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anusāsatu

anusāsati

imp 3rd sg of anusāsati (verb)

1. advises; instructs; teaches
2. orders; commands; metes out; punishes
3. manages; rules; governs
4. judges; adjudicates; decides

Built from

• anu — prefix · along, after
  Trailing after, following the track of. Cognates: Greek ana- in the sense 'along, up through'. Here it gives the sense of guiding someone along a path of instruction.
• sās — root · teach, order, rule
  From Indo-European *k̂eid-, to see or know (hence to perceive and direct). Sanskrit śāsati 'teaches, orders'; the root denotes both intellectual instruction and authoritative command.
• a — ending · 3rd person singular present
  Present indicative or imperative third person singular marker; here used in imperative force (let him instruct).

Etymology. anu- (along after, following) + sāsati (from √śās, to teach or order). The root √śās appears in Sanskrit śāsati with the same sense of teaching and commanding; the prefix anu- gives the sense of instructing someone along a path or in accordance with a rule. The concrete imagery is of guidance following a track.

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

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