Shravaka, Śrāvaka: 25 definitions
Introduction:
Shravaka means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, 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.
The Sanskrit term Śrāvaka can be transliterated into English as Sravaka or Shravaka, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
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In Hinduism
Ayurveda (science of life)
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Śrāvaka (श्रावक) (lit. “one whose sound is audible from a far”) is a synonym (another name) for the Crow (Kāka), according to scientific texts such as the Mṛgapakṣiśāstra (Mriga-pakshi-shastra) or “the ancient Indian science of animals and birds” by Hamsadeva, containing the varieties and descriptions of the animals and birds seen in the Sanskrit Epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Śrāvaka (श्रावक).—In the śrāvaka system, the Buddha, by the power of his skillful means (upāya), pretends to assume human qualities: he undergoes birth (jāti), old age (jarā), sickness (vyādhi), cold and heat (śītoṣṇa), hunger and thirst (kṣutpipāsā), etc. As no human is born without passions, the Buddha must likewise conform to human qualities and [seem] to have passions. Under the king of trees, first outwardly, he crushed Māra’s armies (mārasenā); then inwardly, he destroyed his enemies that are the fetters (saṃyojana). Having destroyed his external and internal enemies, he realized supreme complete enlightenment (anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi).
Śrāvakas have compassion but are not endowed with bodhicitta, neither relative nor absolute bodhicitta.
Śrāvaka (श्रावक) refers to the “disciples”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “How then, son of good family, does the Bodhisattva know the essential character of behaviour of all living beings? There, son of good family, are eighty-four thousand kinds of behaviour of living beings, and these are the basic words of a summary. The behaviour of all living beings, which is immeasurable, unthinkable, and ineffable, is known by the knowledge of a Buddha, but not by the knowledge of the disciples (śrāvaka-jñāna), the isolated Buddhas, or the knowledge of Bodhisattva. Thus the Bodhisattva penetrates the characteristics of behaviour of all beings through the presence of the Buddhas and his own knowledge. [...]”.
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.
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Śrāvaka (श्रावक) is the name of a Rāśi (zodiac sign) mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Śrāvaka).
1) Śrāvaka (श्रावक) refers to one of the “Nine Vehicles” (In Nyingma) which in Tibetan are known as theg pa dgu.
2) Śrāvaka (श्रावक) (in Tibetan: nyan thos) — A “hearer” or “disciple,” most often of Hinayana teachings. The term may refer either to one who follows a Hinayana path or to an arhat who has reached the end of that path. As distinguished from the Hinayana pratyekabuddha vehicle, the śrāvaka vehicle refers to an approach to the path in which one receives teachings from others rather than proceeding independently
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.
General definition (in Buddhism)
Śrāvaka (श्रावक) refers to an adherent of the Śrāvakayāna, one of the various Buddhist paths (yāna).—Lord Buddha prescribed Yānas in the beginning, namely, the Śrāvakayāna and the Pratyekabuddhayāna. [...] The Śrāvakas were to near IFom a Buddha but they had to wait till the advent of another Buddha for their emancipation. In the meanwhile the Śrāvakas could teach, but they could neither attain Nirvāṇa themselves nor help others to attain it. The Pratyekas were eminent men; they could attain Nirvāṇa by their own efforts, without the help of a Buddha but they could not impart Nirvāṇa to others.
Shravaka refers to the first or initial stage in Hinayana, the second being that of Praetyka Buddha. Sravaka, a Sanskrit word, means a hearer. It generally relates to Hinayana disciple who understands the Four Noble Truth in entering Nirvana.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Śrāvaka (श्रावक, “layman”).—The śrāvaka is one who listens (śṛṇoti), or one who has recourse to faith (śraddhālutāṃ śrāti), or one whose sins flow away from him (śravanti yasya pāpāni). With the nāma, sthāpanā, dravya, bhāva category we find:
- nāma-śrāvaka,
- sthāpanā-śrāvaka,
- dravya-śrāvaka,
- bhāva-śrāvaka.
