2. Misery, pain, or sorrow.  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) [Printed book page 170-b ] duḥkhá, a. miserable; as n. misery, pain, sorrow. [ cf. sukha. ] [ ID=1971 ]

### Noun: Pain, Sorrow, Unhappiness, Distress (9 definitions)
- uneasiness, pain, sorrow, trouble, or difficulty  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) n. ( ifc. f( आ (ā) ). ) uneasiness, pain, sorrow, trouble, difficulty, Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa (Title) xiv, 7, 2, 15; Manu-smṛti (Title); Mahābhārata (Title) &c. (personified as the son of Naraka and Vedanā, Viṣṇu-purāṇa (Title) ) [ ID=93404 ]
- Sorrow, grief, or pain  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — खं (khaṃ) 1 Sorrow, grief, unhappiness, distress, pain, agony; सुखं (khaṃ) हि दुःखान्यनुभूय शोभते (sukhaṃ hi duḥkhānyanubhūya śobhate) Mṛcchakaṭikā 1. 10; यदेवोपनतं दुःखात्सुखं (khaṃ) तद्रसवत्तरं (yadevopanataṃ duḥkhātsukhaṃ tadrasavattaraṃ) Vikramorvaśīyam (Bombay) 3. 21; so दुःखसुख, समदुःखसुख (duḥkhasukha, samaduḥkhasukha) &c
- occurrence of trouble or misery  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — भोगः (bhogaḥ) occurrence of trouble or misery
- 1. Pain, sorrow, affliction, distress, or unhappiness. 2. The world. 3. Difficulty or trouble.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दु (du) ःख (duḥkha) n. ( - खं (-khaṃ) ) 1 Pain, sorrow, affliction, distress, unhappiness. 2 The world. 3 Difficulty, trouble. E. दु (du) ःख (duḥkha) to give pain, affix अच् (ac); or दु (du) bad, and ख्या (khyā) to call; or खन (khana) to dig, ड (ḍa) aff. [ ID=19180 ]
- Pain, distress  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) [Printed book page 367-b ] दुःख (duḥkha) ( खं ) ((khaṃ)) 1. n. Pain, distress. [ ID=18653 ]
- 1. Unhappiness, sorrow, or pain. 2. Difficulty or trouble.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) (II) n. 1. Unhappiness, sorrow, distress, pain, agony, तनयाविश्लेषदुःख (duḥkha) ैर्नवैः (tanayāviśleṣaduḥkhairnavaiḥ) Sak. iv., K.S. iv.4; 2. difficulty, trouble, क्लेशितः कर्मदुःख (duḥkha) ैः (kleśitaḥ karmaduḥkhaiḥ) Sr.T. 12. (The acc. and inst. singulars of this word, viz., दुःख (duḥkha) म् (duḥkham) and दुःख (duḥkha) ेन (duḥkhena) are used as indeclinables in the sense of ‘with great trouble, with great difficulty,’ Bg. xii.5.) [ ID=17035 ]
- 1. Pain, sorrow, or distress. 2. The world. 3. Difficulty or trouble.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दु (du) ःख (duḥkha) n. ( - खं (-khaṃ) ) 1. Pain, sorrow. affliction, distress, unhappiness. 2. The world. 3. Difficulty, trouble. E. दु (du) ःख (duḥkha) to give pain, affix अच्; (ac;) or दु (du) bad, and ख्या (khyā) to call; or खन् (khan) to dig, ड (ḍa) aff. दु (du) ष्टानि खानि यस्मिन्, (duṣṭāni khāni yasmin,) or दु (du) ष्टं (duṣṭaṃ) खनति । (khanati.) [ ID=19165 ]
- 1. Pain. 2. Painful or unpleasant. 3. Difficult.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) [Printed book page 0405-a ] दुःख (duḥkha) duḥkha (properly दुष्ख (duṣkha) duṣ- kha ), i. e. dus-kha, I. n. Pain, Man. 1, 26; Yājñ. 2, 218. Instr. °khena, With difficulty, Pañc. iii. d. 263. II. adj., f. khā. 1. Painful, unpleasant, Hariv. 12661; Rām. 2, 28, 7. 2. Difficult, Bhag. 18, 8. °kham, adv. Scarcely, hardly, Rām. 2, 53, 6; Śāk. d. 172. — Comp. A-, adj. propitious, Rām. 4, 22, 2. Antar-, adj. afflicted, Kathās. 18, 256. Sama-, adj. sympathising. Su-duṣkha, adj. abounding in pain, Chr. 10, 8. [ ID=6529 ]
