# वैद्य (vaidya)

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

वैद्य (vaidya) is a Sanskrit word meaning learned or versed in science, relating to the Vedas, medical or relating to medicine, a learned man, follower of the Vedas or one well versed in them, an expert in medical science or a physician. Its 34 recorded definitions are grouped into 10 contexts, among them Comprehensive Dictionary Entry (Multiple Meanings), Proper Names or Epithets, A Learned Person or Scholar.

- **SLP1:** `vEdya`  **IAST:** vaidya  **Devanagari:** वैद्य
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaidya
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/vaidya/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** वैद्या (vaidyā)

## Meanings by context

### Comprehensive Dictionary Entry (Multiple Meanings) (8 definitions)
- 1. Versed in science, knowing one's subject, or learned. 2. A physician or medical practitioner.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 300-2 ] वैद्य (vaidya) vaidya, a. versed in science (vidyā), knowing oneʼs subject, learned; m. one versed in medical science, physician ( accounted a mixed caste ): -ka, m. physician; -nātha, m. master physician; a form of Śiva; N.; -vidyā, f. science or text-book of medicine. [ ID=17144 ]
- 1. Medical or relating to medicine. 2. Relating to the Vedas. 3. A physician. 4. A tree. 5. A learned man. 6. A follower of the Vedas. 7. A drug.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 810 ] वैद्य (vaidya) mfn. ( - द्यः (-dyaḥ)- दी - द्यं (-dyaḥ-dī-dyaṃ) ) 1 Medical, practising or relating to medicine. 2 Relating or conformable to the Vedas. m. ( - द्यः (-dyaḥ) ) 1 A physician. 2 A tree, ( Justicia ganderussa, &c.) 3 A learned man. 4 A follower of the Vedas, or one well read in them. f. ( - द्या (-dyā) ) A drug, commonly Kākoli. E. वेद (veda) the medical or Āyur Vedas, or the Vedas in general, and यञ् (yañ) or ष्यञ् (yañ) (ṣyañ) aff. [ ID=36889 ]
- 1. A physician, the Justicia tree, or a pandit. 2. A drug. 3. Medical or according to the Vedas.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 729-a ] वैद्य (vaidya) ( द्यः - द्यी - द्यं ) ((dyaḥ-dyī-dyaṃ)) m. A physician; Jus- ticia tree; a pandit. 1. f. A drug. a. Medical; according to the Vedas. [ ID=36509 ]
- 1. A learned person or scholar. 2. A physician or doctor. 3. A person of a mixed caste born to a Brahmana father and a Vaishya mother.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) (II) m. 1. A learned man, a doctor; 2. a medical man, a physician, वैद्य (vaidya) यत्नपरिभाविनं गदं न प्रदीप इव वायुमत्यगात् (vaidyayatnaparibhāvinaṃ gadaṃ na pradīpa iva vāyumatyagāt) R. xix.53; 3. a man of a mixed class (the offspring of a Brāhmaṇa by a Vaiśya woman). [ ID=36400 ]
- 1. Medical or relating to medicine. 2. Relating to the Vedas. 3. A physician. 4. A particular tree. 5. A learned man. 6. A follower of the Vedas. 7. A person of a mixed class born of a Brahmana father and a Vaishya mother. 8. A particular drug.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 691-b ] वैद्य (vaidya) mfn. ( - द्यः (-dyaḥ)- द्यी - द्यं (-dyaḥ-dyī-dyaṃ) ) 1. Medical, practising or relating to medicine. 2. Relating or conformable to the Vedas. m. ( - द्यः (-dyaḥ) ) 1. A physician. 2. A tree, (Justicia ganderussa, &c.) 3. A learned man. 4. A follower of the Vedas, or one well in them. 5. A man of a mixed class, the offspring of a Brāhmana by a Vaiśya woman. f. ( - द्या (-dyā) ) A drug, commonly KĀKOLĪ. E. वेद (veda) the medical or Āyur-Vedas or the Vedas in general, and यञ् (yañ) or ष्यञ् (yañ) (ṣyañ) aff.; or विद्याऽस्त्यस्य अण् । (vidyā'styasya aṇ.) [ ID=38614 ]
