Mahavakya, Mahā Vākya, Maha-vakya, Mahāvākya: 14 definitions
Introduction:
Mahavakya means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, 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
Vedanta (school of philosophy)
Source: Shodhganga: Siva Gita A Critical StudyMahāvākya (महावाक्य) refers to “great saying”.—A profound aphorism from scripture. The mahāvākyas posit the essential identity between the individual and the Absolute.
Traditionally the Mahāvākya are four in number:
- “prajñānam brahma” which occurs in the Aitareya Upaniṣad of Ṛg Veda;
- “ayam ātmā brahma” which occurs in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad of the Atharva Veda;
- “tat tvam asi” which occurs in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad of the Sāma Veda;
- “aham brahmāsmi” which occurs in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad of the Śukla Yajur Veda.
Vedanta (वेदान्त, vedānta) refers to a school of orthodox Hindu philosophy (astika), drawing its subject-matter from the Upanishads. There are a number of sub-schools of Vedanta, however all of them expound on the basic teaching of the ultimate reality (brahman) and liberation (moksha) of the individual soul (atman).
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: WikiPedia: HinduismThe Mahavakyas are "The Great Sayings" of the Upanishads, the foundational texts of Vedanta. Though there are many Mahavakyas, four of them, one from each of the four Vedas, are often mentioned as "the Mahavakyas". The subject matter and the essence of all Upanishads being the same, all the Upanishadic Mahavakyas express this one universal message in the form of terse and concise statements.
In later Sanskrit usage, however, the term mahāvākya came to mean "discourse," and specifically, discourse on a philosophically lofty topic.
The Mahavakyas are:
- prajñānam brahma - "Consciousness is Brahman" (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3)
- ayam ātmā brahma - "This Self (Atman) is Brahman" (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2)
- tat tvam asi - "Thou art That" (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7)
- aham brahmāsmi - "I am Brahman" (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10)
Etymolgoy: Mahavakyas; (sing.: mahāvākya, महावाक्य; plural: mahāvākyāni, महावाक्यानि)
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: OSU Press: Cakrasamvara SamadhiMahāvākya (महावाक्य) refers to “great words” (from whose tantra is concluded), according to the Cakrasaṃvara Samādhi [i.e., Cakrasamvara Meditation] ritual often performed in combination with the Cakrasaṃvara Samādhi, which refers to the primary pūjā and sādhanā practice of Newah Mahāyāna-Vajrayāna Buddhists in Nepal.—Accordingly, “Now thus beginning the great words (mahāvākya), from whose tantra is concluded, In praise (of) you, Vajravārāhī, the heroine of Cakrasaṃvara. And Cakra Nāthā, innately pure, (with) divine rows (of) jewels adorning (her) body, All limbs always adorned in heroism, praising the power of the highest eternal union”.
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionarymahāvākya (महावाक्य).—n (S) A great (i.e. worthy of reverence and honor) word or saying. A term for any sentence of the Vedas.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishmahāvākya (महावाक्य).—n A term for any sentence of the Vedas. A great word.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryMahāvākya (महावाक्य).—
1) a long sentence.
2) any continuous composition or literary work.
3) a great proposition, principal sentence; such as तत्त्वमसि, ब्रह्मैवेदं सर्वम् (tattvamasi, brahmaivedaṃ sarvam) &c.
4) a complete sentence (opp. avāntaravākya q. v.); न च महावाक्ये सति अवान्तरवाक्यं प्रमाणं भवति (na ca mahāvākye sati avāntaravākyaṃ pramāṇaṃ bhavati) ŚB. on MS.6.4.25.
Derivable forms: mahāvākyam (महावाक्यम्).
Mahāvākya is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms mahā and vākya (वाक्य).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryMahāvākya (महावाक्य).—n.
