Arya

Ārya (Sanskrit: ā́rya: noble/lord, pure, perfect, excellent...) is a term used in indian languages that appears in indian literature. The adjective is significant to Buddhists, Hindus, Jains.

The word Arya (Aryan) means "Noble" and was initially only used for Kshatriyas (Kings & Nobles) as it is related to the word "Aristocracy". Then it started designating the whole indian civilisation and the people who practice it (the Arya dharma).

In Indian languages, ā́rya- and similar-looking words also have numerous other meanings, primarily as attributes of co-religionists. For example, in Pāli and other Prakrits, ārya developed various forms such as ariya, ayya, ajja, and aje.

Ārya's meaning of "(speakers of) ārya language" led to its adoption for English "Aryan" to express the same idea, i.e. "Indo-Iranian". However, English language "Aryan" subsequently evolved to mean something else, and is therefore no longer a synonym of ārya-.

Etymology

In its oldest recorded forms, Indo-Iranian ārya is a national name, i.e. the name of the ethnic group of (respectively) Indians and Iranians themselves. More precisely, it is a self-referential adjective that – from the point of view of the North-Indians and Iranians themselves – effectively means "pertaining to ourselves." It stands in relationship to the antonymic anārya- (Skt. anā́rya-, Av. anairiia-), which effectively refers to "pertaining to the Other". From the external point of view – i.e. of comparative philology – this most ancient usage of ārya indicates "pertaining to speakers of Indian/Iranian language"; with the Vedic Sanskrit ā́rya-, used as an autonym of the Rigvedic tribes, and Iranian arya- (with a short-a; Old Persian ariya, Avestan airiia) used as an autonym of the Iranian peoples.

This significance of Indo-Iranian ārya as an autonym is uncontested, and has been known to western scholarship for centuries. The word's further etymology cannot be determined with any degree of certainty since A) a comparable name has not been found outside the Indo-Iranian language group; B) the Proto-Indo-Iranian *ār-/*ar- in Indo-Iranian ārya- is ambiguous and can have a number of different meanings, including possibly one unique to ārya-; C) the ā/a in ārya- have a morphological value unique to Indo-Iranian languages–Indo-European ā, ē, ō merge as Indo-Iranian ā (a similar merger also occurs for short vowels); D) the rules governing ablauts are poorly understood and it is not certain whether PIE had an a-vowel at all; in principle ārya- could simply reflect nil-grade n̥ryo-. E) the a priori assumption that ārya- is Indo-European is not assured. For a review of the etymological problems involved, see Siegert & 1941-1942. See also Szemerényi 1977, pp. 103–147.

Influential attempts to find an etymon are as follows:

• Before 1950 – all are reductions of the historical variety to an original unity:
  • Bopp (1830): ar- "to go, to move", read as "one who roams" (like a nomad)
  • Müller (1862): ar- "to plough", read as "cultivator of the land"
  • Güntert (1924): ar- "to fit", read as "allied, friendly"
  • Thieme (1938): ar- "to give, allot, share", read as "hospitable"
• After 1950 – all treat the autonym as distinct from similar-looking words:
  • Laroche (1957): ara- "to fit", read as "fitting, proper"
  • Dumézil (1958): ar- "to share", read as a uniting property of "appartenant au monde aryen"
  • Bailey (1959): ar- "to beget", read as "born, nurturing"
  • Benveniste (1969): ar- "to fit", read as "companionable"

For a review of these and numerous other ideas, and the various problems with each, see Szemerényi 1977, pp. 125–146. In conclusion (p. 146), Szemerényi revives Bartholomae's caution from 1906, and reasserts that "it is not impossible that the word is not Indo-European", and that 'as a name of a peoples it could easily have a foreign language origin'.

The authoritative Watkins/IE Roots treats the Indo-Iranian autonym as an isolate, gives the meaning as "compatriot", and derives it tentatively from "perhaps ... ar- [to fit]".

The distinction between pre-1950 and post-1950 approaches is significant because Sanskrit's vriddhi-formed ā́rya- is the only Indic form of Indo-Iranian ārya that has a comparable Iranian equivalent. Other forms of Indic arya, of which there are several (árya-, aryá-, aryà-, ā́rīḥa- etc), have no equivalent. In contrast to Indian usage, in which several secondary meanings evolved, the meaning of ar- as a self-identifier is preserved in Iranian usage, hence the words "Iran"/"Iranian" themselves. Iranian airya meant and means "Iranian", and Iranian anairya meant and means "Un-Iranian".

