‹ Back to the text
cīvarapiṇḍapātasenāsanagilānappaccayabhesajjaparikkhārahetu
indeclinable (compound)
- for the sake of robes, alms-food, accommodation, healthcare and medicinal ingredients
Built from
- cīvara — root · robe, cloth
From Skt. cīvara. The outer garment of the Buddhist monk, the first requisite.
- piṇḍapāta — stem · alms-food
From piṇḍa 'lump, ball (of rice)' + pāta 'fall, what falls (into the bowl)'; the second requisite.
- senāsana — stem · lodging, shelter
From sena 'army, camp' + āsana 'seat, dwelling-place'; the place where monks gather and rest, the third requisite.
- gilāna — root · sickness, illness
From √gal 'to fall, decay'; cognate with gīlati 'to decay'. Describes the contingency motivating medicine-offering.
- a — prefix · not, without
Negation prefix; here means 'lack of', 'deficiency in'. Cognate with English 'un-', Greek 'a-' (atheist).
- ppaccaya — stem · condition, requisite
From paṭi 'back, against' + aya 'going'; what goes with/against, i.e. a supporting condition. Often refers to 'lack' when negated.
- bhesajja — stem · medicine, remedy
From Skt. bheṣaja; akin to bhiṣaj 'physician'. The fourth requisite, offered especially to the sick.
- parikkhāra — stem · requisites, furnishings
From pari 'around, completely' + khāra 'rough, hard' or from √khāra 'scatter'; refers to all necessary accessories and utensils.
- hetu — root · cause, reason, for the sake of
From PIE *sem- 'one' (Skt. hetu). Functions as a postposition here: 'on account of', 'for the reason that'. Governs the whole compound as an adverbial marker.
Analysis. A bahuvrihi compound chain: cīvara 'robes' + piṇḍapāta 'alms-food' + senāsana 'lodging' + gilāna 'sickness' + appaccaya 'lack, deficiency' + bhesajja 'medicine' + parikkhāra 'requisites' + hetu 'because, cause'. The string enumerates the four requisites (cīvara, piṇḍapāta, senāsana, bhesajja) plus their accessory conditions (gilānappaccaya 'the contingency of illness', parikkhāra 'requisites'), governed by hetu 'on account of, for the sake of'. The compound functions as an indeclinable adverbial phrase modifying verbs of offering or accepting.
Etymology. hetu (Skt. hetu) from PIE *sem- 'one'; the root sits behind English 'same' and Latin 'semel' 'once'. The prefix a- in appaccaya negates paccaya 'condition, requisite' (prati + aya); gilāna 'sick' from √gal 'to fall away'; bhesajja 'medicine, cure' from bheṣaja (Skt.) akin to bhiṣaj 'physician', perhaps from √bhās 'to shine, cure (make bright)'.