- 1. Relating to the Vedas. 2. Medical. 3. A follower or one conversant with the Vedas. 4. A learned man. 5. A physician.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 0907-a ] वैद्य (vaidya) vaidya, i. e. veda + ya, I. adj. 1. Relating to the Vedas, Lass. Pentap. 67, 43. 2. Relating to medicine, medical. II. m. 1. A follower of the Vedas, or one conversant with the Vedas. 2. A learned man, Brāhmaṇav. 2, 1. 3. A physician, Pañc. iii. d. 67. — Comp. Viṣa-, m. a dealer in antidotes. Svar-, m. either of the Aśvins, the physi- cians of the heaven. [ ID=14064 ]
- 1. Relating or belonging to the Vedas. 2. Medical, medicinal, or practising medicine. 3. A learned man, doctor, or follower of the Vedas. 4. A physician or medical practitioner. 5. A man of a mixed caste born of a Brahman and a Vaishya woman. 6. A man of another mixed caste. 7. The tree Justicia Ganderussa. 8. A particular medicinal drug.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 0968-c ] वैद्य (vaidya) vaidya, as, -dī, am (fr. veda ), relating or belonging to the Vedas, conformable to the Vedas, Vedic; medical, medicinal, practising or relating to medicine [cf. āyur-veda ]; ( as ), m. a learned man, doctor, Paṇḍit, a follower of the Vedas or one well versed in them; a medical man, doctor, physician; a man of the medical caste (enumerated among the mixed classes and originally the offspring of a Brāh- man by a Vaiśya woman; he is also called Amba- ṣṭha, Manu X. 8); a man of another and lower mixed caste (said to be the descendant of a Śūdra father and Vaiśya mother; cf. caṇḍāla, vrātya ); the tree Justicia Ganderussa; ( ā ), f. a particular drug or medicinal substance (= kākolī). —Vaidya- kriyā, f. the business of a physician. —Vaidya- nātha, as, m. ‘lord of physicians,’ epithet of Śiva; of Dhanvantari; of a poet; of a country. —Vaidya- Page0969-a+ 71 bandhu, us, m. the tree Cassia Fistula (= ārag- badha). —Vaidya-bhūṣaṇa, ‘ornament of phy- sicians,’ N. of a work by Rāmānanda-svāmin. —Vaidya-mātṛ, tā, f. the mother of a physician; the tree Justicia Ganderussa (= 1. vāsaka ). —Vaidya- vallabha, as, m. ‘favourite with physicians,’ N. of a medical work on the treatment of fever by Śārṅgha- dhara. —Vaidya-siṃhī, f. the plant Justicia Gande- russa (= 1. vāsaka ). [ ID=45051 ]
- 1. Conversant with the Vedas. 2. A physician. 3. Name of a caste.  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 702-1 ] *vaidya 1, adj. (“conversant with the Vedas”): I, 6143; II, 667; III, 11634; V, †800, 1491, 3456 ( brāhmaṇāḥ ), 4485; XII, 532, 2863, 2905, 3200 ( brāhmaṇān ), 8868, 9360; XIII, 1539, 1565, 5820.—Do. 2, mostly pl. (“physicians”): III, 70, 13856; V, 110, 5156 ( cikitsakāḥ ), 5181; VI, 5745, 5747, 5749; X, 113 (sg., yathā ); XII, 854, 878, 2654 ( caturvidhān ), 12542.—Do. 3, name of a caste: XIII, 2621 ( Vrātya-V°au, son of a śūdra and a vaiśyā). [ ID=11362 ]

