Akrodha (Sanskrit:अक्रोध) literally means "free from anger".[1] It's an important virtue inIndian philosophy andHindu ethics.[2]
Akrodha is a fusion word between the Sanskrit prefixa (Sanskrit:अ; "without", "non") and the termkrodha (Sanskrit:क्रोध; "anger"),[3] meaning "without anger".
A related word isakrodhah (Sanskrit:अक्रोध), which also means "absence of anger".[1]
Akrodha is considered a virtue and desirable ethical value inHinduism. When there is cause of anger but nevertheless there is absence ofanger, this is non-anger orakrodha.[4] Absence of anger (akrodha) means being calm even when insulted or rebuked, or despite great provocation.Akrodha does not mean absence ofcauses of anger, it means not getting angry and keeping an even, calm temper despite the circumstances.[5]
Krodha ("anger") is excessive mental turmoil on account of obstacles interfering with the gratification of some desire; it is manifestation of the quality oftamas (dark, negative, destructive), an undesirable psychological state.[6] The opposite ofkrodha isakrodha: a productive, positive, and constructive state.
Bhawuk[clarification needed] states thatakrodha is necessary for peace and happiness, which is a state of contentment (santustah) where there is absence of spite or envy (advestah), absence of anger (akrodhah), and absence of violence (ahimsa).[7]Dharma relies onakrodha, because it creates an environment of serenity, a rational principle of life, and because it is a moral virtue inspired by love.[8]
According toVedic sages, when work becomes akin to ayajna (a worship ceremony), the effect of that work is transformed intoapurva, that is, it becomes something unique, unprecedented, and empowering. In contrast, anger clouds reason, which results in the loss of discrimination between right and wrong and virtue and vice. When the discriminating faculty is ruined, the person loses self-identity and the inner good perishes. With freedom from anger, a person reaches anapurva state.[9]
TheNaradaparivrajaka Upanishad states the nature ofakrodha for a person who seeks self-knowledge and liberation (kaivalya) as follows:
All cruel words should be endured. None should be treated with disrespect. No anger should be directed in turn towards one who is angry. Only soft words should be spoken, even when violently pulled by another.
— Narada Parivrajaka Upanishad, Atharva Veda,[10]
Akrodha, statesManickam[clarification needed],[11] is related to the conceptsahya (Sanskrit:सह्य) in theUpanishads.Sahya means, depending on the context, "to bear", "endure", "suffer", and "put up with".[11]Sahya is considered an ethical value in Hinduism, not out ofweakness to react[clarification needed], but for the cause of theUltimate Truth. It is the attribute by which a person willingly bears what is unpleasant in order to "win over" the opponent or whatever is offensive, in the pursuit of holding on to Truth, in order to achieve oneness withBrahman, the Ultimate Truth. This endurance, this striving to overcome the adversaries throughakrodha andahimsa, is the constructive way to pursue Truth.[11]
The Hindu epicMahabharata repeatedly emphasizes the virtue ofakrodha. For example, inAdi Parva, it states:[12]
If wronged, you should not wrong in return. One's anger, if not subdued, burns one's own self; if subdued, it procures the virtues of the doers of good acts. You should never give pain to others by cruel words. Never defeat your enemies by despicable means. Never utter sinful and burning words as may give pain to others.
— The Mahabharata, Adi Parva, Chapter LXXXVII, verses 7–8,[12]
InVana Parva, theMahabharata states:[13]
Anger is in this world, the root of the destruction of mankind. The angry man commits a sin; the angry man murders his preceptor; the angry man insults with harsh words. The angry man cannot distinguish what should be and should not be said by him; there is nothing which cannot be said or done by an angry man. From anger, a man may kill one who should not be killed and adore one that should be slain; an angry man may even despatch his own self to the abode ofYama. Beholding these evils, anger must be conquered.
— The Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Chapter XXIX, verses 3–7,[13]
InShanti Parva, theMahabharata states:[14]
ThatYogin who is freed from attachment and pride, who transcends all pairs of opposites such as pleasure and pain, who never gives way towrath or hate, who never speaks an untruth, who though slandered or struck still shows friendship for the slanderer or the striker, who never thinks of doing ill to others, who restrains these three, viz. speech, acts and mind, and who behaves uniformly towards all creatures, succeeds in approachingBrahman (true self).
— The Mahabharata, Shanti Parva, Chapter CCXXXVI,[14]
TheBhagavad Gita (Slokas XVI.1–3), in theMahabharata, gives a list of twenty-six divine attributes beginning withabhayam ("fearlessness") andsattva sansuddhih ("purity of mind"), ending withadroha ("bearing enmity to none") andnaatimaanita ("absence of arrogance"), and includingakrodha:[15]
Manu listedakrodha among the ten primary virtues. TheApastambhadharmasutra (I.iii.22) rules that a student be not given to anger, and that a house-holder abstains from anger and from action or words that would provoke someone else to anger (II.xviii.2). TheBaudhayanadharmasutra (I.xv.30) requires a house-holder never to be angry, and theGautamdharmasutra (II.13) advises that he must not feel angry. TheVashisthadharmasutra (IV.4) avers that refraining from anger is a virtue like truthfulness or charity.[16]
Manu mentions tenDharma Lakshanas,akrodha is one of theselakshana (attribute, sign of a dharmic person). The other nine are:dhriti (patience),kshama (forgiveness),damah (temperance),asteya (non-stealing),shaucham (purity),indriyaigraha (freedom from sensual craving),dhi (reason),vidya (knowledge), andsatyam (truth).[17]
TheShaivite doctrine considers fouryamas for thePashupata ascetic who smears on his bodybhasam. These fouryamas are – non-injury, celibacy, truthfulness, and non-stealing; theniyamas consist of non-irritability (akrodha), attendance on the teachers, purity, lightness of diet, and carefulness (apramada).Akrodha is a virtue.[18]
Hinduism andBuddhism both suggest ten freedoms needed for good life.[19] These are –Ahimsa ('freedom from violence'),Asteya ('freedom from want, stealing'),Aparigraha ('freedom from exploitation'),Amritava ('freedom from early death') andArogya ('freedom from disease'),Akrodha ('freedom of anger'),Jnana orVidya ("freedom from ignorance"),Pravrtti ("freedom of conscience"),Abhaya ('freedom from fear') andDhrti ('freedom from frustration and despair').[19]
Quote: Non-violence in thought, word and deed, truthfulness and geniality of speech,absence of anger even on provocation, disclaiming doership in respect of actions, quietude or composure of mind, abstaining from malicious gossip compassion towards all creatures, absence of attachment to the objects of senses even during their contact with the senses, mildness, a sense of shame in transgressing against the scriptures or usage, and abstaining from frivolous pursuits; (XVI.2)
| Philosophy |
|  | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texts |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Deities |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Practices |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||||||||||