In Sanskrit literature

In Sanskrit and related Indic languages, Arya refers to one of high birth or caste. Although Aryas were concentrated in North India, the title of Arya was used with various modifications throughout the Indian Subcontinent. Kharavela, the Emperor of Kalinga around 1 BCE is referred as an Arya in the Hatigumpha inscriptions of the Khandagiri-Udaigiri cave complex in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Various Indian religions, chiefly Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism use the term Arya as an epithet of honour and it occurs as such in their religious texts.

In the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Arya is used as an honorific for many characters including Ravana.

Vedic Sanskrit

The term Arya is used 36 times in 34 hymns in the Rigveda. According to Talageri (2000, The Rig Veda. A Historical Analysis) "the particular Vedic Aryans of the Rigveda were one section among these Purus, who called themselves Bharatas." Thus it is possible, according to Talageri, that at one point Arya did refer to a specific tribe. "Brahma of glory is he to whom both the Aryans and the Dasas belong" (RV 8.8.9).

While the word may ultimately derive from a tribal name, already in the Rigveda it appears as a religious distinction, separating those who sacrifice "properly" from those who do not belong to the historical Vedic religion, presaging the usage in later Hinduism where the term comes to denote religious righteousness or piety. In RV 9.63.5, ârya "noble, pious, righteous" is used as contrasting with árāvan "not liberal, envious, hostile":

índraṃ várdhanto aptúraḥ kṛṇvánto víśvam âryam apaghnánto árāvṇaḥ

"[the Soma-drops], performing every noble work, active, augmenting Indra's strength, driving away the godless ones." (trans. Griffith)

Sanskrit Epics

Arya and Anarya are primarily used in the moral sense in the Hindu Epics. People are usually called Arya or Anarya based on their behaviour.

Ramayana

In the Ramayana, the term Arya can also apply to Raksasas or to Ravana. In several instances, the Vanaras and Raksasas called themselves Arya. The monkey king Sugriva is called an Arya (Ram: 505102712) and he also speaks of his brother Vali as an Arya (Ram: 402402434). In another instance in the Ramayana, Ravana regards himself and his ministers as Aryas (Ram: 600600512).

A logical explanation is that, Ravana and his ministers belonged to the highest Varna (Ravana being a Brahmin), and Brahmins were generally considered 'noble' of deed and hence called Arya (noble). Thus, while Ravana was considered Arya (and regarded himself as such), he was not really an Arya because he was not noble of deeds. So, he is widely considered by Hindus as Anarya (non-Arya).

The Ramayana describes Rama as: arya sarva samascaiva sadaiva priyadarsanah, meaning "Arya, who worked for the equality of all and was dear to everyone."

Mahabharata

In the Mahabharata, the terms Arya or Anarya are often applied to people according to their behaviour. Dushasana, who tried to disrobe Draupadi in the Kaurava court, is called an "Anarya" (Mbh:0020600253). Vidura, the son of a Dasi born from Vyasa, was the only person in the assembly whose behaviour is called "Arya", because he was the only one who openly protested when Draupadi was being disrobed by Dushasana. The Pandavas called themselves "Anarya" in the Mahabharata (0071670471) when they killed Drona through deception.

According to the Mahabharata, a person's behaviour (not wealth or learning) determines if he can be called an Arya . .Also the whole Kuru clan was called as Arya .

Religious use of the Sanskrit and Pali term

The term ārya is often found in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain texts. In the Indian spiritual context it can be applied to Rishis or to someone who has mastered the four noble truths and entered upon the spiritual path. The religions of India are sometimes called collectively ārya dharma, a term that includes the religions that originated in India (e.g. Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism).

Hinduism

"O my Lord, a person who is chanting Your holy name, although born of a low family like that of a Chandala, is situated on the highest platform of self-realization. Such a person must have performed all kinds of penances and sacrifices according to Vedic literatures many, many times after taking bath in all the holy places of pilgrimage. Such a person is considered to be the best of the Aryan family" (Bhagavata Purana 3.33.7).

According to Swami Vivekananda, "A child materially born is not an Aryan; the child born in spirituality is an Aryan." He further elaborated, referring to the Manu Smriti: "Says our great law-giver, Manu, giving the definition of an Aryan, 'He is the Aryan, who is born through prayer.' Every child not born through prayer is illegitimate, according to the great law-giver: "The child must be prayed for. Those children that come with curses, that slip into the world, just in a moment of inadvertence, because that could not be prevented - what can we expect of such progeny?..."(Swami Vivekananda, Complete Works vol.8)

Swami Dayananda founded a Dharmic organisation Arya Samaj in 1875. Sri Aurobindo published a journal combining nationalism and spiritualism under the title Arya from 1914 to 1921.

