# सन्धि (sandhi)

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

सन्धि (sandhi) is a Sanskrit word meaning placing together, connection, union, or combination, a compact, agreement, alliance, or peace treaty, the euphonic combination of letters in grammar, an anatomical joint or articulation, a critical juncture or opportune moment, a breach, hole, or opening made in a wall by a housebreaker.

- **Etymology:** E. सम् together, घा to have or hold, aff. कि of either the act, condition or instrument; whence the word becomes applicable to a chasm, &c. as to an interval, which whilst it divides, also connects, two parts or places — E. sam together, ghā to have or hold, aff. ki of either the act, condition or instrument; whence the word becomes applicable to a chasm, &c. as to an interval, which whilst it divides, also connects, two parts or places
- **SLP1:** `sanDi`  **IAST:** sandhi  **Devanagari:** सन्धि
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhi
- **Declensions:** 72 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/sandhi/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** संधि (saṃdhi)

## Meanings by context

### Comprehensive and Multifaceted Meanings (4 definitions)
- 1. Union, junction, or combination. 2. Peace or making peace. 3. A hole or chasm. 4. A breach or mine made in a wall to enter a building. 5. Breaking or dividing. 6. The vulva. 7. A division or transition of a drama. 8. An interval or pause. 9. A bodily joint. 10. The union of letters or sounds. 11. The transitional period between ages or yugas. 12. The connecting link of a perpendicular in mensuration.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सन्धि (sandhi) [Printed book page 889 ] सन्धि (sandhi) m. ( - न्धिः (-ndhiḥ) ) 1 Union, junction, connexion, combination. 2 Peace, making peace, pacification. 3 A hole, a chasm. Page890 4 A hole made in a wall or underneath it to enter a building for hostile or felonious purposes, a breach, a mine, &c. 5 Breaking, dividing. 6 The vulva. 7 A division of a drama, apparently applicable to each subject represented or sentiment excited, as considered severally and detached from the rest, though contributing to the connexion of the whole; contrast of incident, change of situation, transition of passion or emotion, &c. 8 An interval, a pause or rest. 9 A joint, an articulation of the body. 10 The union of letters, either at the end and beginning of different words, or in the middle of compound terms, to avoid dissonance or hiatus. 11 A period at the expiration of each Yuga or age, or one-sixth of its duration, intervening before the commencement of the next; a Sandhi, also, of the same length as the Satya Yug, occurs at the end of each Manvantara, and each Kalpa. 12 (Inmensuration,) The connecting link of a perpendicular. E. सम् (sam) together, घा (ghā) to have or hold, aff. कि (ki) of either the act, condition or instrument; whence the word becomes applicable to a chasm, &c. as to an interval, which whilst it divides, also connects, two parts or places. [ ID=40328 ]
- 1. Union or junction 2. Peace 3. A joint 4. A division 5. A hole 6. A pause 7. Vulva  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सन्धि (sandhi) [Printed book page 810-b ] सन्धि (sandhi) ( न्धिः ) ((ndhiḥ)) 2. m. Union, junction; peace; a joint; a division; a hole; pause; vulva. [ ID=40029 ]
- 1. Union, junction, connection, or combination. 2. Peace or pacification. 3. A hole or chasm. 4. A breach or mine made in a wall to enter a building for felonious purposes. 5. Breaking or dividing. 6. The vulva. 7. A division or transition in a drama. 8. An interval, pause, or rest. 9. A joint or articulation of the body. 10. The euphonic combination of letters. 11. An interval period between ages, cosmic cycles, or epochs. 12. A critical juncture or opportune moment. 13. The connecting link of a perpendicular in mensuration.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सन्धि (sandhi) [Printed book page 757-b ] सन्धि (sandhi) m. ( - न्धिः (-ndhiḥ) ) 1. Union, junction, connection, combination. 2. Peace, making peace, pacification. 3. A hole, a chasm. 4. A hole made in a wall or underneath it to enter a building for hostile or felonious purposes, a breach, a mine, &c. 5. Breaking, dividing. 6. The vulva. 7. A division of a drama, apparently applicable to each subject represented or sentiment excited, as considered severally and detached from the rest, though contributing to the connection of the whole; contrast of incident, change of situation, transition of passion or emotion, &c. 8. An interval, a pause or rest. 9. A joint, an articulation of the body. 10. The union of letters, either at the end and beginning of different words, or in the middle of compound terms, to avoid dissonance or hiatus. 11. A period at the expiration of each Yuga or age, or one-sixth of its duration, intervening before the commencement of the next; a Sandhi, also, of the same length as the Satya-Yuga, occurs at the end of each Manwantara and each Kalpa. 12. Critical juncture, opportune moment. 13. (In mensuration,) The connecting link of a perpendicular. E. सम (sama) together, धा (dhā) to have or hold, aff. कि (ki) of either the act, condition or instrument; whence the word becomes applicable to a chasm, &c., as to an interval, which whilst it divides, also connects, two parts or places. [ ID=42328 ]
