# द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva)

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

द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) is a Sanskrit word meaning a pair or couple, a pair of opposites, strife, quarrel, or fight, especially a duel, stronghold or fortress, an epithet of several Ekahas, the sign of the zodiac Gemini. Its 18 recorded definitions are grouped into 10 contexts, among them A Pair or Couple (General Sense), Adverbial Usage (by twos, secretly), Grammatical Compound (Dvandva).

- **SLP1:** `dvaMdva`  **IAST:** dvaṃdva  **Devanagari:** द्वंद्व
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvandva
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/dvandva/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** द्वन्द्व (dvandva)

## Meanings by context

### A Pair or Couple (General Sense) (6 definitions)
- a pair or couple  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 503,2] द्व (dva) ंद्व (dva) (dvaṃdva) n. (the repeated nom. of द्व (dva) ) pair, couple, male and female, Taittirīya-saṃhitā (Title); Brāhmaṇa (Literary category); Mahābhārata (Title); Kāvya literature (Literary category) &c. ( ° अम् (°am) ind., ° द्व (dva) े (°dve) ind., or ° द्व (dva) े (°dve) न (°dvena) ind. by two, face to face, secretly) [ ID=98105 ]
- 1. A pair or couple. 2. A pair of opposites. 3. A quarrel. 4. A context. 5. A duel. 6. Doubt. 7. A copulative or aggregative compound.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) [Printed book page 127-3 ] द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) dva-ṃ-dvá, n. pair, couple, man and wife, male and female; pari of opposites ( heat and cold, etc. ); quarrel; context; duel; doubt; copulative or aggregative compound ( in which the members are connected in sense with and): -m, in. by twos, in pairs. [ ID=9774 ]
- 1. A pair or couple. 2. A male and female animal. 3. A pair of opposite qualities, such as heat and cold, or pleasure and pain. 4. Strife, contention, or quarrel. 5. A duel. 6. Doubt or uncertainty. 7. A stronghold or fortress. 8. A secret.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) [Printed book page 349-23 ] द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) (I) n. 1. A pair, a couple; 2. a couple of animals (including men also, K.S. vii.66) of different sexes, i.e. male and female, K.S. iii.35, Megh. i.40; 3. a couple of opposite qualities, (e.g. शीत (śīta) and उष्ण (uṣṇa), or सुख (sukha) and दुःख (duḥkha) ), उपैति न द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) दुःख (duḥkha) मिह किंचिदकिंचनोऽपि (upaiti na dvaṃdvaduḥkhamiha kiṃcidakiṃcano'pi) Sis. iv.64 ( द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) दुःख (duḥkha) ं शीत (śīta) ोष्णदुःख (duḥkha) म् (dvaṃdvaduḥkhaṃ śītoṣṇaduḥkham) Mall. ); 4. strife, contention, quarrel; 5. duel; 6. doubt, uncertainty; 7. a stronghold, a fortress; 8. a secret. [ ID=17904 ]
- 1. A pair or couple. 2. A pair of opposite things such as heat and cold. 3. Quarrel or contest. 4. A duel. 5. Doubt. 6. A grammatical class of compound words.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) [Printed book page 0425-b ] द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) dvaṃdva, i. e. dva + m-dva ( + m, old sing. ntr. of dvi, twice repeated), n. A pair, a couple, Megh. 46. 2. A pair of opposite things, as heat and cold, Man. 1, 26. 3. Quarrel, contest, MBh. 12, 7557. 4. A duel, MBh. 5, 7083. 5. Doubt, MBh. 1, 1867. 6. A class of comp. words, Bhag. 10, 33. Acc. sing. °dvam, and instr. °dvena, adv. Two by two. Hariv. 3754; Bhāg. P. 8, 10. 34. — Comp. Nis-, adj. 1. indifferent in re- gard to the opposite pairs, as pleasure and pain, etc. ( cf. Vedāntas. in Chr. 203, 17), Bhag. 2, 45. 2. independent, MBh. 12, 489. 3. free from jealousy, MBh. 3, 14734. 4. uncontested, MBh. 4, 889. [ ID=6853 ]
- 1. A pair or couple, especially of opposites. 2. Duality or contrast. 3. A duel, strife, or fight. 4. A copulative compound.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) [Printed book page 243 ] द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) n. pair, couple, esp. a pair of opposites (as male & female, heat & cold, etc. ); duality, contrast; duel, strife, fight; m. n. a copulative compound ( g. ). — Acc. & instr. by pairs. [ ID=14845 ]
- 1. Pair. 2. Quarrel.  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) [Printed book page 174-a ] dvaṃdvá, n. pair; quarrel. [ dvaṃ-dvam is the repeated nom. s. n. of dva: cf. 1252 2.] [ ID=2094 ]

### Adverbial Usage (by twos, secretly) (3 definitions)
- by two, face to face, secretly  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1C) [Printed book page 503,2] द्वंद्वम् (dvaṃdvam) ( अम् (am) ), ind., by two, face to face, secretly [ ID=98113.1 ]
- by two, face to face, secretly  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > द्वंद्वे (dvaṃdve) ( ए (e) ), ind., by two, face to face, secretly [ ID=98113.2 ]
- by two, face to face, secretly  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > द्वंद्वेन (dvaṃdvena) ( एन (ena) ), ind., by two, face to face, secretly [ ID=98113.3 ]

### Grammatical Compound (Dvandva) (2 definitions)
- A copulative compound formed by words that would otherwise be connected by the conjunction and.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) m. ( scil. समास (samāsa); rarely n. ) a copulative compound (or any c° in which the members if uncompounded would be in the same case and connected by the conjunction, ‘and’ cf. देवता - (devatā-), नक्षत्र - (nakṣatra-) ), Pāṇini (Author) ii, 2, 29; 4, 2 [ ID=98109 ]
- A compound in Sanskrit grammar where two or more words are joined as if connected by the word and.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) (II) m. One of the four compounds in which two or more words are joined together, which, if standing by themselves, would be in the same case and connected by the conjunction ‘and,’ द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) ो द्विगुरपि चाहम् (dvaṃdvo dvigurapi cāham) Ud., द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) ः सामासिकस्य च (dvaṃdvaḥ sāmāsikasya ca) Bg. x.33. [ ID=17905 ]

### A Pair of Opposites (1 definition)
- a pair of opposites  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a pair of opposites ( e.g. heat and cold, joy and sorrow &c.), Upaniṣad (Literary category); Manu-smṛti (Title); Mahābhārata (Title); Rāmāyaṇa (Title) &c. [ ID=98106 ]

### Musical Measure (1 definition)
- a kind of musical measure  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (in music) a kind of measure [ ID=98112 ]

### Name of Ekāhas (Ritual) (1 definition)
- an epithet of several Ekahas  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > द्वंद्व (dvaṃdva) m. N. of sev. Ekāhas, Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtra (Title) [ ID=98110 ]

### Strife, Quarrel, or Duel (1 definition)
- strife, quarrel, or fight, especially a duel  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > strife, quarrel, contest, fight ( esp. between two persons, a duel), Mahābhārata (Title); Rāmāyaṇa (Title); Hitopadeśa (Title) [ ID=98107 ]

### Stronghold or Fortress (1 definition)
- stronghold or fortress  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > stronghold, fortress, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=98108 ]

### Type of Disease (1 definition)
- a disease caused by the complication of two humours  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a species of disease, a complication of two disorders, a compound affection of two humours, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=98113 ]

### Zodiac Sign Gemini (1 definition)
- the sign of the zodiac Gemini  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the sign of the zodiac Gemini, Golādhyāya (subtitle) [ ID=98111 ]

## 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 (1899); Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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