Bureaucrats, private-view, public-view, Administrators
97,692
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
1 revision imported
{{Orphan|date=February 2015}}
{{Hindu philosophy}}
'''Viśayah''' primarily means – 'the sphere of influence or activity', and also refers to – 'dominion', 'kingdom', 'territory', 'country', 'abode', 'lands' etc., but in [[Hindu philosophy]], it has been used to indicate 'the subject matter', 'the sense-objects', 'the subject of interpretation', 'the area or range of words' or 'the field of experience'. According to the Mimamsakas a complete ''adhikarana'' (अधिकरणम्) i.e. main, relation or connection, consists of ''viśayah'' (विषयः) - the subject or the matter to be explained, ''viśeya'' (विशय) or ''sanśeya'' (संशय) - the doubt or the question arising upon that matter, ''pūrvapakśa'' (पूर्वपक्ष) – the prima facie argument concerning it , ''uttarpakśa'' (उत्तर्पक्ष) or ''siddhanta'' (सिद्धान्त) – the answer or the demonstrated conclusion, and ''sangati'' (संगति) – pertinency or relevancy or the final conclusion.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary|author=V.S.Apte|publisher=Digital Dictionaries of South Asia|page=62|url= http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?p.0:61.apte }}</ref>
According to [[Srimad Bhagavatam]] (XI.ix.29), ''viśayah'' or the objects of sense enjoyment are to be found everywhere, as ''āhāra'' ('food'), ''nidrā'' ('sleep'), ''bhaya'' ('fear - overcoming of') and ''maithuna'' ('mating' meaning sensuous pleasures).<ref>{{cite web|title=Srimad Bhagavatam|url= http://vedabase.net/sb/4/29/53/en2 }}</ref>
==Meaning==
''Viśayah'' ([[Sanskrit]]:विषयः) means – material contamination, possessing as objectives, on the subject matter, objects for sense enjoyments, subject matter, sense objects, the objects of sense gratification, objects of sense enjoyment.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sanskrit Dictionary|url= http://sanskritdictionary.org/visayah }}</ref> In the [[Bhagavad Gita]], this word is used twice in its plural form विषया (''Viśayā'') while referring to - on the subject matter in Sloka II.45 – त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा and to the objects for sense enjoyment in Sloka II.59 – विषया विनिवर्तन्ते.<ref>{{cite web|title=Visayah|url= http://sanskrit.app.arat.us/?tmp=dictionary&word=visayah }}</ref> ''Viśayah'' primarily means – the sphere of influence or activity, and also refers to – dominion, kingdom, territory, country, abode, lands etc.<ref>{{cite book|title=Studies in the Political and Administrative Systems|author=D.C.Sircar|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=166|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Nqm-Vp90E5UC&pg=PA166&dq=visayah+meaning&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xvNzVLbSM5e1uQToj4KoCw&ved=0CDQQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=visayah%20meaning&f=false }}</ref> The word ''viśayah'' is derived from ''viś'' meaning to act.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Journal of Orrisa Epigraphs|publisher=Orissa History Congress|page=33|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=QSgFAQAAIAAJ&q=visaya&dq=visaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WpJ2VJLFGsXHuATD3IHgBg&redir_esc=y }}</ref>
==Application==
[[Anandavardhana]] defines ''viśayah'' as 'habitat', area, sphere or genre; [[Abhinavagupta]] defines it as a particular aggregate (''sañghā-ta''). In [[Sanskrit Literature]], it refers to the area or range of operation, or objects operated upon, and therefore means the area in which the words can serve any purpose as informing us of anything and includes their expressed, indicated, and suggested meanings (objects) and also the facts that can be inferred from using words.<ref>{{cite book|title=Locana|author=Anandavardhana|publisher=Harvard University Press|pages=134, 418, 566, 589|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=3NJvxASBA9IC&pg=PA419&dq=visaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4I12VM2cFomiugTKn4CIAw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya&f=false }}</ref>
