Amrta is routinely translated to Chinese as meaning ambrosia or soma. Even later, more technically minded translators like Xuanzang continued to translate it in that way. It’s pretty clear that Buddhists indeed read the word to mean immortal, not merely in the literal meaning of the word. And it occurs this way specifically when describing Nirvana as well as the Dharma as the entry to the immortal. It’s not just a Brahmin thing. Cf. MA 75 for an example, but Chinese Buddhist texts are littered with examples.
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Yes, I think the point is that these words and phrases are specifically and intentionally evocative of desired spiritual goals at the time (and today).
The Buddha went out looking for what many others of his day did: the deathless (amata). He found it.
It just so happens that what he found this to actually be might not be what other people imagined or wanted. But the point is that this word is being shared because of its commonality and evocative nature.
IMHO, these passages are not Abhidhamma analyses or formal semantic explanations of the most refined points of Buddhist doctrine. It’s about mystery, emotion, and liberation. It’s meant to call the listener’s attention and get them thinking or inspired. That’s not to dismiss the discussion or relevance, just an aspect that seems it pertains. If people want to take obscure minor passages like this and come to some reified view of Nibbāna, that’s not the text’s fault; it’s their own lack of compassionate reading, again, IMHO.
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