Adesha

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Ādesha or Ādeśa (Sanskrit: आदेश) means 'an order', 'command' or 'advice', 'instruction', 'precept', 'rule' [1]

Sanskrit ancient Indian language

Sanskrit is a language of ancient India with a history going back about 3,500 years. It is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and the predominant language of most works of Hindu philosophy as well as some of the principal texts of Buddhism and Jainism. Sanskrit, in its variants and numerous dialects, was the lingua franca of ancient and medieval India. In the early 1st millennium CE, along with Buddhism and Hinduism, Sanskrit migrated to Southeast Asia, parts of East Asia and Central Asia, emerging as a language of high culture and of local ruling elites in these regions.

Contents

Meaning

The word, Ādesha appears to be a semantically polyvalent compound representing two homonymous compounds of different origin and formation; it was surmised that ādeśa- in the sense of "substitute" owes its origin to a combination of ā- and deśa-, whereas ādeśa- in the sense of "advice" belongs to the verb ā- diś- "to point out, to teach"; [2] it is the combination of ā- meaning 'toward', and diś meaning 'to show or direct'. [3]

Grammatical usage

Nirvachanashastra is a heremeneutic device that is used for word-analysis and derivation. The proper understanding of the relation in nirvachana analysis between a noun and some activity, expressed by a finite verb or by mention of a verbal root came to the fore through the study of Yāska's Nirukta done in the light of a model of substitution according to which model adesha ('substitution') takes the sthana ('place') of the original sthanin ('place-holder') under the given circumstances. Sthana refers to artha ('meaning'), thus nirvachanas are merely place-holders in semantic space; one gets a different thought if one gets a different sentence to represent the same truth. [4]

Yāska was an early Sanskrit grammarian who preceded Pāṇini Nothing is known about him other than that he is traditionally identified as the author of Nirukta, the discipline of "etymology" within Sanskrit grammatical tradition.

Nirukta study of etymology, glossary, correct interpretation of words in Hindu Vedas, one of six Vedangas

Nirukta means "explained, interpreted" and refers to one of the six ancient Vedangas, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism. Nirukta covers etymology, and is the study concerned with correct interpretation of Sanskrit words in the Vedas.

By using Ādeśa rather than vikāra, and holding on to varna-samāmnāya sound system, Pāṇini was able to achieve economy and brevity in the statements of algebraic system. [5] With regard to the rule, requiring the substitution of soft unaspirate consonants in the place of hard consonants, the ādeśa that takes place in place of a vowel is not sthānvit. [6] Panini uses ādeśa in the sense of 'substitution' and 'substitute'. [7] Vadha is not an independent root in the Paninian system it is an adesa for the root han- [8]

Pāṇini ancient Sanskrit grammarian

Pāṇini (पाणिनि) was an ancient Sanskrit philologist, grammarian, and a revered scholar in ancient India. Considered the father of linguistics, Pāṇini likely lived in the northwest Indian subcontinent during the Mahajanapada era. He is said to have been born in Shalatula of ancient Gandhara, which likely was near modern Lahor, a small town at the junction of the Indus and Kabul rivers, which falls in the Swabi District of modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Upanishadic usage

The Upanishads have given four Mahāvākyas or grand proclamations corresponding to four prescribed practices viz. Upadesha, Adesha, Abhyasa and Anubhava; accordingly the vakya – Tat Tvam Asi, appearing in the Chandogya Upanishad, is an Adesha Vakya, a command statement; the shishya or 'disciple' listens to the Upadesha vakya and the Adhesha vakya with full faith and devotion which act is called Sravana ('concentration'). [9]

The Upanishads, a part of the Vedas, are ancient Sanskrit texts that contain some of the central philosophical concepts and ideas of Hinduism, some of which are shared with religious traditions like Buddhism and Jainism. Among the most important literature in the history of Indian religions and culture, the Upanishads played an important role in the development of spiritual ideas in ancient India, marking a transition from Vedic ritualism to new ideas and institutions. Of all Vedic literature, the Upanishads alone are widely known, and their central ideas are at the spiritual core of Hindus.

Mahāvākyas

The Mahavakyas are "The Great Sayings" of the Upanishads, as characterized by the Advaita school of Vedanta.

