Hrasvatva, Hrasva-tva: 3 definitions

Introduction:

Hrasvatva 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 Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

[«previous next»] — Hrasvatva in Mahayana glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra

Hrasvatva (ह्रस्वत्व) refers to “smallness”, according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter 2).—Accordingly, “[Question: The past and the future do not function with the nature of the present; the past functions with the nature of the past and the future with the nature of the future. That is why there is a [different] time for each nature separately (ekaika dharmalakṣaṇa)]—[Answer:]—[...] [The Buddhist texts] do not speak about kāla but about samaya in order to dispel wrong views of this kind. We speak metaphorically about time with regard to birth, the elements and bases of consciousness, but there is no distinct time [existing as a separate substance]. Expressions such as ‘region’ (deśa), ‘time’ (kāla), ‘separation’ (viyoga), ‘union’ (saṃyoga), ‘singleness’ (ekatva), ‘multiplicity’ (nānātva), ‘length’ (dīrghatva), ‘smallness’ (hrasvatva), etc., come from convention. Fools (bāla) cling to them and say that these are real Dharmas (sadbhūta). That is why mundane conventional Dharmas of purely nominal existence must be excluded.”.

Mahayana book cover
context information

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.

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Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Hrasvatva in Sanskrit glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Hrasvatva (ह्रस्वत्व):—[=hrasva-tva] [from hrasva > hras] n. idem, [Suśruta; Sarvadarśana-saṃgraha]

2) [v.s. ...] prosodial shortness, [Kāśikā-vṛtti on Pāṇini 2-3, 56.]

[Sanskrit to German]

Hrasvatva in German

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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