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manodaṇḍanti

manodaṇḍa

masculine noun, nominative singular with iti particle

1. (Jain) mental action

Built from

• mano — root · mind
  From √man 'to think'; cognate with English 'mind', Latin 'mens', Greek 'menos' (spirit, strength). The root carries the sense of deliberation and intention.
• daṇḍa — stem · rod, action
  Originally a concrete noun (rod, staff, stick), extended to mean 'power' and 'action' (what is driven or wielded). In Jain philosophy, it becomes a technical term for karmic action.
• aṃ — ending · accusative
  Marks the object; here the entire compound manodaṇḍaṃ is governed by iti (quotative particle 'thus').
• iti — ending · thus, marker
  Quotative particle that frames the preceding noun as cited or conceptualized; often used attributively in compounds and philosophical texts.

Analysis. manodaṇḍaṃ + iti: the accusative manodaṇḍa (mental action/volitional deed) followed by the quotative particle iti (thus, so), used attributively to qualify preceding nouns in philosophical discourse.

Etymology. mano (mind, from √man 'to think', cognate with English 'mind', Latin 'mens') + daṇḍa (rod, staff, action—here the metaphor of action as something wielded or driven forward by the mind). The compound treats mental action as the mind's 'rod' or instrument, paralleling Jain philosophy's three marks of karma (body, speech, and mind).

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

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