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rāhumukhampi

rāhumukha

nt, nominative or accusative plural (or singular with enclitic api)

1. name of a torture; lit. Rāhu's mouth

Built from

• rāhu — root · Rāhu (demon)
  A mythological name; the asura who swallows the sun and moon, causing eclipses. The concrete image of the gaping, threatening jaws became the name of the torture device itself.
• mukha — root · mouth
  From Indo-European *meugh- 'to move, grimace'. Related to English mouth and German Mund. The physical opening of the mouth stands for the implement or place of harm.
• aṃ — ending · accusative singular
  Marks the noun as object of a transitive verb or after certain prepositions; here casus obliquus before the enclitic.
• pi — ending · enclitic 'also, even'
  Adds emphasis or extension of scope: 'even the Rāhu's-mouth torture'.

Analysis. rāhumukhaṃ + api; compound rāhu- 'Rāhu (the demon who swallows the moon)' + mukha 'mouth', with accusative singular -aṃ and enclitic conjunction api 'even, also'. The torture presumably mimics the terrifying image of the demon's gaping jaws.

Etymology. Rāhu is a figure from mythology (Sanskrit Rāhu, the asura of eclipse); mukha 'mouth' from Indo-European *meugh- 'to move, grimace' (compare English mouth, German Mund). No change of meaning needed: the compound is transparent — a literal reference to a demon's mouth used as the name of an instrument of punishment.

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

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