guṇā

the string of a musical instrument, chord, Śiś. iv, 57 : ifc. ( f(ā). ) with numerals ‘fold, times’ (see catur, tri, daśa, dvi, pañca; rarely the numeral stands by itself along with guṇa [ e.g. viśiṣṭodaśabhirguṇaiḥ, ‘of ten times higher value’, Mn. ii, 85 ] AV. x, 8, 43 ; MBh. iii, 15649 ; Hariv. 509 ; [guṇa = bhāga] Pāṇ. v, 2, 47 , Kāś. )

an attribute of the 5 elements (each of which has its own peculiar quality or qualities as well as organ of sense; thus 1. ether has śabda, or sound for its Guṇa and the ear for its organ; 2. the air has tangibility and sound for its Guṇa s and the skin for its organ; 3. fire or light has shape or colour, tangibility, and sound for its Guṇa s, and the eye for its organs; 4. water has flavour, shape, tangibility, and sound for its Guṇa s, and the tongue for its organ; 5. earth has the preceding Guṇa s, with the addition of its own peculiar Guṇa of smell, and the nose for its organ), Mn. i, 20 and 76 - 78 ; MBh. xii, 6846 ff. ; Śak. i, 1 ; BhP. iii, 5, 35

a property or characteristic of all created things (in Nyāya phil. twenty-four Guṇa s are enumerated, viz. 1. rūpa, shape, colour; 2. rasa, savour; 3. gandha, odour; 4. sparśa, tangibility; 5. saṃkhyā, number; 6. parimāṇa, dimension; 7. pṛthaktva, severalty; 8. saṃyoga, conjunction; 9. vibhāga, disjunction; 10. paratva, remoteness; 11. aparatva, proximity; 12. gurutva, weight; 13. dravatva, fluidity; 14. sneha, viscidity; 15. śabda, sound; 16. buddhi or jñāna, understanding or knowledge; 17. sukha, pleasure; 18. duḥkha, pain; 19. icchā, desire; 20. dveṣa, aversion; 21. prayatna, effort; 22. dharma, merit or virtue; 23. adharma, demerit; 24. saṃskāra, the self-reproductive quality)