Vikalpa

By Swami Harshananda

Vikalpa literally means ‘doubt,’ ‘choice’.

The word Vikalpa has several senses. It's different inference as per varied theories is as follows:

When manas or the mind is defined as that part of the antahkaraṇa^[1] which is responsible for saṇkalpa and vikalpa, the word vikalpa stands for doubt.
In a more technical sense, it stands for an alternative or an option.
If a Vedic passage declares that one can offer sacrifice with vrīhi^[2] or yava,^[3] it is a vikalpa that gives a choice to the sacrificer.
The dharmaśāstras give many vikalpas or alternatives in the performance of certain rituals.^[4]
The Yogasutras^[5] uses the word vikalpa to indicate that wave of the mind which arises after hearing a word, even though there is no corresponding real object outside. For instance, when we hear the word “Rāhu’s head,” the idea of a head that arises in the mind is a vikalpa because Rāhu^[6] has only a head and no other parts of the body.

References[edit]

The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore