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Apaurusheya (
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
: अपौरुषेय, , lit. means "not of a man"), meaning "not of human" or "impersonal, authorless", is a term used to describe the
Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...
, the earliest
scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...
in
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
.D Sharma, Classical Indian Philosophy: A Reader, Columbia University Press, ISBN , pages 196-197 ''Apaurusheya shabda'' ("impersonal words, authorless") is an extension of ''apaurusheya'' which refers to the Vedas and numerous other texts in Hinduism.Warren Lee Todd (2013), The Ethics of Śaṅkara and Śāntideva: A Selfless Response to an Illusory World, , page 128 ''Apaurusheya'' is a central concept in the
Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...
and Mimamsa schools of
Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy is the set of philosophical systems that developed in tandem with the first Hinduism, Hindu religious traditions during the Iron Age in India, iron and Classical India, classical ages of India. In Indian ...
. These schools accept the ''
Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...
'' as ''svatah pramana'' ("self-evident means of knowledge"). The Mimamsa school asserts that since the Vedas are composed of words (
shabda ''Shabda'' (, ) is the Sanskrit word for "speech sound". In Sanskrit grammar, the term refers to an utterance in the sense of linguistic performance. History In classical Indian philosophy of language, the grammarian Katyayana stated that ''s ...
) and the words are composed of
phonemes A phoneme () is any set of similar speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word from another. All languages con ...
, the phonemes being eternal, the Vedas are also eternal. To this, if asked whether all words and sentences are eternal, the Mimamsa philosophers reply that the rules behind combination of phonemes are fixed and predetermined for the Vedas, unlike other words and sentences. The Vedanta school also accepts this line of argument.


See also

* Sruti * Acheiropoieta *
Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
*
Shabda ''Shabda'' (, ) is the Sanskrit word for "speech sound". In Sanskrit grammar, the term refers to an utterance in the sense of linguistic performance. History In classical Indian philosophy of language, the grammarian Katyayana stated that ''s ...


References

Hindu philosophical concepts {{Hindu-philo-stub