Mahavana, Mahāvana, Maha-vana: 16 definitions
Introduction:
Mahavana means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, the history of ancient India. 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.
In Hinduism
Ayurveda (science of life)
Nighantu (Synonyms and Characteristics of Drugs and technical terms)
Source: Wisdom Library: Raj NighantuMahāvana (महावन) refers to a “big forest” according to the second chapter (dharaṇyādi-varga) of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or Rājanighaṇṭu (an Ayurvedic encyclopedia). The Dharaṇyādi-varga covers the lands, soil, mountains, jungles [viz., Mahāvana] and vegetation’s relations between trees and plants and substances, with their various kinds.
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.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: Wisdom Library: HinduismMahāvana (महावन)—One of the five forests on the eastern bank of the Yamunā.
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper NamesMahavana Mahavana
1. Mahavana. A wood near Vesali. It was partly natural, partly man made, and extended up to the Himalaya (MA.i.298; DA.i.309). See Kutagarasala.
2. Mahavana. The wood near Kapilavatthu, it was virgin forest, and reached from the edge of Kapilavatthu to the Himalaya on one side and to the sea on the other (MA.i.298, 449). In this wood was preached the Mahasamaya Sutta (for details see Mahasamaya) and also the Madhupindika Sutta (q.v.).
3. Mahavana. A forest on the outskirts of Uruvelakappa, where the Buddha retired for his noonday rest after his meal at Uruvelakappa. It was in that grove that Ananda took Tapussa to see him. A.iv.437f.
4. Mahavana. A forest on the banks of the Neranjara. DhA.i.86; DhSA.34, etc.; J.i.77.
Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita SastraMahāvana (महावन) is the name of a stoppig-place, or vihāra located at Vaiśālī, according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter V. Note: Vaiśālī is the present-day Resarch on the Gandaki, in the district of Muzafferpur in Tirhut. Its main monastery was the Kūṭāgāraśālā “Hall of the Belvedere”, described at length in Sumaṅgala, I; Papañca, II. But whereas the Pāli texts locate it in the Mahāvana “Large Forest”. The Sanskrit texts place it on the Markaṭahradatīra “Shore of the Monkey Pool”.
Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
India history and geography
Source: Wikipedia: India HistoryMahāvana (महावन).—Outside the town Vaishali, leading uninterruptedly up to the Himalaya, was the Mahavana, a large, natural forest. Nearby were other forests, such as Gosingalasala.
Source: Ancient Buddhist Texts: Geography of Early BuddhismMahāvana (महावन) is the name of an ancient forest that once existed near Uruvelakappa in Malla: one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas of the Majjhimadesa (Middle Country) of ancient India, as recorded in the Pāli Buddhist texts (detailing the geography of ancient India as it was known in to Early Buddhism).—The Mallaraṭṭha or Mallārāṣṭra has been mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya as one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas. The kingdom was divided into two parts which had for their capitals the cities of Kusāvati or Kusīnārā and Pāvā identical probably with Kasia (on the smaller Gondak and in the east of the Gorakhpur district) and a village named Padaraona (12 miles to the north-east of Kasia) respectively. Besides Kusīnārā, the Mallas had other important cities namely, Bhoganagara, Anupiya and Uruvelakappa in the neighbourhood of which there existed a wide forest called Mahāvana.
Mahāvana is at Kapilavatthu. According to Buddhaghosa, it is a natural forest outside the town of Vaisālī lying in one stretch up to the Himalayas. It is so called on account of the large area covered by it.
Source: OpenEdition books: Vividhatīrthakalpaḥ (History)Mahāvaṇa (महावण) is one of twelve forests, associated with Mahurā, as is mentioned in the Vividhatīrthakalpa by Jinaprabhasūri (13th century A.D.): an ancient text devoted to various Jaina holy places (tīrthas).—Twelve forests [(9) 18.31-32], § 4: Kāmiavaṇa; Kumuavaṇa; Kolavaṇa; Khairavaṇa; Tālavaṇa; Bahulāvana; Billavaṇa; Bhaṃḍīravaṇa; Mahāvaṇa; Mahuvaṇa; Lohajaṃghavaṇa; Viṃdāvaṇa (cf. Entwistle 1987 p. 299 and BEI 9 p. 47).