In his ''Tattva bodhah'', [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]] has used ''viśayah'' to mean - 'the field of experience' – शोत्रस्य विषयः शब्द ग्रहणम् (of the ear/ the field of experience/ is receiving sound).<ref>{{cite book|title=Tattva bodhah|author=Adi Shankara|publisher=Chinmaya Mission|pages=47–48|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=JTlm-8YirIcC&pg=PA47&dq=visayah&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gfFzVLhgh566BLjXgbgL&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=visayah&f=false }}</ref> And, in Sloka 79 of his '' [[Vivekachudamani]] '', he has used this word to denote virulent 'sense-objects' – दोषेण तीव्रो विषयः कृष्णसर्पविशादपि that a sense-object is more virulent than the poison of a king cobra.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sri Samkara’s Vivekacudamani|author=Sri Candrasekhara Bharati of Srngeri|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|place=Mumbai|page=94|url= http://www.worldcat.org/title/vivekacudamani-of-sri-samkara-bhagvatpata-with-an-english-translation-of-the-commentary-in-samskrt-by-jagadguru-sri-candrasekhara-bharati-svaminah-sri-samkaracarya-of-sarada-pitha-srngeri/oclc/633667305 }}</ref>
In the [[Abhidharma]] Buddhist texts, the term viśayah, which are five kinds of sensory objects or āyantanas (sense-fields), refers to the object that is directly and intentionally known but [[Dignāga]], in connection with prameya (objects of cognition), has shown that viśayah can also refer to non-intentional objects.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mind only:A Philosophical and Doctrinal Analysis of Vijnanavada|author=Thomas E. Wood|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=118|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Rt3G5ZG7GNkC&pg=PA118&dq=visaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=S4x2VKbJB4yNuAS6voG4Aw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya&f=false }}</ref>
''Viśayah'' also refers to the area or range of words, including their meanings.<ref>{{cite book|title=Locana|author=Anandavardhana|publisher=Harvard University Press|page=833|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=3NJvxASBA9IC&pg=PA833&dq=visayah+meaning&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xvNzVLbSM5e1uQToj4KoCw&ved=0CE0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=visayah%20meaning&f=false }}</ref> The ''Śabda-kalpa-druma'' gives ''viśayah'' as one of the many meanings of the Sanskrit word – ''artha'' (अर्थ); ''artha'' as ''viśayah'' is defined as that which ''floats'' in apprehension (''bhāsate'') or that which is ''manifested'' in apprehension. 'The object', 'the meaning of the word' and 'purpose' are the three philosophical relevants.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ganesa’s Theory of Truth|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=217|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=9d-ve7e2Vi0C&pg=PA217&dq=visayah+meaning&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pfRzVPCDCMmPuASAiIGgCw&ved=0CBoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=visayah%20meaning&f=false }}</ref> In Sanskrit compositions there has always been an unmarked arrangement or word order; in the traditional word order the subject is followed by object with gerund and infinitives in between and the finite verb in the final position.<ref>{{cite book|title=Studies in Sanskrit Syntax|author=Hans Henrich Hock|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Qh4LAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA121&dq=visayah+meaning&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2_RzVLCmI5LiuQTcuoGYCw&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=visayah%20meaning&f=false }}</ref>
An illusion is wrong perception owing to ''[[Avidya (Hinduism)|avidya]]'' (ignorance), in which case conditions of veridical experience do not obtain; the locus (''ashraya'') does not figure as any objectivity or content (''viśayah''), it looks as if it is superimposed. The sky is not a perceivable content and therefore, it is never presented as a ''viśayah'' and is not capable of being the ''viśayah'' of any perceptual judgment. [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]] speaks of ''[[adhyasa]]'' ('illicit superimposition') of the ''viśayah'' ('not-self') and its properties on the ''viśayi'' or the pure self.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Philosophy of Sankar’s Advaita Vedanta|author=Shyama Kumar Chattopadhyaya|publisher=Sarup & Sons|pages=22, 17|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=IPasbJW-1PwC&pg=PA22&dq=visaya+vedanta&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AWp0VODHCY2TuAT3sYCwCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya%20vedanta&f=false }}</ref> In the notion – "I know this" – the cognitive activity of the knower relates to ''viśayah'' ('object'), and to the Self; the Self reveal itself in the result and in the ''viśayah'' as the ''viśayah'' through the instrumentality of the experiencing of ''viśayah''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Vol.3|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=572|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=IPasbJW-1PwC&pg=PA22&dq=visaya+vedanta&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AWp0VODHCY2TuAT3sYCwCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya%20vedanta&f=false }}</ref>
