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kāmaguṇe

kāmaguṇa

masc acc pl of kāmaguṇa (noun); masc loc sg of kāmaguṇa (noun); nt acc pl of kāmaguṇa (noun); nt loc sg of kāmaguṇa (noun)

1. object of sensual pleasure; lit. sensual strings
2. sensual stimulation; sensual pleasure; lit. sensual strings
3. object of sensual pleasure; lit. sensual strings

Built from

• kāma — root · sensuality, desire
  PIE *kamē-, found in Sanskrit kāma and Latin cārus ('dear'). The root captures longing and attraction to sense objects.
• guṇa — root · quality, strand, string
  Originally a cord or thread (PIE *gwen-); in doctrine, the five or six 'strands' (form, sound, smell, taste, contact) through which craving works.
• -e — ending · locative sg
  Marks location or sphere of action; here the five sensory qualities are the 'sphere' in which craving operates.

Analysis. A compound of kāma (desire, sensuality) and guṇa (quality, string, strand). In Buddhist doctrine, the five or six sensory strands (visible form, sound, smell, taste, tactile contact, mental impression) through which craving latches onto experience. Kāmaguṇe is the locative singular, 'in (or among) the sensual qualities'.

Etymology. Kāma is descended from PIE *kamē- (loved, desired); compare Sanskrit kāma, Latin cārus 'dear'. Guṇa (originally a cord or string) derives from PIE *gwen- (woman, thread); the semantic shift from material strand to abstract quality reflects the metaphor of the 'threads' or 'strands' that bind one to sensory experience. This imagery is central to the Pali canon's teaching: the five guṇas are the sensory channels through which tṛṣṇā (craving) takes hold.

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

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