(nt. m.) diversity, variety, manifoldness, multiformity, distraction; all sorts of (opp. ekatta, cp. MN.i.364: “the multiformity of sensuous impressions,” M.A.). Enumⁿ of diversity as nānattā, viz. dhātu˚ phassa˚ vedanā˚ saññā˚ sankappa chanda˚ pariḷāha˚ pariyesanā˚ lābha˚ DN.iii.289; SN.ii.140 sq., cp. SN.iv.113 sq., SN.iv.284 sq.; Pts.i.87
■ AN.iv.385; Pts.i.63 sq., Pts.i.88 sq.; SN.ii.115 (vedanā˚); Pts.i.91 (samāpatti & vihāra˚); Ja.ii.265. In composition, substituted sometimes for nāna. Cp. Dialogues i.14, n. 2.

• -kathā desultory talk, gossip DN.i.8; (= niratthakakathā DN-a.i.90); SN.v.420;
• -kāya (adj.) having a variety of bodies or bodily states (combined with or opp. to ekatta˚, nānatta-saññin, & ekatta-saññin), appl. to manussā, devā, vinipātikā (cp. nava sattâvāsā) AN.iv.39 sq. = Cnd.570#2; DN.iii.253, DN.iii.263, DN.iii.282;
• -saññā consciousness of diversity (Rh. D.: “idea of multiformity, Dial. ii.119; Mrs. Rh. D. “consciousness of the manifold”) MN.i.3; SN.iv.113 sq.; DN.iii.224, DN.iii.262 sq., DN.iii.282; AN.i.41, AN.i.267; AN.ii.184; AN.iii.306; Pts.ii.172; Dhs.265 (cp trsl. p. 72); Vb.342, Vb.369;
• -saññin having a varying consciousness (cp. ˚kāya), DN.i.31 (cp. DN-a.i.119), DN.i.183 DN.iii.263.

Sk. nānatva; abstr. fr. nānā