Napumsaka, Napuṃsaka, Nāpuṃsaka: 25 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
In Jainism
1. General definition
Languages
1. Pali
2. Marathi
3. Sanskrit
4. Hindi
5. Kannada
6. Nepali
See also

Introduction:

Napumsaka means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Buddhism, Pali, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

Alternative spellings of this word include Napunsak.

In Hinduism

Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar)

Source: Wikisource: A dictionary of Sanskrit grammar

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—1it. a word which is neither in the masculine nor in the feminine gender; a word in the neuter gender; cf. R.Pr.XIII.7,V. Pr. II. 32; III.138; cf. P. VI.3.75, on which the Siddhanta Kaumudi observes न स्त्री पुमान् नपुंसकम् । स्त्रीपुंसयोः पुंसकभावो निपातनात् । (na strī pumān napuṃsakam | strīpuṃsayoḥ puṃsakabhāvo nipātanāt |)

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Nāpuṃsaka (नापुंसक).—The same as नपुंसुकलिङ्ग (napuṃsukaliṅga) or neuter gender; cf. नापुंसकं भवेत्तस्मिन् । नपुंसके भवं नापुसकम् (nāpuṃsakaṃ bhavettasmin | napuṃsake bhavaṃ nāpusakam) M. Bh. on IV. 1.3.

context information

Vyakarana (व्याकरण, vyākaraṇa) refers to Sanskrit grammar and represents one of the six additional sciences (vedanga) to be studied along with the Vedas. Vyakarana concerns itself with the rules of Sanskrit grammar and linguistic analysis in order to establish the correct context of words and sentences.

Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)

Source: Wisdom Library: Nāṭya-śāstra

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक) refers to a character (prakṛti) of mixed nature (hermaphrodite) according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 34. Accordingly, “Maid servants and the like are characters of mixed nature. A hermaphrodite is also a mixed character, but of the inferior kind. O the best of Brahmins, the Śakāra and the Viṭa and others like them in a drama, are also to be known as characters of mixed nature”.

context information

Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (shastra) of performing arts, (natya—theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing Dramatic plays (nataka), construction and performance of Theater, and Poetic works (kavya).

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—(eunuch) Mention is made in Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Chapter 48, that the semen introduced into the womb of the woman by the man at the time of coition, will get mixed with the blood in the womb, and that the issue will be male, female or eunuch according to the proportion of the mixture. In the mixture of semen and blood, if blood exceeds semen the issue will be female and if semen exceeds, it will be male child and if both are equal the child will be a eunuch.

context information

The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.

Ayurveda (science of life)

Source: Ancient Science of Life: Snake bite treatment in Prayoga samuccayam

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक) refers to “hermaphrodite (snakes)”, according to the 20th century Prayogasamuccaya (one of the most popular and widely practised book in toxicology in Malayalam).—Snakes conceive in the three months beginning with the karkiḍaka month. [...] After 4 months of gestation, they lay eggs, 21 in all, seven each in three different places. According to the colour of eggs, red will hatch into females, yellow into males and mixed colour will be napuṃsaka (hermaphrodite). [...]

Source: gurumukhi.ru: Ayurveda glossary of terms

1) Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक):—Hermophrodite.

2) Impotent.

context information

Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.

Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक) refers to “neuter” (i.e., the divine liṅga within which the Goddess resides), according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—The normal neuter gender of the word ‘liṅga’ itself reflects the pure, indeterminate nature of the transcendent Absolute which, devoid of all possible phenomenal characterizations, is neither male nor female. But this Absolute is not the Brahman (also a neuter word) of the Upaniṣads. It is, as in all theistic Sanskritic traditions, the godhead, the absolute ground of deity—its essential, unqualified nature, to which the Kubjikā Tantras refer as the Neuter (napuṃsaka). The Neuter is the Divine Liṅga [i.e., divyaliṅga] within which the goddess resides. It is the deity’s essentially blissful nature, beyond the opposites. [...]

context information

Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.

Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)

Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by Varahamihira

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक) refers to “eunuchs”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 16) (“On the planets—graha-bhaktiyoga”), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “[...] Mercury also presides over painters, grammarians, mathematicians, physicians, sculptors, spies, jugglers, infants, poets, rogues, tale-bearers, black-magicians, messengers, eunuchs (napuṃsaka), buffoons, sorcerers and conjurers; over sentinels, dancers and dancing masters; over ghee, gingelly and other oils; over seeds, over bitter flavour, over observers of religious ceremonies, over chemists and mules”.

context information

Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.

General definition (in Hinduism)

Source: Hindu Dharma Forums: Mantra /Sanskrit Question

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक) is na +puṃ+saka : na = not or no + puṃ = male being + saka ='he that man , she that woman ' Hence napuṃsaka means not male being or woman. It seems for economy this word could just be nasaka ( my contrived word) - not man or woman.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Source: Encyclopedia of Jainism: Tattvartha Sutra 6: Influx of karmas

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—What is the cause of the ‘neutral gender inclinations’ (napuṃsaka) karmas? Great or intense passion, extending injury to concealed parts/ organs, going for pleasure to other’s women etc are the causes of the neutral gender inclinations karmas.

