# विज्ञान (vijñāna)

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

विज्ञान (vijñāna) is a Sanskrit word meaning understanding, intelligence, or knowledge, skill, art, science, doctrine, worldly or profane knowledge, the faculty of discernment or right judgement, the organ of thought. Its 16 recorded definitions are grouped into 7 contexts, among them General Knowledge, Understanding, and Intelligence, Faculty or Organ of Knowledge (Mind), Worldly or Profane Knowledge.

- **SLP1:** `vijYAna`  **IAST:** vijñāna  **Devanagari:** विज्ञान
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vij%C3%B1%C4%81na
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/vijnana/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### General Knowledge, Understanding, and Intelligence (8 definitions)
- understanding, intelligence, or knowledge  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 961,2] वि - ज्ञान (vi-jñāna) n. ( ifc. f( आ (ā) ). ) the act of distinguishing or discerning, understanding, comprehending, recognizing, intelligence, knowledge, AV. &c. &c. [ ID=195266 ]
- 1. Discernment and knowledge. 2. Skill, proficiency, art, or artifice. 3. Doctrine and profane knowledge. 4. The faculty of knowing, judgment, or the organ of knowledge.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > विज्ञान (vijñāna) [Printed book page 282-1 ] विज्ञान (vijñāna) vi-jñā́na, n. V., C. : discernment, knowledge ( —° = of, rarely = by means of); C. : skill, proficiency, art; artifice, trick; doctrine; profane knowledge ( opp. jñāna); faculty of knowing, judgment, organ of knowledge (= Manas); understanding to mean, regarding as: -tā, f. proficiency in ( lc. ); -pati, m. lord of knowledge ( one who has arrived at a certain stage of emancipation ); -máya, a. consisting of knowledge, intelligent; -vat, a. possessed of knowledge; -vāda, m. doctrine of knowledge alone ( and not external phenomena ) having a real existence; -vādin, a. maintaining that knowledge only has real existence; -astiva-mātra-vādin, a. id.. [ ID=16514 ]
- 1. Knowledge, science, or worldly wisdom. 2. Business or employment. 3. Music.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वि (vi) ज्ञान (jñāna) (vijñāna) [Printed book page 765 ] वि (vi) ज्ञान (jñāna) (vijñāna) n. ( - नं (-naṃ) ) 1 Knowledge, science, learning, worldly knowledge or wisdom, that which comprehends any subject, except an understanding of the true nature of GOD or BRAHMA, acquirable by abstract meditation, and the study of the Vedas; it also is described as conversancy with the arts of painting, &c., and with books, as the Smṛti Śāstras, or works on law, and other branches of science or literature. 2 Business, employment. 3 Music. E. वि (vi) implying variety, and ज्ञान (jñāna) knowledge. [ ID=34965 ]
- 1. Knowledge and wisdom. 2. Experiential knowledge. 3. Worldly knowledge. 4. Business. 5. Music.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > विज्ञान (jñāna) (vijñāna) [Printed book page 662-03 ] विज्ञान (jñāna) (vijñāna) n. 1. Knowledge, wisdom; 2. knowledge acquired by experience, knowledge with experience, Bg. iii.41, vii.2; 3. worldly knowledge, (op. to ज्ञान (jñāna) ); 4. business; 5. music. [ ID=34854 ]
- 1. Knowledge, science, learning, or worldly wisdom. 2. Business or employment. 3. Music.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वि (vi) ज्ञान (jñāna) (vijñāna) [Printed book page 654-b ] वि (vi) ज्ञान (jñāna) (vijñāna) n. ( - नं (-naṃ) ) 1. Knowledge, science, learning, worldly knowledge or wisdom, that which comprehends any subject, except an understanding of the true nature of GOD or BRAHMA, acquirable by abstract meditation and the study of the Vedas; it is also described as conversancy with the arts of painting, &c., and with books, as the Smriti-Shāstras or works on law, and other branches of science or literature. 2. Business, employment. 3. Music. E. वि (vi) implying variety, and ज्ञान (jñāna) knowledge. [ ID=36572 ]
- 1. Knowledge. 2. Learning. 3. Wisdom. 4. Art. 5. Music. 6. Intelligence. 7. Distinction. 8. Business.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > विज्ञान (vijñāna) [Printed book page 0850-b ] विज्ञान (vijñāna) vijñāna, i. e. vi-jñā + ana, n. 1. Knowledge, Hit. ii. d. 142. 2. Learning. 3. Wisdom, Hit. i. d. 167, M.M. 4. Art, Śāk. d. 2. 5. Music. 6. Intelli- gence, Chr. 6, 9 (at the end of a comp. adj. ). 7. Distinction, Vedāntas. in Chr. 207, 5. 8. Business, employment. — Comp. A-, n. absence of knowledge; abl. nāt, unknowingly, Man. 2, 220; on a sudden, Lass. 2. ed. 40, 22. Su-, adj. very wise, Pañc. iii. d. 117. [ ID=13262 ]
- 1. Knowledge, intelligence, wisdom, or learning. 2. Science or art. 3. The capacity or organ of knowledge.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > विज्ञान (vijñāna) [Printed book page 493 ] विज्ञान (vijñāna) n. knowing, knowledge, intelligence, wisdom, learning, science, art, the capacity or organ of knowledge; the meaning by, knowing as, supposing (—°). [ ID=29353 ]
- 1. Understanding or distinguishing. 2. Intelligence, knowledge, or science. 3. Worldly knowledge. 4. Wisdom. 5. Business or employment. 6. Music.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > विज्ञान (vijñāna) [Printed book page 0916-a ] Vi-jñāna, am, n. the act of distinguishing or per- Page0916-b+ 78 ceiving or recognising, discerning, understanding, comprehending, distinction, intelligence, knowledge, science, learning, worldly knowledge of any kind (including all subjects except that understanding of the true nature of God or Brahma which is acquirable only by abstract meditation and the study of the Vedas), wisdom; business, employment; music. —Vijñāna-kanda, as, m. a proper N. —Vijñāna- kaumudī, f., N. of a Buddhist woman. —Vijñāna- pāda, as, m. (see pāda ), an epithet of Vyāsa. —Vi- jñāna-bhikṣu, us, m., N. of the author of the Yoga- sāra-saṅgraha, the Yoga-vārttika, the Sāṅkhya-sāra, and the Brahmādarśa. —Vijñāna-maya, as, ī, am, consisting of knowledge or intelligence, all knowledge, intellectual (said of the first or innermost of the several sheaths of the soul). —Vijñānamaya-koṣa, as, m. the sheath consisting of intelligence, the in- telligent sheath (of the soul, according to the Vedānta philosophy) or that sheath which is caused by the understanding being associated with the organs of perception. —Vijñāna-mātṛka, as, m. ‘parent of knowledge,’ an epithet of Buddha. —Vijñāna-lalita, N. of a work. —Vijñāna-vāda, as, m. the theory of Vi-jñāna, ideal theory. —Vijñāneśvara (°na- īś°), as, m. ‘master of knowledge,’ N. of the author of the Mitākṣarā commentary. [ ID=42595 ]