Tat Tvam Asi

Tat Tvam Asi, a Sanskrit phrase, translated variously as "Thou art that," is one of the Mahāvākyas in Vedantic Sanatana Dharma. It originally occurs in the Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, in the dialogue between Uddalaka and his son Śvetaketu; it appears at the end of a section, and is repeated at the end of the subsequent sections as a refrain. The meaning of this saying is that the Self - in its original, pure, primordial state - is wholly or partially identifiable or identical with the Ultimate Reality that is the ground and origin of all phenomena.

In the Sanskrit phrase - अथात आदेशः नेति नेति athāta ādeśah: neti neti, meaning – 'now hence the teaching: not this, not this' of Brihadaranyaka UpanishadII.ii.6, Adesha means 'specific instruction' and not 'substitute'. [10]

<i>Brihadaranyaka Upanishad</i> One of the oldest Upanishads of Hinduism

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the oldest Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the Brihadaranyaka Upanisad is tenth in the Muktikā or "canon of 108 Upanishads".

In the Taittiriya Upanishad(II.iii.1), in the very brief part reading - आदेश आत्मा, the word, Adesha, refers to the brahmana portion as the self ('trunk')when the sage says that the self constituted by mind is also of a human shape the shape the human shape the mental body takes after the human shape of the vital body. Sankara explains that the word, Ādeśah here means the brahmana portion of the Vedas, since (in consonance with the etymological meaning of ādeśa, command) the brahmana portion inculcates all that has to be enjoyed. [11]

Mercantile usage

Chanakya in his Arthashastra, refers to the then prevalent bill of exchange called Ādesha which was an order to a third person to pay up a sum of money on behalf of the sender of that order; in those days merchant guilds performed the functions of banks. [12] There was considerable use of these instruments, including promissory notes, and merchants in large towns gave letters of credit to one another. [13]

Other usages

Aurobindo explains that the intellectual Asura determines his actions by his reason or ideal, the emotional Asura by his feelings; but the Shuddha determines them by the higher inspiration proceeding from the divine experience in the Vijanana, that is what people often call the Adesha. [14]

Keshab Chandra Sen of Brahmo Samaj (and founder of Brahmo Samaj of India) influenced by Christian theology propounded the doctrine of Adesha, according to which God inspires knowledge in some individuals whose word must therefore be considered infallible and true which doctrine not accepted by some members witnessed division in ranks and the formation of Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. [15]

In the Bhagavad Gita Sloka XVII.22, it is seen that the word अदेशकाले (ādeśkāle) with the dropping of a mātra i.e. ā to a (and thus providing negative connotation), refers to wrong time. [16]

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Om Sacred sound and spiritual symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism

Om, also written as 'Aum', is the most sacred syllable, symbol, or mantra in Hinduism, that signifies the essence of the ultimate reality, consciousness or Atman. The Om sound is the primordial sound, and is called the Shabda-Brahman. It is a syllable that is chanted either independently or before a mantra. It is also found in Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism.

Shruti or Shruthi in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" and refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism. It includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts—the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the early Upanishads.

Brahmana A layer of Hindu text within the Vedas

The Brahmanas are a collection of ancient Indian texts with commentaries on the hymns of the four Vedas. They are a layer or category of Vedic Sanskrit texts embedded within each Veda, and form a part of the Hindu śruti literature. They are primarily a digest incorporating myths, legends, the explanation of Vedic rituals and in some cases speculations about natural phenomenon or philosophy.

Gayatri Mantra mantra of the Vedic tradition

The Gāyatrī, also known as the Sāvitrī mantra, is a highly revered mantra from the Rig Veda, dedicated to Savitr, the sun deity. Gāyatrī is the name of the Vedic meter in which the verse is composed. Its recitation is traditionally preceded by oṃ and the formula bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ, known as the mahāvyāhṛti, or "great (mystical) utterance". Vishvamitra is said to have created the Gayatri mantra.

Vedas Ancient scriptures of Hinduism

The Vedas are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeya, which means "not of a man, superhuman" and "impersonal, authorless".

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Sutram

The dictionary gives the meaning of the Sanskrit or Tamil expression, Sutram (सूत्रम्) or Sutra (सूत्र), as string or thread, formula, short sentence or aphoristic rule, girdle, stroke, yarn or plan. Unique to Sanskrit literature, Tamil literature and Pali literature of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, they are short cryptic sentences, methodically written as memory-aids, stringing step by step a particular topic or text in its entirety. There are hundreds of Sanskrit texts found written in the Sutra-format such as Kapila Sutram, Samkhya-pravachana Sutram, Brahma Sutra, Jaimini Sutram, Tatvartha Sutram, Kalpa Sutra, etc.

