# वेन (vena)

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

वेन (vena) is a Sanskrit word meaning yearning, longing, eager, anxious, or loving, longing, desire, or wish, name of the hymn in the Rig-veda beginning with ayam venah, sacrifice, a divine being of the middle region, having the patronymic Bhargava. Its 23 recorded definitions are grouped into 7 contexts, among them Yearning, Desire, Love, Divine Being / Deity, Linguistic Notes and Cross-References.

- **Etymology:** E. वी substituted for अज to go, Uṇādi aff. न — E. vī substituted for aja to go, Uṇādi aff. na
- **SLP1:** `vena`  **IAST:** vena  **Devanagari:** वेन
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vena_%28Hindu_king%29
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/vena/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** वेणा (veṇā), वेण (veṇa), वेना (venā)

## Meanings by context

### Yearning, Desire, Love (6 definitions)
- yearning, longing, eager, anxious, or loving  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 1018,2] वेन (vena) mf( ई (ī) )n. yearning, longing, eager, anxious, loving, RV. [ ID=206223 ]
- longing, desire, or wish  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > वेन (vena) m. longing, desire, wish, care, ib. [ ID=206224 ]
- love, desire  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2B) [Printed book page 1018,2] वेना (venā) ( आ (ā) ), f. love, desire, RV. [ ID=206231 ]
- 1. Yearning, longing, eager, or loving. 2. A longing, desire, or wish. 3. A divine being of the middle region, Indra, or the sun. 4. A proper name, including the father of Prithu.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 299-1 ] वेन (vena) ven-á, a. ( ī́ ) yearning, longing, eager, loving ( V. ); m. longing, desire, wish ( V. ); a. divine being of the middle region, Indra or the sun ( comm. ), connected with the navel ( Br. ); N. of a various men, among others of the father of Pṛthu ( C. ). [ ID=17056 ]
- 1. Longing for, desire, or love. 2. A man's name.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 523 ] वेन (vena) f. ई (ī) longing for desirous of, loving; m. longing for, wish, desire (also f. आ (ā) ), a man's name. [ ID=31016 ]
- 1. A friend or lover. 2. A wise man or discerner. 3. A priest. 4. The Sun. 5. Prajapati or Brahma. 6. A son of Anga. 7. The author of specific Vedic hymns. 8. A loved one. 9. The wife of Soma.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 0966-a ] Vena, as, m., Ved. a friend, lover, (according to Sāy. on Ṛg-veda VIII. 63, 1 = kānta ); a knower, discerner, wise man; = yajña (Naigh. III. 17); a priest; N. of the Sun; of Prajā-pati or Brahmā; of a son of Aṅga, (also written veṇa, q. v.); of the author of the hymns Ṛg-veda IX. 85, X. 123 (hav- ing the patronymic Bhārgava); ( ā ), f. a loved one; N. of the wife of Soma. [ ID=44875 ]

### Divine Being / Deity (5 definitions)
- a divine being of the middle region  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a divine being of the middle region, Naighaṇṭuka, commented on by Yāska (subtitle) v, 4; Nirukta, by Yāska (Title) x, 38 (also applied to Indra, the Sun, Prajā-pati, and a Gandharva; in Aitareya-brāhmaṇa (Title) i, 20 connected with the navel) [ ID=206227 ]
- Brahma  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेन (na) (vena) m. ( - न (na) ः (-naḥ) ) BRAHMĀ. E. वी (vī) substituted for अज (aja) to go, Uṇādi aff. न (na). [ ID=36764 ]
- Brahma  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 726-a ] वेन (vena) ( नः ) ((naḥ)) 1. m. Brahmā. [ ID=36382 ]
- Brahma  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 689-a ] वेन (vena) m. ( - नः (-naḥ) ) BRAHMĀ. E. वी (vī) substituted for अज् (aj) to go, Unādi aff. न । (na.) [ ID=38476 ]
- Brahman  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 0902-a ] वेन (vena) ven + a, m. Brahman. [ ID=13984 ]

### Linguistic Notes and Cross-References (4 definitions)
- variant reading of Vena  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > v.l. for वेण (veṇa), q.v. [ ID=206230 ]
- See vena  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 1011-b ] वेन (vena) See वेण (veṇa) (2). [ ID=26960 ]
- To go  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 807 ] वेन (vena) r. 1st cl. ( वेन (vena) ति (venati) ) To go, &c.: see वेण (veṇa). [ ID=36763 ]
- a flute-player  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 691-17 ] वेन (vena) m. The same as वेण (veṇa) (2) q.v. [ ID=36258 ]

