Arhat

[ahr-huh t]

noun

a Buddhist who has attained Nirvana through rigorous discipline and ascetic practices.Compare Bodhisattva.

Also Ar·hant

[ahr-huh nt] /ˈɑr hənt/.

Origin of Arhat

1865–70; < Sanskrit: meriting respect, derivative of arhati (he) merits

Related formsAr·hat·ship, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for arhat

Historical Examples of arhat

They answered in the affirmative, saying that he was an Arhat.
Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms
Fa-Hsien
"There is no god superior to the Arhat," says the Kalpa-sūtra (Stevenson, p. 10).
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, December 1879
Various
The aim of the religious life is to become a Bodhisattva, not to become an Arhat.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)
Charles Eliot
In many respects the virtues of the Bodhisattva are those of the Arhat.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)
Charles Eliot
But in the night hours spirits appear to us and tell us not to kill ourselves, for an Arhat will come from the East to deliver us.
Myths and Legends of China
E. T. C. Werner

British Dictionary definitions for arhat

arhat

noun

a Buddhist, esp a monk who has achieved enlightenment and at death passes to nirvanaCompare Bodhisattva

Word Origin for arhat

from Sanskrit: worthy of respect, from arhati he deserves

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