# मनीषा (manīṣā)

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

मनीषा (manīṣā) is a Sanskrit word meaning thought, reflection, wisdom, intelligence, or idea, prayer or hymn, desire, wish, request, thought, understanding, intellect, wisdom, or conception, prayer, request, desire, or wish, a hymn or praise. Its 17 recorded definitions are grouped into 7 contexts, among them Intellect, Understanding, Thought, Intellect, Desire, and Hymn/Prayer, Desire or Wish.

- **Root:** मन् (man)
- **SLP1:** `manIzA`  **IAST:** manīṣā  **Devanagari:** मनीषा
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manisha
- **Declensions:** 24 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/manisha/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### Intellect, Understanding, Thought (5 definitions)
- Thought, reflection, wisdom, intelligence, or idea.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 784,2] मनीषा (manīṣā) a f. thought, reflection, consideration, wisdom, intelligence, conception, idea ( परो मनीषया (paro manīṣayā), beyond all conception), RV. &c. &c. [ ID=156855 ]
- Intelligence or understanding  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 0842-a ] 2 Intelligence, understanding; प्रविभज्य पृथङ् मनीषया (pravibhajya pṛthaṅ manīṣayā) स्वगुणं यत्किल तत्करिष्यसि (svaguṇaṃ yatkila tatkariṣyasi) Śiśupālavadha 16. 42. [ ID=22648 ]
- A thought or idea.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 0842-a ] 3 A thought, idea. [ ID=22648 ]
- Intellect, understanding  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 641 ] मनीषा (manīṣā) f. ( - षा (-ṣā) ) Intellect, understanding. E. मनस् (manas) mind, ईष (īṣa) to go, aff. क (ka), or ईष (īṣa) aff., form irr. [ ID=29471 ]
- Intellect  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 574-b ] मनीषा (manīṣā) ( षा ) ((ṣā)) 1. f. Intellect. [ ID=28986 ]

### Intellect, Desire, and Hymn/Prayer (3 definitions)
- reflection, conception, understanding, wise utterance, hymn, prayer, and desire  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 217-1 ] मनीषा (manīṣā) man-īṣ-ā́, f. ( V. ) reflexion; conception; understanding; wise utterance, hymn; prayer, desire: i-kā, f. understanding, wisdom; expectation; -i-ta, den. pp. wished; wished for, desired, dear; n. wish, desire: -varṣin, a. showering desired objects; -i-tā, f. wisdom; -in, a. thoughtful, wise; praying, devout ( V. ). [ ID=13688 ]
- 1. Thought, reflection, understanding, or wisdom. 2. Notion or idea. 3. Prayer or hymn. 4. Wish or desire.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 395 ] मनीषा (manīṣā) f. thought, reflection, understanding, wisdom; notion, idea; prayer, hymn; wish, desire. [ ID=23805 ]
- 1. Thought, understanding, intellect, wisdom, or conception. 2. Prayer, request, desire, or wish. 3. A hymn or praise.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 0742-c ] Manīṣā, f. thought, reflection, understanding, intellect, wisdom, sagacity, intelligence, conception, idea, ( ku-manīṣa, as, ā, am, having a weak understanding, stupid; paro manīṣayā, beyond all conception, Ṛg-veda V. 17, 2; but according to Page0743-a+ 81 Sāy., supreme in understanding); prayer, request, desire, wish; hymn, praise (Ved., Sāy. = stuti ). [ ID=36356 ]

### Desire or Wish (2 definitions)
- desire, wish, request  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > desire, wish, request, ib. [ ID=156857 ]
- Desire or wish  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 0842-a ] 1 Desire, wish; यो दुर्जनं वशयितुं तनुते (yo durjanaṃ vaśayituṃ tanute) मनीषा (manīṣā) ं (manīṣāṃ) Bhāminīvilāsa (Bombay) 1. 95. [ ID=22648 ]

### Hymn, Prayer, or Praise (2 definitions)
- prayer or hymn  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > prayer, hymn, RV. [ ID=156856 ]
- Hymn, praise  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 0842-a ] 4 Ved. Hymn, praise. [ ID=22648 ]

### Intellect and Desire (2 definitions)
- 1. Desire or wish. 2. Intelligence, intellect, or understanding.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 552-07 ] मनीषा (manīṣā) f. 1. Desire, wish; 2. intelligence, intellect, understanding. [ ID=28926 ]
- 1. Intellect, understanding. 2. Desire, wish.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 549-b ] मनीषा (manīṣā) f. ( - षा (-ṣā) ) 1. Intellect, understanding. 2. Desire, wish. E. मनस् (manas) the mind, ईष (īṣa) ् (īṣ) to go, aff. क, (ka,) or ईष (īṣa) aff., form irr. [ ID=30476 ]

### Intellect and Hymn/Prayer (2 definitions)
- 1. Intellect. 2. Hymn.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 0684-b ] मनीषा (manīṣā) man + īṣā, f. 1. Intellect. 2. Hymn, Chr. 298, 24 = Rigv. i. 112, 24. — Comp. Ku-maniṣa, adj. stupid, Bhāg. P. 1, 3, 37. [ ID=10931 ]
- 1. Thought and understanding. 2. An expression of thought and wisdom in prayer or hymn.  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > मनीषा (manīṣā) [Printed book page 212-a ] manīṣā́, f. —1. thought; understanding; instr. manīṣā́, adv. wisely; —2. expression of thought and wisdom in saw, prayer, and hymn ( cf. dhī́ 2 ). [ √man, 1197b.] [ ID=3114 ]

### Referential Entry (1 definition)
- See page 784  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 787,1] मनीषा (manīṣā) b &c. See p. 784, col. 2. [ ID=157534 ]

## 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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