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dukkhanirodhagāminiyā
dukkhanirodhagāmī
fem instr sg of dukkhanirodhagāmī (adj); fem dat sg of dukkhanirodhagāmī (adj); fem abl sg of dukkhanirodhagāmī (adj); fem gen sg of dukkhanirodhagāmī (adj); …
- leading to the cessation of suffering
Built from
- dukkha — root · suffering, pain
From √dukh; the opposite of sukha (ease, pleasure). Appears throughout the Four Noble Truths as the first truth the Buddha teaches.
- ni — prefix · down, into
Prefix marking descent and containment. Cognates: English nether, German nieder. Here it intensifies the sense of blocking and shutting down.
- rudh — root · block, obstruct
Root meaning to obstruct or shut; nirodha (cessation) is the noun form, expressing the blocking of suffering's flow.
- a — ending · nominalization
Abstract noun suffix converting the root into nirodha (the blocking, cessation).
- gāmī — stem · leading to, going toward
Participial adjective from √gam (to go); used in compounds to express motion or direction toward a goal. Here it agrees in gender and case with the noun phrase it modifies, marking the path as oriented toward cessation.
- yā — ending · feminine instrumental
Feminine singular instrumental ending, functioning here in the locative sense (by means of this path) or as an attributive adjective agreeing with the feminine noun it qualifies in the context of the Noble Eightfold Path.
Analysis. dukkha (suffering) + nirodha (cessation) + gāmī (leading to, going toward); a compound epithet of the Noble Eightfold Path, expressing that it goes toward (gāmī) the cessation (nirodha) of suffering (dukkha).
Etymology. Composed of dukkha (from √dukh, 'to suffer', cognate with English 'dusk' in the sense of dimness/darkness, metaphorically hardship), nirodha (from ni- 'down, into' + √rudh 'to block, obstruct', hence 'blocking up, cessation'), and gāmī (from √gam 'to go', cognate with English 'come' and Latin 'venire'). The prefix ni- in nirodha carries the sense of containment and cessation, drawing the concrete image of shutting down into the abstract meaning of ending.