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bhikkhusaṅghaparivuto

bhikkhusaṅghaparivuta

masc nom sg of bhikkhusaṅghaparivuta (adj)

1. surrounded by a community of monks; encircled by the monastic order

Built from

• bhikkhu — root · monk
  One who lives by alms; the root bhikkh- means to beg. Standard term in the canon for ordained members of the Buddha's order.
• saṅgha — stem · community, order
  Derived from sam- (together) + √gam (to go, come); literally those who assemble or go together. In Buddhist doctrine, the community of monks, nuns, laypeople, and the Buddha.
• pari — prefix · around, all the way round
  Indicates completeness and circumscription; the concrete image of going all around something maps to the abstract sense of encirclement and totality.
• vuta — stem · surrounded, covered
  Past participle of √vṛ (to cover, encircle); related to Latin virga (rod, twig) and English wear. Here participle denotes the state of being encircled.

Analysis. bhikkhu- (monk) + saṅgha (community, order) + parivuta (surrounded, encircled); the whole compound means 'surrounded by the monastic community' — a standard epithet of the Buddha in suttas describing him teaching in the midst of the sangha.

Etymology. parivuta is the past participle of pariveti, from pari- (around, all the way round) + √vṛ (to cover, encircle); cognate with Latin virga (twig, rod) and English wear (to have around oneself). bhikkhu derives from √bhikkh- (to beg, to live by alms), with no clear Indo-European cognate. saṅgha derives from √saṁ + √gam (to go, come), literally 'those who go together'.

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

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