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nigaṇṭhīnaṁ

nigaṇṭhi

genitive plural feminine of nigaṇṭhi (f.), a female ascetic of the Nigaṇṭha sect, or female adherent of Mahāvīra

1. female Jain ascetic
2. woman follower of the Nigaṇṭhas

Built from

• ni — prefix · without, away from
  Negation and removal; as in nibbāna (fire blown out), here suggesting freedom from bonds.
• gaṇṭh — root · knot, bond
  A concrete noun referring to physical knots; metaphorically extended to spiritual or social bonds.
• i — ending · feminine
  Feminine suffix that creates feminine nouns from masculine bases; -nigaṇṭhī is a female member of the sect.
• naṁ — ending · genitive plural
  Genitive plural ending marking possession or relation, used here to indicate the group to which something belongs.

Analysis. nigaṇṭha- (the Nigaṇṭha sect, lit. 'those without knots/bonds') + -ī (feminine suffix) + -naṁ (genitive plural ending)

Etymology. nigaṇṭha derives from ni- (without, away) + gaṇṭhi (knot, bond), referring to the Jain ascetics who rejected ritual bonds and restrictions. The sect was founded by Mahāvīra and is historical, not mythological.

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

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