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kāmaguṇehi

kāmaguṇa

masc instr pl of kāmaguṇa (noun); masc abl pl of kāmaguṇa (noun); nt instr pl of kāmaguṇa (noun); nt abl pl 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 · desire, lust
  From √kam 'to desire'. In the canon, the five kāmaguṇas are the objects of sense: rūpa, sadda, gandha, rasa, phoṭṭhabba. Kāma is the primary fuel of taṇhā (craving).
• guṇa — root · quality, strand, string
  From √gun 'to twist, wind'. In early texts, guṇa denotes both 'quality' and literally 'rope' or 'cord'—the five sense-qualities as metaphorical cords binding the mind to saṃsāra.
• e/hi — ending · instrumental/ablative plural
  Masculine and neuter instrumental or ablative plural ending, marking the means (instrumental) by which sense-pleasures work, or the source (ablative) from which they arise.

Analysis. kāma (sensual desire) + guṇa (quality, strand, string); literally 'strands of desire'—the five sense-objects (forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles) as the 'cords' that bind beings to saṃsāra. A compound expressing the doctrine that sense-pleasures entangle like rope.

Etymology. kāma from √kam 'to desire' (cognate: Latin camērus 'chamberlain', originally 'one who tends to wants'—though this is remote); guṇa, 'quality' or 'string', from √gun 'to twist, wind' (cognate: Latin funis 'rope'—both from PIE *gwen-). The 'string' imagery is crucial: the five guṇas are the sensory hooks that pull beings along through craving.

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

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