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avītarāgo

avītarāga

masc nom sg of avītarāga (adj)

1. not free from desire; not without lust (for); not an arahant

Built from

• a- — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation. Marks the absence of the state described by the root.
• vīta- — stem · freed, departed
  Past participle of √vī (to go, to separate); the concrete image is of departure, stepping away from. The desire has not yet departed from this person.
• rāga — root · lust, greed, passion
  From √raj (to color, to stain, to excite); the root imagery is the inner fire and coloring of passion that stains the mind. English 'rage' is a cognate in form and emotional sense.

Analysis. a- (not) + vīta- (freed, departed) + rāga (lust, greed). Compound negation of vītarāga, 'one from whom lust has departed', the mark of an arahant. The opposite state: one still bound by craving.

Etymology. vīta- is the past participle of √vī (to go, to separate), cognate with Latin vitare (to avoid), English 'wide' (in the sense of separation); rāga derives from √raj (to color, to stain, to excite), cognate with Latin rubor (redness, shame), expressing the inner heat of desire. Together, avītarāga denotes the unenlightened state where craving still clings.

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

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