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dvaṭṭhantarakappā

dvaṭṭhantarakappa

masc nom pl of dvaṭṭhantarakappa (noun); masc instr sg of dvaṭṭhantarakappa (noun); masc abl sg of dvaṭṭhantarakappa (noun); masc voc sg of dvaṭṭhantarakappa (noun); …

1. sixty-two intermediary aeons

Built from

• dvaṭṭha — stem · sixty-two
  From Sanskrit dvaṣṭi. The Pali form shows regular sound changes in the transmission of the numeral.
• antara — stem · intermediate, between
  From Sanskrit antara. Cognate with English inter- and Latin inter- (between, among), from Proto-Indo-European *enter-.
• kappa — stem · aeon, age
  From Sanskrit kalpa (cosmic age), related to √kḷp (to arrange, order). In Buddhist cosmology, kappas are vast units of cosmic time.

Analysis. A compound: dvaṭṭha (sixty-two) + antara (intermediate, between) + kappa (aeon, age). The term denotes the aeons intervening between one Buddha's parinibbāna and the next Buddha's arising.

Etymology. Dvaṭṭha from Sanskrit dvaṣṭi (sixty-two); antara from Sanskrit antara (intermediate, cognate with English inter-, Latin inter-); kappa from Sanskrit kalpa (cosmic age, aeon), possibly from √kḷp (to arrange, order). The compound is a technical Buddhist chronological term.

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

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