# द्वीप (dvīpa)

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

द्वीप (dvīpa) is a Sanskrit word meaning an island, peninsula, or sandbank, a division of the terrestrial world, place of refuge or shelter, a tiger skin, cubebs, an island, peninsula, or land surrounded by water. Its 18 recorded definitions are grouped into 6 contexts, among them Island / Land Surrounded by Water, Cosmological Continents/Divisions, Lexicographical/Etymological/Interpretive Notes.

- **Etymology:** E. द्वि two, (on both sides,) and आप water, आ dropped, and इ made long — E. dvi two, (on both sides,) and āpa water, ā dropped, and i made long
- **SLP1:** `dvIpa`  **IAST:** dvīpa  **Devanagari:** द्वीप
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvipa
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/dvipa/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** द्विप (dvipa)

## Meanings by context

### Island / Land Surrounded by Water (10 definitions)
- an island, peninsula, or sandbank  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 507,1] द्वीप (dvīpa) b m. n. ( fr. द्वि (dvi) + अप् (ap), Pāṇini (Author) v, 4, 74; vi, 3, 97 ) an island, peninsula, sandbank, Ṛg-veda (Title); Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa (Title); Mahābhārata (Title) &c. [ ID=99004 ]
- 1. A sandbank in a river. 2. An island. 3. One of the concentric terrestrial continents encircling Mount Meru.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) [Printed book page 129-1 ] द्वीप (dvīpa) dvīpá, m. n. [dvi‿ap-a, having water on both sides ], sandbank in a river; island; concentric terrestrial ( the world being considered to consist of 4, 7, 13, or 18 such encircling Mount Meru like the petals of a lotus ). [ ID=9856 ]
- 1. An island or any land surrounded by water, including the seven great divisions of the world. 2. A tiger skin.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) [Printed book page 435 ] द्वीप (dvīpa) mf. ( - पः - पं (-paḥ-paṃ) ) 1 An island, any land surrounded by water; the word is hence applied to the seven grand divisions of the terrestrial world, each of these being separated from the next, by a peculiar and circumambient ocean: the seven Dvīpas, reckoning from the central one are, Jambu, Kuśa, Plakṣa, Śālmali, Krauncha, Śāka, and Puṣkara: the central Dvīpa, or the known continent, is again portioned into ten divisions, likewise termed Dvīpas: viz. Kuru, Candra, Varuṇa, Saumya, Nāga, Kumārikā, Gabhastimān, Tāmrāpūrna, Kaseru and Indra. 2 A tiger's skin. E. द्वि (dvi) two, (on both sides,) and आ (ā) प (āpa) water, आ (ā) dropped, and इ (i) made long. [ ID=20233 ]
- 1. An island. 2. A tiger's skin.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) [Printed book page 388-a ] द्वीप (dvīpa) ( पः - पं ) ((paḥ-paṃ)) 1. m. n. An island; one of seven or ten; tiger's skin. [ ID=19720 ]
- 1. An island. 2. A place of refuge or shelter. 3. A major division of the terrestrial world.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) [Printed book page 351-13 ] द्वीप (dvīpa) m.n. 1. An island; 2. a place of refuge, shelter; 3. a division of the terrestrial world; (they are either four, seven, nine or thirteen, according to different authorities; all of these are situated round the mountain Meru according to Paurāṇika accounts, India coming under जम्बुद्वीप (dvīpa) (jambudvīpa) ), R. i.65, Na. i.5. [ ID=18073 ]
