As a deity name
Name 260 of the Lakshmi Sahasranāma — Skanda Purana / Sanat Kumara Samhita, as taught by Sages Sanatkumara and Devotees
As a Hindi name
धारणा · noun · feminine
धारण करने की क्रिया या भाव · वह शक्ति जिसमें कोई बात मन में धारण की जाती है । समझने या मन में धारण करने की वृत्ति । बुद्धि । अक्ल । समझ · दृढ़ निश्चय । पक्का विचार — Śabdasāgara
धारणा · dhāraṇā · s.f.
Keeping in remembrance, retaining in the mind; a good memory, memory — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 538
धारणा · feminine
belief, notion; determination, steel
Cited formation "धारणा" is धारण + -आ: धारण means "Holding, bearing, carrying, keeping, wearing", and the suffix -आ forms abstract, agent, action or instrumental nouns (masc.); also past participles. CHD Basic Grammar App. I §8(3) — cited from the extracted rule table — base gloss: Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago
Cited formation "धारणा" is धारण + -आ: धारण means "Holding, bearing, carrying, keeping, wearing", and the suffix -आ forms 'having' (adjectives). CHD Basic Grammar App. I §9(1) — cited from the extracted rule table — base gloss: Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago
a Hindi word, a tatsama: the Sanskrit word borrowed unchanged into Hindi धारणा — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Borrowed from Sanskrit धारणा (dhāraṇā).” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
dhāraṇā f. (cf. ˚ṇa, col. 1) the act of holding, bearing, wearing, supporting, maintaining, MBh.; R.
retaining, keeping back (also in remembrance), a good memory, KaṭhUp.; GṛS.; MBh.; BhP.
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
the act of holding, bearing, wearing, supporting, maintaining
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (6)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "dhāraṇā" is the feminine form of "dhāraṇa" — the same word with the feminine ending (nominative).
Dictionary citations
dhāraṇā f. (cf. ˚ṇa, col. 1) the act of holding, bearing, wearing, supporting, maintaining, MBh.; R.
retaining, keeping back (also in remembrance), a good memory, KaṭhUp.; GṛS.; MBh.; BhP.
collection or concentration of the mind (joined with the retention of breath), Mn.; MBh.; Suśr.; Kāv.; Pur. &c.
cf. MWB. 239 (˚ṇāṃ-√ dhṛ, to exercise concentration, Yājñ.; ˚ṇāṃ gataḥ, having composed one's self, R.)
understanding, intellect, Yājñ. iii, 73
dhāraṇa mf(ī)n. holding, bearing, keeping (in remembrance), retention, preserving, protecting, maintaining, possessing, having (ifc. or with gen.), TĀr.; MBh.; Suśr. : BhP.
assuming the shape of (gen.), resembling, MBh. xiii, 739
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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