tattva means an element or aspect of reality conceived as an aspect of deity, forming the basis of human experience. It carries an Arena rating of 1598, earned across 50 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, tattva ranks #689 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #2,132 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,146 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #4,154 of 17,151 for The Improbable.
Why “tattva” is a great word
TATTVA — [Noun] A fundamental element, principle, or aspect of reality, often conceived as a true manifestation of the divine. From Sanskrit तत्त्व (tattva, 'truth', 'reality', 'essence', 'principle'), from tat ('that') and the abstract suffix -tva ('-ness'). Unlike māyā, the shimmering veil of phenomenal illusion, or dharma, the prescriptive path of cosmic and social order, a tattva is the irreducible, metaphysical building block of existence itself. It is the mineral stillness of earth, the fluid cunning of water, and the hungry leap of flame—a quiet catalog of the actual from which both mirage and duty are spun. To enumerate the tattvas is to perform an anatomy of the cosmos, brushing away the dust of appearance to find the bones of being.
Etymology
From Sanskrit तत्त्व (tattva, “truth; reality; principle etc.”).
noun
- An element or aspect of reality conceived as an aspect of deity, forming the basis of human experience.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- tathata 68% match — Thusness, suchness. vs tattva →
- bhutatathata 57% match — The unchanging essence of all things. vs tattva →
- sattva 55% match — One of the three gunas in Hindu philosophy, representing things that are pure, divine, and spiritual. vs tattva →
- tao 55% match — The art or skill of doing something in harmony with the essential nature of the thing. vs tattva →
- rta 55% match — The Vedic principle of natural order that regulates the operation of the universe. vs tattva →
- maya 54% match — Magic; supernatural power as held by the gods. vs tattva →
- tathagata 54% match — A term of address to a buddha. vs tattva →
- atman 53% match — The true self of an individual beyond identification with worldly phenomena, the essence of an individual, an infinitesimal part of Brahman. vs tattva →