''Pāda'' is the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

term for "foot" (cognate to English ''foot'', Latin ''pes'', Greek ''pous''), with derived meanings "step, stride; footprint, trace; vestige, mark". The term has a wide range of applications, including any one of four parts (as it were one foot of a quadruped), or any sub-division more generally, e.g. a chapter of a book (originally a section of a book divided in four parts). In Sanskrit metre, ''pāda'' is the term for a quarter of a stanza. Thus in the

shloka Shloka or śloka ( , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927).) in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is "any verse or stan ...

it is any of the eight-syllable sections of the 32-syllable stanza. As a measure of length, a ''pada'' amounts to 12 or 15 fingers' breadth, or 1/2 or 1/3 or 3/7 of a Prakrama. In Sanskrit grammar, a ''pada'' is any inflected word (noun or verb). In

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, ''pāda'' is the term for a Buddha footprint.

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

's footprints symbolized his presence, and his image and

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

developed several centuries after he had died. There are also several landmarks venerated as "footprints" (''pāda'', also ''pādamudrā'') of Hindu deities. For example, ''Si Pada'' on Adam's Peak is a rock formation in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

venerated as the footprint of Buddha in Buddhist tradition, the footprint of

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, and the footprint of

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

in Muslim tradition.

References

* Monier-Williams (1899) *''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' () by Anna Dallapiccola {{reflist Sanskrit words and phrases Pali words and phrases Foot Indian poetics

See also

References