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itibhavābhavatañca
itibhavābhavatā
feminine noun
- fact of being (reborn in) any such state of existence; (comm) such success and failure, gain and loss, eternity and annihilation, good and evil
Built from
- iti — root · thus, such
Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'in this way', pointing to the totality or character of a thing. No certain IE cognate.
- bhava — stem · becoming, existence
From √bhū 'to be'. Cognate with English 'be', Sanskrit bhavati, Latin 'fui' (past of 'sum'). In Pali doctrine, one of the three types of existence (bhava) in the cycle of rebirth.
- ā — prefix · toward, away from, reversal
The prefix ā- here negates or reverses bhava: literally 'away-becoming', hence non-being, absence. Cognate with Sanskrit ā-.
- bhava — stem · becoming, existence
Second occurrence in the compound; itibhavābhava expresses the duality of existence and non-existence, or the various states and their opposites.
- tā — ending · abstract feminine noun
Nominalizing suffix that turns the compound adjective/concept into a feminine abstract noun (itibhavābhavatā 'the state or fact of being-thus-and-not-being'). Marks feminine nominative singular or accusative.
- ca — ending · and
Enclitic conjunction joining this noun to what precedes or follows, here linking the totality of existential states in a doctrine of duality.
Analysis. itibhavābhava-tā + ca: 'being-thus and being-not' (the duality of rebirth in various existences) + 'and'. The compound itibhavābhava is itself iti (thus) + bhava (becoming, existence) + ābhava (non-existence, absence). In context, this expresses the totality of conditioned existence—the cycling through states of being and non-being, or prosperity and adversity, that characterizes saṃsāra.
Etymology. iti (thus, in this way) + bhava (from √bhū 'to be', cognate with English 'be', Sanskrit bhavati) + ābhava (from ā- 'toward, up to' + bhava, conveying negation or reversal of existence). The suffix -tā (feminine abstract noun) nominalize the compound. The pairing of bhava and ābhava reflects the dialectical way Pali grasps conditioned existence: not as static being but as the perpetual oscillation between arising and ceasing.