# संज्ञा (saṃjñā)

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

संज्ञा (saṃjñā) is a Sanskrit word meaning to agree together, be of the same opinion, or be in harmony, to obey, to assign, intend, or destine, to direct, order, or command, to acknowledge, recognize, or take possession of, to recollect sorrowfully. Its 32 recorded definitions are grouped into 9 contexts, among them Mental States and Cognition, Name, Term, or Designation, Mythological Figure (Wife of Surya).

- **Roots:** ज्ञा (jñā), कृ (kṛ)
- **SLP1:** `saMjYA`  **IAST:** saṃjñā  **Devanagari:** संज्ञा
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjna
- **Declensions:** 24 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/sanjna/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** संज्ञ (saṃjña), सञ्ज्ञा (sañjñā), सञ्ज्ञ (sañjña)

## Meanings by context

### Mental States and Cognition (9 definitions)
- conscious, having recovered consciousness  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 1133,3] 2. सं - ज्ञ (saṃ-jña) mfn. ( ifc. for सं - ज्ञ (saṃ-jña) ा (saṃ-jñā), e.g. लब्ध - संज्ञ (labdha-saṃjña), ‘one who has recovered consciousness’, MBh.; - ता (-tā) f. ‘recovery of c° ’, Veṇīs. ) [ ID=229368 ]
- clear knowledge or understanding  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > consciousness, clear knowledge or understanding or notion or conception, ŚBr. &c. &c. [ ID=229382 ]
- perception  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (with Buddhists) perception (one of the 5 Skandhas q.v. ), Dharmasaṃgraha (Title) 22; Monier-Williams’ Buddhism in its connexion with Brāhmaṇism and Hindūism: and in its contrast with Christianity (Title) 109 [ ID=229389 ]
- Consciousness  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञा (saṃjñā) 1 Consciousness; संज्ञा (saṃjñā) ं लभ् (saṃjñāṃ labh), आपद् (āpad) or प्रतिपद् (pratipad) ‘to regain or recover one's, consciousness, come to one's senses
- Knowledge or understanding  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञा (saṃjñā) 2 Knowledge, understanding
- Intellect, mind  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञा (saṃjñā) 3 Intellect, mind
- loss of consciousness  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — विपर्ययः (viparyayaḥ) loss of consciousness; Kumārasambhava (Bombay) 6. 44
- 1. Consciousness. 2. Intellect or mind. 3. Sign, token, or gesture. 4. Thought. 5. Knowledge. 6. Name, appellation, or designation. 7. A proper noun in grammar. 8. The daughter of Vishvakarman and wife of the sun. 9. The Gayatri verse.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > [Printed book page 749-08 ] संज्ञा (saṃjñā) f. 1. Consciousness, रतिखेदसमुत्पन्ना निद्रा संज्ञा (saṃjñā) विपर्ययः (ratikhedasamutpannā nidrā saṃjñāviparyayaḥ) K.S. vi.44; ( संज्ञा (saṃjñā) ं लभ् (saṃjñāṃ labh) ‘to recover consciousness’); 2. intellect, mind; 3. sign, token, gesture, संवाहकस्यापक्रमितुं संज्ञा (saṃjñā) ं ददाति (saṃvāhakasyāpakramituṃ saṃjñāṃ dadāti) Mrich. ii.; 4. thought; 5. knowledge; 6. name, appellation, designation, यदच्छाशब्दवत्पुंसः संज्ञा (saṃjñā) यै जन्म केवलम् (yadacchāśabdavatpuṃsaḥ saṃjñāyai janma kevalam) Sis. ii.47; 7. any name or noun having a meaning peculiar to itself, a proper noun (in gram.); 8. name of the daughter of Viśvakarman and wife of the sun; 9. the Gāyatrī verse. [ ID=39304 ]
- 1. Consciousness. 2. Intellect or mind. 3. Thought. 4. Knowledge. 5. A sign or gesticulation. 6. A name or appellation.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञा (saṃjñā) [Printed book page 0996-b ] संज्ञा (saṃjñā) saṃjñā, i. e. sam-jñā, f. 1. Consciousness, Vikr. 71, 20; Chr. 31, 18. 2. Intellect, mind, Daśak. in Chr. 197, 1. 3. Thought. 4. Knowledge, Bhag. 1, 7. 5. Sign, Vikr. 47, 12; gesticulation. 6. Name, appellation, Hit. iv. d. 88. — Comp. Antaḥsaṃjña, i. e. antar-, adj. possessed of internal consciousness, Man. 1, 49. Kṛta-, adj. 1. ready-minded. 2. dīstinguished by appropriate marks, Man. 7, 190. A -kṛta-, adj. irresolute, MBh. 14, 588. Gata-, adj. bereft of sense, Indr. 5, 21. Jīva-, adj. called life, Man. 12, 13. Nis-, adj. deprived of consciousness, Rām. 3, 62, 25. Vi-, adj. 1. lifeless, 2. bereft of sense. Sūrya-saṃjña, n. saffron. Soma-, n. camphor. [ ID=15392 ]