- 1. Uneasiness, unhappiness, pain, sorrow, affliction, distress, misery, anguish, or agony. 2. Difficulty or trouble. 3. Unhappiness or pain personified. 4. Painful, disagreeable, unpleasant, uncomfortable, uneasy, or difficult.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) [Printed book page 0418-b ] दुःख (duḥkha) duḥkha, am, n. (more properly written duṣ-kha, and said to be fr. dus + kha, q. v.; cf. duḥ above and su-kha; the word duḥkha does not occur in the earliest literature), uneasiness, unhappiness, pain, sorrow, affliction, distress, misery, anguish, agony; difficulty, trouble; ( as ), m. Unhap- piness or Pain personified as son of Naraka and Vedanā; ( as, ā, am ), painful, disagreeable, unpleasant, uncomfortable, uneasy, difficult; ( am ), ind. difficultly, scarcely, hardly; ( ena ), ind. with difficulty; diffi- cultly; ( āt ), ind. with difficulty, hardly; [cf. Hib. diuic, ‘pain, sorrow, grief;’ perhaps doilghe, ‘sore, hard;’ doilgheas, ‘sorrow.’] —Duḥkha-kara, as, ī, am, causing pain; afflicting, occasioning sorrow or trouble. —Duḥkha-cārin, ī, iṇī, i, going with pain, distressed. —Duḥkha-cchinna, as, ā, am, cut with difficulty, tough, hard; pierced by sorrow, pained, distressed. —Duḥkha-cchedya, as, ā, am, to Page0418-c+ 81 be cut with difficulty, hard to be divided, tough, hard; to be conquered or overcome with difficulty; to be pierced or pained by affliction, &c. —Duḥkha-jāta, as, ā, am, suffering pain, feeling pain, distressed. —Duḥkha-jīvin, ī, inī, i, living in pain or distress. —Duḥkha-tara, am, n. greater pain, a greater evil; a very great evil; ( as, ā, am ), more painful or disagreeable; ( am ), ind. more painfully or disa- greeably. —Duḥkha-tā, f. unhappiness, misery, pain, discomfort, painful state. —Duḥkha-dagdha, as, ā, am, burnt or tormented by affliction, pained, dis- tressed. —Duḥkha-duḥkhena, ind. with great diffi- culty. —Duḥkha-dohyā, f. (a cow) difficult to be milked. —Duḥkha-nivaha, as, ā, am, difficult to be borne. —Duḥkha-parītāṅga (°ta-aṅ°), as, ā, am, whose limbs are surrounded or filled with pain. —Duḥkha-parītātman (°ta-āt°), ā, ā, a, whose soul is affected with anguish. —Duḥkha-prāya or duḥ- kha-bahula, as, ā, am, full of trouble, suffering excessively, abounding with distress or trouble, &c. —Duḥkha-bhāgin, ī, inī, i, having pain as one's portion, suffering pain, unhappy. —Duḥkha-maya, as, ī, am, consisting in suffering, one whose nature is made up of suffering. —Duḥkhamaya-tva, am, n. a condition made up of suffering. —Duḥkha- mokṣa, as, m. deliverance from pain. —Duḥkha- yoga, as, m. occurrence or presence of trouble or pain, &c. —Duḥkha-labdhikā, f. ‘gained with difficulty,’ N. of a princess. —Duḥkha-labhya, as, ā, am, to be obtained or effected with difficulty, hardly procurable. —Duḥkha-loka, as, m. ‘the world of pain,’ = saṃsāra or the world as a scene of constant suffering and transmigration. —Duḥkha- vyābhāṣita, as, ā, am, pronounced with difficulty. —Duḥkha-śīla, as, ā, am, of a difficult temper, i. e. hard to manage, bad-tempered, irritable. —Duḥkha- śīla-tva, am, n. irritability of temper. —Duḥkha- śoka-samanvita, as, ā, am, filled with pain and sorrow. —Duḥkha-saṃyoga, as, m. occurrence or presence of pain, distress, &c. —Duḥkha-saṃvar- dhita, as, ā, am, reared with difficulty. —Duḥkha- saṃsthiti, is, is, i, in a wretched condition, poor, miserable. —Duḥkha-saṃsparśa, as, ā, am, = duḥkha-sparśa. —Duḥkha-sañcāra, as, ā, am, passing unhappily (as time). —Duḥkha-samāyukta, as, ā, am, accompanied with pain, affected by anguish. —Duḥkha-sāgara, as, m. ‘an ocean of trouble or pain,’ great sorrow; the world. —Duḥkha- sparśa, as, ā, am, unpleasant or hard to the touch. —Duḥkha-han, ā, ghnī, a, removing pain. —Duḥ- khā-kara, as, ā or ī, am, causing pain, afflicting. —Duḥkhā-kṛ, cl. 8. P. -karoti, -kartum, to cause pain to any one (with acc.); to distress. —Duḥkhā- cāra (°kha-āc°), as, ā, am, of a difficult temper or disposition; hard to manage. —Duḥkhātīta (°kha- at°), as, ā, am, freed or escaped from pain. —Duḥ- khānta (°kha-an°), as, m. ‘the end of pain or trouble’ (with the Māheśvaras), final emancipation or the acquisition of superhuman powers and freedom of will. —Duḥkhānvita (°kha-an°), as, ā, am, accompanied with pain, filled with grief, pained, afflicted, distressed. —Duḥkhārta (°kha-ār°), as, ā, am, afflicted by pain, pained, distressed. —Duḥkhā- līḍha (°kha-āl°), as, ā, am, consumed with grief. —Duḥkhopeta (°kha-up°), as, ā, am, affected by pain, suffering distress, &c. [ ID=22465 ]

