guṇa
Sign in to save'''''' () refers to the three fundamental tendencies or forces that constitute nature, or the matrix of material existence in Hindu philosophies. It can be translated as "quality, peculiarity, attribute, property".
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Article
16 sectionsContents
- Terminology
- The root and origins
- The gunas under various philosophies
- Samkhya school of Hinduism
- Nyaya school of Hinduism
- Vaisheshika school of Hinduism
- Bhagavad Gita
- Guna in theory of ethics
- Guna in cosmology
- Guna in other contexts
- Sanskrit grammar
- Ayurveda
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
'''' () refers to the three fundamental tendencies or forces that constitute nature, or the matrix of material existence in Hindu philosophies. It can be translated as "quality, peculiarity, attribute, property".
The concept is originally notable as a feature of Samkhya philosophy. The guṇas are now a key concept in nearly all schools of Hindu philosophy. There are three guṇas (triguṇa), according to this worldview, that have always been and continue to be present in all things and beings in the world. These three guṇas'' are called: ' (goodness, calmness, harmonious), ' (passion, activity, movement), and '' (ignorance, inertia, laziness). All of these three guṇas are present in everyone and everything; it is the proportion that is different, according to Hindu worldview. The interplay of these guṇas defines the character of someone or something, of nature and determines the progress of life.