V. S. Apte, The Practical Sanskrit–English Dictionary. Look up any word of the Gita in Devanagari, IAST or Harvard-Kyoto, or browse the headwords letter by letter.
Entry अध्याय
अध्यायadhyāyaa.Reading, learning, study, especially of the Vedas; प्रशान्ताध्यायसत्कथा (नगरी) Rām.
[इ-घञ्ParasmaipadaIII.3.21] (At the end of comp.) A reader, student, one who studies; वेदाध्यायः a student of the Vedas; so मन्त्रdenotes that the rest of the word under consideration is to be supplied
Derived forms and compounds
-यः
Reading, learning, study, especially of the Vedas; प्रशान्ताध्यायसत्कथा (नगरी) Rām.
Proper time for reading or for a lesson; denotes that the rest of the word under consideration is to be suppliedज्ञाः प्रचक्षते Ms.4.12, see अनध्याय also.
A lesson, lecture; अधीयतेऽस्मिन् अध्यायःParasmaipadaIII.3.122; so स्वाध्यायोऽध्येतव्यः.
A chapter, a large division of a work, such as of the Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata, Manusmṛiti, Pāṇini's Sūtras etc. The following are some of the names used by Sanskrit writers to denote chapters or divisions of works:सर्गो वर्गः परिच्छेदोद्घाताध्यायाङ्क- संग्रहाः । उच्छ्वासः परिवर्तश्च पटलः काण्डमाननम् । स्थानं प्रकरणं चैव पर्वोल्लासाह्निकानि च । स्कन्धांशौ तु पुराणादौ प्रायशः परिकीर्तितौ ॥