### Verbal: To Cause/Feel Pain, To Be Sad (5 definitions)
- to be sad or uneasy  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > दुःखम् (duḥkham) -√ अस् (as), to be sad or uneasy, Ratnāvalī (Title) iv, 19/20 [ ID=93407 ]
- to cause or feel pain  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > -√ कृ (kṛ), to cause or feel pain, Yājñavalkya (Author) ii, 218; Mahābhārata (Title) xii, 5298. [ ID=93408 ]
- to pain  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 483,3] 2. दुःख (duḥkha) Nom. P. ° खति (°khati), to pain, Saddharma-puṇḍarīka (Title) [ ID=93487 ]
- To give pain  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) [Printed book page 413 ] दुःख (duḥkha) r. 10th cl. ( दुःख (duḥkha) यति (duḥkhayati) ) To give pain. [ ID=19179 ]
- To give pain  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख (duḥkha) [Printed book page 344-a ] दुःख (duḥkha) r. 10th cl. ( दुःख (duḥkha) यति - ते (duḥkhayati-te) ) To give pain. चुरा० उभ० अक० सेट् । (curā0 ubha0 aka0 seṭ.) [ ID=19164 ]

### Adverbial/Impersonal: With Difficulty, Scarcely, Hardly (2 definitions)
- with difficulty, scarcely, hardly  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1C) [Printed book page 483,2] दुःखम् (duḥkham) ( अम् (am) ), ind. with difficulty, scarcely, hardly (also आत् (āt) and एन (ena) ), Mahābhārata (Title); Rāmāyaṇa (Title) [ ID=93405 ]
- it is difficult  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1B) [Printed book page 483,2] दुःख (duḥkha) n. impers. it is difficult to or to be ( inf. with an acc. or nom. Rāmāyaṇa (Title) vii, 6, 38; Bhagavad-gītā (Title) v, 6 ) [ ID=93406 ]

### Specific Manifestations: Denoting particular hardships or difficult actions/characteristics (2 definitions)
- obtained or effected with trouble  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख - (duḥkha-) लभ्य ( भ्यः - भ्या - भ्यं ) (labhya (bhyaḥ-bhyā-bhyaṃ)) a. Obtained or effected with trouble. [ ID=18664 ]
- Reared with trouble and difficulty  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > दुःख - (duḥkha-) संवर्द्वित ( तः - ता - तं ) (saṃvardvita (taḥ-tā-taṃ)) a. Reared with trouble and difficulty. [ ID=18665 ]

### Noun: Trouble, Difficulty (1 definition)
- Trouble or difficulty  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — खं (khaṃ) 2 Trouble, difficulty; Śṛṅgāratilaka 12; Pañcatantra (Bombay) 1. 163. ( दुःखं (khaṃ) (duḥkhaṃ) and दुःखेन (duḥkhena) are used as adverbs in the sense of ‘hardly’, ‘with great difficulty or trouble’ Śakuntalā (Bombay) 7. 13; Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 12. 5; Kumārasambhava (Bombay) 4. 13; Pañcatantra (Bombay) 1.; Raghuvaṃśa (Bombay) 19, 49; Hitopadeśa (Nirṇaya Sāgara Edition) 1. 158 )

## 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; 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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