Abhāva
अभावपुंल्लिङ्ग (masculino) · अ प्रत्यय (a — negação) + भाव (bhāva — existência)
abhāva
Epistemology
AI translationAbsence; non-existence
Abhāva is the non-existence of something at a given place-time — like the absence of a pot on the table. The Nyāya school treats it as an independent ontological category, known by anupalabdhi (non-apprehension). In Vedānta Advaita, abhāva is not a separate category — it is simply not recognizing something where it is not. Brahman is nitya (eternal), therefore not subject to abhāva at any moment; the appearance of the world is vivarta, not an abhāva converting into bhāva.
Occurrence in the corpus
॥ २४ ॥ 【भाष्यम्】 उत्सीदेयुः विनश्येयुः इमे सर्वे लोकाः लोकस्थिति निमित्तस्य कर्मणः अभावात् कुर्यां कर्म चेत् अहम् किञ्च सङ्करस्य कर्ता स्याम् तेन कारणेन उपहन्याम् इमाः प्रजाः प्रजानाम नुग्रहाय प्रवृत्तः उपहतिम् उपहननं कुर्याम् इत्यर्थः मम ईश्वरस्य अननुरूपमापद्येत
|| 24 || 【bhāṣyam】 utsīdeyuḥ vinaśyeyuḥ ime sarve lokāḥ lokasthiti nimittasya karmaṇaḥ abhāvāt kuryāṃ karma cet aham kiñca saṅkarasya kartā syām tena kāraṇena upahanyām imāḥ prajāḥ prajānāma nugrahāya pravṛttaḥ upahatim upahananaṃ kuryām ityarthaḥ mama īśvarasya ananurūpamāpadyeta
— Bhagavad Gītā Bhāṣya →Using this in academic work? Get formal citation
Vishva Vidya (2026). Abhāva (अभाव). Vishva Vidya — Vedanta. https://vedanta.com.br/en/glossary/abhava
Vishva Vidya. "Abhāva (अभाव)." Vishva Vidya — Vedanta, January 1, 2026, https://vedanta.com.br/en/glossary/abhava.
Vishva Vidya. "Abhāva (अभाव)." Vishva Vidya — Vedanta, January 1, 2026. https://vedanta.com.br/en/glossary/abhava.
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