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vītarāgattā

vītarāgatta

nt nom pl of vītarāgatta (noun); nt instr sg of vītarāgatta (noun); nt abl sg of vītarāgatta (noun); nt voc sg of vītarāgatta (noun); …

1. freedom from desire; fact of being free from passion; lit. without desire state

Built from

• vīta — stem · gone, departed
  Past participle of √i 'go' (cognate Latin īre, English iterate). Here used adjectivally to mean 'removed' or 'absent'.
• rāga — root · desire, passion, greed
  From √raj 'to colour, dye, stain'; passion as what colours and stains the mind. In Buddhist doctrine, one of the three roots of unwholesome action (along with dosa and moha).
• tta — ending · state, condition, -ness
  Abstract noun suffix (Sanskrit -tva, English -ness). Forms neuter nouns expressing the quality or condition named by the root or stem.

Analysis. vīta-rāga-tta: vīta (past participle of veti, 'gone') + rāga ('desire, passion, greed') + -tta (noun suffix forming abstract quality). Lit. 'the state of desire having gone', hence freedom from passion.

Etymology. Compound formed from vīta (past participle √i 'go', cognate with Latin īre, English iteration) and rāga (from √raj 'colour, dye, stain', hence 'passion that colours the mind'). The -tta suffix derives abstract nouns from adjectives and participles, akin to Sanskrit -tva and English -ness.

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

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