Apurushartha, Apuruṣārtha, Apurusha-artha: 3 definitions

Introduction:

Apurushartha means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

The Sanskrit term Apuruṣārtha can be transliterated into English as Apurusartha or Apurushartha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Apurushartha in Sanskrit glossary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Apuruṣārtha (अपुरुषार्थ).—

1) a rite or ceremony which is not in the interests of the doer.

2) not the principal object of the soul.

Apuruṣārtha is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms apuruṣa and artha (अर्थ).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Apuruṣārtha (अपुरुषार्थ):—[=a-puruṣārtha] [from a-puruṣa] m. a rite which is not for the benefit of the sacrificer

2) [v.s. ...] not the chief object of the soul.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Goldstücker Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Apuruṣārtha (अपुरुषार्थ):—[tatpurusha compound] m.

(-rthaḥ) 1) (In the Mīmāṃsā philosophy.) A religious act which is not performed on account of the gratification of the sacrificer, but because it is essential to the sacrifice itself; see kratvartha.

2) (In the Sāṅkhya philos.) Not the chief object of the Soul; occurring in the Sūtras in its abstract deriv. apuruṣārthatva; e. g. apuruṣārthatvamubhayathā ‘in neither way is (nihilism) the chief end of the Soul’; or nānuśrāvikādapi tatsiddhiḥ sādhyatvenāvṛttiyogādapuruṣārthatvam ‘the accomplishment thereof (i. e. of liberation) does not arise, moreover, from scriptural means, for since transmigration is connected with the result (of religious acts, the performance of such acts) is not the chief object of the Soul’; or sukhalābhābhāvādapuruṣārthatvamiti cenna dvaividhyāt ‘if you reason that, since there is no such a thing as obtaining happiness, (final liberation as the absence of pain) is not the chief object of the Soul, you are wrong, for its object is twofold (viz. obtaining happiness and not having pain)’. E. a neg. and puruṣārtha.

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

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