Svabhāva
Svabhāva · sva-bhāva, “one’s own nature”
Grammar: masculine noun; sva (one’s own) and bhāva (being, nature), from the root bhū (to be): “one’s own being”.
Meaning: the inborn nature of a thing or a being; in the account of creation, the nature of the jīvas, one of the causes Parameśvara takes up, with kāla and karma.
In the scriptures: the Bhāgavata Purāṇa uses the word in the account of creation and in the debate on the cause of happiness and sorrow.
When Parīkshit met Dharma in the form of a bull and asked who caused his suffering, Dharma gave the views of the wise: some yogīs say that we ourselves are the cause of our happiness and sorrow, the daivajñas say daiva, the mīmāṃsakas former karma, the lokāyatikas svabhāva alone, and a few say Parameśvara, beyond mind and speech (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 17).
Brahmā tells Nārada that Parameśvara, wishing to become manifest in many forms through his māyā, took up as causes of creation kāla, which had been merged in him, the karmāśayas of the jīvas, and their svabhāva, glossed as avidyā. When the brahmāṇḍa lay lifeless in the waters, Parameśvara, taking up kāla, karma and svabhāva, gave it life (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 5). Śuka tells Parīkshit that the bhūtas, the material cause; the karmāśaya of the jīvas, the instrumental cause; kāla; svabhāva, the cause of change in prakṛti; and the jīva, the enjoyer, live by the grace of Nārāyaṇa and have no existence apart from that Brahman (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 10).
When Brahmā saw the calves and cowherd boys as forms of Vishṇu, kāla, svabhāva, saṃskāra, the desires, karma, the three guṇas and the kinds of things took form and adored them, and before them their own glory paled (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 13). Before the Govardhana pūjā Śrī Kṛshṇa told Nanda that the jīva, under the sway of svabhāva, follows svabhāva alone, and the whole world, with devatās, rākshasas and men, stands in svabhāva alone (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 24).
Related terms: Kāla · Karma · Prakṛti · Avidyā · Svadharma
Sources
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 17; Skandha 2, Chapters 5, 10; Skandha 10, Chapters 13, 24