‹ Back to the text

āsavānaṁ

āsava

genitive plural

1. mental ferment, corrupting influence
2. intoxicant (in compounds)
3. effluence, outflow

Built from

• ā — prefix · toward, into
  Reversal and inward motion; here suggesting the inflow of corrupting influences into the mind.
• sav — root · flow, seep, ooze
  The concrete imagery of liquid effluence; cognate with Sanskrit sravati.
• a — ending · masculine
  Masculine noun stem-formant.
• naṁ — ending · genitive plural
  Genitive plural ending marking the possessor or agent in this sentence.

Analysis. ā- (toward, drawn in) + √sav (flow, ooze); the corrupting influences that flow into and saturate the mind, keeping it bound to saṁsāra. In the canon, typically enumerated as four: kāma-āsava (sensuality), bhava-āsava (craving for existence), diṭṭhi-āsava (false views), avijjā-āsava (ignorance).

Etymology. Root √sav (to flow, ooze, seep) with prefix ā-, suggesting the image of intoxicating liquid flowing inward into the mind. Related to Sanskrit srava (flow). The spatial sense 'toward' and 'into' becomes the abstract sense of inward seepage and corruption.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version