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryMahāvana (महावन).—a large forest in Vṛndāvana.
Derivable forms: mahāvanam (महावनम्).
Mahāvana is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms mahā and vana (वन).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit DictionaryMahāvana (महावन).—name of a grove: Divyāvadāna 399.12. Context indicates location in the north (in prec. line Kāśmīrapure); according to Burnouf, Introd. 396 note 1, in the country of Udyāna, q.v. in [Boehtlingk and Roth] (udyāna 4). This would hardly fit any of the four groves of this name mentioned in Malalasekara (Dictionary of Pali Proper Names).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryMahāvana (महावन).—n.
(-naṃ) A large forest. E. mahā large, vana a wood.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryMahāvana (महावन).—n. a large forest, [Rāmāyaṇa] 3, 55, 48.
Mahāvana is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms mahā and vana (वन).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryMahāvana (महावन).—[neuter] large forest.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Mahāvana (महावन):—[=mahā-vana] [from mahā > mah] n. a great forest, [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa]
2) [v.s. ...] Name of a forest, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
3) [v.s. ...] of a Buddhist monastery in a f° in Udyāna, [Buddhist literature]
4) [v.s. ...] mfn. having a gr° forest, [Vopadeva]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryMahāvana (महावन):—[mahā-vana] (naṃ) 1. n. A large forest.
[Sanskrit to German]
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Maha, Vana, Mahanta.
Starts with: Mahavanasamgharama, Mahavanasthana, Mahavanavihara.
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Full-text (+44): Mahavanasamgharama, Mahavanavihara, Sahyamahavana, Kutagarasala, Pajjunnadhita Sutta, Panditakumaraka, Urubuddharakkhita, Rahita, Mahavanasthana, Kalimbha, Uruvelakappa, Revataka, Vindavana, Kamiavana, Khairavana, Billavana, Mahuvana, Talavana, Bahulavana, Kolavana.
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Search found 34 books and stories containing Mahavana, Mahā-vana, Maha-vana, Mahā-vaṇa, Mahanta-vana, Mahanta-vana, Mahanta-vaṇa, Mahāvana, Mahāvaṇa, Mahavana's, Mahavanan, Mahavanas, Mahavanat; (plurals include: Mahavanas, vanas, vaṇas, Mahāvanas, Mahāvaṇas, Mahavana'ses, Mahavanans, Mahavanases, Mahavanats). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 2.3.16 < [Chapter 3 - Description of the Yamunā’s Arrival]
Verse 1.19.31 < [Chapter 19 - Breaking of the Two Arjuna Trees]
Verse 4.19.32 < [Chapter 19 - A Thousand Names of Srī Yamunā]
Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (by Rajendralala Mitra)
Animal Kingdom (Tiryak) in Epics (by Saranya P.S)
Vastu-shastra (Introduction to Indian architecture) (by D. N. Shukla)
(iv.c) Aparājitapṛcchā (Summary) < [Chapter 5 - Study of Hindu Science of Architecture]
Maha Buddhavamsa—The Great Chronicle of Buddhas (by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw)
Part 1 - Introduction (Buddha’s Fifth Vassa at Vesali) < [Chapter 23 - The Buddha’s Fifth Vassa at Vesali]
The Occasion of the Great Assembly (Mahāsamaya) < [Chapter 22 - Founding of Vesali]
Biography (36): Nandaka Mahāthera < [Chapter 43 - Forty-one Arahat-Mahatheras and their Respective Etadagga titles]
Mahavamsa (by Wilhelm Geiger)