guṇá m. (√grah Uṇ.) a single thread or strand of a cord or twine (e.g. tri-g○, q.v.), string or thread, rope TS. vii Mṛicch. Kum. Ragh.
• a garland W.
• a bow-string R. iii, 33, 16 (cāpa-) Ragh. ix, 54 Ṛitus. Hit.
• (in geom.) a sinew
• the string of a musical instrument, chord Śiś. iv, 57: ifc. (f. ā) with numerals 'fold, times' ( cátur-, tri-, daśa-, dví-, pañca-
• rarely the numeral stands by itself along with guṇá [e.g. viśiṣṭo daśabhir guṇaiḥ, 'of ten times higher value' Mn. ii, 85] AV. x, 8, 43 MBh. iii, 15649 Hariv. 509
• [guṇa = bhāga] Pāṇ. 5-2, 47 Kāś.)
• a multiplier, co-efficient (in alg.)
• subdivision, species, kind (e.g. gandhasya guṇāḥ, the different kinds of smell MBh. xii, 6847)
• the 6 subdivisions of action for a king in foreign politics (viz. peace, war, march, halt, stratagem, and recourse to the protection of a mightier king) Mn. vii, 160 Yājñ. i, 346 MBh. ii, 155
• = upâya (q.v., denoting the 4 ways of conquering an enemy) R. v, 81, 41
• 'requisite', ○ṇôpêta
• a secondary element, subordinate or unessential part of any action (e.g. sarva-g○ mfn. 'reaching to all subordinate parts', hence 'valid throughout' KātyŚr.) ŚāṅkhŚr. ĀśvŚr. KātyŚr. R. v, 1, 71
• an auxiliary act ŚāṅkhBr. xxvi, 4
• a secondary dish (opposed to anna i.e. rice or the chief dish), side-dish Mn. iii, 224 ff
• (= -karman, in Gr.) the secondary or less immediate object of an action Pāṇ. 1-4, 51 Sch.
• a quality, peculiarity, attribute or property Lāṭy. ŚāṅkhGṛ. Mn. iii, ix, &c
• an attribute of the 5 elements (each of which has its own peculiar quality or qualities as well as organ of sense
• thus 1. ether has śabda, or sound for its Guṇa and the ear for its organ
• 2. the air has tangibility and sound for its Guṇas and the skin for its organ
• 3. fire or light has shape or colour, tangibility, and sound for its Guṇas, and the eye for its organs
• 4. water has flavour, shape, tangibility, and sound for its Guṇas, and the tongue for its organ
• 5. earth has the preceding Guṇas, with the addition of its own peculiar Guṇa of smell, and the nose for its organ) Mn. i, 20 and 76-78 MBh. xii, 6846 ff. Śak. i, 1 BhP. iii, 5, 35
• (in Śāṃkhya phil.) an ingredient or constituent of Prakṛiti, chief quality of all existing beings (viz. sattva, rajas, and tamas i.e. goodness, passion, and darkness, or virtue, foulness, and ignorance
• cf. RTL. pp. 31 ; 36 ; 163) Mn. i ; iii, 40 ; xii, 24 ff. Sāṃkhyak. Bhag. xiii f
• (hence) the number 'three' VarBṛS. īc, 1
• a property or characteristic of all created things (in Nyāya phil. twenty-four Guṇas are enumerated, viz. 1. rūpa, shape, colour
• 2. rasa, savour
• 3. gandha, odour
• 4. sparśa, tangibility
• 5. saṃkhyā, number
• 6. parimāṇa, dimension
• 7. pṛthaktva, severalty
• 8. saṃyoga, conjunction
• 9. vibhāga, disjunction
• 10. paratva, remoteness
• 11. aparatva, proximity
• 12. gurutva, weight
• 13. dravatva, fluidity
• 14. sneha, viscidity
• 15. śabda, sound
• 16. buddhi or jñāna, understanding or knowledge
• 17. sukha, pleasure
• 18. duḥkha, pain
• 19. icchā, desire ; 20. dveṣa, aversion ; 21. prayatna, effort ; 22. dharma, merit or virtue ; 23. adharma, demerit ; 24. saṃskāra, the self-reproductive quality)
• an epithet KātyŚr.
• good quality, virtue, merit, excellence Mn. MBh. &c
• the merit of composition (consistency, elegance of expression, &c.) Kāvyâd. i, 41 f. Kpr. viii Sāh. viii
• the peculiar properties of the letters (11 in number, viz. the 8 bāhya-prayatnās q.v. and the 3 accents) Kāś. on Pāṇ. 1-1, 9 and 50 (cf. -mātra)
• the first gradation of a vowel, the vowels a (with ar, al Pāṇ. 1-1, 51), e, o Nir. x, 17 RPrāt. xi, 6 Pāṇ.
• an organ of sense L.
• a cook (cf. -kāra) L.
• Bhīma-sena (cf. -kāra) L.
• (ā), f. Sanseviera Roxburghiana L.
• the plant māṃsarohiṇī L.
• N. of a princess Rājat. iv, 695 (cf. nir-, vi-, sa-
• gauṇa.)