What does arhatship mean?
Arhatship is the noun denoting the state of being an arhat, a fully liberated being in Buddhist teaching. In the earliest strata of Buddhist thought, attaining arhatship was the supreme goal of religious practice: it signified that all mental defilements — greed, hatred, and delusion — had been extinguished, that one would perform no further karma binding one to existence, and that upon death one would enter nirvana, never to be reborn. The term belongs chiefly to Theravada Buddhism, which continues to honor arhatship as the culmination of the path, while Mahayana traditions came to regard it as a worthy but lesser achievement compared with the bodhisattva's vow to liberate all beings. The word appears mainly in scriptures, commentaries, and academic writing on Buddhism, and it retains a formal, reverent register wherever it is used.
nounThe state or attainment of being an arhat — in Buddhism, one who has achieved complete liberation from the cycle of rebirth by extinguishing all defilements and desires.
- The state or rank of an arhat: full spiritual liberation in Buddhism, marked by the extinction of desire, ignorance, and the cycle of rebirth.
"After decades of disciplined practice, the monk was finally recognized as having attained arhatship."
"According to the sutra, the elder disciple attained arhatship after years of meditation under the Buddha's guidance."
"Theravada commentators debate whether arhatship can be achieved outside monastic life."
Rarely pluralized; the word normally appears in the singular since it denotes a single spiritual state.
"The chronicle records several arhatships attained during the Buddha's lifetime."
In early Buddhism, reaching arhatship meant you were done — no more rebirths, ever — making it arguably the ultimate finish line any religion has offered its followers.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of arhatship
Arhatship derives from 'arhat', a title borrowed into English from Sanskrit (with the Pali form 'arahant'), meaning 'worthy one' or 'accomplished one'. The Sanskrit root is generally connected to 'arh-', 'to deserve or merit'. English adopted 'arhat' during the nineteenth century as Orientalist scholarship translated Buddhist texts, and 'arhatship' formed regularly with the native '-ship' suffix to denote the condition or dignity of such a person.
How arhatship is actually used
A technical term confined almost entirely to Buddhist religious, scholarly, and devotional contexts; it carries connotations of the highest spiritual accomplishment within Theravada tradition and would be unfamiliar to general readers without explanation.
Easily confused with arhatship
Bodhisattvahood is the Mahayana ideal of vowing to postpone final nirvana to save all beings, whereas arhatship is the earlier Buddhist goal of personal liberation from rebirth.