vatthu

Vatthu1

neuter lit. “ground,” hence

  1. (lit.) object, real thing, property, thing, substance (cp. vatthu2!) AN.ii.209 (khetta˚, where khetta in lit. sense, cp. No. 2). Here belongs the defn of kāma as twofold: vatthu-kāma and kilesa-kāma, or desire for realities, objective kāma, and desire as property of stained character, i.e. subjective kāma, e.g. Mnd.1; Snp-a.99, Snp-a.112; Dhs-a.62
    ■ On vatthu as general philosophical term cp. Dhs. translation §§ 455, 679, 1229, also introd. p. 86 Cpd. 15, 31, 1741.
  2. (applied meaning) object, item Vin.i.121 (antima-vatthuṃ ajjhāpannaka guilty of an extreme offence?); Vin.v.138 (the 10 āghāta-vatthūni, as at Vb.86); DN.iii.252 (seven niddesa˚), DN.iii.255 (eight kusīta˚), DN.iii.258 (eight dāna˚); SN.ii.41, SN.ii.56 sq.; Vb.71 (cakkhu˚ etc.), Vb.306 sq., Vb.353; Ne.114 (ten); Snp-a.172; Dhp-a.iv.2 (akkosa˚); Pv-a.8, Pv-a.20 (dāna˚), Pv-a.26 (left out in id. p. Kp-a.209), Pv-a.29, Pv-a.65 (alabbhaneyya˚), Pv-a.96 (id.), Pv-a.119, Pv-a.121 (iṭṭha˚), Pv-a.177, Pv-a.220. Cp. ˚bhūta.
  3. occasion for, reason, ground AN.ii.158 (+ khetta [in fig. sense!], āyatana & adhikaraṇa); AN.iv.334; DN.i.13 sq. (aṭṭhādasahi vatthūhi etc.) Ja.ii.5 (avatthumhi chandaṃ mâkari do not set your heart on what is unreasonable); vatthunā (instr.) because Pv-a.118; vatthuto (abl.) on account of Pv-a.241.
  4. basis, foundation, seat, (objective) substratum, substance, element Ja.i.146 (kāyo paridevānaṃ v.); Vb-a.404 (+ ārammaṇa). See most of the compounds
  5. subject-matter, subject, story, account Snp-a.4; Dhp-a.ii.66; Pv-a.77, Pv-a.92, Pv-a.263, Pv-a.269. Cp. ˚gāthā & titles like Petavatthu, Vimānavatthu.

-kata made a foundation or basis of, practised thoroughly Ja.ii.61; Ja.v.14 and passim (+ bhāvita etc.). In phrase tālāvatthukata (= tāla avatthu kata) vatthu means foundation, basis, ground to feed and live on, thus “a palm deprived of its foundation”: see refs. under tāla
■ gāthā
the stanzas of the story, the introductory (explanatory, essential to its understanding) stanzas something like “prologue” Snp-a.483, Snp-a.575 (preceding Snp.699 & Snp.976); -dasaka tenfold substance or material basis Vb-a.22. -bhūta being an object, i.e. subject to Ja.v.210. -rūpa substance or substratum of matter material form Vism.561, Vism.564; Vb-a.22, Vb-a.172. -visadakiriyā clearing of the foundation or fundamentals purification of the elements Vb-a.283 = Dhs-a.76 (˚kiriyatā; translation Expos. 101 “cleansing of things or substance”); Vism.128; Vb-a.276.

Class. Sk. vastu, fr. vas1

Vatthu2

site, ground, field, plot Vin.iii.50 (ārāma˚ & vihāra˚), Vin.iii.90 (id.); Snp.209, Snp.473 (sakhetta˚, cp. vatthu1 4), Snp.769 (khetta +), Snp.858 (id.); Thag.957 (khetta + vatthu, cp. Brethren p. 3371 & Vin Texts iii.389 sq.); Mil.279 (khetta˚ a plot of arable land); DN-a.i.78 (contrasted with khetta, see khetta 1 and cp. vatthu1 1; Pv-a.88 (gehassa the back yard of the house); haunted by fairies (parigaṇhanti) DN.ii.87.

  • -kamma “act concerning sites,” i.e. preparing the ground for building DN.i.12 (translation: fixing on lucky sites for dwellings), cp. DN-a.i.98: akaṭa-vatthumhi gehapatiṭṭhāpanaṃ
  • -devatā the gods protecting the grounds field-gods, house-gods Pv.i.4#1 (= ghara-vatthuṃ adhivatthā devatā Pv-a.17).
  • -parikiraṇa offerings over the site of a house (“consecrating sites” translation) DN.i.12 (cp DN-a.i.98 = balikamma-karaṇaṃ).
  • -vijjā the science of (building-) sites, the art of determining a suitable (i.e. lucky) site for a house DN.i.9 (see expln at DN-a.i.93) SN.iii.239; Mnd.372; Vism.269 (in comparison); Kp-a.237 See also Dial ii.92 & Fick, Sociale Gliederung 152.

Vedic vāstu; fr. vas