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saṁvaṭṭavivaṭṭakappe
saṁvaṭṭa-vivaṭṭa-kappa
noun, locative singular (in the kappa of contraction and expansion)
- cosmic cycle of contraction and expansion
- aeon of the universe's waxing and waning
- world age of compression and dissolution
Built from
- saṁ — prefix · together, completely
The prefix saṁ- brings the sense of things compressed or rolled up into one state.
- vaṭṭ — root · turn, roll, wind
√vaṭ, the concrete image of rolling or coiling; appears in vaṭṭati (rolls, turns).
- a — ending · nominative stem-former
Forms the nominal base saṁvaṭṭa (contraction) from the root.
- vi — prefix · apart, asunder
vi- conveys unrolling or expansion in opposite direction to saṁvaṭṭa; the concrete sense of spreading apart.
- vaṭṭ — root · turn, roll, wind
Same root, but with vi- prefix it means unfolding or opening out.
- a — ending · nominative stem-former
Forms the nominal base vivaṭṭa (expansion).
- kappa — stem · aeon, age, epoch
From √kḷp "to fit, ordain"; in Buddhist cosmology, a vast span of time corresponding to one cosmic cycle.
Analysis. Compound of saṁvaṭṭa (contraction, compression) + vivaṭṭa (expansion, unfolding) + kappa (aeon, age, epoch). The phrase denotes the paired cosmic processes — the universe contracting and then expanding again — spanning a single vast temporal cycle in Buddhist cosmology.
Etymology. saṁ + √vaṭ "turn, roll, wind"; vi + √vaṭ "turn, unroll"; kappa from √kḷp "fit, ordain". The prefix sam- (together) turns the root into compression; vi- (apart) creates the opposite unfolding. Cognate with Sanskrit kalpa, an aeon or creative age.