# वनस्पति (vanaspati)

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

वनस्पति (vanaspati) is a Sanskrit word meaning a forest tree, a stem, trunk, beam, timber, or post, the Soma plant, the Indian fig tree, bignonia Suaveolens, an offering made to the sacrificial post. Its 27 recorded definitions are grouped into 8 contexts, among them A tree in a general sense, A proper name (deity, person, mythical being, or place), A specific type of tree or plant.

- **Etymology:** E. वन forest, and पति lord, सुट् augment — E. vana forest, and pati lord, suṭ augment
- **SLP1:** `vanaspati`  **IAST:** vanaspati  **Devanagari:** वनस्पति
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanaspati
- **Declensions:** 72 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/vanaspati/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### A tree in a general sense (8 definitions)
- 1. A forest tree. 2. A large fruit-bearing tree that appears to grow without blossoms.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H3) [Printed book page 918,1] वन - स् - पति (vana-s-pati) a ( वनस् (vanas)- (vanas-) ), m. ( वनस् (vanas) prob. a form of the gen.; cf. 2. वन् (van) and रथस् - पति (rathas-pati) ) ‘king of the wood’, a forest-tree ( esp. a large tree bearing fruit apparently without blossoms, as several species of the fig, the jack tree &c., but also applied to any tree), RV. &c. &c. [ ID=185990 ]
- 1. A tree or large forest tree. 2. A trunk, beam, post, or timber. 3. The Soma plant. 4. A sacrificial post.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वनस्पति (vanaspati) [Printed book page 269-1 ] वनस्पति (vanaspati) vánas-páti, m. (lord of the wood), forest tree; tree; large forest tree bearing fruit apparently without lossoms ( C. ); trunk, beam, post, timber ( V. ); lord of plants, Soma plant ( V., P. ); sacrificial post ( V., P. ). [ ID=15870 ]
- a large forest tree, especially one that bears fruit without blossoms  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वनस्पति (vanaspati) [Printed book page 638-08 ] वनस्पति (vanaspati) m. a large forest tree, especially one that bears fruit without blossoms, प्रभावस्तंभितच्छयमाश्रितः स वनस्पति (vanaspati) म् (prabhāvastaṃbhitacchayamāśritaḥ sa vanaspatim) R. xii.21. [ ID=33455 ]
- 1. A tree. 2. An ascetic.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वनस्पति (vanaspati) [Printed book page 0812-a ] वनस्पति (vanaspati) vanaspati i. e. van (= vana), + as-pati, m. 1. A tree, Utt. Rāmac. 15, 11. 2. An ascetic. [ ID=12680 ]
- 1. A tree or large fruit-bearing tree without flowers. 2. A stem, trunk, beam, timber, or sacrificial post. 3. The Soma plant. 4. An epithet of Vishnu.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वनस्पति (vanaspati) [Printed book page 472 ] वनस्पति (vanaspati) m. tree ( lit. lord of the wood), esp. a large tree with fruit, but without flowers; stem, trunk, beam, timber, the sacrificial post; the Soma plant (as the lord of plants); E. of Viṣṇu. [ ID=28092 ]
- tree  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > वनस्पति (vanaspati) [Printed book page 237-b ] vánas-páti, m. tree. [‘lord of the wood’: see 1267 and a and d: perhaps vanas stands for vanar, a subsidiary form of vana, cf. 171 3.] [ ID=3692 ]
- 1. Born of Lata. 2. A king of trees.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > [Printed book page 3-147 ] Vanaspati (II) — born of Latā; 1 a king of trees; 2 three yonīs of, Gāyatrī, Triṣṭub and Jagatī; 3 for homa and śrāddha. 4 [ Footnote: 1) Br. III. 7. 460; 50. 39.] [ Footnote: 2) Vā. 49. 88.] [ Footnote: 3) Br. II. 13. 145.] [ Footnote: 4) M. 8. 8; 17. 19; 39. 11; 59. 10; 163. 49.] [ ID=12179 ]
- 1. A tree. 2. A post or pole. 3. A part of a chariot or the chariot itself. 4. A wooden drum. 5. A wooden amulet. 6. The Soma plant.  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > वनस्पति (vanaspati) [Printed book page 2-241 ] Vanas-pati, ‘lord of the forest,’ primarily denotes ‘tree,’ 1 and then ‘post’ or ‘pole.’ 2 In some passages it is applied either to a part of the chariot or to the chariot as a whole. 3 It also means a ‘wooden drum’ 4 and a ‘wooden amulet,’ 5 while in some passages 6 it denotes the plant par excellence, Soma. [ Footnote: 1) Rv. i. 166, 5; iii. 34, 10; v. 7, 4; 41, 8, etc.; Av. xi. 6, 1 (distin- guished from Vīrudh and Oradhi ); 9, 24, etc.] [ Footnote: 2) Taittirīya Saṃhitā, vi. 2, 8, 4; Av. ix. 3, 11, etc.] [ Footnote: 3) Rv. ii. 37, 3; iii. 53, 20; vi. 47, 26; Nirukta, ix. 11. See Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, 251.] [ Footnote: 4) Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, ix. 12. Cf. Av. xii. 3, 15.] [ Footnote: 5) Av. vi. 85, 1; x. 3, 8. 11.] [ Footnote: 6) Rv. i. 91, 6; Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, x. 23, etc.] [ ID=2797 ]

