# उपादान (upādāna)

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

उपादान (upādāna) is a Sanskrit word meaning appropriating to oneself, perceiving, noticing, learning, acquiring knowledge, accepting, allowing, including, employment, use, saying, speaking, mentioning, enumeration, withdrawing the organs of sense from the outer world. Its 20 recorded definitions are grouped into 10 contexts, among them Taking, Acquiring, Appropriating, Cause/Material Cause (Philosophy), Abstraction/Withdrawing Senses.

- **Root:** 1. दा (1. dā)
- **Etymology:** E. उप near, आदा to take, ल्युट् aff — E. upa near, ādā to take, lyuṭ aff
- **SLP1:** `upAdAna`  **IAST:** upādāna  **Devanagari:** उपादान
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up%C4%81d%C4%81na
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/upadana/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** उपदान (upadāna)

## Meanings by context

### Taking, Acquiring, Appropriating (10 definitions)
- appropriating to oneself  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 213,2] उपा (upā) - दान (-dāna) n. the act of taking for one's self, appropriating to one's self, MBh.; Mn. &c. [ ID=36642 ]
- 1. Taking, seizure, or appropriation. 2. Apprehension. 3. Admission or non-exclusion. 4. Employment. 5. Mention or quotation. 6. Material cause.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उपादान (upādāna) [Printed book page 054-2 ] उपादान (upādāna) upa‿ādāna, n. taking, seizure, appropriation; apprehension; admission, non-exclusion; employment; mention, quotation; material cause. [ ID=4847 ]
- 1. Taking or abduction. 2. Restraining the senses. 3. A cause or motive. 4. A material cause. 5. An expression with a double meaning. 6. Speaking.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उप (upa) ादान (upādāna) [Printed book page 160 ] उप (upa) ादान (upādāna) n. ( - नं (-naṃ) ) 1 Taking away, abduction, taking. 2 Abstraction, restraining the organs of sense and perception. 3 Cause, motive. 4 Immediate or proximate cause. 5 The formal or distinct form, the material cause. 6 A double meaning, an expression conveying a sense besides that which appears intended. 7 Saying, speaking. E. उप (upa) near, आदा (ādā) to take, ल्युट् (lyuṭ) aff. [ ID=7608 ]
- 1. Taking away or abstraction. 2. A cause. 3. Speaking.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उपादान (upādāna) [Printed book page 131-b ] उपा _ दान (upā_dāna) ( नं ) ((naṃ)) 1. n. Taking away; abstraction; cause, double meaning; speaking. [ ID=7019 ]
- 1. Taking, receiving, or acquiring. 2. Conveying an additional sense beyond what is expressed. 3. Withdrawing the senses from the outer world. 4. A material cause. 5. Mention or enumeration. 6. A cause or motive.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उपादान (upādāna) [Printed book page 144-36 ] उपादान (upādāna) n. 1. Taking, receiving, acquiring, विस्रब्धं ब्राह्मणः शूद्राद्द्रव्योपार्जनमाचरेत् (visrabdhaṃ brāhmaṇaḥ śūdrāddravyopārjanamācaret) M. viii.417; 2. conveying some sense in addition to that actually expressed, स्वसिद्धये पराक्षेपः (svasiddhaye parākṣepaḥ) … उपादान (upādāna) म् (upādānam) K.Pr. ii.; 3. withdrawing the organs of sense from the outer world; 4. the material out of which anything is formed, a material cause, निमित्तमेव ब्रह्म स्यादुपादानं च वेक्षणात् (nimittameva brahma syādupādānaṃ ca vekṣaṇāt) Adhikaraṇaratnamālā, Sank.K. 9; 5. mention, enumeration; 6. a cause, a motive. [ ID=6979 ]
- 1. Taking or abduction. 2. Restraining the senses. 3. Cause or motive. 4. Immediate cause. 5. Material cause. 6. A double meaning. 7. Speaking.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उप (upa) ादान (upādāna) [Printed book page 131-b ] उप (upa) ादान (upādāna) n. ( - नं (-naṃ) ) 1. Taking away, abduction, taking. 2. Abstraction, restraining the organs of sense and perception. 3. Cause, motive. 4. Immediate or proximate cause. 5. The formal or distinct form, the material cause. 6. A double meaning, an expression conveying a sense besides that which appears intended. 7. Saying, speaking. E. उप (upa) near, आदा (ādā) to take, ल्युट् (lyuṭ) aff. [ ID=7605 ]
- 1. Seizure. 2. Learning. 3. Material cause.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उपादान (upādāna) [Printed book page 0129-a ] उपादान (upādāna) upādāna, i. e. upa-ā-dā + Page0129-b+ 44 ana, n. 1. Seizure, Man. 8, 417. 2. Learning, Hit. 4, 13, v. r. 3. Material cause, Bhāṣāp. 149. [ ID=2389 ]
- 1. Taking, acquiring, or appropriating. 2. Non-exclusion or addition. 3. Enumeration or mention. 4. The material cause.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > उपादान (upādāna) [Printed book page 091 ] उपादान (upādāna) n. taking, acquiring, appropriating; non-exclusion, addition; enumeration, mention; the material cause (ph.). [ ID=5922 ]
- appropriation  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > उपादान (upādāna) [Printed book page 134-a ] upādāna, n. the taking to one's self; appropriation. [ √1dā + upa_ā, ‘take.’] [ ID=863 ]
- 1. Taking, acquiring, or appropriating to oneself. 2. Accepting, employing, or using. 3. Mentioning, enumerating, or speaking. 4. Including or containing. 5. Withdrawing the senses from the outer world. 6. A cause, motive, or material cause. 7. An expression conveying a double meaning. 8. Conception. 9. Physical or verbal effort.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > उपादान (upādāna) [Printed book page 0171-b ] Upā-dāna, am, n. taking, acquiring, taking away, abduction, appropriating to one's self, accepting, em- ployment, using, becoming familiar with; mentioning, enumeration; saying, speaking; including, containing; abstraction, withdrawing the organs of sense and per- ception from the outer world; cause, motive; imme- Page0171-c+ 74 diate or proximate cause; the formal or distinct form, the material cause; a double meaning, an expression conveying a sense besides that which appears in- tended; (with Buddhists) conception; effort or ex- ertion of body or speech. —Upādāna-kāraṇa, am, n. a proximate cause. [ ID=12120 ]

