Hi Everyone,
Just a basic question on the word Āloka & Obhāsa. In the Pali dictionary, both of them mean ‘light’.
Is there any significance difference between these two words? And, when should we use Āloka & Obhāsa?
Regards
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I’ve haven’t looked into it in detail, but so far as i know they’re just synonyms.
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Sanskrit ‘avabhāsa’ (the ‘ava’ contracts to ‘o’ in Pāli) = illuminating (literally or figuratively) or manifesting
Sanskrit/Pāli ‘āloka’ = appearance, seeing, light, splendour
āloka is used in generic contexts while avabhāsa is used usually in the context of the illumination coming from a source of power, i.e. either a divine being, a teacher (as a bestower of the light of knowledge), a celestial object like the sun or moon etc.
āloka is also related to the word loka (“world” , literally “everything that is visible”)
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