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subhanimittassa

subhanimitta

nt dat sg of subhanimitta (noun); nt gen sg of subhanimitta (noun)

1. attractive object; beautiful mental image; lit. beautiful sign

Built from

• subha — stem · beautiful, bright
  Past participle of √subh-, meaning "shining" or "luminous." Cognate with Sanskrit śubha.
• ni — prefix · down, into
  The prefix ni- marks leading or conducting inward; here it strengthens the sense of a sign that guides the mind.
• m — root · lead, guide
  Root √nī-, meaning to conduct or guide; the basis of nimitta.
• tta — ending · agent noun suffix
  Derives a noun meaning "that which leads or points to"; often marks past participles in nominal form.
• ssa — ending · dative/genitive singular
  Neuter singular inflection marking either the indirect object (dative) or possession/relation (genitive) in this context.

Analysis. subha (beautiful) + nimitta (sign, cause, object), lit. "beautiful sign"; in the canon, the meditator's mental object (kasina disc, luminous apparition) serving as support for concentration.

Etymology. subha is the past participle of √subh- (to shine, be bright), cognate with Sanskrit śubha and the Indo-European root *sweubh- (to turn, swing, sway, with derived sense "to make luminous"); nimitta is from √nī- (to lead, guide) with the suffix -tta, originally "that which leads" or "sign pointing to something." The compound evolved in the Abhidhamma and meditation commentaries to denote the meditational object that leads the mind toward samādhi.

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

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