It is also used a popular name, including among Dravidian groups. For example there were Telugu and Tamil films titled Arya.

Jainism

The word Arya is also often used in Jainism, in Jain texts such as the Pannavanasutta.

Buddhism

The word ārya (Pāli: ariya), in the sense "noble" or "exalted", is very frequently used in Buddhist texts to designate a spiritual warrior or hero, which use this term much more often than Hindu or Jain texts. Buddha's Dharma and Vinaya are the ariyassa dhammavinayo. The Four Noble Truths are called the catvāry āryasatyāni (Sanskrit) or cattāri ariyasaccāni (Pali). The Noble Eightfold Path is called the āryamārga (Sanskrit, also āryāṣṭāṅgikamārga) or ariyamagga (Pāli). Buddhists themselves are called ariyapuggalas (Arya persons). In Buddhist texts, the āryas are those who have the Buddhist śīla (Pāli sīla, meaning "virtue") and follow the Buddhist path. Those who despise Buddhism are often called "anāryas".

In Buddhism, those who spiritually attain to at least "stream entry" and better are considered Arya Pudgala, or the Arya people.

In Chinese Buddhist texts, ārya is translated as 聖 (approximately, "holy, sacred", pinyin shèng, on'yomi sei).

The spiritual character of the use of the term ārya in Buddhist texts can also be seen in the Mahavibhasa and in the Yogacarabhumi. The Mahāvibhasa states that only the noble ones (āryas) realize all four of the four noble truths (āryasatyāni) and that only a noble wisdom understands them fully. The same text also describes the āryas as the ones who "have understood and realized about the [truth of] suffering, (impermanence, emptiness, and no-self)" and who "understand things as they are". . In another text, the Yogācārabhūmi (Taishō 1579, vol. xx, 364b10-15), the āryas are described as being free from the viparyāsas (misconceptions).

Several Buddhist texts show that the ārya dharma was taught to everybody, including the āryas, Dasyus, Devas, Gandharvas and Asuras. The Bhaiṣajyavastu (from the Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya) describes a story of Buddha teaching his dharma to the Four Heavenly Kings (Catvāraḥ Mahārājāḥ) of the four directions. In this story, the guardians of the east (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) and the south (Virūḍhaka) are āryajatiya (āryas) who speak Sanskrit, while the guardians of the west (Virūpākṣa) and the north (Vaiśravaṇa) are dasyujatiya (Dasyus) who speak Dasyu languages. In order to teach his Dharma, Buddha has to deliver his discourse in Aryan and Dasyu languages. This story describes Buddha teaching his Dharma to the āryas and Dasyus alike. The Karaṇḍavyūha (a Mahāyāna sūtra) describes how Avalokiteśvara taught the ārya Dharma to the asuras, yakṣas and rakṣasas.

In many parts of the south India, if somebody (new) is supposed to be addressed respectably, the prefix "Ayya", derived from "Arya" is used. We also words like "Aryar" meaning chief.

References

• Bhaisajavasta in Mulasarvastivadavinaavastu. In Gilgit Mansuscripts, Vol. III, Part I. Edited by Nalinaksha Dutt. The Kashmir Series of Texts & Studies, No. LXXI (E). 1947. Srinagar: Research Department.
• J. Bronkhorst and M.M. Deshpande. 1999. Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press.
• Bryant, Edwin: The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture. 2001. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513777-9
• Fussman, G.; Kellens, J.; Francfort, H.-P.; Tremblay, X.: Aryas, Aryens et Iraniens en Asie Centrale. (2005) Institut Civilisation Indienne ISBN 2-86803-072-6
• Karandavyuha. In Mahayanasturasamgraha. Edited by P.L. Vaidya. Parts I-II. Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, Nos. 17 and 18. 1961 and 1964 Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute.
• Mahabharata. The electronic text of the B.O.R.I. Critical Edition, prepared by Muneo Tokunaga.
• Ramayana. Electronic version of the Baroda Critical Edition, prepared by Muneo Tokunaga.
• Trautmann, Thomas R. 1997, Aryans and British India. Berkeley: University of California Press.