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nigaṇṭhassa

nigaṇṭha

masc dat sg of nigaṇṭha (noun); masc gen sg of nigaṇṭha (noun)

1. Jain; naked ascetic; lit. free from ties
2. epithet of Mahāvīra; lit. free from ties

Built from

• ni — prefix · out, away from
  Negating or reversing the action that follows; here 'unbinding' or 'release from bonds'.
• gaṇṭha — root · tied, bound
  Related to Sanskrit grandh- and grath- (to tie, bind). The concrete image of knotted rope or hair became the metaphor for worldly entanglement.

Analysis. ni + gaṇṭha: 'bound down into' + 'tied, bound'. Literally 'without bonds' or 'freed from ties', a self-designation of Jain ascetics who rejected Vedic ritual constraints.

Etymology. ni (downward, into) + gaṇṭha (bound, tied, from √gandh or a root cognate with Sanskrit grath 'to tie'). The prefix ni- emphasizes removal or negation: those bound down are those liberated from worldly bonds. Jaina monks claimed freedom from the ties (knotted hair, caste, possessions) that bound householders.

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

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