### Cause/Material Cause (Philosophy) (2 definitions)
- cause, motive  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > cause, motive, material cause [ ID=36650 ]
- material of any kind  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > material of any kind, Sāṃkhyak.; Vedāntas.; Kap. &c. [ ID=36651 ]

### Abstraction/Withdrawing Senses (1 definition)
- withdrawing the organs of sense from the outer world  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > abstraction, withdrawing (the organs of sense from the outer world), L. [ ID=36647 ]

### Accepting/Including (1 definition)
- accepting, allowing, including  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > accepting, allowing, including [ ID=36644 ]

### Clinging to Existence (Buddhism) (1 definition)
- grasping at or clinging to existence  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (with, Buddh. ) grasping at or clinging to existence (caused by तृष्णा (tṛṣṇā), desire, and causing भव (bhava), new births) [ ID=36648 ]

### Employment/Use (1 definition)
- employment, use  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > employment, use, Sāh.; Sarvad.; Kap. [ ID=36645 ]

### Offering/Present (1 definition)
- offering or present  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > offering, present, L. [ ID=36652 ]

### Perceiving/Learning (1 definition)
- perceiving, noticing, learning, acquiring knowledge  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > perceiving, noticing, learning, acquiring (knowledge), Hit.; Vop. [ ID=36643 ]

### Preparation of Worship Materials (Ramanuja) (1 definition)
- preparation of perfumes and flowers as an element of worship  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (with Rāmānujas) preparation (of perfumes, flowers &c. as one of the five elements of worship), Sarvad. [ ID=36649 ]

### Saying/Mentioning (1 definition)
- saying, speaking, mentioning, enumeration  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > saying, speaking, mentioning, enumeration, Vedāntas., Kāś.; Siddh. [ ID=36646 ]

## Sources

Definitions from 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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