### King Vena (Mythological Ruler) (3 definitions)
- a royal sage, father of Prithu  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of a Rājarṣi or royal Ṛṣi (father of Pṛthu, and said to have perished through irreligious conduct and want of submissiveness to the Brāhmans; he is represented as having occasioned confusion of castes See Manu-smṛti (Title) vii, 41; ix, 66; 67, and as founder of the race of Niṣādas and Dhīvaras; according to the Viṣṇu-Purāṇa, Vena was a son of Aṅga and a descendant of the first Manu; a Vena Rāja-śravas is enumerated among the Veda-vyāsas or arrangers of the Veda), MBh.; Hariv.; Pur. [ ID=206229 ]
- an ancient prince  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 725-1 ] Vena, one or more ancient princes. § 6 (Anukram.): I, 1 α, 227 (in Sañjaya's enumeration).—§ 139 (Manu Vaivasvata): I, 75, 3140 (son of Manu Vaivasvata).—§ 267 (Yama- sabhāv.): II, 8, 326 (in the palace of Yama).—§ 641 (Rājadh.): XII, 59, 2214 (son of Atibala and Sunīthā, the daughter of Mṛtyu; d: V. was a slave of wrath and malice; the ṛṣis slew him with kuśa blades purified with mantras, then they bored his right thigh, thereupon came out a short- limbed person, resembling a charred brand with black-red eyes and black hair, to whom they said niṣīda (“sit down”); from him have sprung the Niṣādas (e ) and other Mlecchas, living in the Vindhya mountains. The maharṣis then bored the right hand of V., thence sprang a person who was a second Indra in form, etc., and acquainted with the Vedas, etc. (i.e. Pṛthu (f )). [ ID=11803 ]
- A mythological king, son of Anga, known for his impiety and pride, whose body was churned by sages after his death, resulting in the creation of Prithu and the Nishadha race.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 3-322 ] Vena — a son of Anga, of cruel and wrong beha- viour; fell dead due to the curse of sages who churned his right arm out of which came Pṛthu; born after aśvamedha Page3-323+ 40 of his father. The twenty-third Vedavyāsa. 1 Brought up in the house of his grandfather who was an amśa of Mṛtyu (adharma) Vena acquired bad conduct, killed his playmates like animals and became a source of vexation to his father who left the kingdom in disgust and distress. Vena was crowned. Blinded by pride he proclaimed that there should be no more yajñas or gifts in his kingdom. Lost it through pride of power. He did not listen to the words of sages and asserted he was the highest of all gods. Seeing him perverse and vile, the sages slew him; Sunīthā protected his body by mantra. To avoid anarchy and to preserve the line of Anga, the sages churned the thigh of the dead prince and there came a black dwarfish man, the ancestor of the Niṣādha race. 2 They continued to churn the two arms out of which came a male and female child, being the amśa of Viṣṇu and Lakṣmī. 3 Thrown into hell by Brāhmaṇas, was saved from hell by Pṛthu. 4 Pṛthu was the father's part of Vena's body; from the mother's part of his body came the Mlecchas. 5 Another version: A son of the daughter of Kāla; took to kāma and covetousness; founded an adharma sthāpana, gave up Veda śāstras; subjects of, did not learn Vedas or performed ceremonials or yajñas; made himself the object of sacrifice and worship; enraged by the ṛṣis led by Marīci who advised him to take up the right path; ridiculed them and said he was a mahātmā and could burn the whole world or flood it; hence the sages held him down and had his left hand churned by force; there came out a short black figure who stood trem- bling; the sages said niṣīda, the forerunner of the niṣāda- vamśa; then they churned his right hand and Pṛthu was born; Vena died; Pṛthu crowned by all; a good king; his rule and achievements, including the milking of the earth by all beings. 6 Page3-324+ 30 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. IV. 13. 18-20; 35. 38; Br. II. 35. 122; M. 4. 44.] [ Footnote: 2) Bhā. IV. 13. 39, 42 and 47; ch. 14 (whole).] [ Footnote: 3) Ib. IV. 15. 1-3; 16. 11; X. 73. 20.] [ Footnote: 4) Ib. II. 7. 9; VII. 1. 16; Br. II. 36. 108-12, 121-27, 150.] [ Footnote: 5) M. 10. 4-10.] [ Footnote: 6) Vā. 62. 108-193.] [ ID=13617 ]

### Other Specific Persons or Roles (2 definitions)
- having the patronymic Bhargava  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of various men, ( esp. ) of the author of Ṛg-veda (Title) ix, 85; x, 123 (having the patr. भार्गव (bhārgava) ) [ ID=206228 ]
- a generous patron in the Rigveda  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > वेन (vena) [Printed book page 2-325 ] 1. Vena occurs in one passage of the Rigveda 1 as a generous patron. Pṛthavāna, found in the same passage, may or may not be another name of his, and Pārthya in the following stanza of the hymn is perhaps his patronymic. [ Footnote: 1) x. 93, 14. Cf. Ludwig, Translation of the Rigveda, 3, 166.] [ ID=3052 ]

### Vedic Hymn (RV X.123) and Related Interpretations (2 definitions)
- name of the hymn in the Rig-veda beginning with ayam venah  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of the hymn, Ṛg-veda (Title) x, 123 (beginning with अयं वेनः (ayaṃ venaḥ) ), ŚāṅkhBr. [ ID=206225 ]
- a name in the Rigveda  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > 2. Vena in the Rigveda 1 is thought by Tilak 2 to be the planet Venus. But this is certainly impossible. [ Footnote: 1) x. 123.] [ Footnote: 2) Oriea, 163 et seq Cf. Whitney, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 16, xciv.] [ ID=3053 ]

### Equivalent to Yajña (Sacrifice) (1 definition)
- sacrifice  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > = यज्ञ (yajña), Naighaṇṭuka, commented on by Yāska (subtitle) iii, 17 [ ID=206226 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; 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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