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abhayūparato

abhayūparata

masc nom sg of abhayūparata (adj)

1. permanently restrained; lit. not restrained by fear

Built from

• a — prefix · without, not
  Plain negation. Cognate with Greek a(n)- and English un-.
• bhaya — root · fear
  Fear as that which causes harm or disturbance. Cognate with English 'bane'.
• yūpa — root · post, stake
  The sacrificial post driven into earth, symbolizing immobility and firmness. Sanskrit yūpa.
• rata — stem · restrained, attached
  Past participle of √ram, 'to rest or be attached'. Transfers the spatial sense of being bound to a post into the abstract sense of being steadfastly fixed.
• a — ending · masculine
  Masculine singular nominative ending.

Analysis. abha-yūparata: abha (without fear, from a- + bhaya) + yūparata (restrained, from yūpa 'post, stake' + rata 'attached to', forming the sense 'bound to the post', hence immovably fixed). The compound uses the metaphor of a sacrificial post as the anchor of immobility; one who fears nothing and stands bound to that steadfastness.

Etymology. a- (without) + bhaya (fear; Sanskrit bhaya, cognate with English 'bane' — things that cause harm and thus fear); yūpa (Sanskrit yūpa, sacrificial post, the stake driven into earth as an unmoving anchor); rata (past participle of √ram, 'to rest, be attached', Sanskrit rata). The spatial imagery of yūpa — a stake planted deep and immovable — becomes the figurative sense of being firmly fixed or bound.

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

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