Adhikāra
Adhikāra · adhi-kāra, “standing, right, authority”
Grammar: masculine noun, from the root kṛ (to do) with the prefix adhi (over): “that which one is set over; standing”.
Meaning: the standing or right to perform a rite or to study a text, given by the saṃskāras and the rule of the śāstra.
In the scriptures: The Brahma Parva says adhikāra in the Veda and in japa belongs only to those for whom the mantra saṃskāras, from nisheka to the rites at the śmaśāna, are laid down (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 7). The same Parva says women have no adhikāra over the śāstra or the holding of books, and do śāstra rites only with the husband; it adds that some women do read the śāstras widely, against smṛti. The adhikāra of the four varṇas and āśramas, it says, cannot be known in full (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 9).
Related terms: Saṃskāra · Veda · Varṇa · Āśrama · Śāstra
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 7, 9