Arhat

The term arhat is a Sanskrit present participle from the verbal root √arh 'to deserve' (Pāli arahant). The etymology indicates someone 'worthy' or 'deserving' of honor because of spiritual attainment. The sources attest that the word and concept predate Buddhist doctrinal refinements: in pre‑Buddhist contexts (e.g., usage in the Ṛgveda and Indian śramaṇa milieu) the term was associated with saintly ascetics and, in some accounts, with miraculous powers; Buddhist authors subsequently shaped the concept into a soteriological category denoting one who has eradicated the fetters and attained nirvāṇa.

There is no single canonical physical description of arhats as a class in the provided sources. Scriptural and doctrinal texts define arhats by status (enlightenment, cessation of rebirth) rather than by fixed bodily traits. In devotional and artistic contexts, especially in East Asia, arhats are depicted as named, individualized figures (e.g., the Sixteen Arhats or Eighteen Arhats, called luohan/lohan) with varied iconographic conventions; these group portraits and temple statues develop local visual types, but such depictions reflect later hagiography and artistic tradition rather than a uniform canonical bodily description.

Doctrinally the central 'ability' of an arhat is final liberation: having gained insight into the nature of existence, an arhat has realized nirvāṇa and will not be reborn. Narrative and hagiographic literature sometimes ascribes supernormal or psychic powers to particular arhats—examples in secondary sources include accounts like Arhat Cūḷapanthaka appearing in many forms to a messenger—yet encyclopedic sources note that miraculous powers became less central to the arhat identity in many Buddhist developments. Across schools there is variation: Theravāda emphasizes eradication of unwholesome roots and non‑rebirth; some early schools and Mahāyāna writings debate the perfection or fallibility of arhats compared with buddhas and bodhisattvas.