### Name, Term, or Designation (6 definitions)
- a name, appellation, title, or technical term  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a name, appellation, title, technical term ( ifc. = ‘called, named’), Nir.; Mn.; MBh. &c. [ ID=229386 ]
- a noun having a special or proper meaning  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (in gram. ) the name of anything thought of as standing by itself, any noun having a special meaning ( संज्ञायाम् (saṃjñāyām) therefore denotes ‘[used] in some peculiar sense rather than in its strictly etymological meaning’ e.g. as a proper name), Pāṇini (Author) i, 1, 34; 2, 53 &c. [ ID=229387 ]
- a technical expression in grammar  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a technical expression in grammar (see - सूत्र (-sūtra) ) [ ID=229388 ]
- A name or designation  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञा (saṃjñā) 5 A name, designation, an appellation; oft. at the end of comp. in this sense; द्वंद्वैर्विमुक्ताः (dvaṃdvairvimuktāḥ) सुखदुःखसंज्ञैः (sukhaduḥkhasaṃjñaiḥ) Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 15. 5
- A proper name or noun with a special meaning  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञा (saṃjñā) 6 (In gram. ) Any name or noun having a special meaning, a proper name
- The technical name for an affix  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञा (saṃjñā) 7 The technical name for an affix

### Mythological Figure (Wife of Surya) (3 definitions)
- The daughter of Tvashtri, wife of the Sun, and mother of Manu, Yama, and Yami.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a daughter of Tvaṣṭṛ or Viśva-karman (the wife of the Sun and mother of Manu, Yama and Yamī), Hariv.; Pur. [ ID=229392 ]
- the daughter of Vishvakarman, wife of the sun, and mother of Yama, Yami, and the Ashvins  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञा (saṃjñā) 9 N. of the daughter of Viśvakarman and wife of the sun, and mother of Yama, Yamī, and the two Aśvins. [A legend relates that संज्ञा (saṃjñā) on one occasion wished to go to her father's house and asked her husband's permission, which was not granted. Resolved to carry out her purpose, she ( pb ) created, by means of her superhuman power, a woman exactly like herselfwho was, as it were, her own shadow (and was therefore called Chāyā), -and putting her in her own place, went away without the knowledge of the sun. Chāyā bore to the sun three children (see छाया (chāyā) ), and lived quite happily with him, so that when Saṃjñā returned, he would not admit her. Thus repudiated and disappointed, she assumed the form of a mare and roamed over the earth. The sun, however, in course of time, came to know the real state of things, and discovered that his wife had assumed the form of a mare. He accordingly assumed the form of a horse, and was united with his wife, who bore to him two sonsthe Aśvinīkumāras or Aśvins q. v. ]
- Daughter of Vishvakarman, wife of Surya, and mother of Manu, Yama, and Yami.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > संज्ञा (saṃjñā) [Printed book page 3-541 ] Saṃjñā (I) — daughter of Viśvakarman (Tvaṣṭ(r)a- M. and Br. P. ); consort of Sūrya (Vivasvat- Bhā. P. ) gave birth to Manu, Yama and Yamī; unable to bear the effulgence of Page3-542+ 29 her husband, she engaged Chāyā, her servant maid, to take her place, and left for penance; to Chāyā were born Śanaiś- cara, Manu (Sāvarṇi), Tapatī; finding fault with Yama once the Sun god discovered Chāyā's identity and after a search found Samjñā doing penance as a mare in the plains of Utta- rakuru; 1 he became a horse in turn and Samjñā as a mare gave birth to three more children; the two Aśvins and Re- vanta; Viśvakarma filed off the Vaiṣṇava effulgence and out of this he crafted the discus of Viṣṇu, the trident of Śiva, the Puṣpakavimāna of Kubera the lance (Śakti) of Kārtikeya and others. 2 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. VIII. 13. 8-9: VI. 6. 40: IX. 1. 11: M. 11. 2 and 24-37; Vā 84. 21; 100. 31.] [ Footnote: 2) Br. II. 24. 90: III. 59. 22-3; IV. 1. 28: Vi. III. 2. 2-12.] [ ID=15429 ]

### Other Specific Meanings (3 definitions)
- one who has received no direction  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > direction (in अ - कृतस् (a-kṛtas) ° (°), ‘one who has received no d° (°) ’), MBh. [ ID=229384 ]
- a track or footstep  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a track, footstep, BhP. [ ID=229385 ]
- of a particular high number  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of a partic. high number, Buddh. [ ID=229391 ]

