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cakkhundriye

cakkhundriya

nt acc pl of cakkhundriya (noun); nt loc sg of cakkhundriya (noun)

1. sense of sight; visual faculty; lit. eye power
2. eye sense organ; visual sense base; lit. eye power

Built from

• cakkhu — root · eye
  PIE *okw- (to see); cognates: Sanskrit cakṣus, Greek ōps, Latin oculus, English eye. The physical organ of sight.
• indriya — stem · faculty, power
  From Sanskrit indra (controller, power); the inherent capacity or sense-base that governs each sensory modality. In the canon, the five spiritual faculties (pañcindriya) are faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.

Analysis. Compound: cakkhu (eye) + indriya (faculty, power). The eye-faculty is one of the six sensory bases (saḷāyatana).

Etymology. Cakkhu derives from PIE *okw- (eye); Sanskrit cakṣus, Greek ōps, Latin oculus, English eye are cognates. Indriya is Sanskrit, from indra (power, controller), itself from a root meaning 'to be strong': the faculty that masters or governs sensation.

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

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