Bhagavan, also written Bhagwan or Bhagawan, from the Sanskrit nt-stem bhaga-vant- (nominative भगवान् Bhagavān) literally means "possessing fortune, prosperous" (from the noun bhaga, meaning "fortune, wealth", cognate to Slavic bog "god", Russian богатый (boga'ch) "wealthy"), and hence "illustrious, divine, venerable, holy", etc.[1]
In some traditions of Hinduism it is used to indicate the Supreme Being or Absolute Truth, but with specific reference to that Supreme Being as possessing a personality (a personal God).[2] This personal feature indicated in Bhagavan differentiates its usage from other similar terms[3] such as Brahman, the "Supreme Spirit" or "spirit", and thus, in this usage, Bhagavan is in many ways analogous to the general Christian conception of God.
Bhagavan used as a title of veneration is often translated as "Lord", as in "Bhagavan Rama", "Bhagavan Krishna", "Bhagavan Shiva", etc. In Buddhism and Jainism, Gautama Buddha, Mahavira and other Tirthankaras, Buddhas and bodhisattvas are also venerated with this title. The feminine of Bhagavat is Bhagawatī and is an epithet of Durga and other goddesses.
The title is also used by a number of contemporary spiritual teachers in India who claim to be Bhagavan or have realized impersonal Brahman.
Definitions
The
Bhagavata Purana (1.2.11) states the definition of
Bhagavan to mean the supreme most being:
The Learned Know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan.[lower-alpha 1]
The Sanskrit word
bhagavan is explained in the
Vishnu Purana (6.5.74, Venkateshvara edition 1910) by the great authority,
Parashara Muni, the father of
Vyasa Deva, defines Bhagavan as one who possesses six opulences completely, as follows:
The Supreme Personality who possesses all riches, all strength, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation is called Bhagavan. There are many persons who are very rich, very powerful, very beautiful, very famous, very learned, and very much detached, but no one can claim that he possesses all riches, all strength, etc., entirely.[lower-alpha 2]
Early epigraphical evidence
Bhagavat
The Bhāgavat religion of early Hinduism is documented epigraphically from around 100 BCE, such as in the inscriptions of the Heliodorus pillar, in which Heliodorus, an Indo-Greek ambassador from Taxila to the court of a Sunga king, describes himself as a Bhagavata ("Heliodorena bhagavatena"):
This Garuda-standard of Vasudeva (Vishnu), the God of Gods
was erected here by the Bhagavata Heliodoros,
the son of Dion, a man of Taxila,
sent by the Great Greek (Yona) King
Antialcidas, as ambassador to
King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior
son of the princess from Benares, in the fourteenth year of his reign."[lower-alpha 3]
(Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report (1908-1909))
In Buddhism
The word "Bhagava" is used many times to refer to the Buddha in the Pali suttas. The term "Bhagava" has been used in Pali Anussati or recollections as one of the terms that describes the "Tathagatha".
In the Buddha anussati, Bhagavan is defined the following way:
Iti pi so Bhagavā
Thus is Buddha,
- 1) Arahaṃ - deserving homage.
- 2) Sammā-sambuddho - perfectly awakened.
- 3) Vijjā-caraṇa sampanno - perfect in true knowledge and conduct.
- 4) Sugato - well gone (to Nibbana)
- 5) Lokavidū - knower of the worlds
- 6) Anuttaro purisa-damma-sārathi - incomparable leader (lit. charioteer) of persons to be tamed.
- 7) Satthā deva-manusānaṃ - teacher of gods and humans.
- 8) Buddho - awakened one.
- 9) Bhagavāti - Blessed One.
Sākamunisa bhagavato is recorded in the kharoshthi dedication of a vase placed in a Buddhist stupa by the Greek meridarch (civil governor of a province) named Theodorus (Tarn, p391):
- "Theudorena meridarkhena pratithavida ime sarira sakamunisa bhagavato bahu-jana-stitiye":
- "The meridarch Theodorus has enshrined relics of Lord Shakyamuni, for the welfare of the mass of the people"
- (Swāt relic vase inscription of the Meridarkh Theodoros [1])
See also
Notes
References
References
- The Greeks in Bactria and India, W.W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.
|
|---|
| | Dashavatara | | |
|---|
| | Other avatars | |
|---|
| 1 Buddha or Balarama is considered the avatar of Vishnu, depending on the tradition. In North India, Buddha is included and in South India, Balarama. |
|
This article was sourced from Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. World Heritage Encyclopedia content is assembled from numerous content providers, Open Access Publishing, and in compliance with The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR), Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Public Library of Science, The Encyclopedia of Life, Open Book Publishers (OBP), PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and USA.gov, which sources content from all federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government publication portals (.gov, .mil, .edu). Funding for USA.gov and content contributors is made possible from the U.S. Congress, E-Government Act of 2002.
Crowd sourced content that is contributed to World Heritage Encyclopedia is peer reviewed and edited by our editorial staff to ensure quality scholarly research articles.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. World Heritage Encyclopedia™ is a registered trademark of the World Public Library Association, a non-profit organization.