वज्र

From Proto-Indo-Aryan *wáȷ́ras, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wáȷ́ras, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵ- (“strong, lively”). Cognate with Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬰𐬭𐬀 (vazra, “mace; main weapon of Mithra”), Persian گرز (“club, mace”), Northern Sami: veahčir (“hammer”), Erzya: узере (uzere, “axe”). Compare also Old Armenian վարզ (varz, “mace”), an Iranian borrowing.

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /ʋɐ́d͡ʑ.ɾɐ/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ˈʋɐd͡ʑ.ɾɐ/

वज्र • (vájra) stem, m (root वज्)

1. (also n) "the hard or mighty one", a thunderbolt
   1. especially that of Indra, said to have been formed out of the bones of the rishi दधीच (dadhīca) or दधीचि (dadhīci), and shaped like a circular discus, or in later times regarded as having the form of two transverse bolts crossing each other thus x
      • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.55.1:

        दि॒वश्चि॑दस्य वरि॒मा वि प॑प्रथ॒ इन्द्रं॒ न म॒ह्ना पृ॑थि॒वी च॒न प्रति॑।
        भी॒मस्तुवि॑ष्माञ्चर्ष॒णिभ्य॑ आत॒पः शिशी॑ते॒ वज्रं॒ तेज॑से॒ न वंस॑गः॥

        diváścidasya varimā́ ví papratha índraṃ ná mahnā́ pṛthivī́ caná práti.
        bhīmástúviṣmāñcarṣaṇíbhya ātapáḥ śíśīte vájraṃ téjase ná váṃsagaḥ.

        His expansion spreads out even beyond heaven; not even the earth is the counterpart to Indra in greatness.
        Fearsome and mighty, a scorching firebrand for the settled domains, he hones his vajra, like a buffalo its horn, to be piercingly sharp.

   2. sometimes also applied to similar weapons used by various gods or superhuman beings, or to any mythical weapon destructive of spells or charms, also to मन्यु (manyu, “wrath”), RV. or to a jet of water AV. etc.
   3. also applied to a thunderbolt in general, or to the lightning evolved from the centrifugal energy of the circular thunderbolt of Indra when launched at a foe
   4. in Northern Buddhist countries, it is shaped like a dumbbell and called Dorje (MWB. 201, 322 etc.; RV. etc.)
2. a diamond (thought to be as hard as the thunderbolt or of the same substance with it), (ShaḍvBr., Mn., MBh. etc.)
3. a kind of talc (L.)
4. a kind of penance (feeding for a month on only barley prepared with cow's urine) (L.)
5. sour gruel (W.)
6. a form of military array (Mn., MBh., etc.) (compare वज्रव्यूह (vajra-vyūha))
7. a kind of column or pillar (VarBṛS.)
8. a particular form of the moon (ib.)
9. a particular एकाह (ekāha) (Vait.)
10. a kind of hard mortar or cement (कल्क (kalka)) (VarBṛS.) (compare वज्रलेप (vajra-lepa))
11. name of the 15th of the 27 yogas or astronomical divisions of time (ib.)
12. a particular soma ceremony (ShaḍvBr.)
13. Euphorbia antiquorum and another species (L.)
14. Astera (L.)
15. name of a mountain (R.)
16. name of an asura (Vīrac.)
17. name of a son of अनिरुद्ध (aniruddha) (MBh., Hariv., Pur.)
18. name of a son of विश्वामित्र (viśvāmitra) (MBh.)
19. name of a son of Manu Sāvarṇa (Hariv.)
20. (Jainism) of one of the 10 dala-pūrvins (L.)
21. name of a rishi (VarBṛS.) (compare वात्स्य (vātsya))
22. name of a minister of नरेन्द्रादित्य (narendrāditya) (Rājat.)
23. name of a son of भूति (bhūti) (ib.)
24. name of a heretical king (Buddh.)

• वज्रपाणि (vajrapāṇi)
• वज्रसत्त्व (vajrasattva)
• वज्रयान (vajrayāna)
• वज्रयोगिनी (vajrayoginī)
• वज्राङ्गबलि (vajrāṅgabali)

वज्र • (vájra) stem, n

1. denunciation in strong language (compared to thunder) (R., Sāh., Pratāp.) (compare वाक्यवज्र (vākya-vajra) and वाग्वज्र (vāg-vajra))
2. a kind of hard iron or steel (L.)
3. a particular posture in sitting (Cat.) (compare वज्रासन (vajrā*sana))
4. name of a particular configurations of the planets and stars (in which favourable planets are situated in the 1st and 7th houses and unfavourable in the 4th and 10th) (VarBṛS.)
5. myrobalan (L.)
6. the blossom of the sesamum or of any plant called vajra (L.)
7. vetiver, Chrysopogon zizanioides, formerly Andropogon muricatus (L.)
8. = बालक (bālaka), a child, pupil (L.)

वज्र • (vájra)

1. adamantine, hard, impenetrable (W.)
2. shaped like a kind of cross (compare above ), forked, zigzag (ib.)

• → Prakrit: 𑀯𑁃𑀭 (vaira)
• → Bengali: বজ্র (bôjrô) (learned)
• → English: vajra
• → Hindi: वज्र (vajra) (learned)
• → Japanese: 伐折羅, 伐闍羅, 跋折羅, 縛日羅 (basara)
• → Old Khmer: bejra
  • → Khmer: ពេជ្រ (pɨc), ពេជ្ (péch)
  • → Thai: เพชร (pét)
• → Kannada: ವಜ್ರ (vajra) (learned)
• → Old Javanese: bajra, braja
  • → Javanese: ꦧꦿꦗ (braja) (learned)
• → Lao: ເພັດ (phet)
• → Malayalam: വജ്രം (vajraṁ), വൈരം (vairaṁ)
• → Odia: ବଜ୍ର (båjrå) (learned)
• → Pali: vajira
  • → Burmese: စိန် (cin)
    • → Shan: ၸိင်ႇ (tsìng)
  • → Thai: วิเชียร (wí-chiian)
• → Tamil: வைரம் (vairam)
• → Telugu: వజ్రము (vajramu)
• → Tibetan: བཇྲ (bjra, “benza”)

• Monier Williams (1899) “वज्र”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, , new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 0913.