Bhagavan
The word Bhagavan (Sanskrit: भगवान्, romanized: Bhagavān; Pali: Bhagavā), also spelt as Bhagwan (sometimes translated in English as "Lord", "God"), is an epithet within Indian religions used to denote figures of religious worship.
In Hinduism it is used to signify a deity or an avatar, particularly for Krishna and Vishnu in Vaishnavism, Shiva in Shaivism and Durga or Adi Shakti in Shaktism.
[3] In many parts of India and South Asia, Bhagavan represents the concept of a universal God or Divine to Hindus who are spiritual and religious but do not worship a specific deity.
In Buddhism's Pali and Sanskrit scriptures, the term is used to denote The Buddha, referring him as Bhagavā or Bhagavān (translated with the phrase "Lord" or "The Blessed One").
The word Bhagavat is the denomination of that primeval and eternal God: and he who fully understands the meaning of that expression is possessed of holy wisdom, the sum, and substance of the Vedas.
Lower knowledge includes Vedas, phonetics, grammar, etymology, meter, astronomy and ceremony rituals.
As the draft-ox shines, lighting up all the quarters, above, below, and across, so this God, blessed and adorable, alone rules over wombs and inherent natures.Later and medieval era Upanishads mention Bhagavān.
Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa, a minor Upanishad, then proceeds to disclose, among other things, two Bhagavan names in the Hare Krishna mantra in verse 2.
[2] For example, श्रीभगवानुवाच। कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम्। अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन॥ २-२॥ Shri Bhagavan said, "from where had this weakness arisen, at this inconvenient time?It is not noble, neither will it lead you to heaven, nor will it earn you valor, O Arjuna.
This tradition introduced the chaturvyuha concept and laid emphasis on the worship of the five Vrishni warriors, which reached the peak of its popularity during the Gupta Period.
The Bhagavata Purana (1.2.11) states the definition of Bhagavān to mean the supreme being: The Learned Know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan.
This title is also used by a number of contemporary spiritual teachers in India who claim to be Bhagavan or have realized impersonal Brahman.
For example, the Pradipoddyotana manuscript of Guhyasamāja tantra-Samdhivyakarana uses the word Bhagavān, which Alex Wayman translates as "Lord".
[18] The text, elsewhere refers to "Bhagavan Sarvatathagatakayavakcittadipatih", which John Campbell translates as "Lord, Master of the Vajras of Body, Speech, and Mind of all Buddhas.
For example, almost every sutra in Buddhist canonical and commentarial texts starts with the line likeEvaṃ me suttaṃ – ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṃ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.
("Heliodorena Bhagavata", Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report (1908-1909)):[42] This Garuda-standard of Vasudeva (Vishnu), the God of Gods was erected here by the Bhagavatena (devotee) Heliodoros, the son of Dion, a man of Taxila, sent by the Great Greek (Yona) King Antialcidas, as ambassador to King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior son of the princess from Benares, in the fourteenth year of his reign.
"[b]Sākamunisa bhagavato is recorded in the kharoshthi dedication of a vase placed in a Buddhist stupa by the Greek meridarch (civil governor of a province) named Theodorus:[43] James Prinsep identified several engravings and inscriptions on ancient Buddhist artifacts that include the word Bhagavan and related words.
