pada

  1. foot Dhp.273 = Snp-a.366 (? saccānaṃ caturo padā); DN-a.i.85; usually -˚, like hatthipadaṃ elephant’s foot MN.i.176, MN.i.184; SN.i.86; SN.v.43, SN.v.231; and with numerals dvi˚ & di˚, catup˚, aṭṭha˚ (q.v.). In aṭṭha˚ also meaning “square of a chessboard.”

  2. step, footstep, track Dhp.179 (of a Buddha, cp. Dhp-a.iii.194 & Dhp-a.iii.197); Ja.i.170 (footmark), Ja.ii.154; in redupl
    ■ iterative formation padāpadaṃ step by step Snp.446 (variant reading padânupadaṃ), and pade padaṃ Snp.p.107 (cp. Snp-a.451).

  3. (Often synonymous with ˚patha i.e. way, kind, & sometimes untranslatable)

    1. lit. way, path, position, place Vin.ii.217 (nakkhatta˚ constellation); Ja.i.315 (assama = assama); Ja.v.75 (id.), Ja.v.321 (id.); Ja.vi.76 (id.); Ja.vi.180 (variant reading patha; C. mahāmagga); mantapada = manta DN.i.104 (cp. DN-a.i.273). See also janapada, saggapada-
    2. in applied meaning (modal): case, lot, principle, part, constituent, characteristic, ingredient, item, thing, element MN.i.176 (cattāri padāni 4 characteristics) SN.i.7 (pade pade “now in this thing, now in that C. ārammaṇe ārammaṇe), SN.i.212 (amataṃ p. = nibbāna), SN.ii.280 (id.); AN.ii.51 (id.), Iti.39 (p. asankhataṃ = nibbāna); Snp.88 (dhammapade sudesite; explained as nibbānadhamma Snp-a.164; dhammapada = Dhamma), ibid (anavajja-padāni sevamāna = principles), Snp.700 (moneyyaṃ uttamaṃ padaṃ, thing; but Snp-a.491 explains as uttama-paṭipadaṃ), Snp.765; Dhp.21, Dhp.93, Dhp.114 (amataṃ), Dhp.254, Dhp.368 (santaṃ = nibbānass’ etaṃ nāmaṃ, santakoṭṭhāsaṃ Dhp-a.iv.108); Pv.iv.3#48 (amataṃ); Ne.2 Ne.192 (nava padāni kusalāni); Snp-a.397 (nāmādi p.) Sdhp.47 (accutaṃ santaṃ p.), Sdhp.615 (paramaṃ). See further dhamma˚, nibbāna˚, santi˚, sikkhā˚.
  4. a word, verse (or a quarter of a verse), stanza, line, sentence SN.ii.36 (ekena padena sabbo attho vutto); SN.iv.379 = AN.v.320 (agga˚); AN.ii.182 (+ vyañjana desanā); AN.ii.189 (attha˚ text, motto); AN.iii.356 (id.); Snp.252 (= dhamma-desanā Snp-a.293), Snp.374; Dhp.273; Ja.i.72 (atireka-pada-satena); Ne.4 (akkharaṃ padaṃ vyañjanaṃ cp. nāmādīhi padehi at Snp-a.397, which is to be understood as nāma, pada & vyañjana, i.e. word, sentence & letter, cp. Mptp. 104, 74–76); Mil.148 (āhacca˚); Kp-a.169; Snp-a.409 (ubhaya˚), Snp-a.444; Vv-a.3, Vv-a.13; Pv-a.10, Pv-a.26, Pv-a.117 (word, term). abl. padaso (adv.) sentence by stce or word by word Vin.iv.14 (dhammaṃ vāceti = anupadaṃ C.; cp. Kp-a.190 p ˚dhamma). At MN-a.i.2 pada (sentence or division of a sentence) is contrasted with akkhara (word), when it is said that the Majjhima Nikāya consists of 80,523 padas and 740,053 akkharas

