मायाmāyā

माया (māyā) is a Sanskrit word meaning measuring, creating illusions, art, wisdom, or extraordinary power, illusion, unreality, deception, or fraud, sorcery or witchcraft, an illusory image, phantom, or apparition. Its 48 recorded definitions are grouped into 13 contexts, among them Proper Nouns (Persons, Places, Named Entities), Divine Power/Personification/Mythological Figure, Art, Wisdom, Supernatural Power (Vedic/Primary Sense).

Roots: 3. मा (3. mā), 1. मा (1. mā)
Definitions: 48

View Declension Tables , 24 forms

Meanings by context

Proper Nouns (Persons, Places, Named Entities)

11 definitions

the mother of Gautama Buddha

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

of Lakshmi

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

of a city

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

of two meters

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

the name of two Samans

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

the mother of Buddha

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

the city of Gaya

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Lakshmi

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

the mother of Buddha

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

not available

— Index to the Names in the Mahabharata

1. One of the seven great cities. 2. Sacred to Kumari and the ancestors.

— The Purana Index

Divine Power/Personification/Mythological Figure

7 definitions

creating illusions

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

one of the nine Shaktis or energies of Vishnu according to Vaishnavas

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

personified illusion

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

a daughter of Adharma

— The Purana Index

1. Yogamaya. 2. A mind-born mother. 3. A shakti.

— The Purana Index

1. A daughter of Maya. 2. The wife of Bhayam and mother of Mrityu. 3. The helpmate of Varahavishnu.

— The Purana Index

1. Atimohini 2. Trigunatmaka

— The Purana Index

Art, Wisdom, Supernatural Power (Vedic/Primary Sense)

5 definitions

art, wisdom, or extraordinary power

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Extraordinary power or wisdom

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. Marvellous power. 2. Artifice, trick, or deceit. 3. Witchcraft or jugglery. 4. An illusory image or phantom. 5. Cosmic illusion. 6. An epithet of Durga.

— Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary

art, supernatural power, trick, deceit, sorcery, illusion, or phantom

— Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A wonderful power or wile. 2. A trick or illusion.

— Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary

Miscellaneous Specific Meanings (Flora, Fauna, Substance, Quality)

4 definitions

Convolvulus Turpethum

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Wickedness

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

the essence milked by the Asuras from the cow-earth

— The Purana Index

represents the lips of the Vedas and makes varied qualities and forms

— The Purana Index

Philosophical/Cosmic Illusion

4 definitions

1. Duplicity, as one of the minor evil passions in Buddhism. 2. Illusion, regarded in philosophy as the source of the visible universe.

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

The cosmic illusion by which the unreal universe appears as truly existent and separate from the Supreme Spirit.

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

the Pradhana or Prakriti

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. Created by the Lord to form the world. 2. A source of bondage.

— The Purana Index

Grammar/Reference/Distinct Term

3 definitions

measuring

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

See below.

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

See under māya.

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)

Illusion, Deception, Unreality (General)

3 definitions

1. Illusion, unreality, deception, or fraud. 2. Sorcery or witchcraft.

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Deceit, fraud, trickery, or artifice

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. Trick, illusion, or deceit. 2. An illusory image or phantom. 3. Political diplomacy. 4. Wickedness. 5. The Pradhana in Sankhya philosophy. 6. The Vedantic illusion separating the supreme spirit and the universe. 7. Pity or compassion. 8. The name of the mother of Buddha.

— Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Compassion, Pity

2 definitions

compassion

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Pity, compassion

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Deceptive/Magical Qualities, Persons, Actions

2 definitions

acting deceitfully

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

skilled in deception or magical arts

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Illusory Image, Phantom

2 definitions

an illusory image, phantom, or apparition

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

An illusion, phantom, or unreal image.

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Political Artifice, Statecraft

2 definitions

A political trick or artifice

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

one of the kingly expedients

— The Purana Index

Specific Sectarian Doctrines/Concepts

2 definitions

one of the four snares that entangle the soul

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

One of the four snares that entangle the soul according to Shaivism

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Magic, Sorcery, Enchantment (Practice)

1 definition

Jugglery, witchcraft, enchantment, or magic illusion

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

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Definitions on this page come from 9 works: Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Index to the Names in the Mahabharata, Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary, Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872), Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), The Purana Index, Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon.