apatrap

 Apatrap means “to be ashamed or bashful, to turn the face away in shame,” derived from the verbal root trap with the prefix apa-.

Core meaning

All major dictionary sources agree that apatrap (अपत्रप्) expresses a state of shame, bashfulness, or embarrassment, often conveyed physically by hanging or turning the face away

Wisdom Library+3

.

Grammatical structure

• apa‑ + √trap — the prefix apa- (“away, off”) combined with the root trap (“to feel shame”) gives the sense “to shrink away in shame”

  1

  .
• It is typically used as an intransitive verb in the 1st class (A.) verbal paradigm

  1

  .
• 

  

  2 Sources

How it is used in Sanskrit

Classical examples show the verb used with the instrumental case to indicate the person or thing before whom one feels ashamed

Wisdom Library+2

. For example, in the Mahābhārata:

• yena apatrapate sādhuḥ asādhuḥ tena tuṣyati — “By whom even a good man feels ashamed, the bad man is pleased”

  1

  .
• ya ātmana apatrapate bhṛśam naraḥ… — “The man who feels deep shame before himself…”

  1

  .
• 

  1 Source

These examples highlight that apatrap conveys not just mild embarrassment but a moral or emotional shrinking, a sense of inner discomfort or loss of face.

Semantic nuance

The term can also imply:

• bashfulness or modesty, especially in social or ethical contexts

  2

  .
• turning away the face as a physical sign of shame

  2

  .
• 

  

  2 Sources

Some lexicons note a related form vyapatrap, meaning “to turn away perplexed or ashamed,” showing the same root and emotional field

Wisdom Library

.

Summary

Apatrap is a classical Sanskrit verb meaning to feel shame, be bashful, or avert one’s face in embarrassment, built from apa- (“away”) + trap (“to be ashamed”). It appears widely in epic and poetic literature to describe both physical and moral reactions of shame.