ājāniya

Ājāniya (ājānīya)

adjective noun of good race or breed; almost exclusively used to denote a thoroughbred horse (cp. assājāniya under assa3).

  1. ājāniya (the more common & younger Pāli form): Snp.462, Snp.528, Snp.532; Ja.i.178, Ja.i.194; Dpvs.iv.26; Dhp-a.i.402; Dhp-a.iii.49; Dhp-a.iv.4; Vv-a.78; Pv-a.216
  2. ājānīya: MN.i.445; AN.v.323; Dhp.322 = Cnd.475
    ■ (c ājañña = (mostly in poetry): Snp.300 = Snp.304; Ja.i.181; Pv.iv.1#54; purisājañña “a steed of man”, i.e. a man of noble race) SN.iii.91 = Thag.1084 = Snp.544 = Vv-a.9; AN.v.325. -anājāniya of inferior birth MN.i.367.
  • -susu the young of a noble horse, a noble foal MN.i.445 (˚ûpamo dhamma-pariyāyo).

cp. BSk. ājāneya & Sk. ājāti birth, good birth. Instead of its correct derivation from ā + jan (to be born, i.e. well-born) it is by Bdhgh. connected with ā + jñā (to learn, i.e. to be trained). See for these popular etym. e.g. Ja.i.181: sārathissa cittarucitaṃ kāraṇaṃ ājānana-sabhāvo ājañño, and Dhp-a.iv.4: yaṃ assadamma-sārathi kāraṇaṃ kāreti tassa khippaṃ jānana samatthā ājāniyā
■ The contracted form of the word is ājañña