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asampajānā

asampajāna

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

1. not clearly aware; inattentive; unmindful; (comm) stupid; lit. not actively knowing together

Built from

• a — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation. Cognates: English un-, Greek a(n)-.
• sam — prefix · together, completely
  Things brought into one. Cognates: English same, Greek homo-, Latin con-; works like con- in compounds.
• pajān — stem · knowing distinctly
  From √jñā (know) with pa- (forth, out ahead); knowing that steps forth into clarity.
• ā — prefix · toward, up to, reversal
  Marks the completion or arrival of the action; reverses or completes motion. Here integral to the participial sense.
• a — ending · nominative
  Masculine nominative singular and neuter nominative plural ending for adjectives.

Analysis. a- (not) + sampajāna (clearly knowing together); literally 'not actively knowing together', the negation of the participial adjective sampajāna from saṁ + pajānāti.

Etymology. The prefix a- (without, not) negates sampajāna. The root pajānāti (√jñā, 'know') with the prefix saṁ (together, completely) and the directional ā creates the sense of integrated, continuous awareness. In doctrinal usage, asampajāna contrasts with sampajañña, the collected mindfulness that guards the gates of the senses; lack of it is a mark of heedlessness (pamāda).

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

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