‹ Back to the text

taṇhānirodho

taṇhānirodha

masc nom sg of taṇhānirodha (noun)

1. ending of craving; cessation of desire

Built from

• taṇhā — stem · craving, thirst
  From √tah- 'to thirst'; cognate with Sanskrit tṛṣṇā. Represents the fundamental drive behind suffering in Buddhist doctrine.
• ni — prefix · down, into
  Prefix marking downward and inward motion, here intensifying the sense of restraint and cessation.
• rodh — root · obstruct, restrain
  From √rudh 'to block, obstruct'; the concrete image is of blocking or pressing down, which becomes 'restraint' and 'cessation'.
• a — ending · masc nom sg
  Masculine nominative singular ending (thematic a-stem).

Analysis. taṇhā (craving, thirst) + nirodha (cessation, restraint): the cessation or extinction of craving, one of the Four Noble Truths as the path to nirvana.

Etymology. nirodha: ni- (down, into) + rodha (restraint, from √rudh 'to obstruct, block'). Cognates: √rudh parallels Sanskrit rudh- 'to obstruct'; English 'rude' (originally 'raw, unfinished') shares the sense of obstruction/blockage. The prefix ni- gives the sense of pressing down and restraining.

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

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