avadhuta
|a-va-dhu-ta|
/əˈvɑːduːtə/
liberated, 'shaken-off' saint
Etymology
'avadhuta' originates from Sanskrit, specifically the word 'avadhūta' (अवधूत), where 'ava-' meant 'away/off' and 'dhūta' was the past-participle form of the root 'dhū' meaning 'to shake' (so 'shaken off').
'avadhūta' passed into regional Indo-Aryan languages (e.g. Hindi/Marathi) as 'avadhuta' and was adopted into English usage from Sanskrit/Hindi scholarly and colonial-era texts in the 18th–19th centuries, eventually appearing in modern English as 'avadhuta'.
Initially it meant 'one who has been shaken off' (i.e. who has shaken off worldly bonds); over time it came to denote more broadly 'a liberated, unconventional saint or mystic' and has been used in English to refer to that religious type.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
in Hindu religious tradition, a person who has shaken off worldly attachments and social conventions — a liberated, often unconventional saint or mystic.
The villagers regarded him as an avadhuta for his solitary life and strange manners.
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Noun 2
in some Tantric and Vajrayana contexts, an avadhuta may denote a realized practitioner who deliberately abandons ritual and social norms as an expression of nonattachment.
Texts describe certain avadhutas who teach through unpredictable words and actions.
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Last updated: 2025/11/30 11:12