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nāḷandāyaṁ

Nāḷandā

proper noun (locative singular), declined as feminine

1. Nālanda (ancient Buddhist university and monastery in northern India)
2. site of major learning and pilgrimage in the Buddhist world

Built from

• Nāḷandā — root · Nālanda (proper noun)
  The ancient center of Buddhist learning, located in Bihar, India; frequently mentioned in the Pali canon as a significant monastic community and pilgrimage destination.
• -yam(ṁ) — ending · locative singular suffix
  Marks the locative case, expressing location or the place where an action occurs ("in", "at").

Analysis. The locative form nāḷandāyaṁ is the place-name Nāḷandā with the locative ending -yam(ṁ), indicating location "at" or "in" Nālanda. The etymology of the proper name itself is uncertain, possibly from nāḷa (reed) and anda (gift or other element), but unattested in earlier sources.

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

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