abhava

Abhava means non-existence, negation, nothing or absence. It is the negative of Bhava which means being, becoming, existing or appearance.

==Overview== Uddayana divides Padārtha (Categories) into Bhava (existence) which is real, and Abhava (non-existence) which is not real. Dravya (substance), Guṇa (quality), Karma (action), Samanya (community or generality), Visesa (particularity) and Samavaya (inherence) are the marks of existence. Four kinds of Abhava are defined by the Vaisheshika School of Hindu philosophy: Pragabhava - Prior non-existence, is the non-existence of an effect in its material cause before production; it has no beginning, but it has an end because it is destroyed by the production of the effect. Without prior non-existence there cannot be an effect. Pradhvamsabhava - Posterior non-existence, is the non-existence of an effect by its destruction; as such it has a beginning but no end i.e. it cannot be destroyed. Atyantabhava - Absolute non-existence, or absolute negation is non-existence in all times i.e. denial of an absolutely non-existent entity in all times and in all places. It is the state of absolute abstraction. Anyonyabhava - Mutual non-existence, is denial of identity between two things, which have specific nature. Negation other than mutual negation is negation of relation.