[Advaita-l] on vidyA

[Amuthan]

namo nArAyaNAya!

On 9/13/07, bhaskar.yr_at_in.abb.com <bhaskar.yr_at_in.abb.com> wrote:
> Shri shankara in adhyAsa bhAshya defines what is vidyA ...tadvivEkEna cha
> vastusvarUpAvadhAraNaM vidyAM AhuH!!

just to add to the above, one of the finest 'definitions' of 'vidyA'
which directly conveys the advaitik sense of the term is found at the
very beginning of upadeSasAhasrI as 'nirvikArAtmabuddhirvidyA' (in the
verse, it goes as 'nirvikArAtmabuddhiSca vidyetIha prakIrtitA' 1.12).
this makes clear what vastusvarUpAvadhAraNa is and what precisely
leads to vimukti (as stated in 'sA vidyA yA vimuktaye').

but i think SrI Werling's question was on the etymology of vidyA and
j~nAna; not the specialized sense in which they are used in any
particular philosophical system. my guess: 'j~nAna' from the dhAtu
j~na (avabodhane) with the lyuT pratyaya and 'vidyA' from the dhAtu
vid (j~nAne). but since my knowledge of saMskRta is nowhere close to
being complete, i request the saMskRta paNDita-s in the list to
clarify how exactly these words are derived.

vAsudevaH sarvaM,
aparyAptAmRtaH.