Adhyāsa (Sanskrit:अध्यास Superimposition) is a concept in
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson (20 ...
referring to the superimposition of an attribute, quality, or characteristic of one entity onto another entity. In
Advaita Vedanta
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hinduism, Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the Āstika and nāstika, orthodox Hindu school Ved ...
, Adhyasa means a false superimposition of the characteristics of physical body (birth, death, skin color etc.) onto the
atman Atman or Ātman may refer to:
Film
* ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto
* ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo
People
* Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian hand ...
, and also the false superimposition of the characteristics of Atman (sentiency, existence) onto the physical body.
Origin
The first mention of Adhyasa is found within the Brahma Sutra Bhasya of
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...
. Adi Shankara begins his commentary of the
Brahma Sutras by explaining what Adhyasa is and its nature.
Shankara lists different views about Adhyasa from different philosophical schools, which suggests that the concept of Adhyasa certainly existed before Shankara.
Definition
In his introduction to the commentary on Brahma Sutras, Shankara gives a definition of Adhyasa as thus -
Swami Gambhirananda
Swami Gambhirananda (1899–1988), born as Jatindranath Datta, was a Hindu sanyasi associated with Ramakrishna Mission. He was born at Sadhuhati in today's Bangladesh. He graduated from Scottish Church College, Calcutta (Kolkata).
Jatindr ...
translates it as -
Karl H. Potter translates it as -
References
{{Reflist
Hindu philosophical concepts