Amongst the Digambaras Cāmuṇḍarāya has taken over the Hindu concept of the four āśramas, which, following Jinasena, he terms brahmacārin, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, and bhikṣu.
Some Digambaras, Āśādhara, and Medhāvin, for example, have a threefold division of the śrāvaka and on this their expositions of the doctrine are based:
- pākṣika,
- naiṣṭhika,
- sādhaka.
Āśādhara, who repeats Cāmuṇḍarāya’s categories of brahmacārins and the list of the four āśramas, also gives a classification of the śrāvaka based on his progress through the pratimās:
- jaghanya (least satisfactory),
- madhyama (next best),
- uttama or utkṛṣṭa (best).
Śrāvaka (श्रावक) refers to a “householder votary” according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 7.21.—What are twelve vows of a householder votary (śrāvaka)? These are five minor vows (aṇuvrata), three enhancing vows (guṇavrata) and four teaching vows (śikṣāvrata).
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.
India history and geography
Śrāvaka.—(EI 7, 8, 24; ML; LL; HA), a lay follower of Jainism or Buddhism; cf. the feminine form Śrāvikā, sometimes called Śrāvikā bhaginī in Jain records. Note: śrāvaka is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.
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Śrāvaka.—(CII 1), ‘a matter relating to a declaration’. Note: śrāvaka is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
śrāvaka (श्रावक).—m (S) A pupil or follower of a Jina; one of a sect or distinction amongst the Jyn-people.
srāvaka (स्रावक).—a That causes to ooze.
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
Śrāvaka (श्रावक).—[śri-ṇvul]
1) A hearer.
2) A pupil, disciple; श्रावकावस्थायाम् (śrāvakāvasthāyām) Mālatīmādhava (Bombay) 1 'in their pupilage'.
3) A class of Buddhist saints or votaries.
4) A Buddhist votary in general.
5) A heretic.
6) A crow.
7) A sound audible from afar.
Derivable forms: śrāvakaḥ (श्रावकः).
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Srāvaka (स्रावक).—a. (-vikā f.) [स्रु-णिच्-ण्वुल् (sru-ṇic-ṇvul)] Causing to flow, pouring out, exuding.
-kam Black pepper.
Śrāvaka (श्रावक).—(so in Sanskrit, and Pali sāvaka, in Sanskrit also of Jains and other sects), a (Buddhist) disciple, in Mahāyāna texts regularly used of followers of the Hīnayāna, passim: technical description, sarveṣām arhatāṃ kṣīṇāśravāṇām uṣitavratānāṃ samyagājñāsuvimuktacittānāṃ parikṣīṇa- bhavasaṃyojanānām anuprāptasvakārthānām Mahāvastu i.248.10 f., repeated below; a similar formula in Pali, Vin. i.183.24 etc.; stages and types of śr° Mahāvyutpatti 1008—1028; names of well-known śr° ib. 1029—1073; their qualities 1075—1126. [Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary] says a sāvaka is ‘never an Arahant’, but see Critical Pali Dictionary s.v. araha(t) 2.
Śrāvaka (श्रावक).—m.
(-kaḥ) 1. The lay votary of a Budd'ha or Jina. 2. A crow. 3. A hearer. 4. A pupil. E. śru to hear, causal form, ṇvul aff.
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Srāvaka (स्रावक).—n.
(-kaṃ) Black-pepper. f.
(-vikā) Adj. Exuding, letting flow. E. sru to ooze, causal form, ṇvul aff.
Śrāvaka (श्रावक).—i. e. śru, [Causal.], + aka, m. 1. The name of a class of the Bauddha votaries; a lay votary of the Bauddha religion, [Pañcatantra] 236, 19. 2. A pupil, Mālat, 174, 4.
