84000 Glossary of Terms

Our trilingual glossary combining entries from all of our publications into one useful resource, giving translations and definitions of thousands of terms, people, places, and texts from the Buddhist canon.

ལྷ་མ་ཡིན། | Glossary of Terms

  • གསོད་འཕྲོག

  • ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
  • lha ma yin
  • gsod ’phrog
  • dānava
  • Term
Publications: 4
  • dānava
  • གསོད་འཕྲོག
  • gsod ’phrog
  • dānava
Definition in this text:

A class of beings, literally, in Sanskrit, “the sons of Danu.” They are enemies of the devas and often associated with the asuras. Under the leadership of Bali, they took over the world, creating a golden age, until they were tricked by Viṣṇu in the form of a brahmin dwarf. A version of that legend is described in a prominent passage in the Kāraṇḍa­vyūha Sūtra (The Basket’s Display, Toh 116), the principal Avalokiteśvara sūtra.

  • dānava
  • ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
  • lha ma yin
  • dānava
Definition in this text:

A class of asuras; the terms dānava and asura are virtually synonymous.

  • dānava
  • ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
  • lha ma yin
  • dānava
Definition in this text:

Another name for asuras.

  • dānava
  • ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
  • lha ma yin
  • dānava
Definition in this text:

As a subclass of asuras, dānavas are a class of nonhuman beings antagonistic to the devas (gods) and a consistently disruptive force in Indic mythology.