tāṇāya

tāṇa

nt dat sg of tāṇa (noun); fem instr sg of tāṇa (adj); masc dat sg of tāṇa (adj); fem dat sg of tāṇa (adj); …

refuge; shelter; defence; protection; epithet of Nibbāna; lit. protecting
giving refuge; sheltering; protecting

Built from

tāṇa — root · shelter, protect
From √tṛ "to cross, carry across"; originally the concrete image of ferrying across water, extended to protection and refuge. Related to English "through" and "throng".

Etymology. From √tṛ "to cross, protect" (Sanskrit tarati "crosses, protects"). Cognate with English "through" and "throng" (originally "crowd pushing through"); Latin "trāns" (across); Sanskrit "tāraṇa" (crossing over, salvation). The sense development: what carries one across danger becomes what protects or shelters. Used in the Canon for refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha, and as an epithet of Nibbāna, the ultimate shelter from saṃsāra.

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

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