svabhvaan

Svabhvaan, often transliterated as svabhāva or svabhava, is a Sanskrit term meaning "own nature" or "intrinsic essence." The word is formed from sva (“self”) and bhāva or bhava (“being,” “state,” or “nature”). In traditional Indian philosophy, svabhāva denotes the natural or essential character that defines a thing beyond its accidental qualities or conventional labels.

In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist thought, svabhāva is used to discuss how things inherently are. Some schools describe entities as having a svabhāva that determines their behavior or properties, while other traditions argue that apparent svabhāva is dependent on conditions or conventional designations. The interpretation of svabhāva varies by lineage and context.

In Buddhist philosophy, svabhāva is a central topic in debates on existence and emptiness. Some Mahayana and early Buddhist texts treat svabhāva as the supposed inherent existence of phenomena, which later schools critique as illusory or empty. The Madhyamaka tradition argues that all things lack svabhāva in the sense of independent, self-originating existence, while some Yogācāra and sūtra traditions discuss svabhāva in terms of phenomena’s conventional or experiential nature.

In Jainism, svabhāva is used to describe the intrinsic properties of jiva (soul) and ajiva (matter), emphasizing that entities have essential attributes that distinguish them. This is linked to the broader Jain view of distinct ontological categories and intrinsic principles.

In modern usage, svabhāva can refer more generally to a person’s or thing’s character or natural disposition. Across traditions, the term highlights the tension between intrinsic qualities and dependently arising or conventional explanations of what beings are.