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The wordBhagavan (Sanskrit:भगवान्,romanized: Bhagavān;Pali:Bhagavā), also spelt asBhagwan (sometimes translated in English as "Lord", "God"), is an epithet withinIndian religions used to denote figures of religious worship. In Hinduism it is used to signify adeity or anavatar, particularly forKrishna andVishnu inVaishnavism,Shiva inShaivism andDurga orAdi Shakti inShaktism.[1][2] InJainism the term refers to theTirthankaras, and inBuddhism to theBuddha.[3]
In many parts of India andSouth Asia, Bhagavan represents the concept of a universal God or Divine toHindus who are spiritual and religious but do not worship a specific deity.[1]
Inbhakti school literature, the term is typically used for any deity to whomprayers are offered. A particular deity is often the devotee's one and only Bhagavan.[2] The female equivalent of Bhagavān isBhagavati.[4][5] To some Hindus, the word Bhagavan is an abstract, genderless concept of God.
In Buddhism's Pali and Sanskritscriptures, the term is used to denoteThe Buddha, referring him asBhagavā orBhagavān (translated with the phrase "Lord" or "The Blessed One").[6][7] The term Bhagavan is also found inTheravada,Mahayana andTantra Buddhist texts.[8][9]
Bhagavān, nominative singular of the adjectiveBhagavat, literally means "fortunate", "blessed" (from the nounbhaga, meaning "fortune", "wealth"), and hence "illustrious", "divine", "venerable", "holy", etc.[10]Bhagavān is related to the rootBhaj (भज्, "to revere", "adore"), and implies someone "glorious", "illustrious", "revered", "venerable", "divine", "holy" (an epithet applied to gods, holy or respectable personages).[11] The rootBhaj also means "share with", "partake of", "aportion".[12][13] Clooney and Stewart state that this root, in Vaishnava traditions, impliesBhagavān as one perfect creator that a devotee seeks to partake from, share his place with, by living in god, in the way of god, the loving participation between the two being its own reward.[14]
TheVishnu Purana definesBhagavān as follows,
उत्पत्तिं प्रलयं चैव भूतानामागतिं गतिम् |
वेत्तिं विद्यामविद्यां च स वाच्यो भगवानिति ||
He who understands the creation and dissolution, the appearance and disappearance of beings, the wisdom and ignorance, should be calledBhagavān.— Vishnu Purana, VI.5.78[15]
The same text definesBhaga and provides the etymological roots as follows as translated by Wilson,[16]
Knowledge is of two kinds, that which is derived fromscripture, and that which is derived from reflection. Brahma that is the word is composed of scripture; Brahma that is supreme is produced of reflection. Ignorance is utter darkness, in which knowledge, obtained through any sense (as that of hearing), shines like a lamp; but the knowledge that is derived from reflection breaks upon the obscurity like the sun. (...) That which is imperceptible, undecaying, inconceivable, unborn, inexhaustible, indescribable; which has neither form, nor hands, nor feet; which is almighty, omnipresent, eternal; the cause of all things, and without cause; permeating all, itself unpenetrated, and from which all things proceed; that is the object which the wise behold, that is Brahma, that is the supreme state, that is the subject of contemplation to those who desire liberation, that is the thing spoken of by the Vedas, the infinitely subtle, supreme condition ofVishnu.
That essence of the supreme is defined by the term Bhagavat. The word Bhagavat is the denomination of that primeval and eternal God: and he who fully understands the meaning of that expression is possessed of holy wisdom, the sum, and substance of the Vedas. The word Bhagavat is a convenient form to be used in the adoration of that supreme being, to whom no term is applicable; and therefore Bhagavat expresses that supreme spirit, which is individual, almighty, and the cause of causes of all things. The letterBh implies the cherisher and supporter of the universe. Byga is understood the leader, impeller, or creator. The disyllableBhaga indicates the six properties, dominion, might, glory, splendor, wisdom, and dispassion. The purport of the letterva is that elemental spirit in which all beings exist, and which exists in all beings. And thus this great wordBhagavan is the name of Vásudeva, who is one with the supreme Brahma, and of no one else. This word, therefore, which is the general denomination of an adorable object, is not used in reference to the supreme in a general, but a special signification. When applied to any other (thing or person) it is used in its customary or general import. In the latter case, it may purport one who knows the origin and end and revolutions of beings, and what is wisdom, what ignorance. In the former, it denotes wisdom, energy, power, dominion, might, glory, without end, and without defect.
