दर्शन (darshan)
noun
Covers two main strands: the everyday/devotional sense of 'seeing' or 'having a sighting of' something revered (a deity, a holy person, a celebrity), and the more formal, learned sense of 'philosophy' as an intellectual discipline. Both trace to the same root, देखना (dekhnaa, 'to see').
Sense
1
:
the act of respectfully seeing/viewing a deity, holy person, or revered figure
noun, masculine Very commonly used in the fixed frame X के दर्शन करना (ke darshan karnaa, 'to have/take darshan of X'), where X takes the genitive.
Synonyms: झलक (jhalak, glimpse, less formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This word captures something English lacks a single term for: the belief that seeing a deity's image, or a revered guru, is itself a reciprocal, blessing-conferring act -- you see the murti (moorti) and the murti 'sees' you back. You'll hear it constantly outside temples: 'भगवान के दर्शन हो गए' (bhagvaan ke darshan ho gae, 'we got to see/have darshan of God'), and also loosely for a beloved elder or even a star sighting, e.g. 'नेता जी के दर्शन हो गए' (netaa jii ke darshan ho gae, 'we got a glimpse of the leader').
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often try to say 'दर्शन देखना' (darshan dekhnaa) by analogy with 'to see,' but the natural collocation is दर्शन करना (darshan karnaa) or दर्शन होना (darshan honaa), not देखना (dekhnaa). 2) दर्शन (darshan) is grammatically plural/invariant in form even for a single act of seeing -- it is not counted as 'one darshan, two darshans' the way English might.
Sample Sentences:
मंदिर जाकर भगवान के दर्शन हो गए।
We went to the temple and got to have darshan of God.
(mandir jaakar bhagvaan ke darshan ho gae।)
हर सुबह मैं मंदिर जाकर देवी के दर्शन करता हूँ।
Every morning I go to the temple and have darshan of the goddess.
(har subah main mandir jaakar devii ke darshan kartaa hoon।)
आरती के समय सब लोग भगवान के दर्शन कर रहे हैं।
During the aarti, everyone is having darshan of God.
(aartii ke samay sab log bhagvaan ke darshan kar rahe hain।)
कल हम बाबा जी के दर्शन के लिए आश्रम जाएँगे।
Tomorrow we will go to the ashram for darshan of the guru.
(kal ham baabaa jii ke darshan ke lie aashram jaaenge।)
पहले दर्शन कर लो, फिर प्रसाद बाँटा जाएगा।
First have darshan, then the prasad will be distributed.
(pahle darshan kar lo, phir prasaad baantaa jaaegaa।)
काश हमें कुंभ में साधु महाराज के दर्शन हो पाते।
If only we could have gotten darshan of the sadhu maharaj at the Kumbh.
(kaash hamen kumbh men saadhu mahaaraaj ke darshan ho paate।)
मंदिर में इतनी भीड़ थी कि मूर्ति के दर्शन तक नहीं हो पाए।
There was such a crowd in the temple that we could not even get darshan of the idol.
(mandir men itnii bhiid thii ki moorti ke darshan tak nahiin ho paae।)
क्या तुम्हें अभी तक बाबा के दर्शन नहीं हुए?
Have you still not had darshan of the baba?
(kyaa tumhen abhii tak baabaa ke darshan nahiin hue?)
भक्तों को सुबह चार बजे से ही दर्शन के लिए कतार में खड़ा होना पड़ता है।
Devotees have to stand in line for darshan starting from four in the morning.
(bhakton ko subah chaar baje se hii darshan ke lie kataar men khadaa honaa padtaa hai।)
बाहर इतनी भीड़ थी, शायद नेता जी के दर्शन हो जाएँ।
There was such a crowd outside, maybe we would get a glimpse of the leader.
(baahar itnii bhiid thii, shaayad netaa jii ke darshan ho jaaen।)
वृद्ध संत के दर्शन मात्र से ही श्रद्धालुओं का मन शांत हो जाता है।
Merely having darshan of the old saint calms the devotees' minds.
