Bhaya, aka: Bhayā; 19 Definition(s)

Introduction

Bhaya means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi. 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.

In Hinduism

Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)

1) Bhaya (भय, “fear”).—One of the eight ‘permanent states’ (sthāyibhāva), according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 7.31. These ‘permanent states’ are called ‘the source of delight’ and are not interfered with by other States. The term is used throughout nāṭyaśāstra literature. (Also see the Daśarūpa 4.43-44)

2) Bhaya (भय, “terror”) refers to one of the twenty-one sandhyantara, or “distinct characteristics of segments (sandhi)” according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 21. The segments are divisions of the plot (itivṛtta or vastu) of a dramatic play (nāṭaka) and consist of sixty-four limbs, known collectively as the sandhyaṅga.

Bhaya (भय, “fear”) relates to women and persons of the inferior type. It is caused by determinants (vibhāva) such as acts offending one’s superiors and the king, roaming in a forest, seeing an elephant and a snake, staying in an empty house, rebuke [from one’s superiors], a dark rainy night, hearing the hooting of owls and the cry of animals that go out at night, and the like. It is to be represented on the stage by consequents (anubhāva) such as, trembling hands and feet, palpitation of the heart, paralysis, dryness of the mouth, licking the lips, perspiration, tremor, apprehension [of danger], seeking safety, running away, loud crying and the like.

context information

Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (śāstra) of performing arts, (nāṭya, e.g., theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing dramatic plays (nataka) and poetic works (kavya).

Dharmashastra (religious law)

Bhaya (भय) is a Sanskrit technical term, used in jurisdiction, referring to “fear”. It is mentioned as one of the causes for giving false evidence. The word is used throughout Dharmaśāstra literature such as the Manusmṛti. (See the Manubhāṣya 8.120)

context information

Dharmashastra (धर्मशास्त्र, dharmaśāstra) contains the instructions (shastra) regarding religious conduct of livelihood (dharma), ceremonies, jurisprudence (study of law) and more. It is categorized as smriti, an important and authoritative selection of books dealing with the Hindu lifestyle.

Purana

Bhaya (भय) refers to “fear” and represents a type of Ādhyātmika pain of the mental (mānasa) type, according to the Viṣṇu-purāṇa 6.5.1-6. Accordingly, “the wise man having investigated the three kinds of worldly pain, or mental and bodily affliction and the like, and having acquired true wisdom, and detachment from human objects, obtains final dissolution.”

Ādhyātmika and its subdivisions (eg., bhaya) represents one of the three types of worldly pain (the other two being ādhibhautika and ādhidaivika) and correspond to three kinds of affliction described in the Sāṃkhyakārikā.

The Viṣṇupurāṇa is one of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas which, according to tradition was composed of over 23,000 metrical verses dating from at least the 1st-millennium BCE. There are six chapters (aṃśas) containing typical puranic literature but the contents primarily revolve around Viṣṇu and his avatars.

1) Bhayā (भया).—A demoness, sister of Kāla who presides over the land of death. She was married to Heti, son of Brahmā and brother of Praheti. Vidyutkeśa was their son and he married Sālakaṇṭakā, daughter of Sandhyā. (Uttara Rāmāyaṇa).

2) Bhaya (भय).—Hiṃsā is the wife of Adharma. They got a son named Anṛta and a daughter named Nikṛti. From them were born Bhaya, Naraka, Māyā and Vedanā. Of these Māyā produced Mṛtyu, destroyer of matter. Vedanā got of her husband Raurava son named Duḥkha. From Mṛtyu were born Vyādhi, Jarā, Śoka, Tṛṣṇā and Krodha. (Chapter 20, Agni Purāṇa). Another version about the birth of Bhaya is found in Śloka 54, Chapter 66 of Ādi Parva, Mahābhārata Adharma married Nirṛtī and to them were born Bhaya, Mahābhaya and Mṛtyu, three sons of demoniac disposition. These three sons led a sinful life.