### Proper Names or Epithets (6 definitions)
- Name of a Rishi  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a Ṛṣi, MBh. ( w.r. for रैभ्य (raibhya) ) [ ID=207067 ]
- Raibhya  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > Vaidya 4 (XIII, 7108). v. Raibhya. [ ID=11363 ]
- 1. Shiva. 2. Vishnu.  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > Vaidya 5 = Śiva (1000 names 2 ).—Do. 6 = Viṣṇu (1000 names). [ ID=11364 ]
- a son of Varuna and Sunadevi  
  *The Purana Index*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 3-330 ] Vaidya (I) — a son of Varuṇa and Sunādevī; father of Ghṛṇi and Muni, both of whom ate each other and died. Br. III. 59. 6; Vā. 84. 6-8. [ ID=13679 ]
- a Sukha god  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Vaidya (II) — a Sukha god. Br. IV. 1. 18. [ ID=13680 ]
- a chief attendant  
  *The Purana Index*
  > [Printed book page 3-331 ] Vaidya (IV) — a mukhya gaṇa. Vā. 100. 18. [ ID=13682 ]

### A Learned Person or Scholar (3 definitions)
- learned or versed in science  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 1022,3] वैद्य (vaidya) mfn. ( fr. विद्या (vidyā), and in some meanings fr. वेद (veda) ) versed in science, learned, ĀśvGṛ.; Kāty.; Mn. &c. [ ID=207059 ]
- a learned man  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) m. a learned man, Pandit, W. [ ID=207063 ]
- A learned man or scholar  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — द्यः (dyaḥ) [ विद्या (vidyā) अस्त्यस्य अण् (astyasya aṇ) ] 1 A learned man, ( pb ) scholar, doctor

### A Physician or Medical Practitioner (3 definitions)
- an expert in medical science or a physician  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > an expert (versed in his own profession, esp. in medical science), skilled in the art of healing, a physician (accounted a mixed caste), MBh.; Kāv. &c. [ ID=207065 ]
- A medical man, physician  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — द्यः (dyaḥ) [ विद्या (vidyā) अस्त्यस्य अण् (astyasya aṇ) ] 2 A medical man, physician. वैद्ययत्नपरिभाविनं गदं न प्रदाप (vaidyayatnaparibhāvinaṃ gadaṃ na pradāpa) इव वायुमत्यगात् (iva vāyumatyagāt) Raghuvaṃśa (Bombay) 19. 53; वैद्यानामातुरः श्रेयान् (vaidyānāmāturaḥ śreyān) Subhāṣ
- 1. The king physician skilled in ashtanga. 2. A residence of the physician.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Vaidya (III) — the king's physician skilled in aṣṭāṅga; 1 residence of. 2 Page3-331+ 25 [ Footnote: 1) M. 215. 34.] [ Footnote: 2) Ib. 254. 26.] [ ID=13681 ]

### Pertaining to Medicine or Medical Science (3 definitions)
- medical or relating to medicine  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > medical, medicinal, practising or relating to medicine, W. [ ID=207061 ]
- Relating to medicine, medical  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 1013-c ] वैद्य (vaidya) a. ( द्यी (dyī) f. ) 2 Relating to medicine, medical
- Relating to medicine  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 694-07 ] वैद्य (vaidya) (I) a. (f. द्यी (dyī) ) Relating to medicine. [ ID=36399 ]

### Related to the Vedas or Vedic Knowledge (3 definitions)
- relating to the Vedas  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > relating or belonging to the Vedas, conformable to the V° s, Vedic, W. [ ID=207060 ]
- follower of the Vedas or one well versed in them  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > follower of the Vedas or one well versed in them, ib. [ ID=207064 ]
- Relating to the Vedas, spiritual  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 1013-c ] वैद्य (vaidya) a. ( द्यी (dyī) f. ) 1 Relating to the Vedas, spiritual

### A Learned Person and a Physician (2 definitions)
- 1. Learned. 2. A physician or doctor.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 525 ] वैद्य (vaidya) a. learned; m. physician, doctor. [ ID=31110 ]
- 1. Learned or related to science. 2. A physician or doctor.  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > वैद्य (vaidya) [Printed book page 252-b ] vaidyá, —1. a. having to do with science, learned; and so —2. as m. ( with a transition Page253-a+ 50 like that from Lat. doctor, ‘teacher, learned man,’ to Chaucer's doctour of phisik) physician, doctor. [ vidyā́, 1211. ] [ ID=4045 ]

### A Specific Social Caste (2 definitions)
- A man of the medical caste born to a Brahmana father and a Vaishya mother.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — द्यः (dyaḥ) [ विद्या (vidyā) अस्त्यस्य अण् (astyasya aṇ) ] 3 A man of the medical caste, supposed to be one of the mixed classes; (the offspring of a Brāhmaṇa by a Vaiśya woman)
- A man of a lower mixed tribe, specifically the offspring of a Shudra father and a Vaishya mother.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — द्यः (dyaḥ) [ विद्या (vidyā) अस्त्यस्य अण् (astyasya aṇ) ] 4 A man of a lower mixed tribe (the offspring of a Śūdra father by Vaiśya mother)

### Botanical Names (Plants or Drugs) (2 definitions)
- Gendarussa Vulgaris  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > Gendarussa Vulgaris, L. [ ID=207066 ]
- a kind of medicinal plant  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1B) [Printed book page 1022,3] वैद्या (vaidyā) f. a kind of medicinal plant, L. [ ID=207068 ]

### Miscellaneous Meanings or Forms (2 definitions)
- A wrong reading for vedya  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > w.r. for वेद्य (vedya), MBh. [ ID=207062 ]
- the wife of a physician  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > वैद्यी (vaidyī) f. the wife of a physician, Pāṇini (Author) vi, 4, 150, Sch. [ ID=207069 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Benfey 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); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; The Purana Index; Vaidya 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