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dhammādhikaraṇaṁ

dhammādhikaraṇa

neuter accusative singular of dhammādhikaraṇa (a compound noun)

1. (legal) matter concerning the Dharma
2. a doctrinal dispute or question
3. grounds of adjudication based on doctrine

Built from

• dhamma — root · doctrine, law
  From √dhā (place, establish), the concrete sense of what is laid down—here, the Buddha's teachings and monastic rules that serve as the standard for judgment.
• ā — prefix · toward, up to
  Reverses the sense of the root, focusing on approach or application to a matter.
• adhika — prefix · over, presiding
  From adhi (on top of), emphasizing authority and jurisdiction.
• raṇa — stem · ground, basis
  From √kṛ (make, do); -ana is an agent suffix. Denotes the ground or criterion on which judgment rests.

Analysis. dhamma (doctrine, Dharma) + ādhikaraṇa (matter, ground, basis); a technical term in monastic law (Vinaya) designating one of the four grounds on which the Saṅgha adjudicates disputes—specifically, disputes resolved by reference to the teachings and rules themselves rather than conduct, consensus, or oral tradition.

Etymology. dhamma from Proto-Indo-European *dhē- (to place, put, establish; cognate with English 'do', Greek tithemi, Sanskrit dhā), originally meaning 'what is laid down' or 'established'; ādhikaraṇa from adhi- (on top of, presiding over) + kara (made, done) + ṇa (agent suffix), literally 'that which presides over or is in charge of'.

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

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