Etymology Ekaggatha?

Q & A
#1

A sort of philological question:

The Jhanas – By Ajahn Brahmavamso, p.31
“Inacademic terms, ekaggatha is a Pali compound meaning “one-peakness.” The middle term agga (Sanskrit Agra) refers to the peak of a mountain, the summit of an experience, or even the capital of a country (as in Agra, the old Mogul capital of India). Thus ekaggatha does not mean just “one-any old point-ness,” but it refers to a singleness of focus on something soaring and sublime. The single exalted summit that is the focus of ekaggatha in the first jhana is the supreme bliss of pitisukha.”

‘Ekaggatha’ is elsewhere spelled( Romanized) ‘ekaggatā’. Where does the ‘h’ come from? Has to do with the long-ā?

I’d learned ekaggatā meant “gone to oneness”, i.e. eka + gata, pp. of gacchati; as in ‘tathāgata’? That’s probably a mythic (non-historical) etymology, used as a mnemonic aid.

Then both ekaggatā and Ekaggatha are using the agga root, from Sanskrit agra? (And not Vedic / Pali ‘gāthā’.)

PTS Dictionary:
“Agga1 (adj. n.) [Vedic agra; cp. Av. agrō first; Lith. agrs early] 1. (adj;) (a.) of time: the first, foremost Dpvs iv.13 (saṅgahaṁ first collection). See cpds.—(b.) of space: the highest, topmost, J i.52 (˚sākhā).—(c.) of quality: illustricus, excellent, the best, highest, chief Vin iv.232 (agga—m—agga) most excellent, D ii.4: S I.29 (a sattassa Sambuddha);…”

(Probably the same PIE root as Greek acro-, as in acropolis, English acrophobia, etc.)

Also, the Pa Auk Sayadaw, in his “Knowing and Seeing” (11th Edition, p. 161) spells it “ek-aggatā” – maybe indicating the “agga” root, with the suffix “-ta” denoting the abstract concept rather than the literal instance – as in the relationship between mitta and mittāta?
(PTS Dict: Mittatā
– (f.)—(˚) [abstr. fr. mitta] state of being a friend, friendship, in kalyāṇa˚; being a good friend, friendship as a helper (see kalyāṇa)
D iii.274; Vism 107.)

#2

It’s simply a mistake. Ekaggatā is the correct spelling.

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#3

With the macron and the H it looks like it should mean “one song”!

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#4

Unlikely, I think. Were that the etymology, then we should expect a construction analogous to, say, the Pārileyya Sutta’s aniṭṭhaṅgatatā, SN22.81, which would be ekagatatā, not ekaggatā.

…api ca kho kaṅkhī hoti vicikicchī aniṭṭhaṅgato saddhamme. Yā kho pana sā, bhikkhave, kaṅkhitā vicikicchitā aniṭṭhaṅgatatā saddhamme saṅkhāro so…

… but he is perplexed, doubtful, indecisive in regard to the true Dhamma. That perplexity, doubtfulness, indecisiveness in regard to the true Dhamma is a formation.

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#5

Indeed the root here is “agga”, in the sense of “predominant”, as explained in the earliest source I found:

“Tattha cittassa ekaggatāti nānārammaṇavikkhepābhāvato ekaṃ ārammaṇaṃ aggaṃ uttamaṃ assāti ekaggo, ekaggassa bhāvo ekaggatā.”

Patisambhidamagga-Atthakatha 1.230

“Here the ‘ekaggatā’ of the mind is the state (bhāvo) when one thing is predominant (ekaggo). One thing is predominant when there’s no perplexity (vikkhepa) on multiple bases and one basis (ārammaṇa) is predominant (agga) and preeminent (uttama).”

https://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=5550

Here it’s essential to understand that ārammaṇa in this context is a mental, not physical, phenomenon.

#6

Thanks all for the perspectives, and link to further discussions (at DhammaWheel).

The related quotations (and various choices of terms for translation) provides both material for further study, and for experimentation with the use of the concepts for reflection upon the results of practice.

#7

Selten so gelacht.
I have done dictionary work on eka-. It has many more meanings than just “one”, but ekaggatha must be a corruption from Sri Lankans spelling th instead of t, when using the roman alphabeth for writing their names.

#8

[quote=“akincana, post:7, topic:5732, full:true”]
Selten so gelacht.[/quote] Wie so?

[quote=“akincana, post:7, topic:5732, full:true”]
I have done dictionary work on eka-. It has many more meanings than just “one”, [/quote]
More than the PTS Dict’s 3 meanings (number 1; one only, alone; a certain one)?

[quote=“akincana, post:7, topic:5732, full:true”]but ekaggatha must be a corruption from Sri Lankans spelling th instead of t, when using the roman alphabeth for writing their names.
[/quote] So, perhaps mistaken for a mistake, however which way one looks at it?