Indriya, literally "belonging to or agreeable to Indra" is the Sanskrit and Pali term for physical strength or ability in general, and for the five senses more specifically. In Buddhism, the term refers to multiple intrapsychic processes and is generally translated as "faculty" or, in specific contexts, as "spiritual faculty" or "controlling principle." The term literally means "belonging to Indra," chief deity in the Rig Veda and lord of Tāvatiṃsa heaven, hence connoting supremacy, dominance and control, attested in the general meaning of "power, strength" from the Rigveda.
In Buddhism, depending on the context, indriya traditionally refers to one of the following groups of faculties:
- the "Five Spiritual Faculties"
- five or six sensory faculties
- 22 phenomenological faculties.
Read more about Indriya: Five Spiritual Faculties, 5 Material or 6 Sensory Faculties, 22 Phenomenological Faculties, Other Faculty Groupings