1a) Bhaya (भय).—A son of Kali and Duruktī.^*

• * Bhāgavata-purāṇa IV. 8. 4.

1b) Lord of the Yavanas: adopted the daughter of Kāla as his sister; his brother was Prajvāra;¹ when attacking the city of Purañjana he captured Purañjana himself;² allegorically death; the Yavanas represent mental worries.³

• 1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa IV. 27. 23 and 30.
• 2) Ib. IV. 28. 22-23.
• 3) Ib. IV. 29. 22, 23.

1c) A son of Droṇa, a Vasu.^*

• * Bhāgavata-purāṇa VI. 6. 11.

1d) A son of Nikṛti.^*

• * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 9. 64; Vāyu-purāṇa 10. 39.

1e) A son of Tāmasa Manu.^*

• * Vāyu-purāṇa 62. 43.

2) Bhayā (भया).—A Kalā of Rudra.^*

• * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 35. 96.

context information

The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.

Itihasa (narrative history)

Bhaya (भय) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. I.60.53) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Bhaya) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.

General definition (in Hinduism)

Bhaya (भय, “fear”):—In Vedic hinduism, he is one of the three sons of Adharma (‘sin’) and his wife Nirṛti (‘misery’).

In Buddhism

Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)

N Vision of a danger caused by the observation of mental and physical phenomena.

General definition (in Buddhism)

Bhaya (भय) or Pañcabhaya refers to the “five fears” as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 71):

1. ājīvikā-bhaya: fear for (one’s) livelihood,
2. śoka-bhaya: fear of grief,
3. maraṇa-bhaya: fear of death,
4. durgati-bhaya: fear of a bad destination,
5. parṣadaśādya-bhaya: fear through timidity.

The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (eg., bhaya). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

1) Bhaya (भय, “fear”).—The seven types of fear (bhaya) according to Cāmuṇḍarāya in his Caritrasāra are:

1. ihaloka (fear of this world),
2. paraloka (fear of the next world),
3. vyādhi (fear of sickness),
4. maraṇa (fear of death),
5. agupti (fear of being without protection),
6. atrāṇa (fear of being without defence),
7. akasmika (fear of something unexpected)

2) Bhaya (भय, “fear”) refers to a subclass of the interal (abhyantara) division of parigraha (attachment) and is related to the Aparigraha-vrata (vow of non-attachment). Amṛtacandra (in his Puruṣārthasiddhyupāya 116), Somadeva, and Āśādhara among the Digambaras and Siddhasena Gaṇin (in his commentary on the Tattvārtha-sūtra 7.24) among the Śvetāmbaras mention fourteen varieties  of abhyantara-parigraha (for example, bhaya).

Bhaya (भय) participated in the war between Rāma and Rāvaṇa, on the side of the latter, as mentioned in Svayambhūdeva’s Paumacariu (Padmacarita, Paumacariya or Rāmāyaṇapurāṇa) chapter 57ff. Svayambhū or Svayambhūdeva (8th or 9th century) was a Jain householder who probably lived in Karnataka. His work recounts the popular Rāma story as known from the older work Rāmāyaṇa (written by Vālmīki). Various chapters [mentioning Bhaya] are dedicated to the humongous battle whose armies (known as akṣauhiṇīs) consisted of millions of soldiers, horses and elephants, etc.

Bhaya (भय).—What is meant by fear (bhaya)? Frightening ownself or others is fear.

Bhaya (भय, “fear”) refers to one of the nine types of the Akaṣāya (“quasi passions”) classification of of  Cāritramohanīya “conduct deluding (karmas)” according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra chapter 8. Cāritramohanīya refers to one of the two main classifications of Mohanīya, or “deluding (karmas)”, which represents one of the eight types of Prakṛti-bandha (species bondage): one of the four kinds of bondage (bandha). What is meant by fear (bhaya) karmas? The karmas rise of which cause feeling of fear are called fear karmas. 

context information

Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.

Languages of India and abroad

Pali-English dictionary

bhaya : (nt.) fear; fright.

