avidya a. 1 Not educated, unlearned, foolish, unwise; avidyAnAM tu sarvezAmIhAtaScedDanaM Bavet Ms. 9. 205. 2 Not pertaining to knowledge. — dyA 1 Ignorance, folly, want of learning. 2 Spiritual ignorance. 3 Illusion, illusion personified or Māyā (a term frequently occurring in Vedānta; by means of this illusion one perceives the universe, which does not really exist, as inherent in Brahma which alone really exists). The term appears also in the systems of Gautama, Patañjali, Kapila, where it has different bearings; (with Buddhists) ignorance together with non-existence.