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iriyāpathapabbaṁ

iriyāpathapabbam

nominative singular neuter; a compound noun, also accusative form iriyāpathapabbam

1. chapter on postures
2. section on deportment
3. manual of the four bodily postures

Built from

• iri — root · posture, bearing
  The root denotes the manner of bodily carriage or attitude; used in yoga and physical discipline.
• yāpatha — stem · path, way, manner
  Derived from yā (go) + patha (path); refers to the characteristic way one moves or holds oneself.
• pabbam — root · chapter, section
  From parva (Skt.), meaning a division or chapter of a text; in Pali, a standard term for sections of canonical works.

Analysis. iriyāpatha (deportment, carriage, the four postures: standing, walking, sitting, lying down) + pabbam (chapter, section, division). Iriyāpatha itself is iri (motion, posture) + yāpatha (path, way), 'the way of bearing oneself'; pabbam is from pariyatti or parva (division of a text).

Etymology. Iriyāpatha combines roots related to bodily bearing and movement (Pali iri-, to bear oneself; yāpatha, a path or manner). No certain European cognates. The word appears standardly in monastic texts to denote the four cardinal postures (catuiriyāpathā) used as subjects of mindful observation in meditation.

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

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