page_title: Arhat
section_title: Etymology
hierarchical_section_title: Arhat / Etymology
caption_attribution_description: Gohyaku rakan, Toyama (500 arhats).
context_page_description: In Buddhism, an arhat or arahant is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved nirvana. Mahayana Buddhist traditions have used the term for people far advanced along the path of Enlightenment, but who may not have reached full Buddhahood.
  The understanding of the concept has changed over the centuries, and varies between different schools of Buddhism and different regions. A range of views on the attainment of arhats existed in the early Buddhist schools. The Sarvāstivāda, Kāśyapīya, Mahāsāṃghika, Ekavyāvahārika, Lokottaravāda, Bahuśrutīya, Prajñaptivāda, and Caitika schools all regarded arhats as imperfect in their attainments compared to buddhas.
  Mahayana Buddhist teachings urge followers to take up the path of a bodhisattva, and to not fall back to the level of arhats and śrāvakas. The arhats, or at least the senior arhats, came to be widely regarded by Theravada buddhists as "moving beyond the state of personal freedom to join the Bodhisattva enterprise in their own way".
context_section_description: The Sanskrit word arhat (Pāḷi arahant) is a present participle coming from the verbal root √arh "to deserve", cf. arha "meriting, deserving"; arhaṇa "having a claim, being entitled"; arhita (past participle) "honoured, worshipped". The word is used in the Ṛgveda with this sense of "deserving".
caption: Gohyaku rakan - five hundred statues depicting arhats, at the Chōkei temple in Toyama
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS Kiss X5", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2014:06:28 16:13:05", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "348", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "8916", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "14560", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "16/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:06:28 16:13:05", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:06:28 16:13:05", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "6", "EXIF ApertureValue": "27/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "50", "EXIF SubSecTime": "21", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "21", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "21", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "5184", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3456", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "8598", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1036800/181", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "691200/119", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "071023004990", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[50, 50, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF50mm f/1.8 II", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "0000000000"}