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vītarāgassāvuso

vītarāga

nominative singular masculine of vītarāga (adjective); vocative singular in -ssāvuso (contraction of -ssa + āvuso, 'friend')

1. free from passion
2. one without lust
3. the dispassionate

Built from

• vi — prefix · apart, asunder
  Marks the removal or absence of something; here the scattering or dissolution of rāga (passion).
• rāga — root · passion, lust
  Related to Sanskrit rañj 'to colour, dye'; passion colours and stains the mind, binding it to sense.
• — stem · (stem vītarāga-)
  Adjective meaning 'free from passion'; a key doctrinal term for mental purity.
• -ssa — ending · genitive-nominative
  Contraction of genitive -ssa with following vowel; here merges with the vocative particle to create the address form.
• āvuso — stem · friend, sir
  Vocative form of address used respectfully toward monks and the enlightened; marks friendly, courteous speech.

Analysis. vi-tārāga-ssa-āvuso: vi (apart, asunder) + tā-rāga (having passion gone) + -ssa (genitive-nominative contraction) + āvuso (vocative 'friend'). The compound vītarāga breaks as vi + rāga, 'passion-gone', and is addressed vocatively with the term of address āvuso, 'friend' or 'sir'.

Etymology. vī- (vi-) is the prefix 'apart, asunder', marking the absence or removal of what follows; rāga (passion, lust, greed) is related to Sanskrit rañj- 'to colour, dye', hence 'staining the mind'. The form is used in the Pali canon to denote one who has shed passion—a mark of the arahat and enlightened saints. āvuso is a term of respectful address, probably from ava + su, 'well-placed down' or simply a vocative of friendship.

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

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