- 1. Placing together, connection, union, or combination. 2. A compact, agreement, alliance, or peace treaty. 3. The euphonic combination of letters in grammar. 4. An anatomical joint or articulation. 5. A critical juncture or opportune moment. 6. A breach, hole, or opening made in a wall by a housebreaker. 7. A division or transition point in a drama. 8. An interval, pause, or rest. 9. A transitional period at the expiration of a Yuga or age.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > सन्धि (sandhi) [Printed book page 1060-b ] San-dhi, is, m. placing or holding together, con- junction, junction, connection, combination, union, contact; composition, construction, structure; distil- lation; compact, agreement, alliance, league, reconcili- ation, peace, making a treaty of peace, negotiating alli- ances, (one of the six Guṇas or courses of action recommended to kings, see guṇa; many kinds of treaty are enumerated, e. g. adṛṣṭa-puruṣaḥ sandhiḥ, an alliance concluded without the inter- vention of an agent; ucchinnaḥ sandhiḥ, a treaty purchased by the cession of fertile territories; kāñ- canaḥ sandhiḥ, ‘golden alliance,’ an alliance which lasts throughout the lifetime of the parties, each of whom pursues the same object, see also kapāla-s°, santāna-s° ); euphonic junction of final and initial letters in grammar, (every sentence in Sanskrit being regarded as a euphonic chain, the links being syl- lables rather than words, and a break in the chain denoting the end of a sentence, commonly called ‘a Virāma or stop;’ this Sandhi or euphonic coa- lition is applied both to the final and initial letters of separate Padas or finished words in a sentence and to the final letters of Dhātus or roots, and Prāti- padikas or nominal bases when combined with ter- minations and affixes to form such words); a con- necting link (as of a perpendicular in mensuration); a joint, articulation (of the body &c.); juncture, critical juncture, opportune moment; division, sepa- Page1060-c+ 81 ration; breaking, dividing; a breach, chasm, mine, hole, opening or cavity made in a wall or underneath a building by a housebreaker or enemy &c. the vagina or vulva (in anatomy); a division in a drama (e. g. critical junctures, changes of situa- tion &c. considered as breaks though contributing to the connection of the whole); a fold; an interval, pause, rest; a period at the expiration of each Yuga or age (equivalent to one sixth of its duration and intervening before the commencement of the next; occurring also at the end of each Manv-antara and Kalpa). —Sandhi-kuśala, as, ā, am, skilled in the art of making treaties or forming alliances. —San- dhi-granthi, is, m. ‘joint-knot,’ a synovial gland connecting and lubricating a joint. —Sandhi-caura, as, m. ‘hole-thief,’ one who enters a house by undermining it, a housebreaker. —Sandhi-ja, as, ā, am, produced by Sandhi; ( am ), n. spirituous liquor. —Sandhi-jīvaka, as, m. one who lives by dishonest means (especially by making matches or as a go-between). —Sandhi-tas, ind. from an alli- ance. —Sandhi-dūṣaṇa, am, n. the violation of a treaty or alliance. —Sandhi-pūjā, f., N. of the third period in the great autumnal Durgā-pūjā. —Sandhi-prabandhana, am, n. (in anatomy) the ligament of a joint. —Sandhi-bandha, as, m. the plant Kæmpferia Rotunda. —Sandhi-bandhana, am, n. ‘joint-binding,’ a ligament, tendon, nerve. —Sandhi-bhaṅga, as, m. joint-fracture, dislocation of a joint. —Sandhi-mati, is, m., N. of the minister of Jayendra, king of Kaśmīra. —Sandhi-mukta, as, ā, am, ‘joint-loosened,’ dislocated. —Sandhi-mukti, is, f. ‘joint-loosening,’ dislocation of a joint. —San- dhi-randhrakā, f. a hole or breach in a wall. —Sandhi-vigraha, au, m. du. peace and war. —Sandhi-vigrahaka, as, m. one who has the charge of peace and war, a chief minister. —Sandhi- vigrahādhikāra (°ha-adh°), as, m. superintend- ence of peace and war, war-ministry. —Sandhi- vigrahādhikārin, ī, m. superintendent of peace and war, a chief political minister. —Sandhi-vicakṣaṇa, as, m. one skilled in peace-making, an able nego- tiator of treaties. —Sandhi-vid, t, t, t, skilled in alliances; ( t ), m. a negotiator of treaties, a minister. —Sandhi-velā, f. ‘a connecting period, time of junction,’ any period or time which connects parts of the day or night or fortnight (e. g. morning, noon, evening, new moon, the first or thirteenth day of the fortnight, full moon, &c.). —Sandhi-sitāsita- roga (°ta-as°), as, m. a kind of disease. —Sandhi- stotra, am, n., N. of a particular hymn. —Sandhi- hāraka, as, m. a housebreaker, (see sandhi- caura. ) —Sandhy-akṣara, am, n. a compound vowel, diphthong, N. of the diphthongs e, ai, o, au; [cf. samānākṣara. ] —Sandhy-adhyāya, as, m. an Adhyāya or chapter on Sandhi. [ ID=49243 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

The Sanskrit Lexicon app for iPhone, iPad and Mac: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sanskrit-lexicon-dictionary/id6746787546