Bahubbīhi-samāsa or Attributive Compounds

Bahubbīhi-samāsa or Attributive Compounds¶

(much-paddy-compound)

The best way to explain this type of compound is to start with some examples.

bahu (adj. much, lots (of)) + vīhi (noun. paddy) > bahubbīhi

what part of speech is this?

what kind of compound is this?

bahubbīhī janapado

how would you translate this?

what part of speech is bahubbīhī?

ahaṃ bahubbīhismiṃ viharāmi.

how would you translate this?

what part of speech is bahubbīhī?

odāta (adj. white) + vattha (noun. cloth) > odātavattha

what part of speech is this?

what kind of compound is this?

odātavattho gihī

how would you translate this?

what part of speech is odātavattho?

odātavattho dānaṃ deti

how would you translate this?

what part of speech is odātavattho?

rukkha (n. tree) + mūla (n. root) > rukkhamūla

what part of speech is this?

what kind of compound is this?

rukkhamūla + ika > rukkhamūlika

rukkhamūliko samaṇo

how would you translate this?

what part of speech is rukkhamūliko?

rukkhamūliko vane jhāyati.

how would you translate this?

what part of speech is rukkhamūliko?

paṃsu (n. dust) + kūla (n. bank, slope) > paṃsukūla

what part of speech is this?

what kind of compound is this?

paṃsukūlaṃ cīvaraṃ

how would you translate this?

what part of speech is paṃsukūlaṃ?

sobhati paṃsukūlena,

sīho’va giri-gabbhare. (TH261)

how would you translate this?

what part of speech is paṃsukūlena?

pāpa (adj. evil) + icchā (n. wish) > pāpicchā

what part of speech is this?

what kind of compound is this?

pāpiccho puriso

how would you translate this?

what part of speech is pāpiccho?

pāpiccho musāvadaṃ kathesi.

how would you translate this?

what part of speech is pāpiccho?

From this we can see that any type of compound, kammadāraya, tappurisa etc., can be turned into an adjective, in which case it can become a bahubbīhi-samāsa.

This compound needs to be translated with a relative clause such as “who...”, “which…”, “that …”, “with...” etc.

Furthermore, this compound can also be used independently as a noun with an implied subject. “the man who….”, “the ascetic who...”, “the robe which….” etc.

How to make a bahubbīhi compound?¶

(or how to turn a noun into an adjective?)

1. the first group is just a compound of two members, which has the adjective -a ending and is declined in all three genders.

āraddha + vīriya + a

āraddhavīriyo muni (a sage who has aroused his energy)

āraddhavīriyā bhikkhunī (a nun who has aroused her energy)

āraddhavīriyaṃ cittaṃ (a mind that has aroused energy)

what type of compound is this?

similarly …

ādittasīso – (a man) whose head is on fire

aññatitthiyo – (an ascetic) who belongs to another religion

bahubhāṇī – (a person) who speaks a lot

chinnapapañco – (a person) who has cut mental proliferation

chinnasoto - (an arahant) who has cut the stream (of craving)

cirappavāsī - (a traveller) who has long lived abroad

dassanasampanno - (a meditator) who has vision

dhammadharo – (a monk) who bearers the teaching

ekavihārī - (a monk) who lives alone

kālavādī – (a person) who speaks at the proper time

katapuñño – (a person) who has made merit

2. using the prefix sa- (with)

sahirañño – (a man) who has gold

sapattabhāro – (a bird) carrying its own wings

satiṇakaṭṭhodakaṃ – (a country) having grass, wood and water

sadevamanussaṃ – (population) with gods and men

sadhano – (a man) with wealth

sadosaṃ – (a mind) with hatred

samoho – (a person) with delusion

sakiñcano – (a person) who has possessions

sappabhāsaṃ – (a mind) which is radiant

3. the negative of sa- are adjectives beginning with a- (without)

adhano – (a person) without wealth

arogo - (a person) without disease

averaṃ - (one) without hatred

acelo - (a person) without cloth

aparisesaṃ - (something) without remainder

anaṅgaṇo - (a man) without stains

avitakkaṃ - (state) free from thinking

avicāraṃ - (state) free from investigation

4. sometimes the suffixes -ka, -aka or -ika are added to nouns to create adjectives.

a + cela + ka > acelaka

(an ascetic) who is naked (for whom there is no cloth)

paṃsu + kūla + ika > paṃsukūliko

(cloth) from a rubbish heap

(an ascetic) who wears cloth from a rubbish heap

pariyāya + bhatta + ika > pariyāyabhattiko

(an ascetic) who eats food at fixed intervals

rajo + jalla + ika > rajojalliko

(an ascetic) who is covered in dust and mud

rukkha + mūla + ika > rukkhamūliko

(an ascetic) who lives at the foot of a tree

paṭhama + āpatti + ka > paṭhamāpattika

(action) which is an immediate offence; lit. related to the first offence

micchā + diṭṭhi + ka > micchādiṭṭhiko

(a person) who has wrong view

satta + vassa + ika > sattavassiko

(an illness) lasting for seven years

In bahubbīhi compounds, feminine nouns take their masculine forms when they become adjectives

mahantī + paññā > mahāpañño

(a person) who has great wisdom

mahantī + taṇhā > mahātaṇho

(a person) with great craving

pahūtā + paññā > pahūtapañño

(a person) who is rich in wisdom

tvaṁ itthannāmaṃ āpattiṃ āpanno (AN8.14)

ariyasāvako sammāsamādhi hoti (AN4.196)

… mahesiṃ khīṇāsavaṃ kukkuccavūpasantaṃ (SNP4)

dinnaṃ hoti mahapphalaṃ (DHP356)

ahaṃ evaṃvādī evaṃdiṭṭhī (AN4.183)

rūpaṃ tathāgatassa pahīnaṃ ucchinnamūlaṃ (MN72)

In some grammar books you will find a detailed analysis of the 7 types of bahubbīhi compounds according to their case relationship with the noun they are attributed to.

Please refer to Extra Reading if you would like the full story.

The most important thing to remember with bahubbīhi compounds is that often the missing subject has to be understood.

Perhaps you can understand what Kaccāyana means now:

328. aññapad'atthesu bahubbīhi.

when the meaning is another word - bahubbīhi

(or)

when the meaning of another (i.e. external) word (ya, ima, etc.) (is predominant) - it is called bahubbīhi samāsa⁸