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amatadvāraṁ

amatadvāra

noun, accusative singular (amatadvāraṁ); or nominative singular (amatadvāra)

1. the door to the deathless
2. access to Nibbāna
3. the path leading to the Unconditioned

Built from

• a — prefix · not, without
  Negation; here expressing the negation of death or decay.
• mata — root · death
  Related to Sanskrit mr̥ 'to die'; cognate with English 'mortal', 'mort-'. Here used to mean the deathless, the deathless state.
• dvāra — stem · door, gateway
  A noun from √dvar; cognate with English 'door', German 'Tür'. Used metaphorically for a means of access or entry.
• aṁ — ending · accusative singular
  Marks the noun as object of a verb or in the accusative function; here emphasizing the gateway as a goal to be reached or entered.

Analysis. amata (the deathless, Nibbāna) + dvāra (door, gateway): the portal or entrance leading to the Unconditioned state beyond death and rebirth.

Etymology. amata: a- (without) + mata (death, from √mr̥ 'die', cognate with English 'mortal', Latin 'mors'); dvāra: from √dvar 'to open' or related to 'door', cognate with English 'door', German 'Tür'. The compound is a doctrinal metaphor for the path to enlightenment.

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

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