‹ Back to the text

sambodhiparāyaṇoti

sambodhiparāyaṇa

adj; nominative singular masculine (sambodhiparāyaṇoti = sambodhiparāyaṇo + iti)

1. destined for full awakening; culminating in enlightenment

Built from

• sam — prefix · together, completely
  From the prefix saṁ- meaning 'placing together, collecting into one'. Works like Latin con- and English same. Here it intensifies bodhi to mean full, unified awakening.
• bodhi — stem · awakening, enlightenment
  From √budh 'to awaken, be aware'. Cognate with English bud and with Sanskrit buddhi 'intelligence'. In Buddhist doctrine, bodhi is the supreme awakening of a Buddha.
• parāyaṇa — stem · destination, ultimate goal
  From parā 'beyond, furthest' + √yā 'to go, journey'. Literally 'the journey to the far shore'; parāyaṇa means 'one's ultimate resort or destination'. The word enshrines the image of crossing to liberation.

Analysis. saṁ + bodhi + parāyaṇa; bodhi 'awakening' (from √budh 'to awaken'); parāyaṇa 'destination, resort' (from parā + yāna 'journey toward', i.e. 'goal'); the compound means 'one whose destination is complete awakening'.

Etymology. sambodhiparāyaṇa combines saṁ 'together, completely' (from the prefix saṁ-: 'placing together', the roots of samādhi; cognate with English same) with bodhi 'awakening' (from √budh, cognate with English bud, Buddha, and Sanskrit buddhi 'intelligence'), and parāyaṇa 'ultimate goal' (from parā 'beyond, furthest' + √yā 'to go', showing the 'journey toward the far shore'). The phrase encodes the Buddhist path as a trajectory toward complete, integral awakening.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version