Śrāvaka (श्रावक).—[adjective] listening to (—°); audible far and wide. [masculine] hearer, pupil, follower, [especially] of Buddha.
1) Śrāvaka (श्रावक):—[from śrava] a mf(ikā)n. hearing, listening to ([compound]), [Vāsavadattā]
2) [v.s. ...] audible from afar, [Śiśupāla-vadha]
3) [v.s. ...] m. a pupil, disciple, [Mālatīmādhava]
4) [v.s. ...] a disciple of the Buddha (the disciples of the Hīna-yāna school are sometimes so called in contradistinction to the disciples of the Mahā-yāna school; properly only those who heard the law from the Buddha’s own lips have the name śrāvaka, and of these two, viz. Sāriputta and Moggallāna, were Agra-śrāvakas, ‘chief disciples’, while eighty, including Kāśyapa, Upāli, and Ānanda, were Mahā-śrāvakas or ‘great disciples’), [Monier-Williams’ Buddhism 47, 75]
5) [v.s. ...] a Jaina disciple (regarded by orthodox Hindūs as a heretic), [Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary]
6) [v.s. ...] a crow, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
7) [v.s. ...] a sound audible from afar, [Śiśupāla-vadha]
8) [v.s. ...] that faculty of the voice which makes a sound audible to a distance, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
9) [from śru] b etc. See p. 1097, col. 1.
10) Sravaka (स्रवक):—[from sru] mfn. flowing, dropping etc., [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
11) Srāvaka (स्रावक):—[from sru] mfn. ([from] [Causal]) causing to flow, shedding, exuding (-tva n.), [Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra [Scholiast or Commentator]]
12) [v.s. ...] n. black pepper, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
1) Śrāvaka (श्रावक):—(kaḥ) 1. m. The pupil of a Jaina; a crow.
2) Srāvaka (स्रावक):—(kaṃ) 1. n. Black pepper.
Śravaka (श्रवक):—nom. ag. v. l. für sravaka [Vopadeva’s Grammatik 26, 41.]
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Śrāvaka (श्रावक):—(von 1. śru) m.
1) nom. ag. Zuhörer, Schüler [MĀLATĪM. 174, 4.] (vyāsaḥ) ṛgvedaśrāvakaṃ pailaṃ jagrāha vidhivaddvijam . yajurvedapravaktāraṃ vaiśaṃpāyanameva ca .. jaiminiṃ sāmavedārthaśrāvakaṃ so nvavadyata . [Oxforder Handschriften 54,b,4. 5.] unter den acht sthānāni ṛgvedasya [Weber’s Indische Studien 3, 251.] —
2) ein Zuhörer oder Schüler Buddha's oder Jina's, ein buddhistischer oder Jaina-Laie [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 1, 1, 12.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 244,] [Scholiast] [BURNOUF,] [?Intr. 79. 296. fgg. 438. Lot. de Lassen’s Anthologie b. l. 52. 292. WASSILYEW 8 u.s.w. Rgva tch’er rol pa ed. Calc. 6, 17. 295, 9.] Vie de [Hiouen-Thsang 65.] [Pañcatantra 236, 19. fgg.] — [Colebrooke 2, 195.] [WILSON, Sel. Works 1, 278. 284. 303. fg. 317. 324. 342. fg.] [Śatruṃjayamāhātmya 14, 317.] pati [Weber’s Verzeichniss No. 1364.] vrata Titel einer Jaina-Schrift [Oxforder Handschriften 379,a, No. 390.] śrāvakārādhana desgl. [WILSON, Sel. Works 1, 282.] f. śrāvikā [Śatruṃjayamāhātmya 14, 317.] [WILSON, Sel. Works 1, 304.] —
3) Krähe [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 2, 5, 19.] —
4) ein weit hörbarer Ton [Śiśupālavadha 11, 1.] — Vgl. mahā, vṛddha.
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Sravaka (स्रवक):—(wie eben) nom. ag. [Vopadeva’s Grammatik 26, 41.]
