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āsavasamudayoti
āsavasamudaya
masculine nominative singular + iti (quotative particle)
- source of the effluents; arising of the defilements
Built from
- ā — prefix · toward, up to
Reverses motion: here, flow coming toward the mind. Cognate: Sanskrit ā.
- sru — root · flow, stream
The effluents (āsava) are imagined as unwanted mental flows. Related to English 'serum' and Latin 'serum' (whey, liquid).
- va — ending · agent noun suffix
Transforms the root into a noun meaning 'that which flows'—the effluent itself.
- sam — prefix · together, with
Brings things into one collected mass. Cognate: English 'same', Latin 'con-'.
- ud — prefix · up, out, upward
Motion rising and emerging. Cognate: English 'out', German 'aus'.
- i — root · go, come
The root of motion and becoming.
- aya — ending · abstract noun suffix
Forms abstract nouns of process or state: samudaya means the arising or coming-together itself.
- iti — ending · quotative particle
Marks the end of a citation or the object of speech; here closes the doctrinal phrase.
Analysis. āsava-samudaya + iti: 'the arising of effluents'—a compound of āsava (effluents, mental taints) and samudaya (arising, origin), followed by the quotative particle iti marking the end of a doctrinal phrase or citation.
Etymology. āsava from ā (toward) + √sru (to flow), 'that which flows into'; samudaya from sam (together) + ud (up, out) + √i (to go), 'rising up together'; the image is of defilements flowing in and gathering as one collective source of suffering. Cognates: samudaya parallels Sanskrit sama-udaya; the prefix sam- is akin to English 'same' and Latin 'similis'.