Pāḷi Grammars
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Kaccāyana-Byākaraṇaṃ · chapter 4 of 8

§316

Nāmānaṃ samāso yuttattho

The connected meaning of nouns [has the name] “samāsa” (compound).

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316. 331. Nāmānaṃ samāso yuttattho (675)

[Nāmānaṃ + samāso + yuttattho = 3 words]

Tesaṃ nāmānaṃ payujjamānapadatthānaṃ yo yuttattho, so samāsasañño hoti.

Kathinadussaṃ (Vin. iii, 352); āgantukabhattaṃ (Vin. iii, 460); jīvitindriyaṃ (Abhi. i, 20, 168); samaṇabrāhmaṇā (D. i, 6; M. i, 114-5); Sāriputtamoggallānā (Vin. iii, 50; M. ii, 119); brāhmaṇagahapatikā (A. i, 386; ii, 26).

Nāmānam iti kimatthaṃ? Devadatto pacati. Yaññadatto pacati.

Yuttattho ti kimatthaṃ? Bhaṭo rañño; putto Devadattassa.

Samāsa icc anena kvattho? Kvaci samāsantagatānam akāranto.

The connected meaning of nouns [has the name] “samāsa” (compound).
The connected meaning of those nouns that have connected words and meanings: that has the name “samāsa” (compound).
Examples
  1. Kathinadussaṃ (a cloth for Kathina).
  2. Āgantukabhattaṃ (a meal for the guest).
  3. Jīvitindriyaṃ (life faculty).
  4. Samaṇabrāhmaṇā (monks and brahmins).
  5. Sāriputtamoggallānā (Sāriputta and Moggallāna).
  6. Brāhmaṇagahapatikā (brahmins and householders).

What is the purpose of saying “nāmānaṃ” (of nouns)? To prevent the formation of compounds with those which are not nouns, such as in the following examples: Devadatto pacati (Devadatta cooks). Yaññadatto pacati (Yaññadatta cooks).

What is the purpose of saying “yuttattho” (connected meaning)? To prevent the formation of compounds when the words are not connected in meaning, such as in the following examples: Bhaṭo rañño (soldier of the king); putto Devadattassa (son of Devadatta).

What is the use of the name “samāsa” (compound)? For the use of the name “samāsa” in the sutta “Kvaci samāsantagatānam akāranto” (§337). Sometimes there is ‘a’ of the end vowel [of the nouns] that stand at the end of a compound.

Without the footnotes: they are on the chapter card.

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Pāḷi text and English translation by Bhikkhu Nandisena; edition, apparatus and glossary by the Instituto de Estudios Buddhistas Hispano (IEBH). This material may be reproduced for personal use and distributed free of charge. Copyright © 2026 IEBH. Published under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21948010.