Darshan
/ˈdɑːrʃən/noun
A sacred audience or vision of a deity, holy person, or revered object, traditionally understood as spiritually transformative.
Did you know?In Hindu worship, darshan is reciprocal: devotees seek to see the deity while believing the deity also sees and blesses them.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*derḱ-
“To see or observe”
Ancient Sanskrit
Sanskrit
dṛś-
“To see, behold, or perceive”
Classical Sanskrit
Sanskrit
darśana
“Seeing, vision, appearance, or a philosophical system”
Medieval Indian languages
Hindi/Sanskrit
darśan
“A sacred viewing or audience with a deity, saint, or guru”
19th–20th Century
English
darshan
“A religious audience or spiritual vision, adopted from Indian religious usage”
Modern English
English
darshan
“A sacred encounter understood as conferring blessing through mutual seeing”