Arahant is the worthy one who is fully prepared to achieve the aims of a religious life. The word is derived from `arh`, which means to be worthy. In Buddhism, Buddha was the first arahant. Buddha was the pioneer who had set the path for other aspiring arahants to follow. They are also referred to as "buddhanubuddha" meaning the one who has attained enlightenment after the Enlightened One. He achieves enlightenment by following the Noble Eightfold Path. Such a person is freed from the cycle of rebirth and all the pain and suffering that resides in the sansar (world).

According to Theravada Buddhism , Buddha himself is the first Arahant as he is free from all kinds of defilements, such as, greed, ignorance, anger, illusion, hatred and others. Such virtues definitely helped him to attain nirvana. Mahayana Buddhism views Buddha as the ideal and the arahants should strive to be like him.

There four stages to attain arahantship. The first step is Sotapanna wherein the Buddhist follower has to overcome the three fetters. Then the Sotapanna usher into the second stage where he makes his insight more perfect and thus reaches the second stage, Sakandagami. After attaining this stage the arahant will only be reborn as a human being. The third stage is the Anagami. At this stage he is completely free from sensual desires and ill will. Now he is the non returner who will never be born again as human being. On contrary he will be reborn in the Heaven and attain nirvana. The final stage is that of attaining arahantship. He is now free of all the ten fetters and will definitely achieve salvation.

Attaining arahantship does not mean renouncing the society. According to Buddha the knowledge that the arhats have acquired should be shared and imparted to the layman as a form of missionary work. He himself went from place to place teaching and preaching amongst people the principles of Buddhism. Hence the arahants, too, were supposed to follow the same path.

Buddha had never differentiated between men and women. Precisely this was the reason why both men and women had the right to become arahants. Nowhere in Buddhist literature does one find women being looked down as bhikkhunis. The Order of the Nuns came into existence with Mahaprajapati Gotami.

With time the concept of an Arahant underwent changes as Buddhism got divided into the Theravada School and the Mahayana School.