Dharmata, Dharmatā: 10 definitions
Introduction:
Dharmata means something in Buddhism, Pali, 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.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
1) Dharmata (धर्मत) refers to “attributes”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.27 (“Description of the fraudulent words of the Brahmacārin”).—Accordingly, as Śiva (in guise of a Brahmacārin) said to Pārvatī: “If you are stopping me with devotion, truly desirous of hearing then I shall explain everything whereby you may gain some wisdom. I know Śiva through and through with all His weighty attributes [i.e., guru-dharmata]. I shall tell you the truth. Listen with attention. The great lord is bull-bannered. His body is smeared with ashes. His hair is matted. He is clad in the hide of a tiger. He has covered His body with the hide of an elephant. [...]”.
2) Dharmatā (धर्मता) refers to the “(family) tradition” (of certain ceremonies), according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.39 (“The gods arrive at Kailāsa”).—Accordingly, as Viṣṇu said to Śiva: “[...] O Śiva, let the rites of your marriage with the daughter of the lord of mountains be performed according to the laws laid down in the Gṛhya Sūtras. The rites followed in your marriage, O Śiva, will become famous and be followed in the world. Please cause the construction of the altar and the Nāndīmukha according to family tradition (kula-dharmatā). Thus you will be spreading your glory in the world, O lord”.
Dharmata (धर्मत).—The Brāhma form of marriage.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 76. 3.
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.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Dharmatā (धर्मता) refers to the “conditioned production of phenomena”, according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter XLIX.
The Hīnayānist dharmatā: According to the word of the Buddha himself, dharmatā is the conditioned production of phenomena, the pratītyasamutpāda discovered by Śākyamuni and preached by him throughout his entire career. According to the Nidānasaṃyukta: “I will show you, O monks, the dependent origination. What is dependent origination? The fact that ‘this being, that is; from the production of this, that is produced’, namely, that ‘the formations have ignorance as condition’, etc., up to ‘such is the origin of the mass of suffering’. Whether a Tathāgata appears or whether a Tathāgata does not appear, this dharmatā, the basis for the existence of things, is stable”.
The Mahāyānist dharmatā: Whether it is called dharmatā, tathatā, dharmadhātu, bhūtakoṭi, śūnyatā, original nirvāṇa, it has as unique nature the absence of nature: ekalakṣanā-yadutālakṣaṇa (cf. Pañcaviṃśati). The dharmatā is the equality of all things. According to the Aṣṭādaśa: “the pratītyasamutpāda which the Early ones held to be real and termed dharmatā, the Mādhyamikas call emptiness, nirvāṇa. This nirvāṇa, which is one with saṃsāra, is empty of nirvāṇa”.
Dharmatā (धर्मता) refers to the “true state (of thought)”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “Son of good family, these are eight pure vigours of bodhisatvas. What are the eight? To wit, (1) vigour to adorn his body but the body is not the objective support since it is distinguished as a reflection; (2) vigour to accomplish proper speech although the speech cannot be perceived since it is distinguished as voidness; (3) vigour to put the thought (citta) into the state of concentration (samādhi) although the thought is not the objective support since it is imagined by the true state of thought (citta-dharmatā); (4) vigour to attain all aspects of perfection although they cannot be perceived since they are imagined by the true nature of dharma which is the extinction of the continuous succession of thought; [...]”.
Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
Buddhist philosophy
Dharmatā (धर्मता) refers to the “actual reality” and represents one of the nine aspects of the “consummate nature” (pariniṣpanna), which represents one of the five parts of the “three natures” (trilakṣaṇa), according to Khewang Yeshe Gyatso, Exegetical Memorandum, chapter 7 (Cf. Śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā).—The term “consummate nature” (pariniṣpanna) refers to the actual reality of all phenomena, the original ultimate [truth]. [...] The consummate nature also has nine further aspects [e.g., dharmatā], as is stated in the Extensive Mother (Yum rgyas pa).
