Saḷāyatana - etymology?

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DooDoot
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Saḷāyatana - etymology?

Post by DooDoot »

Dear Pali gurus

I have found the following etymology of saḷāyatana on the internet to mean:
Saḷāyatana, (nt.) (ṣaḍ˚ for which ordinarily chal˚: see cha) the six organs of sense and the six objects — viz. , eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; forms, sounds, odouis, tastes, tangible things, ideas; occupying the fourth place in the Paṭiccasamuppāda D ii. 32; M i. 52; A i. 176; S ii. 3; Vin i. 1; Vism. 529, 562 sq. , 671; VbhA. 174, 176 sq. , 319. (Page 699)
My vague questions are:

1. how does Sanskrit 'ṣaḍ' become Pali 'saḷ' meaning Pali 'cha' or 'six'?

2. Are there other Pali words with the prefix 'saḷ' meaning 'six'?

Thank you :)
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Dhammanando
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Re: Saḷāyatana - etymology?

Post by Dhammanando »

The retroflexes ḍ and ḷ are phonetically similar and when occurring as the final consonant in a syllable are virtually interchangeable. Rather like the phonetically similar labials b and v when occurring as initial consonants: byāpāda vs vyāpāda.

And so it's common to find a Pali word that is spelled with one consonant in one edition of a text, but with the other in another edition. Likewise it's common to meet with words that are spelled with ḍ in Sanskrit but ḷ in Pali, or with ḷ in Sanskrit but ḍ in Pali.

When cha ('six') occurs as the initial morpheme in a compound and is followed by a morpheme beginning with a vowel, it will usually change to chaḷ-, as in chaḷabhiññā, 'six higher knowledges'. The change of cha to saḷ- is much less common. In fact I can't immediately think of any example other than saḷāyatana.
Rūpehi bhikkhave arūpā santatarā.
Arūpehi nirodho santataro ti.


“Bhikkhus, the formless is more peaceful than the form realms.
Cessation is more peaceful than the formless realms.”
(Santatarasutta, Iti 73)
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DooDoot
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Re: Saḷāyatana - etymology?

Post by DooDoot »

Thanks you Venerable for the clear explanation. :anjali:
There is always an official executioner. If you try to take his place, It is like trying to be a master carpenter and cutting wood. If you try to cut wood like a master carpenter, you will only hurt your hand.

https://soundcloud.com/doodoot/paticcasamuppada
https://soundcloud.com/doodoot/anapanasati
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