Ajñāna
अज्ञाननपुंसकलिङ्ग (neutro) · अ प्रत्यय (a — negação) + ज्ञान (jñāna — conhecimento)
ajñāna
Metaphysics
AI translationIgnorance; synonymous with avidyā
Ajñāna is synonymous with avidyā in the Vedānta context. It is positive-absence of knowledge — not void, but something that covers knowledge. It has two powers: āvaraṇa (veiling the truth — 'I do not know that I am Brahman') and vikṣepa (projecting alternative — 'I am this body'). Ajñāna is the root cause of saṃsāra; its only antidote is jñāna, like light for darkness.
Occurrence in the corpus
॥ २५ ॥ 【भाष्यम्】 यान्ति गच्छन्ति देवव्रताः देवेषु व्रतं नियमो भक्तिश्च येषां ते देवव्रताः देवान् यान्ति पितॄन् अग्निष्वात्तादीन् यान्ति पितृव्रताः श्राद्धादिक्रियापराः पितृभक्ताः भूतानि विनायकमातृगणचतुर्भगिन्यादीनि यान्ति भूतेज्याः भूतानां पूजकाः यान्ति मद्याजिनः मद्यजनशीलाः वैष्णवाः मामेव यान्ति समाने अपि आयासे मामेव भजन्ते अज्ञानात् तेन ते अल्पफलभाजः भवन्ति इत्यर्थः
|| 25 || 【bhāṣyam】 yānti gacchanti devavratāḥ deveṣu vrataṃ niyamo bhaktiśca yeṣāṃ te devavratāḥ devān yānti pitṝn agniṣvāttādīn yānti pitṛvratāḥ śrāddhādikriyāparāḥ pitṛbhaktāḥ bhūtāni vināyakamātṛgaṇacaturbhaginyādīni yānti bhūtejyāḥ bhūtānāṃ pūjakāḥ yānti madyājinaḥ madyajanaśīlāḥ vaiṣṇavāḥ māmeva yānti samāne api āyāse māmeva bhajante ajñānāt tena te alpaphalabhājaḥ bhavanti ityarthaḥ
— Bhagavad Gītā Bhāṣya →Using this in academic work? Get formal citation
Vishva Vidya (2026). Ajñāna (अज्ञान). Vishva Vidya — Vedanta. https://vedanta.com.br/en/glossary/ajnana
Vishva Vidya. "Ajñāna (अज्ञान)." Vishva Vidya — Vedanta, January 1, 2026, https://vedanta.com.br/en/glossary/ajnana.
Vishva Vidya. "Ajñāna (अज्ञान)." Vishva Vidya — Vedanta, January 1, 2026. https://vedanta.com.br/en/glossary/ajnana.
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