# शाखा (śākhā)

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

शाखा (śākhā) is a Sanskrit word meaning an epithet of Skanda or his son, pongamia glabra, name of a place, a branch, a limb of the body, arm or leg, a finger. Its 31 recorded definitions are grouped into 7 contexts, among them Branch of a Tree or Plant, Body Limb, Extremity, or Animal Part, Component of Structure, Text, or Locality.

- **SLP1:** `SAKA`  **IAST:** śākhā  **Devanagari:** शाखा
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakha
- **Declensions:** 24 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/shakha/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** शाख (śākha)

## Meanings by context

### Branch of a Tree or Plant (10 definitions)
- See next.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2B) [Printed book page 1062,3] शाखा (śākhā) a ( आ (ā) ), f. See next. [ ID=214949 ]
- a branch  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 1062,3] शाखा (śākhā) b f. ( ifc. f( आ (ā) or ई (ī) ). ) a branch ( lit. and fig. ), Ṛg-veda (Title) &c. &c. [ ID=214950 ]
- A branch of a tree  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 1039-a ] शाखा (śākhā) 1 A branch (as of a tree); आवज्र्य शाखा (śākhā) ः (āvajrya śākhāḥ) Raghuvaṃśa (Bombay) 16. 19
- see under nyaya  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — चंद्रन्याय (nyāya) ः (caṃdranyāyaḥ) see under न्याय (nyāya)
- 1. A branch. 2. A limb, arm, or extremity. 3. A finger. 4. A species or subdivision. 5. A branch of the Veda or Vedic school.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 311-1 ] शाखा (śākhā) śā́khā, f. ( —° a. ā, ī ) branch ( V., C. ); extremity, limb, arm ( C., rare ); finger ( V., very rare ); species, subdivision ( C., rare ); branch of the Veda, Vedic school ( C. ). [ ID=17710 ]
- 1. A tree branch. 2. An arm. 3. A party or faction. 4. A traditional recension or school of a Veda. 5. A section of a work.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 713-28 ] शाखा (śākhā) f. 1. A branch, especially of a tree, Megh. i.41, Rt. i.26; 2. an arm; 3. a party, a faction; 4. a school or traditional recension of any Veda, e.g. शाकलशाखा (śākhā) (śākalaśākhā), बाष्कलशाखा (śākhā) (bāṣkalaśākhā) &c. M. iii.145; 5. a part or section of a work. [ ID=37419 ]
- 1. The branch of a tree. 2. An arm. 3. A part of an animal devoid of sensibility, such as a horn. 4. A division or sect. 5. A subdivision of the Vedas. 6. A part.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 0940-a ] शाखा (śākhā) śākhā, f. 1. The branch of a tree, Pañc. 148, 5. 2. An arm. 3. Any part of an animal devoid of sensi- bility, as a horn. 4. A division, a sect. 5. A subdivision of the Vedas, accord- ing to the different schools and redac- tions of the holy writings, Windisch- mann, Sankara, 112. 6. A part, Mālav. d. 29. — Comp. Tri-śākha, adj., f. khī, consisting of three wrinkles (viz. a frown), MBh. 8, 4336. Skandha-, f. the principal branch of a tree. [ ID=14574 ]
- 1. A tree branch or a limb, arm, leg, or finger. 2. A subdivision, species, or Vedic school.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 542 ] शाखा (śākhā) f. ( adj. —° f. आ (ā) & ई (ī) ) branch ( lit. & fig. ); limb, arm, leg, finger; ramification, subdivision, species, sort, branch of a Veda, i.e. Vedic school. [ ID=32172 ]
- branch  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 257-b ] śā́khā, f. branch. [ ID=4162 ]
- a branch of a tree  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 2-369 ] Śākhā in the Rigveda 1 and later 2 denotes the ‘branch’ of a tree. Vayā is more often used in this sense in the Rigveda. [ Footnote: 1) i. 8, 8; vii. 43, 1; x. 94, 3.] [ Footnote: 2) Av. iii. 6, 8; x. 7, 21; xi. 2, 19, etc.] [ ID=3225 ]

