dhāraṇā धारणा – concentration; fixation

Original text · English · substantive feminine

dhāraṇā 1 The act of holding, bearing, supporting preserving, &c. 2 The faculty of retaining in the mind, a good or retentive memory; dhīrdhāraṇāvatī medhā Mk. 3 Memory in general. 4 Keeping the mind collected, holding the breath suspended, steady abstraction of mind; paricetumupāṃśu dhāraṇāṃ R. 8. 18; Ms. 6. 72; Y. 3. 201; (dhāraṇetyucyate ceyaṃ dhāryate yanmano tayā). 5 Fortitude, firmness, steadiness. 6 A fixed precept or injunction, a settled rule, conclusion; iti dharmasya dhāraṇā Ms. 8. 184, Ms. 4. 38, Ms. 9. 124. 7 Understanding, intellect. 8 Continuance in rectitude, propriety, decorum. 9 Conviction or abstraction. Comp. — yogaḥ deep devotion. — śaktiḥ f. a retentive memory.