‹ Back to the text

vippayogo

vippayoga

masc nom sg of vippayoga (noun)

1. separation (from); detachment (from); (of a relationship) breakup (with); lit. causing unyoking

Built from

• vi — prefix · apart, asunder
  Prefix meaning separation and dispersion. Reverses or undoes the action that follows.
• p — prefix · forward, forth
  Intensifying prefix that steps the action forth; here part of payoga (yoking, putting into harness).
• yoga — root · yoke, join
  From √yuj 'to yoke, join together'; cognate with Latin iugum 'yoke' and English yoke. The concrete image is of animals brought into harness together.
• a — ending · masculine nominative singular
  Masculine -a ending for nominative singular, unmarking the noun for citation.

Analysis. vi + payoga, from vi- (apart, asunder) + payoga (yoking, harnessing). The word means literally 'unyoking' or 'unharnessing' — the reversal of bringing into harness or conjunction. In the canon, vippayogo denotes separation from sense-objects, loved ones, and life itself (as in khandhavippayogo, separation from the aggregates at death).

Etymology. From vi- (apart, asunder; cognate with Latin dis-, English dis-) + payoga, itself from pa- (forward, forth) + yoga (yoking, from √yuj 'yoke, join'; cognate with Latin iugum, English yoke). The prefix vi- reverses the action of joining: what was yoked together comes apart.

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

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