### Body Limb, Extremity, or Animal Part (4 definitions)
- a limb of the body, arm or leg  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a limb of the body, arm or leg, Suśruta (Title) [ ID=214951 ]
- a finger  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a finger, Naighaṇṭuka, commented on by Yāska (subtitle) ii, 5 [ ID=214952 ]
- an arm  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 1039-a ] शाखा (śākhā) 2 An arm
- A part or division of an animal  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 1039-a ] शाखा (śākhā) 6 A part or division of an animal

### Component of Structure, Text, or Locality (4 definitions)
- a door-post  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a door-post, Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā (Title) ( cf. द्वार - श् (dvāra-ś) ° (°) ) [ ID=214954 ]
- the wing of a building  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the wing of a building, Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa (Title) [ ID=214955 ]
- the third part of an astrological Samhita  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the third part of an astrological Saṃhitā (also ° खा - स्कन्ध (°khā-skandha), m. ), Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā (Title) [ ID=214957 ]
- A subdivision of a work  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 1039-a ] शाखा (śākhā) 4 A part of subdivision of a work

### General Division, Part, or Faction (4 definitions)
- the surface of the body  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the surface of the body, Carakasaṃhitā (Title) [ ID=214953 ]
- A division or subdivision.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a division, subdivision, Mahābhārata (Title); Bhāgavata-purāṇa (Title) [ ID=214956 ]
- another side or alternative  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > = पक्षा (pakṣā) न्तर (ntara), Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=214961 ]
- A party, section, or faction  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 1039-a ] शाखा (śākhā) 3 A party, section, faction

### Scholastic Branch, Vedic School, or Religious Sect (4 definitions)
- a branch or school of the Veda  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a branch or school of the Veda (each school adhering to its own traditional text and interpretation; in the Caraṇa-vyūha, a work by Śaunaka treating of these various schools, five Śākhās are enumerated of the Ṛg-veda, viz. those of the Śākalas, Bāṣkalas, Āśvalāyanas, Śāṅkhāyanas, and Māṇḍukāyanas; forty-two or forty-four out of eighty-six of the Yajur-veda, fifteen of which belong to the Vājasaneyins, including those of the Kāṇvas and Mādhyaṃdinas; twelve out of a thousand said to have once existed of the Sāma-veda and nine of the Atharva-veda; of all these, however, the Ṛg-veda is said to be now extant in one only, viz. the Śākala-śākhā, the Yajur-veda in five and partially in six, the Sāma-veda in one or perhaps two, and the Atharva-veda in one: although the words चरण (caraṇa) and शाखा (śākhā) are sometimes used synonymously, yet चरण (caraṇa) properly applies to the sect or collection of persons united in one school, and शाखा (śākhā) to the traditional text followed, as in the phrase शाखा (śākhā) म् अधीते (śākhām adhīte), he recites a particular version of the Veda), Prātiśākhya (Literary category); Manu-smṛti (Title); Mahābhārata (Title) &c. [ ID=214958 ]
- a branch of any science  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a branch of any science, Carakasaṃhitā (Title) [ ID=214959 ]
- A school, branch, or sect  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 1039-a ] शाखा (śākhā) 5 A school, branch, sect
- A traditional recension or text of the Veda followed by a specific school.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > शाखा (śākhā) [Printed book page 1039-a ] शाखा (śākhā) 7 A school or traditional recension of the Veda, the traditional text followed by a school; as in शाकलशाखा (śākhā), आश्वलायनशाखा (śākhā), बाष्कलशाखा (śākhā) (śākalaśākhā, āśvalāyanaśākhā, bāṣkalaśākhā) &c

### Proper Noun (Deity, Plant, Place) (3 definitions)
- an epithet of Skanda or his son  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 1062,3] शाख (śākha) m. N. of a manifestation of Skanda or of his son, Mahābhārata (Title); Harivaṃśa (Title); Purāṇas (Literary category) [ ID=214946 ]
- Pongamia glabra  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > Pongamia Glabra, Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=214947 ]
- Name of a place  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > शाख (śākha) m. n. N. of a place, Catalogue(s) [Cologne Addition] (Title) [ ID=214948 ]

### Miscellaneous or Specific Lexical Meanings (2 definitions)
- a year  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a year, Śrīkaṇṭha-carita (Title) [ ID=214960 ]
- near, close  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > = अन्तिक (antika), Lexicographers, esp. such as Amarasiṃha, Halāyudha, Hemacandra, etc. (Author) [ ID=214962 ]

## 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 (1899); The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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