8 - Contributions to the Semantic History of Saṃnyāsa

Summary

Saṃnyāsa is a relatively new term in the Sanskrit vocabulary. It occurs rarely in the Vedic corpus and did not enter the Buddhist or Jaina vocabularies. Even medieval Sanskrit lexicographers ignore this term. Saṃnyāsa is used exclusively in Brahmanical writings, and in its early usage indicated only one aspect of renunciation, namely the abandonment of ritual activity. In the early phase of its semantic development several attempts were made to give it restricted technical meanings. These, however, did not gain popular acceptance. An important stage in this development is the use of saṃnyāsa to designate the rite of renunciation. Saṃnyāsa must have acquired its classical meaning as a generic term for renunciation and a synonym of such well-known terms as pārivrājya and pravrajyā several centuries after Manu. We find it used with that meaning in texts belonging to the 3–4 century CE.

Saṃnyāsa is the most common term for the life-style of a world renouncer both in Sanskrit and in the modern Indian languages. It is often given as the title of the fourth āśrama. Saṃnyāsin is commonly used as a synonym of terms such as parivrājaka, pravrajita, śramaṇa, bhikṣu and yati. I shall call this the classical meaning of S.

Perhaps due to the extensive use of S with that meaning in the medieval Sanskrit literature, scholars have tacitly assumed that the term had an identical meaning also in the ancient period of Indian literature. Evidence, however, does not warrant such an assumption.