Nidana
Nidāna (Script error: No such module "Lang".) is a Sanskrit and Pali word that means "cause, motivation or occasion" depending on the context.[1] The word is derived from the Sanskrit prefix ni- (Script error: No such module "Lang".; "down", "into") plus the root dā (Script error: No such module "Lang".; "to bind"), forming the verb nidā (Script error: No such module "Lang".; "to bind on, fasten").[2][3] This in turn yields the noun nidāna (Script error: No such module "Lang".; lit. "a band, rope or halter").[3] It appears in the Rigveda, such as hymn 10.114.2,[4] 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.[3] The word has been borrowed into modern languages such as Hindi and Marathi[5] to mean "diagnosis" or "primary cause" among others.[6]
Buddhism
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Nidāna is the term used to describe the standard introduction of a Buddhist sutra, where the formula "Thus have I heard" (attributed to Ānanda) is followed by a description of the location and occasion on which the Buddha gave a particular teaching.[7]
The other primary use of nidāna in the Buddhist tradition is in the context of the Twelve Nidānas, also called the "Twelve Links of Dependent Origination".[8][9] These links present the mechanistic basis of repeated birth, saṃsāra, and resultant duḥkha (suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness) starting from avidyā (ignorance, misconceptions).[8]
Hinduism
The term nidāna appears in numerous ancient and medieval Hindu texts wherein it means "first cause, primary cause, original or essential cause".[3] This includes the Upanishads that include theosophical speculations,[3] as well as medical texts such as Sushruta Samhita and Charaka Samhita, where a large sub-book is titled Nidāna Sthāna (Script error: No such module "Lang".; "Pathology"),[10] as well as in chapters of the Puranas, wherein these discuss cause of disease or various natural phenomena.[3]
See also
Notes
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Rigveda 10.114, Wikisource, Quote: तिस्रो देष्ट्राय निरृतीरुपासते दीर्घश्रुतो वि हि जानन्ति वह्नयः । तासां नि चिक्युः कवयो निदानं परेषु या गुह्येषु व्रतेषु ॥२॥
- ↑ James Thomas Molesworth, "Script error: No such module "Lang". nidāna" in A Dictionary, Marathi and English, Bombay: 1857. p. 465.
- ↑ Ralph Lilley Turner. "nidāˊna" in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: 1969–1985. p. 411.
- ↑ Oxford Reference: evaṃ mayā śrūtam
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".