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bhavāsavo
bhavāsava
masc nom sg of bhavāsava (noun)
- effluent of becoming; effluent of being
Built from
- bhava — root · becoming, being
From √bhū 'to be, become'. The concrete sense 'that which arises' extended to 'the process of existence' and in Buddhism specifically the round of repeated births.
- ā — prefix · toward, flowing inward
Prefix that reverses or intensifies; here with the root √su 'to flow', creating āsava 'that which flows toward (one)', intoxicant.
- sava — stem · flow, effluent
From √su 'to flow' (cognate with English sewer, Latin sudor 'sweat', Greek húō 'flow'). The four āsavas are mental poisons that 'flow into' or cloud consciousness.
- ø — ending · nominative singular
Masculine nominative singular ending -o (here -a in the stem, with -o nominative) identifies the subject in the sentence.
Analysis. bhava (becoming, process of existence) + āsava (effluent, intoxicant); one of the four āsavas (asavas: sensual desire, becoming, views, ignorance) that bind beings to saṁsāra.
Etymology. bhava: from √bhū 'to become' (cognate with English be, Latin fui, Greek phúō 'grow'); āsava: from √su 'to flow' with prefix ā 'toward the speaker', originally 'what flows toward', hence intoxicant or effluent that clouds the mind.