— Vishnu Purana, VI.5[16]
Buddha is referred to as Bhagavan in ancient and medievalTheravada,Mahayana and Tantra Buddhist texts, where it connotes, "Lord", "Blessed One", "Fortunate One".[9][17][18]
The Vedic texts neither mention nor provide a basis to explain the origin of the Bhagavān concept.[19]
The root of "Bhagavan", "Bhaga" is mentioned in theMundaka Upanishad, but it does not mean or imply "Bhagavan"':
शौनको ह वै महाशालोऽङ्गिरसं विधिवदुपसन्नः पप्रच्छ ।
कस्मिन्नुभगवो विज्ञाते सर्वमिदं विज्ञातं भवतीति ॥ ३ ॥
Shaunaka asked: Can knowledge of the world's reality be so complete that all the many things we see are understood in it?
Can something so complete, excellent be found that knowing it, one knows everything?
TheMundaka Upanishad then answers this question in two parts over verses 1.1.4 through 3.2.11.[22] These verses split knowledge into two sections: lower knowledge and higher knowledge. Lower knowledge includes Vedas, phonetics, grammar, etymology, meter, astronomy and ceremony rituals.[23] The higher knowledge indicates, the Upanishad asserts, is Self-knowledge and realizing its oneness with Brahman—the one which cannot be seen, nor seized, which has no origin, no qualities, no hips, nor ears, no hands, nor feet, one that is the eternal, all-pervading, infinitesimal, imperishable.[citation needed] The word Bhagavan does not appear in theMundaka Upanishad and other early or middle Upanishads.[2]
The term Bhagavān appears in Shvetashvatara Upanishad verse 5.4:
सर्वा दिश ऊर्ध्वमधश्च तिर्यक्प्रकाशयन्भ्राजते यद्वनड्वान् ।
एवं स देवो भगवान्वरेण्यो योनिस्वभावानधितिष्ठत्येक: ॥
As the draft-ox shines, lighting up all the quarters, above, below, and across, so this God, blessed and adorable, alone rules over wombs and inherent natures.
— Shvetashvatara Upanishad, 5.4[24]
Later and medieval era Upanishads mention Bhagavān. For example, the very first verse of theKali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣhad uses the term, as follows,[25]
द्वापरान्ते नारदो ब्रह्माणं जगाम कथंभगवन् गां पर्यटन् कलिं सन्तरेयमिति
At the start of the Dvapara [Yuga]Narada went to Brahma and asked, "O Lord, how shall I, roaming over the earth, be able to overcome the effects of Kali [Yuga]?"
— Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad, 1.1[25]
Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa, a minor Upanishad, then proceeds to disclose, among other things, two Bhagavan names in theHare Krishna mantra in verse 2.[26] This verse is sung byInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) devotees.[25]
InBhagavata Dharma, it denotes Narayana Vasudeva's fourvyuha formations.Ishvara or God is called Bhagavan and the person dedicated to Bhagavan is called aBhagavata. TheBhagavata Purana (I.iii.28) identifiesKrishna asNarayana,Vāsudeva,Vishnu andHari—Bhagavan present in human form.[27] Bhagavan is the complete revelation of the Divine;Brahman, the impersonal Absolute, is unqualified and therefore, never expressed.Paramatman is Bhagavan in relation toPrakṛti and theJiva.[28] The Yoga of Devotion implies that if a Bhagavata, the devotee of Bhagavan, seeks and longs for Bhagavan, then Bhagavan too seeks his devotee in equal measure.[29]
The term Bhagavan appears extensively in theBhagavad Gita, as Krishna counsels Arjuna.[2] For example,
श्रीभगवानुवाच। कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम्। अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन॥ २-२॥
Shri Bhagavan said, "from where had this weakness arisen, at this inconvenient time?
It is not noble, neither will it lead you to heaven, nor will it earn you valor, O Arjuna.— Bhagavad Gita, 2.2[30]
TheBhagavata tradition ofHinduism invoke Bhagavan in theBhagavad Gita and theBhishma Parva of theMahabharata. The devotion to Vishnu (identified asVasudeva in the Mahabharata) is elaborated to mean theten incarnations of the deity. This tradition introduced thechaturvyuha concept and laid emphasis on the worship of the fiveVrishni warriors, which reached the peak of its popularity during the Gupta Period.[31]
In Hinduism, the word, Bhagavān, indicates the Supreme Being or Absolute Truth conceived as aPersonal God.[32] This personal feature indicated by the word Bhagavān differentiates its usage from other similar terms[33] such as Brahman, the "Supreme Spirit" or "spirit", and thus, in this usage, Bhagavan is analogous to theChristian concept ofGod the Father. In Vaisnavism, a devotee of Bhagvān Krishna is called a Bhāgavata.