(vriddh sant ke darshan maatr se hii shraddhaaluon kaa man shaant ho jaataa hai।)
मंदिर के कपाट अभी बंद हैं, दर्शन शाम को खोले जाएँगे।
The temple doors are closed right now; darshan will be opened in the evening.
(mandir ke kapaat abhii band hain, darshan shaam ko khole jaaenge।)
Sense
2
:
philosophy, a system of philosophical thought
noun, masculine Used both for the academic discipline (जीवन दर्शन (jiivan darshan, 'philosophy of life')) and for named schools of Indian philosophy, e.g. वेदांत दर्शन (vedaant darshan, 'the Vedanta school of philosophy').
Synonyms: फ़िलॉसफ़ी (filosfii, English loanword, informal/academic), विचारधारा (vichaardhaaraa, ideology, broader scope)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You'll meet this sense in academic or reflective registers: college students talk about पढ़ना दर्शनशास्त्र (darshanshaastr, 'the study of philosophy'), and people describe someone's outlook on life as उसका दर्शन (uskaa darshan, 'his/her philosophy'). It's a more formal, thoughtful register than everyday chat.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes assume this sense is interchangeable with the devotional 'sighting' sense just because the spelling is identical -- context (a philosophy classroom vs. a temple) always disambiguates for native speakers, so pay attention to the surrounding words rather than translating word-by-word.
Sample Sentences:
मैंने कॉलेज में दर्शनशास्त्र पढ़ा था।
I studied philosophy in college.
(mainne kolej men darshanshaastr padhaa thaa।)
उसका दर्शन बहुत सीधा-सादा है -- जो मिले, उसमें खुश रहो।
His philosophy is very simple -- be happy with whatever you get.
(uskaa darshan bahut siidhaa-saadaa hai -- jo mile, usmen khush raho।)
भारतीय दर्शन में कर्म और पुनर्जन्म की अवधारणा बहुत महत्वपूर्ण है।
In Indian philosophy, the concept of karma and rebirth is very important.
(bhaartiiy darshan men karm aur punarjanm kii avdhaarnaa bahut mahatvpoorn hai।)
अगर तुमने प्लेटो का दर्शन पढ़ा होता, तो यह बहस आसान हो जाती।
If you had studied Plato's philosophy, this debate would have become easier.
(agar tumne pleto kaa darshan padhaa hotaa, to yah bahas aasaan ho jaatii।)
प्रोफेसर साहब हमेशा कहते हैं कि दर्शन जीवन जीने का तरीका सिखाता है।
The professor always says that philosophy teaches a way of living life.
(prophesar saahab hameshaa kahte hain ki darshan jiivan jiine kaa tariikaa sikhaataa hai।)
क्या तुम मुझे बौद्ध दर्शन के बारे में कुछ समझा सकते हो?
Can you explain something to me about Buddhist philosophy?
(kyaa tum mujhe bauddh darshan ke baare men kuchh samjhaa sakte ho?)
उसका जीवन-दर्शन हमेशा से यही रहा है कि मेहनत ही सफलता की कुंजी है।
His life philosophy has always been that hard work is the key to success.
(uskaa jiivan-darshan hameshaa se yahii rahaa hai ki mehnat hii saphaltaa kii kunjii hai।)
काश मैं भी उनका दर्शन इतनी गहराई से समझ पाता।
I wish I could understand his philosophy so deeply too.
(kaash main bhii unkaa darshan itnii gahraaii se samajh paataa।)
उस विश्वविद्यालय में पश्चिमी और भारतीय दर्शन दोनों पढ़ाए जाते हैं।
Both Western and Indian philosophy are taught at that university.
(us vishvvidyaalay men pashchimii aur bhaartiiy darshan donon padhaae jaate hain।)
पहले दर्शन के बुनियादी सवाल समझो, फिर आगे बढ़ना।
First understand the basic questions of philosophy, then move ahead.
(pahle darshan ke buniyaadii savaal samjho, phir aage badhnaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
दर्शन
(darshan)
(sg.m.oblique):
दर्शन
(darshan)
(pl.m.direct):
दर्शन
(darshan)
(pl.m.oblique):
दर्शनों
(darshnon)