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Srāvaka (स्रावक):—(vom caus. von sru) n. Pfeffer [Śabdacandrikā im Śabdakalpadruma]
Śrāvaka (श्रावक) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Sāvaga.
Śrāvaka (in Sanskrit) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 聲聞人 [shēng wén rén]: “voice-hearer”.
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
Śrāvaka (ಶ್ರಾವಕ):—
1) [noun] who is hearing or listening to.
2) [noun] a student; a pupil.
3) [noun] (jain.) a religious house-holder.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
1) Śrāvaka (श्रावक):—n. 1. a hearer; 2. a pupil; a disciple; 3. a class of Buddhist saints or votaries; 4. a Buddhist votary in general; those who follow (Theravada) and eventually become arhats (अर्हत् [arhat] ) as a result of listening to the buddhas and following their teachings; 5. heretic; 6. a crow;
2) Srāvaka (स्रावक):—adj. causing to flow; pouring out;
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 (+8): Shravakabhashita, Shravakabhumi, Shravakabodhi, Shravakabodhiphala, Shravakabrata, Shravakacara, Shravakadharma, Shravakajana, Shravakajnana, Shravakakaya, Shravakakritya, Shravakamani, Shravakan, Shravakanaya, Shravakaniyama, Shravakanushthanavidhi, Shravakapitaka, Shravakapratikramana, Shravakapratikramanasutra, Shravakaradhana.
Full-text (+980): Shravakatva, Shravakayana, Mahashravaka, Shravakavrata, Shravakadharma, Vriddhashravaka, Sheng wen, Shravakabodhi, Shravakabodhiphala, Shravakakritya, Shravakabrata, Gotrabhumi, Samshravaka, Two shravaka schools, Vehicle of the Shravakas, Agrashravaka, Shravakasutra, Shravakanaya, Sheng wen shen, Shravakapitaka.
Relevant text
Search found 94 books and stories containing Shravaka, Śrāvaka, Sravaka, Srāvaka, Śravaka, Sravakas; (plurals include: Shravakas, Śrāvakas, Sravakas, Srāvakas, Śravakas, Sravakases). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Dhyana in the Buddhist Literature (by Truong Thi Thuy La)
3.1 (b): The Bodhisattva Ideal < [Chapter 3 - The Dhyāna in Mahāyāna Literature]
3.2 (a): The Dhyāna in the Laṅkāvatāra sūtra < [Chapter 3 - The Dhyāna in Mahāyāna Literature]
Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra
Chapter VIII - On the Four Dependables < [Section One]
Chapter XXI - On Pure Actions (a) < [Section Three]
Chapter XXII - On Pure Actions (b) < [Section Four]
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
Preliminary note to Chapter XXXIX < [Chapter XXXIX - The Ten Powers of the Buddha according to the Abhidharma]
III. Superiority of the Bodhisattva over the other disciples < [Part 1 - Surpassing the high qualities of the Śrāvakas]
X. The power of the destruction of the impurities (āsravakṣaya-jñānabala) < [Part 2 - The ten powers in particular]
The Great Chariot (by Longchenpa)
1d.2) The Dharma jewel < [Part 1 - The causal refuge]
1c) The objects of refuge < [Part 1 - The causal refuge]
Part 3e.2b - The nirmanakayas who are tamers of beings < [B. The explanation of the kayas and wisdoms]
Dasabhumika Sutra (translation and study) (by Hwa Seon Yoon)
Part 7 - The Seventh Stage named Durangama < [Chapter 4 - Annotated Translation of the Dasabhumika-Sutra]
Stage 7: Durangama Bhumi < [Chapter 2 - Study: Summary of the Ten Stages]
Part 9 - The Ninth Stage named Sadhumati < [Chapter 4 - Annotated Translation of the Dasabhumika-Sutra]
Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra (by Charles Luk)