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arahā

araha

masc nom pl of araha (adj); fem nom sg of araha (adj); fem nom pl of araha (adj); nt nom pl of araha (adj); …

1. araha (adj): worthy (of); entitled (to); deserving (of)
2. araha (masc): value; price; worth
3. arahant (masc): awakened being; fourth stage of the path; lit. worthy one
4. arahā (masc): awakened being; fourth stage of the path; lit. worthy one

Built from

• a — prefix · without, not
  Plain negation. The prefix negates the following element, rendering it as absence or elimination.
• raha — root · fault, harm, stain
  The root sense is 'stained' or 'defiled'; araha thus means fundamentally 'unstained' or 'faultless'. This connects to Sanskrit √rañj (to color, stain) and the conceptual field of defilement (rāga, dosa, moha).

Etymology. From a- (without) + raha (harm, fault), literally 'without fault' or 'unharmed'. The semantic shift from 'faultless' to 'worthy' and 'awakened one' reflects the Buddhist identification of the arahant as one who has eliminated all mental defilements (āsavā). Sanskrit cognates: arhat (worthy, deserving); related to root √rañj or √raj (stain), hence 'unstained'. The word entered English Buddhism as 'arhat' or 'arahant'.

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

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