purindadassa

purindada

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

primary giver; first donor; epithet of Sakka

Built from

puri — root · first, foremost
From √pṛ or √par 'to go forward'; cf. Latin prae-, Greek pró-, all descending from Indo-European *per- 'forward, through'. The sense evolved from the spatial 'forward' to 'first, chief'.
inda — root · lord, chief
The Pali form of Sanskrit Indra, the Vedic storm-god and king of gods. The root √ind relates to strength and dominion; no clear Indo-European cognate survives intact in English or Latin, though the sense of lordly power is original.
dada — stem · giver
Agent noun stem from √dā 'to give' (Sanskrit dātṛ, English 'do', Latin dare, Greek didōmi). Here in exocentric or bahuvrihi use: the compound 'purindada' names Sakka as the paradigmatic giver under the lordship of Indra, or as the first/foremost donor.
ssa — ending · dative/genitive singular
The -ssa ending marks either dative singular ('to/for the primary giver') or genitive singular ('of the primary giver'), depending on context in the Pali text.

Analysis. purinda + dada; purinda = puri 'first, foremost' + inda 'chief, lord' (compare Indra); dada = dātṛ stem meaning 'giver'. Compound epithet: 'first-lord-giver', the supreme donor, applied to Sakka as king of the gods.

Etymology. purinda is built from puri (related to Vedic purá 'forward, first'; compare Greek pró- 'before') and inda, which is the Pali form of Indra (the Vedic sky-god and king of the gods, whose name derives from the root √ind 'to be strong, be lord'). Indra cognates with Latin indu- (in Indo-European *h₂end- 'to be within, strong'). The second part dada belongs to the root √dā 'to give' (cognate with English 'do', Latin dare, Greek didōmi), making purindada a bahuvrihi compound: 'one who is purinda's donor', or 'the foremost donor'.

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

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