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Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Dharmatā (धर्मता).—(= Pali dhammatā), natural and normal custom, habit, natural condition, what is to be expected, normal state, rule, standard custom, ordinary thing; (as in Pali) often in n. sg., frequently at the beginning of a sentence and often followed by khalu (sometimes hi), (you are to know that) it is the regular thing, often then gen. of person, as e.g. buddhānāṃ, rarely loc., and a clause stating what the ‘regular thing’ is; but sometimes also referring to what precedes: dharmatā (usually followed by khalu or hi)…Mahāvastu i.338.19 (…(i)yaṃ teṣāṃ sattvānāṃ…); iii.255.17 (…buddhānāṃ…); Divyāvadāna 3.2; 18.8; 67.16, etc.; Avadāna-śataka i.4.6; 10.6, etc.; Jātakamālā 88.3; 98.16; iyam atra dharmatā Lalitavistara 219.5; Rāṣṭrapālaparipṛcchā 10.9; dharmatā hy eṣā dharmāṇāṃ Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra 9.4 (verse), for this is the normal condition of states-of-existence; lokahitāna dharmatā Saddharmapuṇḍarīka 392.2 (verse); buddhānāṃ eṣā (read with v.l. eṣa, m.c.) dharmatā Mahāvastu iii.327.12 (verse); loc., eṣa buddheṣu dharmatā Udānavarga xxi.12 (same verse with gen. in Pali Aṅguttaranikāya (Pali) ii.21.22); dharmatā-pratilambha eṣa caramabhā- vikānāṃ bodhisattvānāṃ…Lalitavistara 161.12 (here I fail to see that -pratilambha adds anything in particular; the [compound] seems to mean about the same as dharmatā alone, it is the established, normal procedure…); (bodhisattva- sya…) abhijñādharmatā Lalitavistara 85.10, normal state of (having the) abhijñā; dharmatā-prāpta Mahāvastu i.301.8, arrived at the normal (correct, to-be-expected) state, said of the mind of a Pratyekabuddha; pratyātma-dharmatā-śuddhaṃ (nayaṃ) Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra 8.1 (verse); śruṇuya yo ti dharmatāṃ Lalitavistara 54.2 (verse), who ever hears your true nature (regular procedure; con- trasted with one who just sees or listens, i.e. to a few words); lokānuvartanakriyā-dharmatāṃ anuvartya Lalitavistara 179.18; jarādharmatāyām anatītāḥ Mahāvastu ii.151.7, not free from (subjection to) the normal condition of old age; jāti- dharmatāyāḥ (abl.) Avadāna-śataka i.211.15, from the normal condition [Page278-b+ 71] of birth; instr., by the method (means) of…, by way of…: (śatana-patana-vikiraṇa-) vidhvaṃsana-dharmatayā Divyāvadāna 180.24; 281.31; atyantakṣīṇakṣaya-dharmatayā (so, as [compound]) niruddhāḥ Lalitavistara 419.16 (verse), Tibetan śin tu zad ciṅ byaṅ baḥi chos-ñid-kyis (dharmatayā) ni ḥgags; paramagatigato 'si dharmatāye Mahāvastu iii.381.8, you have gone to the highest goal according to your natural, normal procedure; dharmatāṃ vā pratisaraty Bodhisattvabhūmi 255.13, see pratisarati. In Bhadracarī 3 Leumann interprets dharmata-dhātuṃ as m.c. for dhar- matā-dh° which he assumes = dharma-dh°; but dharmata is rather for °taḥ, abl. of dharma, as a separate word.
1) Dharmatā (धर्मता):—[=dharma-tā] [from dharma > dhara] f. essence, inherent nature, [Buddhist literature]
2) [v.s. ...] the being law or right, [Jātakamālā]
Dharmatā (धर्मता):—f. das Dharma-Sein, in buddhistischem Sinne [SARVADARŚANAS. 21, 9. fgg.]
Dharmatā (धर्मता):—f. Nom.abstr. zu dharma 3).
Dharmatā (in Sanskrit) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 實相 [shí xiāng]: “true form of things as they are”.
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches (+0): Luo, Da, Ta, Dharma, Dharma, Dharma.
Starts with (+0): Dharmatabuddha, Dharmatakaya, Dharmatanishyandabuddha, Dharmatantra, Dharmatapratihata, Dharmatapratilambha, Dharmataradhyanasutra, Dharmatas, Dharmatasthiti, Dharmatatathagata, Dharmatathata, Dharmatattva, Dharmatattvaloka, Dharmatattvaprakasha, Dharmatattvarthacintamani, Dharmatattvasamgraha, Dharmatattvatas, Dharmatattvavid, Dharmataya, Dharmatayukti.
Full-text (+142): Dharmatas, Putradharmatas, Dharmatabuddha, Fa xing, Cittadharmata, Shantadharmata, Akritrimadharmata, Asammoshadharmata, Akashasamadharmata, Dharmatanishyandabuddha, Samvritisatyadharmata, Dharmatapratilambha, Pravacanadharmata, Svadharmata, Dharmatapratihata, Sarvajnadharmata, Apramanadharmata, Advayadharmata, Dharmatakaya, Avikalpadharmata.
Relevant text
Search found 62 books and stories containing Dharmata, Dharma-ta, Dharma-tā, Dharmatā; (plurals include: Dharmatas, tas, tās, Dharmatās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 141 < [Bengali-Hindi-English, Volume 3]
Page 540 < [Marathi-Hindi-English, Volume 2]
Page 971 < [Hindi-Bengali-English Volume 1]
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
Appendix 1 - The authenticity of Buddhist literature < [Chapter III - General Explanation of Evam Maya Śruta]
Section B.5 - Removing doubt < [Part 2 - Means of acquiring meditation]
The Śreṇika-parivrājaka-sūtra (the wandering mendicant Śreṇika) < [Chapter XLVIII - The Eighteen Emptinesses]
Bhagavata Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 5 - The Dialogue Between Vyāsa and Nārada < [Book 1 - First Skandha]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 2.109 < [Section XXII - Specially qualified Pupils]
Verse 1.93 < [Section LIX - Superiority of the Brāhmaṇa]
Verse 9.133 < [Section XVII - Property of one who has no Male Issue: the ‘Appointed Daughter’]
Yajnavalkya-smriti with Mitakshara and Viramitrodaya (by J. R. Gharpure)
Verse 3.43 < [Chapter 2 - Duties in (times of) Difficulties]
Verse 1.28 < [Chapter 2 - The Celibacy]
Verse 2.127 < [Chapter 8 - On the distribution of Dāya (Inheritance)]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)