Mahattattva, Mahat-tattva: 8 definitions

Introduction:

Mahattattva 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.

In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

[«previous next»] — Mahattattva in Purana glossary
Source: Shodhganga: The saurapurana - a critical study

Mahattattva (महत्तत्त्व) or simply Mahat refers to a primordial principle of the nature of both pradhāna and puruṣa, according to the 10th century Saurapurāṇa: one of the various Upapurāṇas depicting Śaivism.—[...] From the disturbed prakṛti and the puruṣa sprang up the seed of mahat, which is of the nature of both pradhāna and puruṣa. The mahattattva is then covered by the pradhāna and being so covered it differentiates itself as the sāttvika, rājasa and tāmasa-mahat. The pradhāna covers the mahat just as a seed is covered by the skin . Being so covered there spring from the three fold mahat the threefold ahaṃkāra called vaikārika, taijasa and bhūtādi or tāmasa.

Purana book cover
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.

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Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)

[«previous next»] — Mahattattva in Vaishnavism glossary
Source: Pure Bhakti: Brhad Bhagavatamrtam

Mahattattva (महत्तत्त्व) refers to:—The total material energy. (cf. Glossary page from Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta).

Vaishnavism book cover
context information

Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).

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Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

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

Mahattattva (महत्तत्त्व).—the second of the 25 principles of the Sāṅkhyas.

Derivable forms: mahattattvam (महत्तत्त्वम्).

Mahattattva is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms mahat and tattva (तत्त्व).

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

Mahattattva (महत्तत्त्व):—[=mahat-tattva] [from mahat > mah] n. ‘the great principle’, Intellect (See above), [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]

[Sanskrit to German]

Mahattattva 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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Kannada-English dictionary

[«previous next»] — Mahattattva in Kannada glossary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Mahattattva (ಮಹತ್ತತ್ತ್ವ):—[noun] the great principle, as, according to Sāṃkhya philosophy the second of the twenty three principles produced from Prakṛti (Nature), which is considered as the great source of ಅಹಂಕಾರ [ahamkara] (self-consciousness).

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

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Nepali dictionary

[«previous next»] — Mahattattva in Nepali glossary
Source: unoes: Nepali-English Dictionary

Mahattattva (महत्तत्त्व):—n. soul; spirit;

context information

Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.

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