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saṅkhalikhitaṁ

saṅkhalikhita

past participle (accusative singular neuter) of saṅkhalikhati; nominalized; appears corrected from attested saṅkhalikkhita (with geminate kh)

1. scratched or etched into conch
2. written on shell/bone
3. inscribed

Built from

• saṅkha — root · conch shell
  A resonant object; originally referred to the shell trumpet blown in Hindu and Buddhist ritual. From a root implying sound or shape.
• li — root · scratch, mark
  Cognate with Latin lica. The root captures the action of incising or writing upon a surface.
• kh — stem · hard form
  Geminated in older texts; marks the thematic stem before -ita.
• ita — ending · past participle
  Forms the accusative singular neuter, expressing a completed state: something that has been scratched or written upon.

Analysis. saṅkha (conch shell) + likhita (written, scratched); a compound describing something incised or marked upon a conch surface, likely referring to inscriptions or decorative marks on shell objects

Etymology. likhati (scratch, write) is cognate with Latin lica (to smear) and related to Skt. likha-; saṅkha (conch) is from a root meaning to sound or resound, denoting the shell used in signaling. The compound depicts literal marking upon shell surfaces.

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

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