==Significance==
In the phrase – ''anubhūta-viśayah'', ''anubhūta'' means - experienced, apprehended or perceived, and ''visayah'' means – any object in relation to a human experience i.e. in relation to perceptive knowledge or intuitive knowledge, and is that towards which the mind is directed.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Yogasutras of Patanjali on Concentration of Mind|author=Fernando Tola|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=34|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=NnjGtgmqey0C&pg=PA34&dq=visaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=S4x2VKbJB4yNuAS6voG4Aw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya&f=false }}</ref>
All six ''astika'' (orthodox) schools of Hindu Thought, which had developed simultaneously, accept the authority of the [[Vedas]] and have given us the dynamic interpretations of the classical texts. The interpretations are not arbitrary and the Mimamsikas speak about ''adhikarana'' or the procedure of interpretation that consists of five steps – the first step is ''viśayah'' or the subject of interpretation capable of having two or more meanings, the second step is ''samasyā'' or doubt regarding its meaning, the third step is ''pūrva-paksā'' or postulation of some probable meaning, the fourth step is ''uttaram'' or the refutation of the suggested meaning and the fifth step is ''nirnaya'' or establishment of true meaning.<ref>{{cite book|title=Phenomenology and Indian Philosophy|publisher=SUNY Press|pages=293–294|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=h1UmHtk4F4kC&pg=PA294&dq=visayah+meaning&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xvNzVLbSM5e1uQToj4KoCw&ved=0CFMQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=visayah%20meaning&f=false }}</ref> Sriram Śastrī in his ''Pancapādikavivaranam'' (1st ''varnaka'') reminds us that - "All things are objects (''viśayah'') of witness-consciousness, on account of their being either known or unknown".<ref>{{cite book|title=Perceiving in Advaita Vedanta|author=Bina Gupta|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=102|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=w-AE8tEDMYYC&pg=PA102&dq=visayah+advaita&hl=en&sa=X&ei=E2N0VMboGouhuQSssYKQDA&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=visayah%20advaita&f=false }}</ref>
Both, "this" and "I", are indexicals, non-conceptually referring to the unique reality, both are ''viśayi'', and both combine to commit '' [[adhyasa]] '', therefore, ''viśayah'' refers to all universal concepts, descriptive words and general meanings.<ref>{{cite book|title=Language, Reality and Analysis: Essays on Indian Philosophy|author=Ganesvara Misra|publisher=BRILL|page=ii|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=RiuxX_Vw1mgC&pg=PR2&dq=visaya+vedanta&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QJV2VL6JNJKTuASN0YCICQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya%20vedanta&f=false }}</ref> [[Madhusūdana Sarasvatī]] adopting the theory promoted by Sarvajñātma Muni, the author of ''Samkśepa-śārīrika'' and who had got this idea from Prakāśātma Yati’s ''Vivarana'', explains that [[Brahman]] is both 'locus' (''asraya'') and the 'object' (''viśayah'') of ''avidya''.<ref>{{cite book|title=advaita Vedanta and Vaishnavism|author=Sanjukta Gupta|publisher=Routledge|page=4|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=4AFxluCHsoAC&pg=PA4&dq=visaya+vedanta&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8JR2VMvKAZfkuQSGt4DgDA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya%20vedanta&f=false }}</ref>
[[Sadananda (of Vedantasara)|Sadananda]] explains Visayah:
:विषयः – जीवब्रह्मएैक्यं शुद्धचैतन्यं प्रमेयं तत्र एव वेदान्तानां तात् पर्यात् |
:"The subject is the identity of the individual self and Brahman, which is of the nature of Pure Intelligence and is to be realized. For such is the purport of the texts."
