‹ Back to the text

vihāraṁ

vihāra

accusative singular of vihāra (masculine noun); vihāraṁ in Pali represents the accusative form with the -aṁ ending

1. monastery, dwelling place of monks
2. residence, abode
3. a Buddhist monastery or convent

Built from

• vi- — prefix · apart, asunder
  Emphasizes separation and clarity; here suggests a place set apart and removed from the world.
• hāra — root · to carry, to bear
  Related to √hṛ; the sense shifts from the concrete 'carrying' to the abstract idea of a place where one 'carries' one's practice in seclusion.
• -a — ending · masculine noun stem
  Marks the citation form (nominative singular) of masculine consonant-stem nouns in Pali.
• -aṁ — ending · accusative singular
  Marks the direct object of a verb; here the monastery is the goal or destination ('went to the monastery').

Analysis. vi- (apart, asunder) + √hṛ (carry), giving vihāra as 'a place set apart for dwelling': literally 'a carrying-apart', reanalyzed as a dwelling or sanctuary removed from worldly life.

Etymology. vi- ('apart', emphasizing separation and seclusion) + √hṛ ('to carry', related to Latin ferre and English bear), originally denoting a place where monks withdraws from the world and 'carries' their practice apart from lay society. The compound evolved to mean the physical monastery building itself.

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

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