Pradhāna

From Theosophy Wiki
Revision as of 21:13, 5 May 2016 by Pablo Sender (talk | contribs) (Created page with "'''Pradhāna''' (devanāgarī: प्रधान) is a Sanskrit adjective meaning "most important, prime, chief or major," and refers to the chief cause of the material n...")
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Pradhāna (devanāgarī: प्रधान) is a Sanskrit adjective meaning "most important, prime, chief or major," and refers to the chief cause of the material nature, the original root of matter, the homogeneous prime matter from which the cosmos is created. According to the Sāṃkhya School, in Pradhana the three Guṇas (sattva, rajas and tamas) are in state of equilibrium.

H. P. Blavatsky defined it as follows:

Pradhâna (Sk.). Undifferentiated substance, called elsewhere and in other schools--Akâsa; and Mulaprakriti or Root of Matter by the Vedantins. In short, Primeval Matter.[1]

Notes

  1. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 259.