as the subject which is identification of the Jiva and Brahman after eliminating their respective attributes, and their unity, and Brahman as Pure Intelligence which is the state of homogeinity which is "the goal all the Vedas declare" – सर्वे वेदा यत् पदमामनन्ति ([[Katha Upanishad]]I.ii.15).<ref>{{cite book|title=Vedantasara|publisher=Advaita Ashrama|page=16|url= http://www.estudantedavedanta.net/Vedantasara-Nikhilananda.pdf }}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Indian Philosophy|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Vedanta]]
[[Category:Vedas]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]
{{Hindu philosophy}}
'''Viśayah''' primarily means – 'the sphere of influence or activity', and also refers to – 'dominion', 'kingdom', 'territory', 'country', 'abode', 'lands' etc., but in [[Hindu philosophy]], it has been used to indicate 'the subject matter', 'the sense-objects', 'the subject of interpretation', 'the area or range of words' or 'the field of experience'. According to the Mimamsakas a complete ''adhikarana'' (अधिकरणम्) i.e. main, relation or connection, consists of ''viśayah'' (विषयः) - the subject or the matter to be explained, ''viśeya'' (विशय) or ''sanśeya'' (संशय) - the doubt or the question arising upon that matter, ''pūrvapakśa'' (पूर्वपक्ष) – the prima facie argument concerning it , ''uttarpakśa'' (उत्तर्पक्ष) or ''siddhanta'' (सिद्धान्त) – the answer or the demonstrated conclusion, and ''sangati'' (संगति) – pertinency or relevancy or the final conclusion.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary|author=V.S.Apte|publisher=Digital Dictionaries of South Asia|page=62|url= http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?p.0:61.apte }}</ref>
According to [[Srimad Bhagavatam]] (XI.ix.29), ''viśayah'' or the objects of sense enjoyment are to be found everywhere, as ''āhāra'' ('food'), ''nidrā'' ('sleep'), ''bhaya'' ('fear - overcoming of') and ''maithuna'' ('mating' meaning sensuous pleasures).<ref>{{cite web|title=Srimad Bhagavatam|url= http://vedabase.net/sb/4/29/53/en2 }}</ref>
==Meaning==
''Viśayah'' ([[Sanskrit]]:विषयः) means – material contamination, possessing as objectives, on the subject matter, objects for sense enjoyments, subject matter, sense objects, the objects of sense gratification, objects of sense enjoyment.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sanskrit Dictionary|url= http://sanskritdictionary.org/visayah }}</ref> In the [[Bhagavad Gita]], this word is used twice in its plural form विषया (''Viśayā'') while referring to - on the subject matter in Sloka II.45 – त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा and to the objects for sense enjoyment in Sloka II.59 – विषया विनिवर्तन्ते.<ref>{{cite web|title=Visayah|url= http://sanskrit.app.arat.us/?tmp=dictionary&word=visayah }}</ref> ''Viśayah'' primarily means – the sphere of influence or activity, and also refers to – dominion, kingdom, territory, country, abode, lands etc.<ref>{{cite book|title=Studies in the Political and Administrative Systems|author=D.C.Sircar|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=166|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Nqm-Vp90E5UC&pg=PA166&dq=visayah+meaning&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xvNzVLbSM5e1uQToj4KoCw&ved=0CDQQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=visayah%20meaning&f=false }}</ref> The word ''viśayah'' is derived from ''viś'' meaning to act.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Journal of Orrisa Epigraphs|publisher=Orissa History Congress|page=33|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=QSgFAQAAIAAJ&q=visaya&dq=visaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WpJ2VJLFGsXHuATD3IHgBg&redir_esc=y }}</ref>
==Application==
[[Anandavardhana]] defines ''viśayah'' as 'habitat', area, sphere or genre; [[Abhinavagupta]] defines it as a particular aggregate (''sañghā-ta''). In [[Sanskrit Literature]], it refers to the area or range of operation, or objects operated upon, and therefore means the area in which the words can serve any purpose as informing us of anything and includes their expressed, indicated, and suggested meanings (objects) and also the facts that can be inferred from using words.<ref>{{cite book|title=Locana|author=Anandavardhana|publisher=Harvard University Press|pages=134, 418, 566, 589|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=3NJvxASBA9IC&pg=PA419&dq=visaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4I12VM2cFomiugTKn4CIAw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya&f=false }}</ref>
