# मैत्रेय (maitreya)

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

मैत्रेय (maitreya) is a Sanskrit word meaning friendly, benevolent, a patronymic of Kausharava, descended from Mitrā, of various other men, a name of a Bodhisattva and future Buddha, of the Vidushaka in the Mricchakatika. Its 27 recorded definitions are grouped into 8 contexts, among them Adjective: Friendly/Benevolent, Designation: Patronymic/Metronymic, Designation: A Mixed Caste/Tribe.

- **Etymology:** E. मित्र a proper name, or मित्र a friend, and ढक् aff. of descent or relation — E. mitra a proper name, or mitra a friend, and ḍhak aff. of descent or relation
- **SLP1:** `mEtreya`  **IAST:** maitreya  **Devanagari:** मैत्रेय
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitreya
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/maitreya/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### Adjective: Friendly/Benevolent (10 definitions)
- friendly, benevolent  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 834,2] मैत्रेय (maitreya) mfn. ( fr. मैत्रि (maitri) ) friendly, benevolent, Mahābhārata (Title) [ ID=168219 ]
- Friendly, relating to a friend  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 0879-c ] मैत्रेय (maitreya) a. ( यी (yī) f. ) Relating to a friend, friendly
- 1. Benevolent. 2. A mixed caste. 3. A jester.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 236-1 ] मैत्रेय (maitreya) maitr-eya, a. benevolent; m. pat. or met. of various men; a. mixed caste; N. of a jester; -ka, m. a mixed caste. [ ID=14515 ]
- 1. Relating to a friend. 2. A man of a mixed caste whose duty is to announce the hours in verse. 3. The seventh Buddha. 4. A saint and disciple of Parashara to whom the Vishnu Purana is narrated.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 675 ] मैत्रेय (maitreya) mfn. ( - यः (-yaḥ)- यी - यं (-yaḥ-yī-yaṃ) ) Of or relating to a friend. m. ( - यः (-yaḥ) ) 1 A man of a mixed caste, the son of a Vaideha by an Ayogava mother: his business is to announce the hours in verse. 2 The seventh Buddha, or one still to come. 3 The name of a saint or Muni, the disciple of PARĀŚARA, to whom the Viṣṇu Purāṇa is narrated. E. मित्र (mitra) a proper name, or मित्र (mitra) a friend, and ढक् (ḍhak) aff. of descent or relation. [ ID=31014 ]
- 1. Friendly. 2. A sage. 3. A man of mixed caste.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 605-a ] मैत्रेय (maitreya) ( यः - यी - यं ) ((yaḥ-yī-yaṃ)) a. Of a friend. m. A sage; a man of mixed caste. [ ID=30567 ]
- Friendly  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 586-12 ] मैत्रेय (maitreya) (I) a. (f. यी (yī) ) Relating to a friend, friendly. [ ID=30938 ]
- 1. Relating to a friend. 2. A man of a mixed caste whose business is to announce the hours in verse. 3. The seventh Buddha. 4. A saint and disciple of Parashara to whom the Vishnu Purana is narrated.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 579-a ] मैत्रेय (maitreya) mfn. ( - यः (-yaḥ)- यी - यं (-yaḥ-yī-yaṃ) ) Of or relating to a friend. m. ( - यः (-yaḥ) ) 1. A man of a mixed caste, the son of a Vaideha by an Ayogava mother: his business is to announce the hours in verse. 2. The seventh Buddha, or one still to come. 3. The name of a saint or Muni, the disciple of PARĀSARA, to whom the Vishṇu Purāna is narrated. E. मित्र (mitra) a proper name, or मित्र (mitra) a friend, and ढक् (ḍhak) aff. of descent or relation. [ ID=32189 ]
- 1. Relating to a friend. 2. The son of a Vaideha and an Ayogava woman. 3. A proper name.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 0726-a ] मैत्रेय (maitreya) maitreya, i. e. mitra + eya ( cf. mittra ). I. adj. Relating to a friend. II. m. 1. The son of a Vaideha by an Ayogava female. 2. A proper name. [ ID=11578 ]
- Benevolent, kind  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 421 ] मैत्रेय (maitreya) a. benevolent, kind; m. & f. ई (ī) patron. of sev. men & women, m. also = seq. [ ID=25393 ]
- 1. Friendly, relating to a friend, or benevolent. 2. A name of a Bodhisattva and future Buddha. 3. A character in the play Mricchakatika. 4. A grammarian. 5. A particular mixed caste.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 0796-c ] Maitreya, as, ī, am (fr. maitrī ), friendly, re- lating to a friend, benevolent; ( as ), m. (fr. mi- trayu ), a patronymic of Kauṣārava; of Glāva, (according to a Scholiast a metronymic fr. mitrā ); N. of a Bodhi-sattva and future Buddha; of the Vidūṣaka in the Mṛc-chakaṭikā; of a grammarian ( = maitreya-rakṣita ); a particular mixed caste, Page0797-a+ 74 = maitreyaka; (ī), f., N. of an Upaniṣad (pro- bably as composed by Maitri); of the wife of Yājña- valkya; of certain other women. —Maitreya-rak- ṣita, as, m., N. of a grammarian. —Maitreya- vana, am, n., N. of a forest. —Maitreya-sūtra, am, n., N. of a Sūtra work. [ ID=38026 ]

