mahā

mahā adjective: great, eminent.

Adjective

mahā (not comparable)

(applied to terms from Indian history or philosophy) great, eminent
- The next step is to try them in some sitting posture such as mahā mudrā.1980, T. K. V. Desikachar, Religiousness in Yoga: Lectures on Theory and Practice, page 197
- This is especially true because many Hindus are looking forward to the time of the coming "Kalki" (also known as Maha Avatara, an incarnation of Vishnu, who will come to end the present age of darkness and destruction).2012, N. N., 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect, p. 66
as an honorific for Indian titles, usually capitalized
- This force shall be employed for the defence of the Maha Raja's dominions, against all foreign or domestic enemies, and for the enlargement of his dominions, by conquest of the Murathas.1779, Treaty between the Company and Maha Raja Lukindar, Bahadoor, Rana of Gohud, Article III
- The main ancient sources of information with regard to these Hindu beliefs and practises are the two great epics, the "Rāmāyana" and the Mahā Bhārata.1910, Charles William Eliot, Sacred Writings: With Introductions and Notes, page 800

mahā (uncountable)

one of the three vehicles of mastery in means to achieve liberation
- The Tantra of Secret Essence is the ati of mahā, which is the same as the mahā of ati in terms of three divisions of the great perfection.2009, Jamgon Mipham, Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra, page 5

Among all the therīs, it is only her name that bears the prefix mahā- or “great”.2014, Thea Mohr, Jampa Tsedroen, Dignity and Discipline: Reviving Full Ordination for Buddhist Nuns, page 45:
All are classed among the eighteen mahā or ‘great’ purāṇas.2014, The Seduction of Shiva: Tales of Life and Love, →ISBN:
Of special significance is the beautiful doctrine of the Superman-so like the Chinese concept of the Superior Man, and the Indian Mahā Purusha, Bodhisattva and Jīvan-mukta.1918, Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, The Dance of Śiva: Essays on Indian Art and Culture, page 115:
The disturbed Mahā Yogi (Great Ascetic) looked around in anger for the source of his discomfort and, seeing Kāma, at once burned him to ashes with fire that issued from his third eye.1991, Vatsayana, The Kama Sutra of Vatsayana:

alternative form	Mahā
alternative form	maha

From Sanskrit महा (mahā́), form of महत् (mahát, “great, big, high”) used in compounds.

What does mahā mean?: Mahā means great, eminent.
How do you use mahā in a sentence?: Among all the therīs, it is only her name that bears the prefix mahā- or “great”.
What part of speech is mahā?: Mahā can be an adjective or a noun.

Adapted from Wiktionary: mahā (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “mahā.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mah%C4%81. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.