Bhaya, (nt.) (fr. bhī, cp. Vedic bhaya, P. bhāyati) fear, fright, dread A. II, 15 (jāti-maraṇa°); D. III, 148, 182; Dh. 39, 123, 212 sq. , 283; Nd¹ 371, 409; Pug. 56; Vism. 512; KhA 108; SnA 155; DhA. III, 23. There are some lengthy enum^ns of objects causing fear (sometimes under term mahabbhaya, mahā-bhaya), e.g. one of 17 at Miln. 196, one of 16 (four times four) at A. II, 121 sq. , the same in essence, but in different order at Nd² 470, and at VbhA. 502; one of 16 (with remark “ādi, ＂ and so on) at Vism. 645. Shorter comb^ns are to be found at Sn. 964 (5, viz. ḍaṃsā, adhipātā, siriṃsapā, manussaphassā, catuppādā); Vbh. 379 (5, viz. ājīvika°, asiloka°, parisa-sārajja°, maraṇa°, duggati°, expl^d at VbhA. 505 sq.), 376 (4: jāti°, jarā°, vyādhi°, maraṇa°) 367 (3: jāti°, jarā°, maraṇ°); Nd¹ 402 (2: diṭṭha-dhammikaṃ & samparāyikaṃ bh.).—abhaya absence of fear, safety Vin. I, 75 (abhay-ûvara for abhaya-vara？); Dh. 317; J. I, 150; DhA. III, 491.

—ñāṇa insight into what is to be feared: see Cpd. 66.—dassāvin seeing or realising an object of fear, i.e. danger Vbh. 244, 247 and passim.—dassin id. Dh. 31, 317.—bherava fear & dismay M. I, 17 (=citt’uttrasassa ca bhayānak’ārammaṇassa adhivacanaṃ MA 113), N. of Suttanta No. 4 in Majjhima (pp. 16 sq.), quoted at Vism. 202; SnA 206. (Page 498)

context information

Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.

Marathi-English dictionary

bhaya (भय).—n (S) Fear, dread, painful apprehension of evil. Pr. ēka bhaya dōhō jāgīṃ Expresses mutual fear in both parties. 2 Ground for fear; danger, risk, hazard, jeopardy. bhaya ghēṇēṃ To take fright or alarm. bhaya dākhaviṇēṃ To exhibit (unto) some ground for fear; to apply to the fears of.

--- OR ---

bhāya (भाय).—f C dim. bhāyaṭī f C A branch or bough.

bhaya (भय).—n Fear, dread. Risk.

Sanskrit-English dictionary

Bhaya (भय).—[vimetyasmāt, bhī-apādāne ac]

1) Fear, alarm, dread, apprehension, (oft. with abl.); भोगे रोगमयं कुले च्युतिभयं वित्ते नृपालाद्भयम् (bhoge rogamayaṃ kule cyutibhayaṃ vitte nṛpālādbhayam) Bh.3.35; यदि समरमपास्य नास्ति मृत्योर्भयम् (yadi samaramapāsya nāsti mṛtyorbhayam) Ve.3.4.

2) Fright, terror; जगद्भयम् (jagadbhayam) &c.

3) A danger, risk, hazard; तावद्भयस्य भेतव्यं यावद्भयमनागतम् । आगतं तु भयं वीक्ष्य नरः कुर्याद्यथोचितम् (tāvadbhayasya bhetavyaṃ yāvadbhayamanāgatam | āgataṃ tu bhayaṃ vīkṣya naraḥ kuryādyathocitam) H.1.54.

4) The sentiment of fear; see भयानक (bhayānaka) below; रौद्रशक्त्या तु जनितं चित्तवैकल्यजं भयम् (raudraśaktyā tu janitaṃ cittavaikalyajaṃ bhayam) S. D.6.

5) The blossom of Trapa Bispinosa (Mar. śiṃgāḍā)

-yaḥ Sickness, disease.

Derivable forms: bhayam (भयम्).

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