Monday, June 16, 2014

Bhagavat


In Sanskrit and Pali, literally, "endowed with fortune"; one of the standard epithets of a buddha, commonly rendered in English as "Blessed One," "Exalted One," or simply "Lord." The term means "possessing fortune," "prosperous," and, by extension "glorious," "venerable," "divine." In Sanskrit literature, bhagavat is reserved either for the most honored of human individuals, or for the gods. In Buddhist literature, however, the term is used almost entirely with reference to the Buddha, and points to the perfection of his virtue, wisdom, and contentment. There are several transcriptional and declensional variants of the term commonly found in English-language sources, including bhagavan (nominative singular), bhagavat (weak stem), bhagavad (a samdhi pronunciation change), bhagawan, and bhagwan. The Chinese translation of bhagavat, shizun, means "World-Honored One." The Tibetan translation may be rendered as "Transcendent and Accomplished Conqueror," as it indicates a conqueror (bcom) who is endowed with all good qualities (Idan) and has gone beyond Samsara ('das).

---The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, by Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr.---

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