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saññupādānakkhandhassa

saññupādānakkhandha

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

1. accumulation of recognition that is clung to; mass of recognized concepts that are grasped

Built from

• saññu — stem · perceiving, recognizing
  A feminine passive participle denoting the faculty of perception and conceptual recognition. The root sense is to sense or apprehend.
• pādāna — stem · taking up, grasping
  Deverbal action noun from pā (to protect, seize, take up). Doctrinal term for clinging or attachment, the grasping that fuels saṁsāra.
• kkhandha — stem · aggregate, mass, heap
  From *kand- "to break, heap up". In Buddhist doctrine, one of the five aggregates (saññā-kkhandha, vedanā-kkhandha, etc.) through which experience is constituted. The doubled consonant is sandhi assimilation.

Analysis. saññu + pādāna + kkhandha; saññu (knowing, perceiving) + pādāna (taking up, grasping) + kkhandha (aggregate, mass). The compound describes the aggregate of perception and clinging: the received concepts and identifications that bind consciousness. Double -k- is sandhi for consonant-initial kkhandha following -a.

Etymology. From saññu (perceive, recognize) < *-dhwá-, a feminine passive participle akin to Sanskrit dhyati "thinks"; pādāna (taking) < pā (protect, take) + -dāna (action noun), cognate with Latin prehendere; kkhandha (heap, aggregate, mass) < *kand-, akin to Sanskrit khanda "broken piece" and English candid (from Latin candēre "to glow", showing remnants of *kand-). The word encodes the Buddhist doctrine of clinging-to-perception (saññu-pādāna) as one of the five aggregates (pañcakkhandhā).

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

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