A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s9.9

v1.c8.s9.9

The history of the word "*Ātman*" is simpler. The etymology of this word, too, is uncertain. Some derive it from the root *an* "to breath" (German "atmen") and explain it as "exhalation, breath, soul, self." Others, like Deussen,² derive it from two pronominal roots, so that it would originally mean "This I." However that may be, Ātman is not only a philosophical conception, but a word which frequently occurs in Sanskrit, and whose meaning is perfectly clear. It signifies "self," is often used as a reflexive pronoun, and as a substantive denotes one's own person, one's own body in contrast to the outside world, sometimes the trunk in contrast to the limbs, but most frequently the *soul*, the true *self*, in contrast to the *body*.³