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assajinā

assaji

masc instr sg of assaji (noun); masc abl sg of assaji (noun)

1. name of a monk; Sāriputta's teacher; lit. horse master
2. name of one of the group of six monks

Built from

• assa — root · horse
  From Sanskrit aśva-, Greek hippos, English equine stock — one of the Indo-European animal-words. The concrete image of the horse as a controlled, mastered beast.
• ji — root · conquer, master
  √ji 'to be victorious, overcome'; cognate with Latin vincere and English win. Forms nouns of agency (jina 'conqueror', epithet of the Buddha) and indicates dominion or expertise over the first element.

Analysis. assa (horse) + ji (master, conqueror); a nominal compound meaning 'horse master' or 'one who masters horses'. In the Buddhist context, a proper name of doctrinal significance as the elder who first taught Sāriputta.

Etymology. assa- from Sanskrit aśva-, related to Greek hippos (horse) and English equine. The compound suggests an original occupational or descriptive epithet ('horse master') that became a personal name; -ji derives from √ji 'to conquer, master', cognate with Latin vincere (conquer) and English win. The name's literal sense evokes mastery or control, fitting a teacher's role.

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

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