Samaya () or Samayam () is a

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 ...

term referring to the "appointed or proper time, heright ''moment'' for doing anything." In Indian languages, ''samayam'', or ''samay'' in

Indo-Aryan languages The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east ...

, is a unit of time.

Meaning

In contemporary usage, ''samayam'' means time in

Dravidian languages The Dravidian languages are a language family, family of languages spoken by 250 million people, primarily in South India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan, with pockets elsewhere in South Asia. The most commonly spoken Dravidian l ...

such as

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

, and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

, and in Indo-Aryan languages such as

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

, Gujarati.

Jainism

Meaning

Samaya represents the most infinitesimal part of time that cannot be divided further. The blink of an eye, or about a quarter of a second, has innumerable ''samaya'' in it. For all practical purposes a second happens to be the finest measurement of time.

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

, however, recognizes a very small measurement of time known as ''samaya'', which is an infinitely small part of a second.

Measurements

The following are measures of time as adopted by Jainism: * indivisible time = 1 ''samaya'' * innumerable samaya = 1 * 16,777,216 = 1 * 30 = 1 day and night * 15 days and nights = 1 (fortnight) * 2 = 1 month * 12 months = 1 year * innumerable years = 1 * 10 million million = 1 * 10 million million = l or 1 * 1 + = 1 (one time cycle)

Example

When an Arihant reaches the stage of

moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

(liberation), the soul travels to the

Siddhashila Siddhashila is an area in Jain cosmology at the apex of the universe, which is where the Jains believe people who have become '' arihants'' and ''tirthankaras'' go after they die and attain ''moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''v ...

(highest realm in

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

) in one .

Hinduism

is the basic unit of time in

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...

. It is stated to be an epithet of

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

in the

Agni Purana The ''Agni Purana'', (, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also considered as a text that covers them ...

Other uses

The samayachakra is the great chariot wheel of time which turns relentlessly forward. is a term used in

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

to loosely categorize

ragas A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, from the perspec ...

into times of day. Each ''raga'' has a specific period of the day ( praharam) when it is performed. In Gandharva-Veda the day is divided into three-hour-long intervals: 4–7a.m., 7–10a.m., etc. The time concept in Gandharva-Veda is more strictly adhered to than it would be, for example, in

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

References

* Units of time Hindu cosmology Sanskrit words and phrases {{DEFAULTSORT:Samaya

Meaning

Jainism

Meaning

Measurements

Example

Hinduism

Other uses

See also

References