bhikkhusaṅghañca

bhikkhusaṅgha

masculine nominative plural with copulative enclitic ca

community of monks; monastic order

Built from

bhikkhu — stem · monk, mendicant
From √bhaj (share, partake); the bhikkhu is one who has renounced householding to share in the community's spiritual practice. Cognate with English 'share' in the Indo-European sense of division and participation.
saṅgha — stem · assembly, community
From sam + √gam (come together); originally 'those who have come together'. The prefix sam- conveys unity and completeness; cognate with English 'same' and Latin 'similis'.
ca — ending · and, also
Copulative or disjunctive enclitic particle, here marking this compound as part of a coordinated series or acknowledging it alongside other entities in canonical formulations.

Analysis. bhikkhu (monk) + saṅgha (assembly, community), a compound denoting the sangha as the collective body of ordained disciples; the enclitic ca (and) adds disjunctive or copulative force, often used in canonical lists to coordinate multiple entities.

Etymology. bhikkhu from √bhaj 'share, partake' (the one who shares in the dharma); saṅgha from √gam 'go' via sam-gam-a 'coming together', cognate with English 'come' and Latin 'venio'; the compound draws its authority from early Buddhist institutional language, emphasizing the sangha as the third jewel after Buddha and Dharma.

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

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