(-kyaṃ) 1. Any continuous composition, any literary work. 2. A long sentence. 3. A principal sentence.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryMahāvākya (महावाक्य).—n. a principal sentence, [Vedāntasāra, (in my Chrestomathy.)] in
Mahāvākya is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms mahā and vākya (वाक्य).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryMahāvākya (महावाक्य).—[neuter] great speech, i.e. either literary work or chief sentence.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Mahāvākya (महावाक्य):—[=mahā-vākya] [from mahā > mah] n. any long continuous composition or literary [work] (-tva n.), [Sāhitya-darpaṇa]
2) [v.s. ...] a principal sentence, gr° proposition, Name of 12 sacred utterances of the Upaniṣads (e.g. tat tvam asi, aham brahmāsmi etc., [especially] of the mystic words tattvam and om), [Vedāntasāra; Catalogue(s)]
3) [v.s. ...] Name of an Upaniṣad
[Sanskrit to German]
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.
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusMahāvākya (ಮಹಾವಾಕ್ಯ):—
1) [noun] a long, complex sentence.
2) [noun] (phil.) any of several short, but most significant sentences found in upaniṣads.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Source: unoes: Nepali-English DictionaryMahāvākya (महावाक्य):—n. great saying;
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.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with (+9): Mahavakyadarpana, Mahavakyamahamantra, Mahavakyamantropadeshapaddhati, Mahavakyamuktavali, Mahavakyani, Mahavakyanirnaya, Mahavakyanyasa, Mahavakyapancikarana, Mahavakyarahasya, Mahavakyaratnavali, Mahavakyartha, Mahavakyartha atharvavediya, Mahavakyarthadarpana, Mahavakyarthaprabandha, Mahavakyarthaprabodha, Mahavakyarthasiddhi, Mahavakyarthavicara, Mahavakyarthavivarana, Mahavakyasiddhanta, Mahavakyasviddhanta.
Ends with: Dvadashamahavakya.
Full-text (+18): Dvadashamahavakya, Mahavakyaratnavali, Mahavakyatva, Mahavakyavyakhya, Mahavakyaviveka, Mahavakyasiddhanta, Mahavakyarahasya, Mahavakyadarpana, Mahavakyanirnaya, Mahavakyamuktavali, Mahavakyapancikarana, Mahavakyavivarana, Mahavakyanyasa, Mahavakyavicara, Mahavakyamantropadeshapaddhati, Mahavakyatippana, Mahavakyavivekarthasakshivivarana, Mahavakyarthaprabodha, Mahavakyopanishad, Mahavakyarthadarpana.
Relevant text
Search found 34 books and stories containing Mahavakya, Mahā vākya, Mahā-vākya, Maha-vakya, Mahāvākya; (plurals include: Mahavakyas, Mahā vākyas, vākyas, vakyas, Mahāvākyas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Shrimad Bhagavad-gita (by Narayana Gosvami)
Verses 8.12-13 < [Chapter 8 - Tāraka-brahma-yoga (the Yoga of Absolute Deliverance)]
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 2.4.160 < [Chapter 4 - Vaikuṇṭha (the spiritual world)]
Preceptors of Advaita (by T. M. P. Mahadevan)
Brahma Sutras (Shankara Bhashya) (by Swami Vireshwarananda)
Chapter III, Section II, Introduction < [Section II]
Chapter III, Section III, Introduction < [Section III]
Bhagavatpadabhyudaya by Lakshmana Suri (study) (by Lathika M. P.)
Canto III—Depicting of Paramahaṃsa < [Chapter 2 - Content Analysis of Bhagavatpādābhyudaya]
The Question of Identity < [Chapter 3 - References to Śaṅkara’s Philosophy]
Relation between Jñāna and Bhakti < [Chapter 3 - References to Śaṅkara’s Philosophy]
Concept of Mind in the Major Upanishads (by Gisha K. Narayanan)
9(a). The Concept of Mind in the Aitareyopaniṣad < [Chapter 4 - The concept of Mind in the Major Upaniṣads]
7(a). The Concept of Mind in the Māṇḍūkyopaniṣad < [Chapter 4 - The concept of Mind in the Major Upaniṣads]
6. The Psychological aspects in the Aitareyopaniṣad < [Chapter 5 - The Psychological aspects as reflected in the Upaniṣads]
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