- 1. An island or land surrounded by water, including the mythical major divisions of the world. 2. A tiger's skin.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) [Printed book page 362-b ] द्वीप (dvīpa) mn. ( - पः - पं (-paḥ-paṃ) ) 1. An island, any land surrounded by water; the word is hence applied to the seven grand divisions of the terrestrial world, each of these being separated from the next, by a peculiar and circumambient ocean: the seven Dwīpas, reckoning from the central one are, Jambu, Kusa, Plaksha, Sālmalī, Krauncha, Sāka, and Pushkara: the central Dwīpa, or the known continent, is again portioned into ten divisions, likewise termed Dwīpas: viz. Kuru, Chandra, Varuna, Saumya, Naga, Kumārikā, Gabhastiman, Tāmrāpurna, Kaseru and Indra. 2. A tiger's skin. E. द्वि (dvi) two, (on both sides,) and आ (ā) प (āpa) water, आ (ā) dropped and इ (i) made long. द्वि (dvi) र्गता द्वयो र्वा दिशोर्गता आ (ā) प (āpa) ोऽत्र । अ० समा० । (dvirgatā dvayo rvā diśorgatā āpo'tra. a0 samā0.) [ ID=20219 ]
- 1. An island. 2. Shelter. 3. One of the grand divisions of the terrestrial world.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) [Printed book page 0428-a ] द्वीप (dvīpa) dvīpa, i. e. dvi-ap + a, m. and n. 1. An island, Rām. 2, 25, 34. 2. Shelter, MBh. 2, 2118. 3. The name of the four, seven, or thirteen grand divisions of the terrestrial world, each of these being separated from the next by a different circumambient ocean, MBh. 6, 404. — Comp. Kuśa-, m. one of the seven divisions of the terrestrial world, MBh. 13, 673. Gaṇa-, m. the name of an island (?), Rām. 4, 40, 33. Jambū-, m. the name of one of the seven divisions of the world, and im- plying the central division, or the known world; according to the Baud- dhas, it is confined to India, MBh. 6, 207; Lalit. 27. Jala-, m. the name of an island, Rām. 4, 40, 33. Nāga-, m. the name of a division of the world, MBh. 6, 251. [ ID=6895 ]
- 1. An island, peninsula, or sandbank. 2. One of the major continents or regions composing the world in traditional cosmology.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) [Printed book page 245 ] द्वीप (dvīpa) m. n. island, peninsula, sandbank; esp. one of the (4, 7, 13, or 18) islands or continents of which the earth is supposed to consist. [ ID=15006 ]
- island  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) [Printed book page 174-b ] dvīpá, m. island. [ ID=2119 ]
- 1. An island, peninsula, or land surrounded by water. 2. A sandbank. 3. A place of refuge, shelter, or protection. 4. A protector. 5. A division of the terrestrial world.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) [Printed book page 0445-c ] द्वीप (dvīpa) dvīpa, as, am, m. n. (fr. dvi + ap, water), an island, peninsula, any land surrounded by water, a sandbank; a place of refuge, shelter, protec- tion, a protector; a division of the terrestrial world (of which according to different authorities there are seven or four or nine or thirteen and which are situated round the mountain Meru like the leaves Page0446-a+ 76 encircling a lotus flower; each Dvīpa is separated from the next by a distinct circumambient ocean: the seven Dvīpas, reckoning from the central one, are Jambu, Plaksha or Go-medaka, Śālmalī, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śāka, and Puṣkara: according to Mahā-bhārata, Bhīṣma-parva 208, there are four Dvīpas, viz. Bhadrāśva, Ketu-māla, Jambu-dvīpa, and Uttarāḥ kuravas. In Viṣṇu-Purāṇa II. 3. nine Dvīpas are enumerated, which are sometimes joined with the above-named four, so as to make thirteen in all); a tiger's skin?; (according to some) cubebs; [cf. dvīpa-sambhava. ] —Dvīpa-karpūraka or dvīpa- karpūraja (?), as, m. camphor from China. —Dvī- pa-kumāra, ās, m. pl. (with Jainas) N. of a class of deities belonging to the Bhavana-patis. —Dvīpa- kharjūra or dvīpa-ja, am, n. a kind of fruit tree, = mahā-pārevata. —Dvīpa-chandira, N. of a place mentioned in the Tarka-bhāṣā-prakāśikā by Cinna- bhaṭṭa. —Dvīpa-vat, ān, atī, at, abounding in islands; ( ān ), m. the ocean; a river; ( tī ), f. a river; the earth. —Dvīpa-śatru, us, m. Asparagus Race- mosus ( = śatāvarī; cf. the right form dvīpi-śatru and dvīpikā ). —Dvīpa-śreṣṭha, as, am, m. n. best of islands. —Dvīpa-sambhava, as, m. the largest sort of raisin [cf. dvīpya ]; Vernonia Anthel- minthica; ( ā ), f. a kind of date. [ ID=23121 ]

