As a deity name
Name 508 of the Rama Sahasranāma — Padma Purana / Skanda Purana, as taught by Lord Shiva to Goddess Parvati
As a Hindi name
पूर्व · noun · masculine
वह दिशा जिस ओर सूर्य निकलता हुआ दिखलाई देता हो । पश्चिम के सामने की दिशा · जैन मतानुसार सात नील, पाँच खरब, साठ अर्ब वर्ष का एक कालविभाग · पूर्वज । पुरखा (को॰) — Śabdasāgara
पूर्व · adj
पहले का । जो पहले हो या रह चुका हो · आगे का । अगला · पुराना । प्राचीन — Śabdasāgara
पूर्व · pūrva · adj.
Being before or in front (of), fore, first, foremost; east, eastern, easterly, eastward, to the east (of); previous (to), earlier (than); prior, anterior, former, preceding, bygone, antecedent — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 279
पूर्व · masculine
east
पूर्व
preceding, previous
a Hindi word, a tatsama: the Sanskrit word borrowed unchanged into Hindi पूर्व — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Learned borrowing from Sanskrit पूर्व (pūrva). Doublet of पुब (pub), Doublet of पूरब (pūrab).” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
pūrva mf(ā)n. (connected with purā, puras, pra, and declined like a pron. when implying relative position whether in place or time, but not necessarily in abl. loc. sg. m. n. and nom. pl. m.; see Pāṇ. i, 1, 27; 34; vii, 1, 16) being before or in front, fore, first, RV. &c. &c.
eastern, to the east of (abl.), ib.
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
(connected with purā, puras, pra, and declined like a pron. when implying relative position whether in place or time, but not necessarily in abl. loc. sg. and nom. pl.; see; ) bein…
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (11)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "pūrva" is the vocative of "pūrvā" — the same word in a different grammatical case.
Dictionary citations
pūrva mf(ā)n. (connected with purā, puras, pra, and declined like a pron. when implying relative position whether in place or time, but not necessarily in abl. loc. sg. m. n. and nom. pl. m.; see Pāṇ. i, 1, 27; 34; vii, 1, 16) being before or in front, fore, first, RV. &c. &c.
eastern, to the east of (abl.), ib.
former, prior, preceding, previous to, earlier than (abl. or comp.), ib. (gaja-pūrva, preceding the number ‘eight’ i.e. seven, the seventh, Śrutab.; māsena p˚ or māsa-p˚, earlier by a month, Pāṇ. ii, 1, 31; ifc. often = formerly or before, e.g. strī-p˚, f˚ a wife; āḍhya-p˚, f˚ wealthy; esp. after a pp., e.g. kṛta-p˚, done before, dṛṣṭa-p˚, seen b˚; ifc. also preceded or accompanied by, attended with, e.g. smita-pūrvā vāk, speech accompanied by smiles; sometimes not translatable, e.g. mṛdu-pūrvā vāk, kind speech)
ancient, old, customary, traditional, RV. &c. &c.
first (in a series), initial, lowest (opp. to uttara; with dama or sāhasa ‘the lowest fine’), Mn. viii, 120 &c.
pūrvā (ā), f. (with or sc. diś) the east, MBh.; R.
N. of a country to the east of Madhya-deśa, L.
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
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