rajo

(rajas) & Raja neuter

1. Forms.
   ■ Both rajo & rajaṃ occur as noun & acc. sg., e.g. rajo at DN.ii.19; Snp.207, Snp.334; Dhs.617; rajaṃ at Snp.275; Iti.83; once (in verse) rajo occurs as m, viz. Snp.662. The other cases are formed from the a-stem only, e.g. rajassa Snp.406; pl. rajāni Snp.517, Snp.974. In compound we find both forms, viz.
   1. rajas either in visarga form rajah, as (a) rajo-, (b) raja- and (c) rajā- (stressed), or in s-form (d) rajas-.
   2. raja-, appearing apostrophied as (e) raj-.
2. Meanings.
   1. (lit.) dust, dirt; usually wet, staining dust DN.ii.19 (tiṇa +); Snp.662 = Pv-a.116 (sukhumo rajo paṭivātaṃ khitto); Iti.83; Dhs.617 (dhūmo +). adj. rāja˚: in sa˚ & a˚ vāta Vin.ii.209 Vism.31. The meaning “pollen” [Sk. raja, m.] may be seen in “raja-missakaṃ rasaṃ” at Dhp-a.i.375.
   2. (fig.) stain, dirt, defilement, impurity. Thus taken conventionally by the P. commentators as the 3-fold blemish of man’s character: rāga, dosa, moha, e.g. Mnd.505; Snp-a.255; Dhp-a.iii.485; or as kilesa-raja at Snp-a.479
      ■ Snp.207 (niketā jāyate rajo), Snp.334, Snp.665 (rajaṃ ākirasi, metaph.), Snp.974 (pañca rajāni loke, viz. the excitement caused by the 5 bāhirāni āyatanāni Mnd.505 Also in stanza rāgo rajo na ca pana reṇu vuccati (with dosa & moha; the same) Mnd.505 = Cnd.590 (slightly diff.) = Ja.i.117 = Vism.388, cp. Divy.491 with interesting variation
      ■ adj. raja˚; in two phrases apagata˚; Vv-a.236 & vigata˚; Mnd.505 ≈ free from defilement
      ■ On raja in similes see J.P.T.S. 1907, 126. Cp. vi˚
3. Compounds.
   1. rajo-: ˚jalla dust and (wet) dirt, muddy dirt DN.ii.18; Vin.iii.70; Ja.iv.322; Ja.v.241; Mil.133, Mil.195 Mil.258, Mil.410; Snp-a.248, Snp-a.291. -jallika living in dirty mud designation of a class of ascetics MN.i.281; Ja.i.390 -dhātu “dust-element” (doubtful translation) DN.i.54, which DN-a.i.163 explains as “raja-okiṇṇa-ṭṭhānāni,” i.e. dusty places. D