''Nidāna'' () is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

word that means "cause, motivation or occasion" depending on the context. The word is derived from the Sanskrit prefix ''ni-'' (; "down", "into") plus the root ''dā'' (; "to bind"), forming the verb ''nidā'' (; "to bind on, fasten"). This in turn yields the noun ''nidāna'' (; lit. "a band, rope or halter"). It appears in the ''

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

'', such as hymn 10.114.2, and other Hindu scriptures, wherein it means "primary or first cause, linked cause"; in other contexts such as ''Rigveda'' 6.32.6, ''nidāna'' refers to the literal meaning of a rope or band that links, binds or fastens one thing to another, such as a horse to a cart. The word has been borrowed into modern languages such as

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

to mean "diagnosis" or "primary cause" among others.

Buddhism

''Nidāna'' is the term used to describe the standard introduction of a Buddhist

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...

, where the formula "

Thus have I heard ''Thus have I heard'' ( pi, Evaṃ me sutaṃ, italic=yes; sa, Evaṃ mayā śrūtaṃ, italic=yes) is the common translation of the first line of the standard introduction (Pāli and sa, nidāna, italic=yes , link=no) of Buddhist discourses ...

" (attributed to

Ānanda Ānanda (5th4th century BCE) was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts of the early Buddhist '' Sutta-Pi� ...

) is followed by a description of the location and occasion on which

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

gave a particular teaching.Oxford Reference: evaṃ mayā śrūtam
/ref> The other primary use of ''nidāna'' in the Buddhist tradition is in the context of the

Twelve Nidānas Twelve or 12 may refer to: * 12 (number) * December, the twelfth and final month of the year Years * 12 BC * AD 12 * 1912 * 2012 Film * ''Twelve'' (2010 film), based on the 2002 novel * ''12'' (2007 film), by Russian director and actor Nikit ...

, also called the "Twelve Links of Dependent Origination". These links present the mechanistic basis of repeated birth, ''

saṃsāra ''Saṃsāra'' (Devanagari: संसार) is a Pali/Sanskrit word that means "world". It is also the concept of rebirth and "cyclicality of all life, matter, existence", a fundamental belief of most Indian religions. Popularly, it is the c ...

'', and resultant ''

duḥkha ''Duḥkha'' (; Sanskrit: दुःख; Pāli: ''dukkha''), commonly translated as "suffering", "pain," or "unhappiness," is an important concept in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Its meaning depends on the context, and may refer more specifi ...

'' (suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness) starting from avidyā (ignorance, misconceptions).

Hinduism

The term ''nidāna'' appears in numerous ancient and medieval Hindu texts wherein it means "first cause, primary cause, original or essential cause". This includes the

Upanishads The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

that include theosophical speculations, as well as medical texts such as ''

Sushruta Samhita The ''Sushruta Samhita'' (सुश्रुतसंहिता, IAST: ''Suśrutasaṃhitā'', literally "Suśruta's Compendium") is an ancient Sanskrit text on medicine and surgery, and one of the most important such treatises on this subj ...

'' and ''

Charaka Samhita The ''Charaka Samhita'' (, “Compendium of ''Charaka''”) is a Sanskrit text on Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine). Along with the ''Sushruta Samhita'', it is one of the two foundational texts of this field that have survived from ancien ...

'', where a large sub-book is titled ''Nidāna Sthāna'' (; "Pathology"),{{cite book, author=Malavika Kapur , title=Psychological Perspectives on Childcare in Indian Indigenous Health Systems , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_7r-CQAAQBAJ , year=2015, publisher=Springer , isbn=978-81-322-2428-0 , pages=12 as well as in chapters of the

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

, wherein these discuss cause of disease or various natural phenomena.

Notes

Buddhist philosophical concepts