bhavartha

Bhavartha is a Sanskrit term formed from bhava, meaning existence, becoming, or being, and artha, meaning meaning, sense, or purpose. In traditional Indian scholarship, bhavartha denotes the intended meaning or significance of a statement about existence, or more broadly the sense in which something is said to be.

In linguistic and hermeneutic contexts, bhavartha refers to the purport or sense of an expression about being. It is used to distinguish the underlying message an author intends from its literal form or surface wording. In this sense, assessing the bhavartha of a sutra, verse, or discourse involves interpretation that seeks the author’s intended sense within a given philosophical or linguistic framework.

In a broader philosophical register, some writers employ bhavartha to address the meaning or purpose of life itself, i.e., the essential significance of human existence. This usage can intersect with discussions of dharma (duty), artha (purpose), kama (desire), and moksha (liberation), though it remains more common in specialized commentaries than in everyday discourse.

The term is primarily encountered in classical Sanskrit texts and scholarly apparatuses, including commentaries on Vedanta, Nyaya, and other Indian philosophical traditions, as well as in grammars and lexicons concerned with semantic interpretation. While not a mainstream modern category, bhavartha remains a useful label for questions about what a statement means in the sense of its intended being or life-aim, depending on the scholarly context. See also: bhava, artha, purushartha, dharma, moksha.