Source: Encyclopedia of Jainism: Tattvartha Sutra 2: the Category of the living

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 2.50, “the infernal beings (naraka) and the spontaneously-generated (sammūrcchana) are hermaphroditic of the neuter sex (napuṃsaka)”. How many types of sense organs can spontaneously generated subhuman beings with neutral gender have? They can have from two to five types of sense organs.

according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 2.51, “the celestial beings (deva) are not of neuter sex (napuṃsaka)”. The heavenly beings (deva) have either masculine or feminine sex only. All the three genders i.e. male, female and neutral occur in human (manuṣya) and sub human beings (tiryañca).

context information

Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.

Languages of India and abroad

Pali-English dictionary

Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary

napuṃsaka : (m.) 1. eunuch; 2. the neuter gender.

context information

Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—n m (S) A human or other creature without organs of generation; one neither male nor female. 2 An impotent person, one without the power of procreation.

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napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—a S In grammar. Neuter.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—n m A human or other creature without organs of generation; one neither male nor female. An impotent person, one without the power of procreation.

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napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—a In grammar. Neuter.

context information

Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—[na pumān na strī]

1) A hermaphrodite (neither man, nor woman).

2) An impotent man, a eunuch.

3) A coward.

-kam 1 A word in the neuter gender.

2) The neuter gender.

Derivable forms: napuṃsakaḥ (नपुंसकः), napuṃsakam (नपुंसकम्).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—mn.

(-kaḥ-kaṃ) 1. A eunuch. 2. An impotent or imbecile man. 3. The neuter gender. E. na not. puṃsaka male.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—[napuṃsa + ka], I. adj. 1. Neither man nor woman. 2. Of neuter gender. Ii. m. 1. An eunuch, Mahābhārata 4, 1190. 2. A coward, [Pañcatantra] i. [distich] 364.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक).—[masculine] [neuter] neither male nor female, i.e. a eunuch or hermaphrodite; [neuter] a word in the neuter gender, the neuter gender.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक):—[=na-puṃsaka] [from na] mf(ā)n. (na-) neither male nor female

2) [v.s. ...] a hermaphrodite

3) [v.s. ...] a eunuch

4) [v.s. ...] a weakling, coward, [Maitrāyaṇī-saṃhitā; Brāhmaṇa; Upaniṣad; Mahābhārata] etc.

5) [v.s. ...] n. neuter a word in the n° gender or the n° g° itself, [Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa; Prātiśākhya; Pāṇini] etc.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक):—[(kaḥ-kaṃ)] 1. m. n. A eunuch; an impotent man; neuter gender.

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Ṇapuṃsa, Ṇapusaṃga, Ṇapuṃsaya.

[Sanskrit to German]

Napumsaka in German

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

Hindi dictionary

Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक) [Also spelled napunsak]:—(nm) a eunuch; an impotent person; a coward; (a) impotant; cowardly, unmanly; ~[tā/tva] impotence; unmanliness; cowardice; —[liṃga] neuter gender.

context information

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Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Napuṃsaka (ನಪುಂಸಕ):—[adjective] designating, of or belonging to a third gender, consisting of words that have neither masculine nor feminine grammatical gender; neuter.

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Napuṃsaka (ನಪುಂಸಕ):—

1) [noun] a person having undeveloped or imperfect sexual organs.

2) [noun] a castrated man; an eunuch.

3) [noun] the quality or condition of being an eunuch.

4) [noun] (fig.) a man low in physical strength, courage or vitality; a weakling.

5) [noun] (gram.) the neuter gender; a word or form in this gender.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

Nepali dictionary

Source: unoes: Nepali-English Dictionary

Napuṃsaka (नपुंसक):—n. 1. hermaphrodite; 2. an impotent man; adj. unmanly; cowardly;

context information

Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.

Relevant text

Search found 14 books and stories containing Napumsaka, Napuṃsaka, Nāpuṃsaka, Na-pumsaka, Na-puṃsaka; (plurals include: Napumsakas, Napuṃsakas, Nāpuṃsakas, pumsakas, puṃsakas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Verse 2.50 - Neuter-sex (napuṃsaka) < [Chapter 2 - Category of the Living]

Verse 2.51 - The celestial beings are not neuter-sex < [Chapter 2 - Category of the Living]

Verse 2.52 - The three sexes (signs–veda) < [Chapter 2 - Category of the Living]

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Tatpuruṣa-samāsa (Compound) < [Chapter 3 - Vāsudevavijaya—A Grammatical Study]

Surūparāghava of Ilattūr Rāmasvāmiśāstri < [Chapter 1 - Śāstrakāvyas—A Brief Survey]

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Tattva 1: Jīva (soul) < [Appendix 1.4: The nine tattvas]

Part 13: Fifth incarnation as the Īśāna god < [Chapter I]

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Verse 1.1.40 < [Chapter 1 - Summary of Lord Gaura’s Pastimes]

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