In his ''Tattva bodhah'', [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]] has used ''viśayah'' to mean - 'the field of experience' – शोत्रस्य विषयः शब्द ग्रहणम् (of the ear/ the field of experience/ is receiving sound).<ref>{{cite book|title=Tattva bodhah|author=Adi Shankara|publisher=Chinmaya Mission|pages=47–48|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=JTlm-8YirIcC&pg=PA47&dq=visayah&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gfFzVLhgh566BLjXgbgL&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=visayah&f=false }}</ref> And, in Sloka 79 of his '' [[Vivekachudamani]] '', he has used this word to denote virulent 'sense-objects' – दोषेण तीव्रो विषयः कृष्णसर्पविशादपि that a sense-object is more virulent than the poison of a king cobra.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sri Samkara’s Vivekacudamani|author=Sri Candrasekhara Bharati of Srngeri|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|place=Mumbai|page=94|url= http://www.worldcat.org/title/vivekacudamani-of-sri-samkara-bhagvatpata-with-an-english-translation-of-the-commentary-in-samskrt-by-jagadguru-sri-candrasekhara-bharati-svaminah-sri-samkaracarya-of-sarada-pitha-srngeri/oclc/633667305 }}</ref>
In the [[Abhidharma]] Buddhist texts, the term viśayah, which are five kinds of sensory objects or āyantanas (sense-fields), refers to the object that is directly and intentionally known but [[Dignāga]], in connection with prameya (objects of cognition), has shown that viśayah can also refer to non-intentional objects.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mind only:A Philosophical and Doctrinal Analysis of Vijnanavada|author=Thomas E. Wood|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=118|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Rt3G5ZG7GNkC&pg=PA118&dq=visaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=S4x2VKbJB4yNuAS6voG4Aw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya&f=false }}</ref>
''Viśayah'' also refers to the area or range of words, including their meanings.<ref>{{cite book|title=Locana|author=Anandavardhana|publisher=Harvard University Press|page=833|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=3NJvxASBA9IC&pg=PA833&dq=visayah+meaning&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xvNzVLbSM5e1uQToj4KoCw&ved=0CE0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=visayah%20meaning&f=false }}</ref> The ''Śabda-kalpa-druma'' gives ''viśayah'' as one of the many meanings of the Sanskrit word – ''artha'' (अर्थ); ''artha'' as ''viśayah'' is defined as that which ''floats'' in apprehension (''bhāsate'') or that which is ''manifested'' in apprehension. 'The object', 'the meaning of the word' and 'purpose' are the three philosophical relevants.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ganesa’s Theory of Truth|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=217|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=9d-ve7e2Vi0C&pg=PA217&dq=visayah+meaning&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pfRzVPCDCMmPuASAiIGgCw&ved=0CBoQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=visayah%20meaning&f=false }}</ref> In Sanskrit compositions there has always been an unmarked arrangement or word order; in the traditional word order the subject is followed by object with gerund and infinitives in between and the finite verb in the final position.<ref>{{cite book|title=Studies in Sanskrit Syntax|author=Hans Henrich Hock|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Qh4LAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA121&dq=visayah+meaning&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2_RzVLCmI5LiuQTcuoGYCw&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=visayah%20meaning&f=false }}</ref>
An illusion is wrong perception owing to ''[[Avidya (Hinduism)|avidya]]'' (ignorance), in which case conditions of veridical experience do not obtain; the locus (''ashraya'') does not figure as any objectivity or content (''viśayah''), it looks as if it is superimposed. The sky is not a perceivable content and therefore, it is never presented as a ''viśayah'' and is not capable of being the ''viśayah'' of any perceptual judgment. [[Adi Shankara|Shankara]] speaks of ''[[adhyasa]]'' ('illicit superimposition') of the ''viśayah'' ('not-self') and its properties on the ''viśayi'' or the pure self.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Philosophy of Sankar’s Advaita Vedanta|author=Shyama Kumar Chattopadhyaya|publisher=Sarup & Sons|pages=22, 17|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=IPasbJW-1PwC&pg=PA22&dq=visaya+vedanta&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AWp0VODHCY2TuAT3sYCwCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya%20vedanta&f=false }}</ref> In the notion – "I know this" – the cognitive activity of the knower relates to ''viśayah'' ('object'), and to the Self; the Self reveal itself in the result and in the ''viśayah'' as the ''viśayah'' through the instrumentality of the experiencing of ''viśayah''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Vol.3|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=572|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=IPasbJW-1PwC&pg=PA22&dq=visaya+vedanta&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AWp0VODHCY2TuAT3sYCwCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya%20vedanta&f=false }}</ref>
