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kāmanidānaṁ

kāmanidāna

nominative singular neuter; compound of kāma + nidāna

1. desire as root cause
2. craving as origin (of suffering)
3. sensual appetite as source

Built from

• kāma — root · desire, sensuality
  The craving for sense-pleasures, one of the three fundamental kinds of craving (lobha) in Buddhist analysis.
• ni — prefix · down, into
  Prefix indicating something placed down or foundational; concrete image of laying a base.
• dā — root · put, place
  Root √dhā 'place, put'; nidāna 'that which is laid down', a root cause or foundation.
• na — ending · neuter noun
  Neuter singular nominative ending; -na marks abstract nouns of action and result.

Analysis. kāma 'desire, sensuality' + nidāna 'root cause, origin'; the compound identifies craving (especially for sensual pleasure) as the fundamental cause from which suffering and rebirth flow in dependent origination.

Etymology. nidāna from ni 'down, into' + √dā 'put, place' — literally 'what is placed down', hence a foundational cause or root. kāma cognate with English 'come' (originally 'that which comes to one', desire) is debated; more likely from √kam 'to long for'. In Buddhist doctrine, kāmanidāna designates sensual craving as a principal nidāna in the chain of dependent arising.

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

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