TheBhagavata Purana (1.2.11) states the definition of Bhagavān to mean the supreme being:
The Learned Know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substanceBrahman,Paramatma orBhagavan.[a]
Bhagavān used as a title ofveneration is often directly used as Lord, as in BhagavānRama, Bhagavān Krishna, BhagavānShiva, etc. InBuddhism andJainism,Gautama Buddha,Mahavira and otherTirthankaras,Buddhas andbodhisattvas are also venerated with this title. The feminine of Bhagavat is Bhagawatī and is an epithet ofDurga and othergoddesses. This title is also used by a number of contemporary spiritual teachers in India who claim to be Bhagavan or have realized impersonal Brahman.[citation needed]
Bhakti (devotion to God) consists of actions performed in dedication to theParamatman, the individuated existence with free-will, and who is the final cause of the world; theVedicRishis describe the goals originating from God as Bhagavān, and theAnanda aspect of God where God has manifested His personality is called Bhagavān when consciousness (pure self-awareness) aligns with those goals to cause the unified existence and commencement of works follow.[34]
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Bhagava is the Pali word used for Bhagavan. Some Buddhist texts, such as the Palisuttas, use the word Bhagavā for the Buddha, meaning "the fortunate one".[35] The term Bhagavā has been used in PaliAnussati[citation needed] or recollections[clarification needed] as one of the terms that describes the "Tathāgata" as one full of good qualities, asarahant,sammā-sambuddho andsugato (Dīgha Nikāya II.93).[36]
Bhagavan is one of the nine qualities of the Buddha. In the Buddha Anussati, Bhagavan is defined the following way:
Several Tibetan Buddhist tantra texts use the word Bhagavān. For example, the Pradipoddyotana manuscript ofGuhyasamāja tantra-Samdhivyakarana uses the word Bhagavān, which Alex Wayman translates as "Lord".[18] The text, elsewhere refers to "Bhagavan Sarvatathagatakayavakcittadipatih", which John Campbell translates as "Lord, Master of the Vajras of Body, Speech, and Mind of all Buddhas."[37] Elsewhere, it states,[8]
Thereupon, having made offerings and bowing down to theBhagavan,
The Lord of Body Speech and Mind of all Tathagatas,
All theBhagavan Tathagatas spoke thus:
Glorious One, pray to explain the essence,
The unexcelledBodhicitta,
The secret of all Tathagatas,
The supreme of Body Speech and Mind.— Pradipoddyotana, II. 1[8]
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, a sutra of Mahāyāna Buddhism, for example, uses the word Bhagavān over three hundred times[citation needed], which is either left untranslated by scholars[citation needed], or translated as "Lord or Blessed One".[38] The devotional meditational textSukhavati Vyuhopadesa byVasubandhu uses the term Bhagavān in its invocations.[39]
Other variants of the term Bhagavan, such asBhagavant andBhagavata can also be found throughout Buddhist texts. For instance, it is used in the initial chant, which is recited before almost every Sutta chanting,
NamoTassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma-sambuddhassa
I honour to that Bhagavan, who is Arhat and a fully-enlightened Buddha
The term Bhagavān is found in liturgical practices of Theravada Buddhism, where it is used as an epithet that means the "Blessed One". Examples of such usage is found in Sri Lanka'sBodhi Puja (orAtavisi Buddha Puja, Worship of the Twenty Eight Buddhas).[40]
The word Bhagavan is the most common word for the Buddhist texts to refer to the Buddha. For example, almost every sutra in Buddhist canonical and commentarial texts starts with the line like
Evaṃ me suttaṃ – ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṃ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. (Pali)
evaṃ mayā śrutam | ekasmin samaye bhagavān śrāvastyāṃ viharati sma jetavane'nāthapiṇḍadasyārāme. (Sanskrit)
Thus have I heard - Once the Bhagavan was dwelling in Savatthi, at the Anathpindaka's monastery in Jetavana. (English Translation)
A word derived from Bhagavan is documented epigraphically from around 100 BCE, such as in the inscriptions of theHeliodorus pillar; in which Heliodorus, anIndo-Greek ambassador fromTaxila to the court of aShunga king, addresses himself as aBhagvatena (devotee) ofVishnu. ("Heliodorena Bhagavata", Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report (1908-1909)):[42]
ThisGaruda-standard of Vasudeva (Vishnu), the God of Gods was erected here by the Bhagavatena (devotee) Heliodoros, the son of Dion, a man ofTaxila, sent by the Great Greek (Yona) KingAntialcidas, as ambassador to King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior son of the princess fromBenares, in the fourteenth year of his reign."[b]
Sākamunisa bhagavato is recorded in thekharoshthi dedication of a vase placed in a Buddhiststupa by the Greekmeridarch (civil governor of a province) namedTheodorus:[43]
James Prinsep identified several engravings and inscriptions on ancient Buddhist artifacts that include the word Bhagavan and related words. For example,[45]
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1 The list of the "ten avatars" varies regionally. Two substitutions[clarification needed] involve Balarama, Krishna, and Buddha. Krishna is almost always included; in exceptions, he is considered the source of all avatars. | ||
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