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brahmalokāpi

brahmaloka

masculine nominative singular + enclitic api

1. Brahma's realm; world of the gods

Built from

• brahman- — root · Brahma, creator-god
  The Sanskrit god Brahma represents the creative principle; in Pali Buddhist cosmology, brahma-devas inhabit the upper regions of the form-realms (rūpalokas). Borrowed from Sanskrit brahman, from Indo-European *bʰerə- 'to swell, grow' (English burn, German brennen).
• -loka — stem · world, realm
  From Indo-European *leuk- 'to shine, be light' (English light, Latin lux). The suffix -loka compounds freely in Pali to denote cosmological or abstract realms (e.g. deva-loka, mānusa-loka).
• api — ending · even, also, too
  An enclitic particle of emphasis and inclusion; when suffixed to a noun in the nominative, it softens the assertion, marking the referent as an instance of a general class—here, 'even the Brahma-realm (is not exempt from impermanence)'.

Analysis. brahmaloka (brahman- 'Brahma, the creator god' + loka 'world, realm') + api 'even, also'; the enclitic api marks the brahma-world as included in a general statement, often in contexts emphasizing that even divine realms do not escape impermanence or suffering.

Etymology. brahman- is a Vedic borrowing, from Sanskrit brahman (neuter 'absolute reality, creative power'; masculine 'Brahma, the god'), ultimately from Indo-European *bʰerə- 'to swell, grow, expand' (cognate with English 'burn', German 'brennen'). loka derives from Indo-European *leuk- 'light, shining' (cognate with English 'light', Latin 'lux'), hence 'what is seen, visible world, realm'. The compound brahmaloka is a calque of Sanskrit brahmaloka, standard in Buddhist cosmology for the realm of Brahma-gods (the higher form-realm deities).

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

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