### A proper name (deity, person, mythical being, or place) (6 definitions)
- an epithet of Vishnu  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of Viṣṇu, Viṣṇ. [ ID=185990.40 ]
- the name of a son of Ghrita-prishta  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of a son of Ghṛta-pṛṣṭha, BhP. [ ID=185990.45 ]
- Name of a Gandharvi  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > वन - स् - पति (vana-s-pati) f. N. of a Gandharvī, Kāraṇḍ. [ ID=185990.55 ]
- The name of the Varsha ruled by Vanaspati  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > वन - स् - पति (vana-s-pati) n. N. of the Varṣa ruled by Vanas-pati, BhP. [ ID=185990.60 ]
- Mahapurusha  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > वनस्पति (vanaspati) [Printed book page 707-2 ] Vanaspati = Mahāpuruṣa (Mahāpuruṣastava). [ ID=11511 ]
- a son of Ghrtaprstha  
  *The Purana Index*
  > वनस्पति (vanaspati) [Printed book page 3-146 ] Vanaspati (I) — a son of Ghrtaprstha. Bhā. V. 20. 21 [ ID=12178 ]

### A specific type of tree or plant (5 definitions)
- the Indian fig tree  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the Indian fig-tree, L. [ ID=185990.15 ]
- Bignonia Suaveolens  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > Bignonia Suaveolens, L. [ ID=185990.20 ]
- 1. A fruit-bearing tree that blooms without visible blossoms. 2. A tree in general. 3. An ascetic.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वन (vana) स्पति (pati) (vanaspati) [Printed book page 733 ] वन (vana) स्पति (pati) (vanaspati) m. ( - तिः (-tiḥ) ) 1 A tree that bears fruit but no apparent blossoms, as several species of the fig, the jack, &c. 2 A tree in general. 3 An ascetic. E. वन (vana) forest, and पति (pati) lord, सुट् (suṭ) augment. [ ID=33536 ]
- 1. A tree that bears fruit without apparent blossoms. 2. A tree. 3. A hermit.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वनस्पति (vanaspati) [Printed book page 656-b ] वन - स्पति (vana-spati) ( तिः ) ((tiḥ)) 2. m. A tree bearing fruit without apparent blossoms; a tree; a hermit. [ ID=33126 ]
- 1. A tree bearing fruit without visible blossoms. 2. A tree in general. 3. An ascetic.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वन (vana) स्पति (pati) (vanaspati) [Printed book page 629-a ] वन (vana) स्पति (pati) (vanaspati) m. ( - तिः (-tiḥ) ) 1. A tree that bears fruit but no apparent blossoms, as several species of the fig, the jack, &c. 2. A tree in general. 3. An ascetic. E. वन (vana) forest, and पति (pati) lord, सुट् (suṭ) augment. [ ID=35040 ]

### Tree components, timber, or wooden objects (3 definitions)
- A stem, trunk, beam, timber, or post.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > [Printed book page 918,2] a stem, trunk, beam, timber, post ( esp. the sacrificial post), RV.; VS.; Br. [ ID=185990.05 ]
- anything made of wood  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > anything made of wood ( esp. partic. parts of a car or carriage, a wooden drum, a wooden amulet, a block on which criminals are executed, a coffin &c.), RV.; AV.; VS. [ ID=185990.30 ]
- pestle and mortar  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > du. pestle and mortar, Ṛg-veda (Title) i, 28, 6 [ ID=185990.50 ]

### Meta-linguistic information or cross-references (2 definitions)
- See column 1.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 918,3] वनस् - पति (vanas-pati) b See col. 1. [ ID=186078 ]
- See col. 1.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > वनस्पति (vanaspati) [Printed book page 0884-c ] Vanas-pati. See col. 1. [ ID=41120 ]

### A ritual offering (1 definition)
- an offering made to the sacrificial post  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > an offering made to the sacrificial post, ŚBr.; ŚrS. [ ID=185990.25 ]

### An ascetic or hermit (1 definition)
- an ascetic  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > an ascetic, W. [ ID=185990.35 ]

### The Soma plant (1 definition)
- the Soma plant  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > ‘lord of plants’, the Soma plant, ib.; GṛS.; BhP. [ ID=185990.10 ]

## Sources

Definitions from 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; The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects; 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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