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viharantaṁ

viharati

accusative singular masculine of the present participle viharanta- (< viharati 'dwells, lives, conducts oneself')

1. dwelling
2. living
3. conducting oneself
4. abiding

Built from

• vi — prefix · apart, in different ways
  Prefix meaning movement in multiple directions or through different states; carries the sense of variation and multiplicity.
• har — root · carry, bear
  Root meaning 'to carry' or 'to bear'; cognate with English 'carry' and Latin 'gerere'.
• a — stem · present stem
  Present-tense stem formative, marking the action as ongoing or habitual.
• nta — ending · present participle (nominative/accusative)
  Participle ending forming an action noun; here in accusative singular masculine (-aṁ) to function as direct object or predicative complement.
• aṁ — ending · accusative singular masculine
  Case and number ending marking the accusative function; grammatically 'carried' by a higher verb of perception or cognition.

Analysis. vi- (apart, in different directions) + √har (to carry); 'carrying oneself in different ways', hence 'conducting oneself, dwelling'; the participle viharanta- with accusative ending -aṁ functions as the object of a verb of seeing or knowing in narrative contexts.

Etymology. From √har 'carry' (cognate with English carry, Latin gerere 'bear, wage'). The prefix vi- adds the sense of movement in multiple directions or states. In the suttas, viharati typically describes how a monk or the Buddha 'dwells' in a particular practice, mental state, or location; the accusative participle viharantaṁ is common in the formula 'eka-vihāre viharantaṁ' ('dwelling alone') or 'jhāne viharantaṁ' ('dwelling in absorption').

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

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