Shabda Brahman

Shabda Brahman or Sabda-brahman or Nada brahmin means transcendental sound or sound vibration or the transcendental sound of the Vedas or of Vedic scriptures.

Dhi, this Sanskrit word means 'understanding', 'reflection', 'religious thought', 'mind', 'design', 'intelligence', 'opinion', 'meditation', 'imagination', 'notion', 'intellect', This word is directly connected with the word, Vāc meaning Speech, derived from Vac meaning, 'to speak'. Dhi is the voiced Vāc or 'Speech', it is the thought-mind or intellect. Dhi also means 'to hold' or 'to place', and indicates the activity of the intellect.

Idam(Tamil) is a Tamil/Sanskrit word which denotes location or position or place. In grammar it is used at the beginning or middle of a sentence as a nominative or attributive pronoun, combined with or without ya, adds emphasis to other nouns, propositions etc.; and means - this, here or yonder, present or seen nearby, fit for, or without reference to noun refers to एतद् ('that') or to what precedes.

Tyāga is a Sanskrit word that means "sacrifice, giving up in generosity, forsaking, resigning" anything of value, as well as "renunciation" depending on the context. It is an ethical concept in Hinduism and Jainism.

Prajña or Pragya as प्रज्ञा, प्राज्ञ and प्राज्ञा is used to refer to the highest and purest form of wisdom, intelligence and understanding. Pragya is the state of wisdom which is higher than the knowledge obtained by reasoning and inference.

vishva' or viśva (Sanskrit:विश्व), root विश् ("vish") means – all, whole, entire, universal, every, everyone, all-pervading, omnipresent. It is another name for Vishnu and also refers to the world, the universe. In literature, this word refers to the entire enchanted universe.

Agni Fire god of Hinduism

Agni is a Sanskrit word meaning fire, and connotes the Vedic fire god of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction, and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. In the classical cosmology of the Indian religions, Agni as fire is one of the five inert impermanent constituents (Dhatus) along with space (Akasha/Dyaus), water (Jal), air and earth (Prithvi), the five combining to form the empirically perceived material existence (Prakriti).

References

  1. ↑ Vaman Shivram Apte. The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary. The Digital Libraries of South Asia.
  2. ↑ Jan Gonda (1971). Old Indian. BRILL. p. 72. ISBN   9004026428.
  3. ↑ Judith M. Tyberg (1970). The Language of the Gods. East West Culture. p. 117.
  4. ↑ Oliver Leaman (2001). Encyclopaedia of Asian Philosophy. Taylor and francis. p. 388. ISBN   978-0-415-17281-3.
  5. ↑ D.D.Mahulkar (1990). Pre-Panian Linguistic Studies. Northern Book Centre. p. 154. ISBN   9788185119885.
  6. ↑ The Astadhyayi of Panini. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980. p. 51. ISBN   9788120804098.
  7. ↑ Eivind Kahrs (1998). Indian Semantic Analysis. Cambridge University Press. p. 179. ISBN   978-0-521-63188-4.
  8. ↑ Prasad P. Joshi (2008). Vedic Aorist and Panini. Eastern Book Linkers. p. 107. ISBN   9788178541501.
  9. ↑ V.R.Prabhu (2004-01-01). Guru Chritra. Jaico Publishing House. ISBN   9788179924198.
  10. ↑ Eivind Kahrs (1998). Indian Semantic Analysis. Cambridge University Press. pp. 181–182. ISBN   978-0-521-63188-4.
  11. ↑ Eight Upanishads Vol.1 1986 Ed. Advaita Ashrama. pp. 311–313. ISBN   978-8175050174.
  12. ↑ Santosh kumar Das (2006). The Economic History of Ancient India. Genesis Publishing. p. 174. ISBN   9788130704234.
  13. ↑ Ram Naresh Chaudhary (2009). Law Relating to Cheques. Deep and Deep Publications. p. 2. ISBN   9788184502084.
  14. ↑ Sri Aurobindo (2001). Records of Yoga Vol.2. Sri Aurobindo Ashram. p. 1387. ISBN   9788170586524.
  15. ↑ A.R.Desai (2005). Social Background of Indian Nationalism. Popular Prakashan. p. 271. ISBN   9788171546671.
  16. ↑ Nithyananda (2009). Bhagavad Gita Demystified Vol.3. eNPublishers. p. 630. ISBN   978-1-60607-073-4.
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