Samādhi (Pali and Sanskrit: समाधि), in the Indian religions, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many such traditions, the cultivation of samādhi through various meditation methods is essential for the attainment of spiritual liberation (known variously as nirvana, moksha).

In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In Jain meditation, samadhi is considered one of the last stages of the practice just prior to liberation.

In the oldest Buddhist sutras, on which several contemporary western Theravada teachers rely, it refers to the development of an investigative and luminous mind that is equanimous and mindful. In the yogic traditions and the Buddhist commentarial tradition, on which the Burmese Vipassana movement and the Thai Forest tradition rely, it is interpreted as a meditative absorption or trance attained by the practice of dhyāna.

Samadhi may refer to a broad range of states. A common understanding regards samadhi as meditative absorption:

In a Buddhist context, samadhi is a state of intensified awareness and focus:

In Hinduism, samadhi is also interpreted as the identification with the Absolute:

Various interpretations for the term's etymology are possible, either with the root sam ("to bring together") or sama ( "the same, equalized, the convergence of two distinct things"). According to Dan Lusthaus, samadhi refers to either bringing to consciousness the samskaras ("buried latencies"), or meditative concentration on a meditation object:

Etymologies for sam-ā-dhā include: