Root
Sound change: t → d before dh.
Literally: To place your heart.
Dimensions
What the usual translation loses
faith
"Faith" suggests believing without seeing. Śraddhā is trust that leads you to look.
How the meaning grew
- Ṛgveda
Śraddhā is addressed as a goddess in her own hymn (10.151); by her the fire is kindled and the offering made.
- Kaṭha Upaniṣad
Śraddhā “enters” the boy Naciketas and he begins to ask real questions.
- Yoga Sūtra
The first of five supports of practice: trust, energy, mindfulness, absorption, insight.
- Bhagavad Gītā
A person is made of their śraddhā; what you trust, you become.
In the texts' own words
“The one who has śraddhā gains knowledge”
“A person is made of their śraddhā; whatever their śraddhā is, that they are”
“For others it comes through trust, energy, mindfulness, absorption and insight”
Word family
Cousins in English
“Creed”, “credit” and “credible” come through Latin credo, built the same way: “to place the heart”.
Easily confused
- Śraddhā is not belief without evidence; it is the trust that lets you practise long enough to find out.