apaurueya

Apāuruṣeya, also written apauruṣeya or apauruṣeya, is a Sanskrit term meaning "not of human origin." The word combines a- (not) with puruṣa (man, person) and a suffix indicating belonging, and it is used in Hindu and Vedic literature to describe knowledge or texts believed to be divinely revealed rather than created by humans.

In Vedic and later Indian philosophy, apāuruṣeya is most often applied to the Vedas. They are described as śruti—"that which is heard"—conveyed through sages and transmitted orally across generations. This designation underpins the Vedas’ authority in orthodox schools such as Mimamsa and Vedanta, where the epistemic status of śruti is taken as pramāṇa, valid knowledge, above human authorship.

The term can also be used for other śruti literature considered divinely revealed, whereas smṛti texts (such as dharmic codes and epics) are typically regarded as human-authored. Thus, apāuruṣeya serves as a marker of non-human origin and divine revelation within discussions of textual authority, authenticity, and the nature of knowledge in ancient Indian thought.

In modern scholarship, the concept is examined to understand how traditional authorities justified the Vedas’ primacy and how oral transmission shaped the formation and transmission of sacred texts. While commonly accepted within classical orthodox discourse, interpretations of apāuruṣeya vary, reflecting broader debates about authorship, revelation, and the transmission of sacred knowledge.