### Faculty or Organ of Knowledge (Mind) (2 definitions)
- the faculty of discernment or right judgement  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the faculty of discernment or of right judgement, MBh.; R. &c. [ ID=195270 ]
- the organ of thought  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the organ of kn° (= मनस् (manas) ), BhP. [ ID=195271 ]

### Worldly or Profane Knowledge (2 definitions)
- worldly or profane knowledge  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > worldly or profane knowledge ( opp. to ज्ञान (jñāna), ‘ kn° of the true nature of God’), Mn.; MBh. &c. [ ID=195269 ]
- 1. Secular knowledge or learning. 2. Business. 3. Music.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > विज्ञान (vijñāna) [Printed book page 686-a ] वि - ज्ञान (vi-jñāna) ( नं ) ((naṃ)) 1. n. Knowledge or learning of any kind not divine; business; music. [ ID=34556 ]

### Buddhist Philosophical Concept (Consciousness/Thought-Faculty) (1 definition)
- consciousness or thought-faculty  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (with Buddhists) consciousness or thought-faculty (one of the 5 constituent elements or Skandhas, also considered as one of the 6 elements or Dhātus, and as one of the 12 links of the chain of causation), Dharmasaṃgraha (Title) 22; 42; 58 ( cf. Monier-Williams’ Buddhism in its connexion with Brāhmaṇism and Hindūism: and in its contrast with Christianity (Title) 102; 109 ) [ ID=195273 ]

### Science or Doctrine (1 definition)
- science, doctrine  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > science, doctrine, Suśr. [ ID=195268 ]

### Skill, Art, or Proficiency (1 definition)
- skill, art  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > skill, proficiency, art, Uttamac. [ ID=195267 ]

### Specific Interpretation or 'Regarding As' (1 definition)
- understanding as or regarding as  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > ( ifc. ) the understanding of (a particular meaning), regarding as, Kāś. on Pāṇini (Author) ii, 3, 17; 66 &c. [ ID=195272 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; 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.

The Sanskrit Lexicon app for iPhone, iPad and Mac: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sanskrit-lexicon-dictionary/id6746787546