As a deity name
Name 379 of the Vishnu Sahasranāma — Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva), as taught by Bhishma to Yudhishthira on his deathbed
As a Hindi name
No reading on this path — this spelling has no entry in our Hindi sources, and no near neighbour is attested there either. We say so rather than invent one.
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
[kṛ-ṇic lyuṭ] 1 A cause, reason; kāraṇakopāḥ kuṭuṃbinyaḥ; oft. with loc. of the effect; 2 Ground, motive, object; kāraṇamānuṣīṃ tanuṃ 3 An instrument, means; 4 (In Nyāya phil.). A…
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (7)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "kāraṇaṃ" is the accusative of "kāraṇa" — the same word in a different grammatical case. (The spelling "kāraṇaṃ" is looked up as "kāraṇam" — a standard final-sound spelling variant.)
Dictionary citations
kāraṇaṃ [kṛ-ṇic lyuṭ] 1 A cause, reason; kāraṇakopāḥ kuṭuṃbinyaḥ M. 1. 18; R. 1. 74; Bg. 13. 21; oft. with loc. of the effect; Bh. 2. 84. 2 Ground, motive, object kiṃ punaḥ kāraṇaṃ Mbh.; Y. 2. 203; Ms. 8. 347; kāraṇamānuṣīṃ tanuṃ R. 16. 22. 3 An instrument, means; Y. 3. 20, 65. 4 (In Nyāya phil.). A cause, that which is invariably antecedent to some product and is not otherwise constituted; or, according to Mill, ‘the antecedent or concurrence of antecedents on which the effect is invariably and unconditionally consequent’; according to Naiyāyikas it is of three kinds; (1) samavāyi (intimate or inherent); as threads in the case of cloth; (2) asamavāyi (non-intimate or non-inherent), as the conjunction of the threads in the case of cloth; (3) nimitta (instrumental) as the weaver's loom. 5 (pb) The generative cause, creator, father; Ku. 5. 81. 6 An element, elementary matter; Y. 3. 148; Bg. 18. 13. 7 The origin or plot of a play, poem, &c. 8 An organ of sense. 9 The body. 10 A sign, document, proof or authority; Ms. 11. 85. 11 That on which any opinion or judgment is based. 12 Action. 13 A legal instrument or document. 14 Agency, instrumentality. 15 A deity (as the proximate or remote cause of creation.) 16 Killing, injuring. — ṇā 1 Pain, agony; Ve. 5. 32. 2 Casting into hell. 3 Urging, instigation. (kāraṇāṃt for the reason that; dveṣa˚ on account of hatred; matkāraṇāt for my sake; Pt. 1. 22.) Comp. — anvita a. having a cause or reason. — uttaraṃ a special plea, denial of the cause of complaint; admission of the charge generally, but denial of the actual issue (in law). — kāraṇaṃ an elementary or primary cause; an atom; Ki. 18. 35. — gata a. referred to its cause, resolved into its principles. — guṇaḥ a quality of the cause. — balavat a. strong by motives; Pt. 5. 29. — bhūta a. 1 caused. 2 forming the cause. — mālā a figure of speech, ‘a chain of causes’; yathottaraṃ cet pūrvasya pūrvasyārthasya hetutā . tadā kāraṇamālā syāt K. P. 10; e. g. Bg. 2. 62, 63; also S. D. 728. — vādin m. a complainant, plaintiff. — vāri n. the original water produced at the beginning of the creation. — vihīna a. without a cause. — śarīraṃ (in Vedānta phil.) the inner rudiment of the body, causal frame.
1. kāraṇa n. cause, reason, the cause of anything (gen., also often loc.), KātyŚr.; MBh.; Mn. &c.
instrument, means
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
Sources contain errors and engines have limits; every claim above carries its citation so you can verify it. This is guidance about names and their sources — not religious or astrological consultation. How we work · Our sources