apsava

 In Sanskrit, apsava primarily means “water‑giving” or “connected with water,” and in Vedic usage it can also mean “having form/shape” or “devoid of the freshness of water.”

Core meanings from Sanskrit dictionaries

The main definitions come from traditional lexicons such as Apte and Monier‑Williams:

• “Devoid of the essence (freshness) of water” — apsaṃ jala‑rasaṃ vāti hinasti (“that which destroys or lacks the watery essence”)

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• “Possessed of form or shape” — a secondary descriptive sense

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• “Water‑giving” / “dispensing water” — a Vedic meaning, also reflected in Yogawiki’s translation “Wasser spendend” (“water‑giving”)

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These senses reflect different derivational explanations of the word.

Vedic and grammatical notes

• In Vedic Sanskrit, apsava appears as an adjective meaning “having shape” or “beautiful”, glossed by Sāyaṇa as rūpavat (“having form/beauty”)

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• Another Vedic interpretation is “giving water”, found in Ṛgveda 10.65.3

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Related form: Āpsava

The results also mention āpsava (आप्सव):

• Derived from apsu (“in the waters”), locative plural of ap (“water”).
• Used as a proper name, specifically the name of a Manu in Vedic literature

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This is a distinct word but often listed alongside apsava because of similar spelling.

Etymological background

The term is built on ap / aps (“water”), a very old Indo‑Aryan root.
The suffix ‑va forms adjectives, giving meanings like “related to water,” “having water,” or “lacking water,” depending on the interpretive tradition

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Summary

Across Sanskrit sources, apsava is an adjective with several attested meanings:

• Water‑giving / water‑dispensing (Vedic)
• Having form / beautiful (Vedic gloss)
• Devoid of watery essence / lacking freshness (classical lexicons)

All senses derive from the root ap (“water”), with contextual variation between Vedic and later Sanskrit usage.