Bāla¹

adjective

1. ignorant (often with ref. to ignorance in a moral sense, of the common people, the puthujjana) foolish (as contrasted with paṇḍita cp. the Bālapaṇḍita-sutta MN.iii.163 sq.; DN.ii.305 sq.; Vism.499 and contrasts at Snp.578; Dhp.63, Dhp.64; Pv.iv.3#32; Dhs.1300), lacking in reason, devoid of the power to think & act right. In the latter sense sometimes coupled with; andha (spiritually blind), as andhabāla stupid ignorant, mentally dull, e.g. at Dhp-a.i.143; Dhp-a.ii.89; Pv-a.254
   ■ A fanciful etym. of b. at Kp-a.124 is “balanti ananti ti bālā.” Other refs.: DN.i.59, DN.i.108; SN.i.23; AN.i.59, AN.i.68, AN.i.84; AN.ii.51, AN.ii.180; Snp.199, Snp.259, Snp.318, Snp.578, Snp.879; Iti.68; Dhp.28, Dhp.60 sq., Dhp.71 sq., Dhp.206 sq., Dhp.330; Ja.i.124 (lola greedy-foolish); Ja.v.366 (bālo āmaka-pakkaṃ va); Vv.83#5; Pv.i.8#2; Pv.iv.1#29; Pp.33; Mnd.163, Mnd.286 sq., Mnd.290; Snp-a.509 (= aviddasu); Pv-a.193. Compar. bālatara Ja.iii.278, Ja.iii.279; Vv-a.326.
2. young, new; newly risen (of the sun): -ātāpa the morning sun DN-a.i.287; Dhp-a.i.164; Mhbv.25; ˚vasanta “early spring” (= Citramāsa), Name of the first one of the 4 summer months (gimha-māsā) Kp-a.192; -suriya the newly risen sun Ja.v.284; Pv-a.137, Pv-a.211.
3. a child; in wider application meaning a youth under 16 years of age (cp. Abhp.251) DN-a.i.134. Cp. bālaka.

• -nakkhatta Name of a certain “feast of fools,” i.e. carnival Dhp-a.i.256.
• -saṅgatacārin one who keeps company with a fool Dhp.207.

cp. Sk. bāla (rarely Vedic, more freq. in Epic & Classical Sk.); its orig. meaning is “young, unable to speak,” cp. Lat. infans, hence “like a child, childish infantile”

Bāla²

the hair of the head Pv-a.285 (˚koṭimatta not even one tip of the hair; gloss BB vālagga˚).

for vāla