Observations on the Use and Interpretation of anassuṃ in the Nikāyas and Pāli Commentaries

This paper aims to provide a preliminary discussion on the study of Pāli commentarial literature with a comparative analysis of the use and interpretation of anassuṃ, a word rarely encountered across the Pāli Tipiṭaka. It is found only in the Abhayarājakumāra Sutta of the Majjhima Nikāya and in the Saṃyojana Sutta of the Aṅguttara Nikāya. While their commentaries altogether suggest third person plural aorist of √naś (to be lost), a closer examination indicates that an alternative reading is required for anassuṃ in the Abhayarājakumāra Sutta. This paper puts forward this alternative reading by highlighting the narrative context of the sutta and two possible grammatical formations of the word. Moreover, this paper uncovers the programmatic nature of exegetical methods and hermeneutical inclinations employed in the Pāli commentaries, which likely had resulted in the standardization of their interpretation of certain vocabulary and concepts.