### Agreement or Harmony (2 definitions)
- agreement, mutual understanding, harmony  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 1133,3] सं - ज्ञा (saṃ-jñā) c f. ( ifc. f( आ (ā) ). ) agreement, mutual understanding, harmony, TBr.; ŚBr.; Kathās. [ ID=229381 ]
- 1. Mutual understanding, agreement, or harmony. 2. A signal or gesture. 3. Consciousness, perception, or idea. 4. A designation, name, or technical term. 5. The name of Tvashtri's daughter.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञ (saṃjña) ा (saṃjñā) [Printed book page 578 ] संज्ञ (saṃjña) ा (saṃjñā) f. mutual understanding, agreement, harmony; signal, gesticulation with the hand etc. (—°); consciousness, perception, idea; designation, name, technical term ( cf. संज्ञ (saṃjña) etc. ); N. of Tvaṣṭṛ's daughter. [ ID=34367 ]

### Name for Gāyatrī Mantra (2 definitions)
- an epithet of the Gayatri  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of the Gāyatrī ( q.v. ), L. [ ID=229390 ]
- The Gayatri Mantra  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञा (saṃjñā) 8 The Gāyatrī Mantra; see गायत्री (gāyatrī)

### Sign or Signal (2 definitions)
- a sign, token, signal, or gesture  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a sign, token, signal, gesture (with the hand, eyes &c. संज्ञाम् - (saṃjñām-) √ कृ (√kṛ) or दा (dā), ‘to give a signal’), MBh.; Kāv. &c. [ ID=229383 ]
- A hint, sign, token, or gesture  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञा (saṃjñā) 4 A hint, sign, token, gesture; मुखार्पितैकांगुलिसंज्ञयैव मा चापलायेति गणान् व्यतैषीत् (mukhārpitaikāṃgulisaṃjñayaiva mā cāpalāyeti gaṇān vyataiṣīt) Kumārasambhava (Bombay) 3. 41

### Name for a Śakti (1 definition)
- a Shakti  
  *The Purana Index*
  > [Printed book page 3-542 ] Saṃjñā (II) — a Śakti. Br. IV. 44. 87. [ ID=15430 ]

### Other (4 definitions)
- 1. To agree together, be of the same opinion, or be in harmony. 2. To obey. 3. To assign, intend, or destine. 4. To direct, order, or command. 5. To acknowledge, recognize, or take possession of. 6. To recollect sorrowfully. 7. To know well or understand. 8. To watch for.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 1133,2] सं - (saṃ-) √ ज्ञा (√jñā) a P. Ā. - जानाति (-jānāti), - जानीते (-jānīte), ( Ā. ) to agree together, be of the same opinion, be in harmony with ( loc.; accord. to Pāṇini (Author) ii, 3, 22, also instr. or acc. ), RV.; AV.; VS.; ŚBr.; ( Ā. ) to obey ( dat. ), AitBr.; ( Ā. ) to appoint, assign, intend (for any purpose), destine, ib.; (only ind.p. - ज्ञाय (-jñāya) ) to direct, order, command, Hariv.; to acknowledge, recognize, own, Pāṇini (Author) i, 3, 46, Sch.; ( P. ) to acknowledge or claim as one's own, take possession of SaddhP.; ( P. ) to think of, recollect sorrowfully (with acc. or gen. ), Pāṇini (Author); Vop.; Ā. to know well, understand, R.; to watch for, Bhaṭṭ. : Caus. - ज्ञापयति (-jñāpayati) or - ज्ञपयति (-jñapayati), ° ते (°te), to cause to be of the same opinion or agree together, AV.; AitBr.; to cause to acquiesce or agree in (euphemistically said of a sacrificial victim, which ought not to be led forcibly to its death but made to resign itself), ŚBr.; GṛŚrS.; MBh.; BhP.; to appease, satisfy, MBh.; Kālid.; to make to be understood or known, cause to understand, ŚBr.; to make signs to ( acc. ), communicate or make anything known by signs, Mṛcch.; Hcar.; to command, enjoin, instruct, Hariv. [ ID=229367 ]
- see below  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2B) [Printed book page 1133,3] सं - ज्ञा (saṃ-jñā) b ( आ (ā) ), f., see below [ ID=229369 ]
- yellow fragrant wood or yellow sandalwood  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > सं - ज्ञ (saṃ-jña) n. a yellow fragrant wood, yellow sanders, L. [ ID=229370 ]
- Knock-kneed  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > संज्ञ (saṃjña) ा (saṃjñā) [Printed book page 749-07 ] संज्ञ (saṃjña) (I) a. (f. ज्ञा (jñā) ) Knock-kneed. [ ID=39302.1 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); The Purana Index; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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