==Significance==
In the phrase – ''anubhūta-viśayah'', ''anubhūta'' means - experienced, apprehended or perceived, and ''visayah'' means – any object in relation to a human experience i.e. in relation to perceptive knowledge or intuitive knowledge, and is that towards which the mind is directed.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Yogasutras of Patanjali on Concentration of Mind|author=Fernando Tola|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=34|url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=NnjGtgmqey0C&pg=PA34&dq=visaya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=S4x2VKbJB4yNuAS6voG4Aw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya&f=false }}</ref>
All six ''astika'' (orthodox) schools of Hindu Thought, which had developed simultaneously, accept the authority of the [[Vedas]] and have given us the dynamic interpretations of the classical texts. The interpretations are not arbitrary and the Mimamsikas speak about ''adhikarana'' or the procedure of interpretation that consists of five steps – the first step is ''viśayah'' or the subject of interpretation capable of having two or more meanings, the second step is ''samasyā'' or doubt regarding its meaning, the third step is ''pūrva-paksā'' or postulation of some probable meaning, the fourth step is ''uttaram'' or the refutation of the suggested meaning and the fifth step is ''nirnaya'' or establishment of true meaning.<ref>{{cite book|title=Phenomenology and Indian Philosophy|publisher=SUNY Press|pages=293–294|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=h1UmHtk4F4kC&pg=PA294&dq=visayah+meaning&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xvNzVLbSM5e1uQToj4KoCw&ved=0CFMQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=visayah%20meaning&f=false }}</ref> Sriram Śastrī in his ''Pancapādikavivaranam'' (1st ''varnaka'') reminds us that - "All things are objects (''viśayah'') of witness-consciousness, on account of their being either known or unknown".<ref>{{cite book|title=Perceiving in Advaita Vedanta|author=Bina Gupta|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=102|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=w-AE8tEDMYYC&pg=PA102&dq=visayah+advaita&hl=en&sa=X&ei=E2N0VMboGouhuQSssYKQDA&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=visayah%20advaita&f=false }}</ref>
Both, "this" and "I", are indexicals, non-conceptually referring to the unique reality, both are ''viśayi'', and both combine to commit '' [[adhyasa]] '', therefore, ''viśayah'' refers to all universal concepts, descriptive words and general meanings.<ref>{{cite book|title=Language, Reality and Analysis: Essays on Indian Philosophy|author=Ganesvara Misra|publisher=BRILL|page=ii|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=RiuxX_Vw1mgC&pg=PR2&dq=visaya+vedanta&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QJV2VL6JNJKTuASN0YCICQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya%20vedanta&f=false }}</ref> [[Madhusūdana Sarasvatī]] adopting the theory promoted by Sarvajñātma Muni, the author of ''Samkśepa-śārīrika'' and who had got this idea from Prakāśātma Yati’s ''Vivarana'', explains that [[Brahman]] is both 'locus' (''asraya'') and the 'object' (''viśayah'') of ''avidya''.<ref>{{cite book|title=advaita Vedanta and Vaishnavism|author=Sanjukta Gupta|publisher=Routledge|page=4|url= http://books.google.co.in/books?id=4AFxluCHsoAC&pg=PA4&dq=visaya+vedanta&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8JR2VMvKAZfkuQSGt4DgDA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visaya%20vedanta&f=false }}</ref>
[[Sadananda (of Vedantasara)|Sadananda]] explains Visayah:
:विषयः – जीवब्रह्मएैक्यं शुद्धचैतन्यं प्रमेयं तत्र एव वेदान्तानां तात् पर्यात् |
:"The subject is the identity of the individual self and Brahman, which is of the nature of Pure Intelligence and is to be realized. For such is the purport of the texts."
as the subject which is identification of the Jiva and Brahman after eliminating their respective attributes, and their unity, and Brahman as Pure Intelligence which is the state of homogeinity which is "the goal all the Vedas declare" – सर्वे वेदा यत् पदमामनन्ति ([[Katha Upanishad]]I.ii.15).<ref>{{cite book|title=Vedantasara|publisher=Advaita Ashrama|page=16|url= http://www.estudantedavedanta.net/Vedantasara-Nikhilananda.pdf }}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Indian Philosophy|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Vedanta]]
[[Category:Vedas]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]