What is the meaning of Nama in Nama Rupa?

[sujato]

@Brahmali

if you say that “name” is affected in the same way, there is much more meaning to unpack, and unless you are quite familiar with the discussion you will at a loss to understand it.

In this sense, yes, I agree completely. The khandha are far more amenable to rational discourse, and much easier to unpack. I think, in fact, that it was precisely because nāma is so tightly embedded in the Brahmanical/Upanishadic context that the Abhidhammikas felt the need to give it a more independent and absolutist meaning. So if it’s a matter of explaining the Dhamma, using the khandhas is much better. That doesn’t help us translators, though!