### Cosmological Continents/Divisions (3 definitions)
- a division of the terrestrial world  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a division of the terrestrial world (either 7 [Jambu, Plakṣa or Go-medaka, Śālmalī, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śāka and Puṣkara, Mahābhārata (Title) vi, 604 &c. Harivaṃśa (Title); Purāṇas (Literary category) &c.] or 4 [Bhadrāśva, Ketu-māla, Jambu-dvīpa and Uttarāḥ Kuravaḥ, Mahābhārata (Title) vi, 208; Harivaṃśa (Title); Kāvya literature (Literary category) &c. cf. Dharmasaṃgraha (Title) cxx ] or 13 [the latter four + 9, viz. Indra-dvīpa, Kaśerū-mat, Tāmra-varṇa, Gabhasti-mat, Nāga-dvīpa, Saumya, Gāndharva, Varuṇa and Bhārata, which are enumerated, Viṣṇu-purāṇa (Title) ii, 3, 6; 7, as forming Bhārata-varṣa] or 18 [among which the Upa-dvīpas are said to be included, Naiṣadha-carita (Title) i, 5, Sch. ]; they are situated round the mountain Meru, and separated from each other by distinct concentric circumambient oceans; अयं द्वीपः (ayaṃ dvīpaḥ) = जम्बु - द्व् (jambu-dv) ° (°), Bhāgavata-purāṇa (Title) v, 16, 5 or = भारत - द्व् (bhārata-dv) ° (°), Viṣṇu-purāṇa (Title) ii, 3, 7 ) [ ID=99005 ]
- An island, with seven being specifically distinguished among thousands.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) [Printed book page 2-151 ] Dvīpa — Island, as the cause of the Devāsura war; thousands in number, but seven are distinguished; 1 ety. water on both sides. 2 [ Footnote: 1) Br. III. 72. 71; M. 113. 4-5; 123. 35.] [ Footnote: 2)M. 123. 35; Vā. 49. 132.] [ ID=6460 ]
- seven in number: Plaksha, Shalmali, Kusha, Kraunca, Shaka, Pushkara, and Jambu  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Dvīpas — seven in number; Plakṣa, Śālmalī, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śāka, Puṣkara and Jambu; description of. Bhā. IV. 21. 12; VIII. 19. 23; V. 20 (whole); Br. II. 19. 136. [ ID=6461 ]

### Lexicographical/Etymological/Interpretive Notes (2 definitions)
- See under that entry  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H3) [Printed book page 506,1] द्वीप (dvīpa) a &c. See s.v. [ ID=98790 ]
- An island, or a sandbank in a great river.  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) [Printed book page 1-387 ] Dvīpa, ‘island,’ is mentioned in the Rigveda 1 and later. 2 But there is no reason to imagine that the islands referred to were other than sandbanks in the great rivers, Indus or Ganges. 3 Vedic literature knows nothing of the system of geography according to which the earth consists of four, seven, or thirteen Dvīpas grouped round Mount Meru. [ Footnote: 1) i. 169, 3.] [ Footnote: 2) Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā, xiii. 2; Śata- patha Brāhmaṇa, xii. 2, 1, 3; Lāṭyā- yana Śrauta Sütra, i. 6, 10.] [ Footnote: 3) Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, 256.] [ ID=1419 ]

### Cubebs (Plant/Spice) (1 definition)
- cubebs  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > cubebs, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) ( cf. - सम्भव (-sambhava) ). [ ID=99008 ]

### Refuge / Shelter (1 definition)
- place of refuge or shelter  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > द्वीप (dvīpa) m. place of refuge, shelter, protection or protector, Mahābhārata (Title); Kāraṇḍa-vyūha (Title) [ ID=99006 ]

### Tiger's Skin (1 definition)
- a tiger skin  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a tiger's skin, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=99007 ]

## 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.

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