### Designation: Patronymic/Metronymic (4 definitions)
- a patronymic of Kausharava  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) m. ( fr. मित्रयु (mitrayu), Pāṇini (Author) vi, 4, 174 ) patr. of Kauṣārava, Aitareya-brāhmaṇa (Title) [ ID=168220 ]
- descended from Mitrā  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of Glāva, Chāndogya-upaniṣad (Title) ( accord. to Sch. metron. fr. मित्रा (mitrā) ) [ ID=168221 ]
- of various other men  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of various other men, Mahābhārata (Title); Purāṇas (Literary category) [ ID=168222 ]
- A patronymic of Kausharava and an epithet applied to Glava.  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 2-180 ] Maitreya is the patronymic or metronymic 1 of Kauṣārava in the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa. 2 It is also applied to Glāva in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad. 3 [ Footnote: 1) Patronymic from Mitrayu, accord- ing to Pāṇini, vi. 4, 174; vii. 3, 2; metronymic from Mitrā, according to the commentator on Chāndogya Upani- ṣad, i. 12, 1.] [ Footnote: 2) viii. 28, 18.] [ Footnote: 3) i. 12, 1; Gopatha Brāhmaṇa, i. 1, 31 et seq.; Bloomfield, Atharvaveda, 110.] [ ID=2538 ]

### Designation: A Mixed Caste/Tribe (3 definitions)
- belonging to a particular mixed caste  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of a partic. mixed caste (= मैत्रेयक (maitreyaka) ), Manvarthamuktāvalī, KullūkaBhaṭṭa’s commentary on Manu-smṛti (Title) on Manu-smṛti (Title) x, 33 [ ID=168226 ]
- The name of a mixed tribe.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — यः (yaḥ) N. of a mixed tribe. [ ID=23512 ]
- Name of a mixed caste  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) (II) m. Name of a mixed caste. [ ID=30939 ]

### Proper Name: A Sage/Ṛṣi (3 definitions)
- one or more sages  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 459-2 ] Maitreya 1, one or more ṛṣis. § 264 (Sabhākriyāp.): II, Page460-a+ 63 4 α, 105 (waited upon Yudhiṣṭhira).—§ 315 (Maitreyaśāpa): III, 10, 349 ( ṛṣiḥ ), 352, (356), 363, (364), 373, 376, 378, (381), 382, (383), 384 (cursed Duryodhana, who had slighted him, to have his thigh smashed by Bhīmasena).—§ 615 (Gadāyuddhap.): IX, 60, 3357 ( °eṇābhiśaptaś ca pūrvam eva maharṣiṇā, all. to § 315).—§ 637 (Rājadh.): XII, 47 η, 1593 (among the ṛṣis who surrounded Bhīṣma).—§ 763 b (Maitreyabhikṣā): XIII, 120, 5794 ( °sya ca saṃvādaṃ Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyanasya ca ), 5795, 5796, 5798; 121, 5821, (5822), 5823, (5824); 122, 5838, 5853, 5856, 5857 (discourse with Vyāsa). [ ID=6964 ]
- 1. A son of Mitra and a siddha. 2. A preceptor to Vidura who taught him about the supreme soul and Hari.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > मैत्रेय (maitreya) [Printed book page 2-739 ] Maitreya (I) — (also Kauṣārava); a son of Mitrā; a siddha; himself a Purāṇa of information; 1 went with Kṛṣṇa to Mithilā; met Kṛṣṇa on the eve of his departure to Heaven, and was ordered to be the preceptor to Vidura; the latter met him on the Ganges and after describing the creation of the world, answered Vidura's questions. 2 Taught him Ātma Page2-740+ 28 vidyā and told him that the goal was Hari; 3 was invited for the Rājasūya of Yudhiṣṭhira. 4 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. III. 4. 36; VI. 15. [14]; III. 7. 42.] [ Footnote: 2) Ib. X. 86. 18; III. 4. 9 and 26; 5. 1 and 22-36; 8. 1ff.] [ Footnote: 3) Ib. I. 13. 1; 19. 10; II. 10. 49.] [ Footnote: 4) Ib. X. 74. 7; XII. 12. 8.] [ ID=11073 ]
- a pupil of Parashara  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Maitreya (III) — a pupil of Parāśara; enquired of him as to the origin of the world. Vi. I. 1. 10. [ ID=11075 ]

### Proper Name: Other Associations (3 definitions)
- Surya  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > [Printed book page 460-1 ] Maitreya 2 = Sūrya: III, 157. [ ID=6965 ]
- a name of Maitrayanavara  
  *The Purana Index*
  > [Printed book page 2-740 ] Maitreya (II) — a name of Maitrāyaṇavara. M. 50. 13. [ ID=11074 ]
- Arseyapravaras  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Maitreyas — Ārṣeyapravaras; (Bhārgavas). M. 195. 40. [ ID=11076 ]

### Proper Name: Jester or Grammarian (2 definitions)
- of the Vidushaka in the Mricchakatika  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of the Vidūṣaka in the Mṛc-chakaṭikā [ ID=168224 ]
- of a grammarian  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of a grammarian (= - रक्षित (-rakṣita) ), Catalogue(s) [Cologne Addition] (Title) [ ID=168225 ]

### Grammatical Note: Feminine Form (1 definition)
- See below.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2B) [Printed book page 834,2] मैत्रेयी (maitreyī) a f. See below. [ ID=168227 ]

### Proper Name: The Future Buddha (1 definition)
- a name of a Bodhisattva and future Buddha  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a Bodhi-sattva and future Buddha (the 5th of the present age), Lalita-vistara (Title) ( Monier-Williams’ Buddhism in its connexion with Brāhmaṇism and Hindūism: and in its contrast with Christianity (Title) 181 &c.) [ ID=168223 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; 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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