Dear Larry,

"aayusaa" is one of the 2 instrumental singular forms of the neuter "aayu".
The other form is "aayunaa".

The declensional paradigm is given in the Padaruupasiddhi (p.95 on the CSCD)
as follows:

"Ukaaranto napu.msakali"ngo aayusaddo. Tassa a.t.thisaddasseva ruupanayo.
aayu, aayuu aayuuni, he aayu, he aayuu he aayuuni, aayu.m, aayuu aayuuni,
aayunaa aayusaati manoga.naadittaa siddha.m. aayuuhi aayuubhi, aayuno
aayussa, aayuunamiccaadi. Eva.m cakkhu vasu dhanu daaru tipu madhu hi"ngu
siggu vatthu matthu jatu ambu assu-aadiini.

Ukaaranta.m."

Best wishes,
Jim

----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry Rosenfeld" <larry_rosenfeld@...>
To: <Pali@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:31 AM
Subject: [Pali] "aayusaa" in the Karaniya Metta Sutta (Khp 9; Sn 1.8)


> Could someone please help translate (or point to something that helps
> translate) the Pali term "aayusaa" in the famed Karaniya Metta Sutta's
> seventh verse:
>
> Maataa yathaa niya.m putta.m aayusaa eka-puttam-anurakkhe.
>
> I've seen this Pali term (aayusaa) translated variously with phrases
> such as "with her [the mother's] life," "the child's life" (perhaps due
> to, I think, the CSCD redaction's combining "putta.m-aayusaa"?), "all
> her days," and "at the risk of her own life." And I get that the root
> is "aayu," usually translated as "life" (although, for the sake of
> comparison, in AN 13.9, "maataa jiivitaa" is used for "mother's
> life"). What should one make of the "-saa" suffix/declension/compound?
>
> Thanks so much for any guidance. And, if my posting this here is
> inappropriate, please accept my apologies; pointers to a more pertinent
> resource would be much appreciated. With, well, you know, metta, Larry