■ Neg. apada

  1. without feet footless AN.iv.434 (Māra; variant reading apara); Iti.87 (sattā, dvipada etc.)
  2. trackless, leaving no footprint, fig having no desires (i.e. signs of worldliness) Dhp.179 (rāga, etc., as padāni Dhp-a.iii.197, but cp. also p. 194.)
  • -attha meaning of a word Kp-a.81, Kp-a.84; Snp-a.91
  • -ānupadaṃ (adv.) on the track Dhp-a.ii.38.
  • -ānupadika following one’s footsteps Ja.ii.78; Dhp-a.ii.94 (therānaṃ) nt. adv. ˚ṃ close behind Dhp-a.i.290.
  • -ānupubbatā (or ˚ta) succession of words Mnd.140 (in expln of “iti” cp. Snp-a.28); Cnd.137 (id.; reading ˚ka).
  • -uddhāra synopsis of a verse Snp-a.237 (atthuddhāra +).
  • -kusala clever at following a trail Ja.iii.501, Ja.iii.505.
  • -cārikā a female (foot-) servant Ja.iv.35.
  • -cetiya “step-shrine,” a holy footprint, a miraculous footprint left on the ground by a holy man Dhp-a.iii.194.
  • -ccheda separation of words, parsing Snp-a.150.
  • -jāta (nt.) pedal character SN.i.86
  • -ṭṭhāna [cp. Sk. padasthāna footprint] “proximate cause” (Cpd. 13, 23) Ne.1 sq., Ne.27 sq., Ne.40 sq., Ne.104 Vism.84.
  • -dvaya twofold part (of a phrase), i.e. antecedent and subsequent Dhs-a.164.
  • -parama one whose highest attainment is the word (of the text, and not the sense of it) AN.ii.135; Ja.vi.131; Pp.41 (“vyañjanapadam eva paramaṃ assā ti” Pp-a 223.
  • -pāripūrī (f.) expletive particle Cnd.137; Snp-a.28.
  • -pūraṇa filling out a verse; as tt. g. expletive particle Snp-a.590 a, Snp-a.139 (kho), Snp-a.137 (kho pana), Snp-a.378 (tato), Snp-a.536 (pi), Snp-a.230 (su), Snp-a.416 (ha), Snp-a.377 (hi); Kp-a.219 (tam), Kp-a.188 (su); Vv-a.10 (maya).
  • -bhājana dividing of words, i.e. treating each word (of a phrase) separately Dhs-a.234.
  • -bhājaniya division of a phrase Dhs-a.54.
  • -bhāṇa reciting or preaching (the words of the Scriptures) Dhp-a.ii.95 Dhp-a.iii.345; Dhp-a.iv.18.
  • -vaṇṇanā expln of a pada or single verse Snp-a.65, Snp-a.237; Kp-a.125, Kp-a.132, Kp-a.228.
  • -valañja a footprint track Ja.vi.560; Dhp-a.ii.38; Dhp-a.iii.194.
  • -viggaha separation of words, resolution of a compound into its components Vv-a.326.
  • -vibhāga separation of words parsing Snp-a.269; Pv-a.34.
  • -saṃsagga contact of words Mnd.139; Cnd.137; Snp-a.28.
  • -sadda sound of footsteps Snp.p.80; Ja.iv.409.
  • -sandhi euphonic combination of words Mnd.445; Cnd.137; Kp-a.155, Kp-a.224; Snp-a.28, Snp-a.40 Snp-a.157 etc.; Pv-a.52.
  • -silā a stone for stepping on, flag Vin.ii.121 = Vin.ii.154.

Ved. pad, pād (m.) foot, and also pāda; pada (nt.) step. Cp. Gr. πώς (πούς) = Lat. pēs, Goth. fōtus = Ohg fuoz = E. foot; further Arm. het track, Gr. πεδά after, πέδον field, πεζός on foot, etc.; Lith. péda track; Ags. fetvan = E. fetch
■ The decl. in Pāli is vocalic a, viz. pada; a trace of the consonant (root decl. is instr. sg. padā (Thag.457; Snp.768), of cons. (s decl. instr. padasā with the foot, on foot (DN.i.107; Ja.iii.371; Dhp-a.i.391)
■ Gender is nt., but nom. pl. is frequently found as padā, e.g. at Dhp.273; Ne.192 (mūla˚)