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ananuruddhaappaṭiviruddhassāti
ananuruddhaappaṭiviruddha
adjective; locative singular in -ssa + iti particle
- who does not favour nor oppose; who does not accept nor reject
Built from
- a — prefix · without, not
Plain negation. The speaker stands outside the quality; no leaning or resistance.
- anuruddha — stem · inclined toward, leaning with
anu- 'along, following' + √rudh 'blocks, leans, obstructs'. The concrete image: moving along behind, yielding to inclination.
- a — prefix · without, not
Second negation, applied to the next element. Marks absence of opposition.
- paṭi — prefix · back, against, in return
Facing something and leaning back against it; Greek poti 'toward, against'. Marks counter-motion.
- vi — prefix · apart, asunder
Intensifies the sense of opposition and separation; related to dvi 'two', works like Latin dis-. Sharpens the image of things pulling in opposite directions.
- ruddha — stem · obstructed, opposed, leaning against
Past participle of √rudh 'to block, obstruct, lean'. The concrete image: blocked, resisted, leaning back hard against something.
- ssa — ending · locative singular
Marks the term as standing in the locative case; in this doctrinal formula, it functions as a nominative-like position for defining a concept. The -ssa preserves an archaic locative.
- iti — ending · quotation particle
Marks the preceding phrase as a defined or cited term; 'thus', 'in the sense that'.
Analysis. ananuruddha + appaṭiviruddha, 'not-inclined-toward + not-opposed-to', i.e. one who neither favours nor opposes; the -ssa is locative singular (standing for -asmiṁ in this philosophical usage) and iti marks the citation as a defined term.
Etymology. Built from three negations: a- (without) + anuruddha (inclined, leaning toward; from anu- 'along, following' + √rudh 'blocks, leans') + a- (without) + paṭiviruddha (opposed to; from paṭi- 'back, against' + vi- 'apart' + √rudh 'blocks'). The root √rudh means 'to obstruct, lean, incline'; paṭiviruddha literally 'leaning back against', hence 'opposed'. The compound denotes equipoise—neither leaning with nor against—a cardinal Buddhist virtue in equanimity.