Nirvana

Nirvana (Sanskrit nirvāṇa, Pali nibbāna) is the ultimate state of liberation in several religious and philosophical traditions of India: the extinction of the passions, release from suffering (duḥkha), and escape from the cycle of birth and rebirth (saṃsāra). The word literally means "blowing out" or "extinguishing", as of a flame.

The term appears in texts of several Indian traditions, including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism, although it is most closely associated with Buddhism. In that context, nirvana is the goal of the Noble Eightfold Path and forms part of the Third Noble Truth, which announces the cessation of suffering. The tradition distinguishes two kinds: nirvana attained in life, with a "remainder" of conditioned existence, which comes with awakening, and parinirvana, which occurs at death, when no further rebirth follows. According to Buddhist sources, the Buddha realized both.

Buddhist texts describe nirvana as the extinguishing of three fires or poisons: greed (rāga), aversion (dveṣa) and ignorance (avidyā or moha). Their extinction breaks the chain of causes that sustains conditioned existence. For this reason nirvana is also understood as the overcoming of attachment and as the realization that there is no permanent self (anattā), although Buddhist thinkers have long debated exactly what this liberation entails.

Other Indian traditions use related concepts, such as moksha or mukti. In Hinduism, liberation may be understood as the realization of the identity of ātman with Brahman; in Jainism, as the release of the soul from karmic bondage. This diversity of interpretations is a central theme of comparative studies of the term.

In contemporary usage, nirvana is often employed outside its religious context as a synonym for bliss or perfect peace, a simplification that can obscure its original meaning. Scholars also stress that its sense varies across schools and periods, and that translating it as "happiness" or "paradise" can be misleading.